Improvements in Heavy Gun Mountings.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Heavy Gun Mountings.
We, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, of Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited, of 28,
Victoria Street, Westminster, in the County of London, Superintendent of
Ordnance Works, and JAMES HORNE, of Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited, of
Barrow-in-Furness, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:--
Our invention relates to mountings for heavy guns, which are mounted in the
turrets or barbettes of battleships, worked by hydraulic or electric power. Guns
thus worked by power only, are liable to be disabled through accidents or defaults
which may be trivial.
Our invention relates to means of providing against this for which purpose in
addition to the usual hydraulic or electric operating gear we provide an entirely
independent secondary mechanism for running out the gun after recoil, and for
elevating the gun slides with the gun and cradle thereon either before running
out or after running out to the firing position.
This independent mechanism may be worked by hydraulic or electric power, or
by hand, or by a combination of power and handworking. It may remain in
gear with the moving parts when the usual power system is in action or it may
be altogether disconnected this being preferred when connection and disconnec-
tion can be simply and quickly effected.
The gun is, as usual, mounted on a cradle, arranged to move on a slide, fitted
with trunnions. In recoiling, the cradle moves along the slide to the rear,
forcing water from the hydraulic run-out cylinder into the run-in cylinder or
elsewhere, and then pressure in the run-out cylinder returns the gun to firing
position. For independently running out the gun according to our invention
we attach to the lower side of the gun cradle a rack gearing with a pinion carried
on an axis fixed in the gun slide. On this axis or on one geared therewith is
fixed a worm wheel secured to the axle by means of a series of friction plates,
in the well known manner.
The worm wheel gears with a worm on a shaft which is mounted in such a way
as to allow for the travel of the gun and its oscillation on its trunnions without
disengaging the worm gear. On this shaft is a bevel wheel gearing with one on
a shaft worked by a power motor or to a series of crank handles arranged prefer-
ably in a chamber below the gun platform. Instead of a single rack and pinion
for running out the gun, there may be two.
The elevating gear, according to our invention, comprises a toothed segment
near the rear of the gun slide, to which the upper end of the rack is connected.
With this segment gears a pinion on a horizontal shaft, carried on the frame work,
carrying the trunnions of the gun slide. On this shaft is fixed, preferably by
means of friction plates, a worm wheel gearing with a worm connected to handles
or to a power motor by suitable clutches. When handles are employed they may
be those used for the run-out gear. Instead of a single toothed segment and
pinion there is preferably a pair of these for elevating.

page_text: When the ordinary power system is in use, the pinions geared with the racks
for elevating and for running out may be withdrawn out of rear by suitable
means. easily and conveniently operated, or they may always be left in gear on
the friction plates, allowing their shafts to slip in their respective worm wheels.
When the auxiliary independent system of working the gun is in use the
hydraulic or other system being disengaged, the racks on the gun cradle during
recoil cause the pinions and their axis to rotate, but the worm does not revolve,
being held by the teeth of the worm wheel. As the friction plates are pressed
together with sufficient force to effect the running out of the gun, on turning
the worm wheel the gun is advanced to firing position.
Dated this 12th day of October 1898.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Heavy Gun Mountings.
We, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, of Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited, of 28,
Victoria Street, Westminster, in the County of London, Superintendent of
Ordnance Works, and JAMES HORNE, of Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited, of
Barrow-in-Furness, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: --
Our invention relates to mountings for heavy guns, which are mounted in the
turrets or barbettes of battleships, worked by hydraulic or electric power. Guns
thus worked by power only, are liable to be disabled througli accidents or
defaults which may be trivial.
Our invention relates to means of providing against this for which purpose
in addition to the usual hydraulic or electric operating gear we provide an
entirely independent secondary mechanism for running out the gun after recoil
and for elevating the gun slides with the gun and cradle thereon either before
running out or after running out to the firing position.
This independent mechanism may be worked by hydraulic or electric power,
or by hand, or by a combination of power and hand working, as we shall describe
referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is an elevation and Fig. 2 is a plan of a heavy gun mounting in a
turret and the gear for working it.
The other figures which are drawn to an enlarged scale are transverse sections
Figs. 3 and 4 respectively on the lines A-A and B-B of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an
elevation partly in section shewing a spring stop for the gun.
Besides the usual recoil clinders a there are also hydraulic run out and in
cylinders placed in line below the gun. The gun slide c which can work on
trunnions has a downwardly projecting bracket which is linked to the plungers
of hydraulic elevating cylinders e e. Besides these which are the usual means
of running out and elevating we provide gear which can be worked by hydraulic
engines or by hand for effecting either or both of those operations as follows;
f is a hydraulic engine which by bevil gear drives a shaft g free to swivel on
the centre of the bevil wheel which drives it. This shaft passes into a sleeve i
which is swivelled on the gun mounting and contains a worm gearing with
a worm wheel k. This worm wheel by means of friction plates pressed together
by a spring is clutened to a shaft on which are pinions gearing with wheels m
on a shaft having fitted to slide on it two pinions n gearing with racks o on the
under side of the cradle. By means of a shaft p that can be worked from any

page_text: convenient position and bevil gear, right and left screws q can be turned so as
to draw the pinions out of gear with the racks o or to engage them with the
racks. When they are so engaged, the gun can be run out to firing position
by working the hydraulic engine f independently of the run out cylinders b.
When the gun is run out to firing position spring stops 3 enter recesses having
inclined edges in the surface on which the gun slides in recoiling. The pinions n
can then be drawn out of gear with the racks leaving the gun held by the stops 3
in firing position.
Another hydraulic engine through bevil gear drives a shaft s having on it a
worm gearing with a worm wheel t engaged by spring friction plate clutch on a
shaft on which are two pinions gearing with segment racks w suspended
from the gun mounting and kept in gear with the pinions by rollers. By
working the hydraulic engine r the gun can be elevated independently of the
elevating cylinders e.
In case the hydraulic engines f and r should not be in working order or should
not be supplied with fluid under pressure, the running out and elevating gear
can be worked by hand. For this purpose a winch handle y on which a number
of men can act is connected by bevil gear z to a shaft engaged with the gear of
the engine f and by bevil and reducing gears 1 and 2 to the gear of
the engine r. These gears are capable of being connected or disconnected as
desired and both the worm wheels and t are engaged with their respective shafts
by friction plates which constitute yielding clutches.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
1. In combination with the cradle of a heavy gun, racks and pinions geared to
a hydraulic engine for running the gun out independently of the usual hydraulic
cylinders for that purpose, substantially as described with reference to the
drawings.
2. In combination with the mounting of a heavy gun segment racks and pinions
geared to a hydraulic engine for elevating the gun independently of the usual
hydraulic cylinder for that purpose, substantially as described with reference
to the drawings.
3. In combination with the hydraulic engines and gearing referred to in the
preceding claims a hand winch and gear for working the run out or elevating
gear independently of the hydraulic engines, substantially as described with
reference to the drawings.
D
1011 1
T
1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.