A New or Improved Envelope or Packing for the Charges for Ordnance.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 27th Jan., 1900-Accepted, 3rd Mar., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Envelope or Packing for the Charges for
Ordnance.
I, AUGUST REICHWALD, of 9, New Broad Street, in the City of London, Steel,
Iron, Metal and Mineral Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
(a communication to me from abroad by the Firm of Fried. Krupp, of Essen,
in the Empire of Germany, Cast Steel Manufacturers), to be as follows:
The present invention relates to an envelope for the charges for ordnance and
to the production thereof from an easily combustible material. The fabrics
mostly in use at the present time for cartridge envelopes (e.g. silk, wool and the
like) are close and thick, and although they form excellent packing materials
are not sufficiently readily combustible; it therefore results, that after the charge
has been fired, a deposit of unconsumed portions of the fabric remain behind in
the gun, which give rise to jamming" and similar inconvenience.
".
For the purpose of remedying this evil, according to the present invention the
cartridge bag or envelope is made of a fabric which has been soaked in, or im-
pregnated with, a solution of smokeless powder (nitroglycerine powder or cellu-
lose powder) whereby it is made readily combustible and burns completely in
the barrel of the gun without leaving the least deposit behind.
As smokeless powder, when the solvent used to dissolve it, has evaporated, forms
a strong and yet supple film, the fabric employed may be of considerably larger
mesh compared with that used for the ordinary cartridge bags.
Morcover the fabric may be entirely dispensed with and simply a film of
smokeless powder used for the production of the cartridge bag, which may be
prepared by pouring a solution of the powder upon a plate and allowing the
solvent to evaporate.
Both the above described kinds of envelope are extraordinarily readily com
bustible and leave practically no deposit in the barrel of the gun.
Th
1000
BREWER & SON,
London & Leeds, Agents for the Applicant..
COMPLETE SPÉCIFICATION.
A New or Improved Envelope or Packing for the Charges for
Ordnance.
I, A OGUST REICHWALD, of 9, New Broad Street, in the City of London, Steel;
Iron, Metal and Mineral Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
(a communication to me from abroad by the Firm of Fried Krupp, of Essen,
DQ77

page_text: in the Empire of Germany, Cast Steel Manufacturers), and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:_
The present invention relates to an envelope or casing for holding the charges
for ordnance, and has for its object to produce such envelope from a readily com-
bustible material.
At the present time the various fabrics employed in the manufacture of these
envelopes (such as silk, wool and the like) are mostly thick and close, but such
while fulfilling all the requirements needed of a good packing material, yet still
leave something to be desired in regard to the necessary ready combustion on
firing the gun. It therefore frequently happens that when the envelope has
not been entirely consumed, when the gun is fired, (a matter of frequent oc-
currence with small charges), that the fragments of fabric remaining behind
in the barrel of the gun cause jamming, more especially in the case of guns firing
metal cartridges. Furthermore when the guns are fired with ammunition not
loaded in metal cartridge cases, the presence of glowing particles among the
fragments of the unconsumed fabric left behind in the gun, is liable to cause the
premature explosion of the new charge, and thus lead to a serious accident.
Now the envelope or casing forming the subject of the present invention,
obviates all the above mentioned disadvantages by being, if composed of woven
fabric, thoroughly soaked or impregnated with a solution of a smokeless explosive
compound, or made from a smokeless explosive compound itself.
If one of the fabrics hitherto in use be employed in the manufacture of the
envelope, according to the present invention, it is saturated or impregnated
before being made up, with a solution of a smokeless explosive compound, either
nitro glycerine powder, or cellulose powder. When so treated the fabric (with
out losing anything of the density and flexibility necessary to a good packing
material for the charge) becomes so easily combustible that when ignited in air,
it burns with a brilliant flame, and leaves only a tinder-like residue. When
however an envelope made of a fabric treated as above described, and filled with
a charge of a smokeless explosive compound, is burnt in a gun under high
pressure, scarcely any or at most only an inappreciable residue remains in the
gun.
The fabrics employed in the manufacture of the usual envelopes are, as already
stated very close in mesh.
When employing the saturation process above described however, the fabric
chosen may be wide meshed as the solution of the explosive compound, e.g. nitro
glycerine powder, or cellulose powder, when the solvent has evaporated, forms a
very tough and flexible film. The use of fabric at all, may in fact be done away
with, and a film employed, consisting of an explosive compound, and which may
be suitably prepared; for example, by pouring a solution of the above mentioned
explosive compound onto a plate, and allowing the solvent to evaporate. A film
of explosive material so obtained, combines a remarkable degree of flexibility
with great durability, and may be worked up into envelopes for charges in pre-
cisely the same way as the fabrics at present in use.
Both the above described forms of the improved envelope, are naturally ex-
ceedingly easily combustible, and leave practically no residue in the gun after
combustion. They also possess the additional advantage, that when they are
employed, the supplemental charge of black powder otherwise necessary when
employing charges or smokeless explosives, may be dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
-
1. An envelope for charges for ordnance, composed of a fabric saturated with
a solution of a smokeless explosive compound enkistontill
1 .

page_text: 2. A modification of the envelope for charges for ordnance as claimed in
Claim 1, in which the envelope is formed from a film of explosive material instead
of from a fabric, substantially as described.
Dated this 27th day of Jonna 1000
BREWER & SON,
London & Leeds, Agents for the Applicant.