IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE NAVIGATION
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE NAVIGATION."-A
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st July 1854.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE NAVIGATION,"
a communication from Messieurs Payerne and Lamiral, foreigners resident
abroad," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the general arrangement and construction of sub-
marine boats and apparatus connected therewith, & consists,―
First, in the application of steam as a motive power in submarine boats,
such steam being generated in the ordinary manner.
Second, in the application also as a motive power of steam generated in
a special boiler, and by the aid of a peculiar kind of fuel, composed either
of coke, or coal and soda, or coke and potash, or other materials rich in

page_text: oxygen, and if a great amount of heat is required a small quantity of sulphur
may be added.
Third, in the purifying of the air in the boat by the aid of a current of
water, or of an alkaline solution composed of water, lime, potash, and oxygen.
Fourth, in the construction and uso of several compartments or divisions,
whereby the work to be effected is more easily accomplished, and the employ-
ment of cocks or valves for the purpose of forming a communication at will
between one compartment and another.
Fifth, in the application of pumps for compressing the air to a certain
degree of pressure, according to the depth to which the boat is to descend.
Sixth, in the application of pumps for the purpose of introducing or dis-
charging water from the boat, such water being employed as ballast.
Seventh, in the employment of lateral doors or openings for working at the
side of the ship.
And, eighth, in the employment of an anchor in the form of a large weight
to sustain the boat at any desired depth.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE
NAVIGATION," a communication from Messieurs Payerne and Lamiral,
foreigners resident abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,' the

page_text: said John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
scal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Jolson, do hereby declaro
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to the general arrangement and construction of
submarine boats and apparatus connected therewith, and consists,-
1st, in the application of steam as a motive power in submarine boats, such
steam being generated in the ordinary manner.
2nd, in the application also as a motive power of steam generated in a
special boiler, and by the aid of a peculiar kind of fuel, composed either of coke,
or coal and soda, or coke and" potash, or other materials rich in oxygen, and,
if a great amount of heat be required, a small quantity of sulphur may be
added.
3rd, in the purifying of the air in the boat by the aid of a current of
water, or of an alkaline solution composed of water, lime, potash, and
oxygen.
Fourth, in a peculiar construction and employment of several compartments
or divisions, whereby the work to be effected is more easily accomplished, and
also in the employment of cocks or valves for the purpose of forming a com-
munication at will between one compartment and another.
5th, in the application of pumps for compressing the air to a certain
degree of pressure, according to the depth to which the boat is to descend.
6th, in the application of pumps for the purpose of introducing or dis-
charging water from the boat, such water being employed as ballast.
7th, in the employment of lateral doors or openings for working at the
side of the ship.
And, 8th, in the employment of an anchor in the form of a large weight,
to sustain the boat at any desired depth.
'
And in order that the said Invention may be more readily understood, I
shall now proceed to describe and refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, represents a side elevation of the hull
of a submarine boat of the improved construction; Figure 2 is a half plan of

page_text: the same, the other half being precisely similar. Figure 3 is a longitudinal
vertical section through the keel and centre line of the boat. Figure 4 is a
half sectional plan of Figure 3, taken through the line Y, Z. Figure 5 is
a transverse section of the boat, taken through the working chamber; and
Figures 6 and 7 represent half transverse sections, taken through different
parts of the hull; in each of these Figures I have only shewn half of the boat,
as the other half is precisely similar.
Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11, on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, represent the lines
of the hull of the boat, &c. in the same manner as the hull of an ordinary
ship would be illustrated. It will be seen, on inspecting the herein-before
mentioned Figures, and more particularly Figures 3 and 4, Sheet 1, that
this boat is divided into three compartments; one at the bows A, B, C,
the second amidships B, E, C, and Q, and the third in the after part E, M, Q,
and R.
..
:
.f
The sides of this boat are made to envelope or enclose it entirely, in place of
having only two sides, as in ordinary boats; the interior of the hull is thus
closed in all round, and has only two entrances J and T; situated at its upper
side, the largest of which openings J is furnished with a smaller opening J'; in
the centre of its cover a number of glazed apertures or windows, which are
shewn in the Drawing, arranged in threo rows, serve to give light to the
interior of the boat; the rudder passes through two stuffing boxes and through
the after part of the machine room, of which I shall hereafter more fully refer
to. This rudder is furnished with two tillers 6 and 61; the outside tiller b to
be used when the boat is to be navigated on the surface of the water, and the
inside tiller &, in the machine room, to be used when the boat is submerged.
The propelling screw. occupies the same place that it does in ordinary screw
boats, and as it may be of the ordinary construction I have not shewn it; but
the space which it occupies between the rudder and stern-post, or rather.
between the two stern-posts, is represented at h, Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the
Drawings.
!.
The chimney f projects from the upper part of the boat, Figure 1, Sheet 1,
when it is necessary to descend below the surface of the water, and conse-
quently, when the "pyrotechnic " boiler is resorted to, this chimney is replaced
by a hermetic covering, which prevents the water from penetrating to the
interior of the boat...
On each side of the fore large compartment are arranged two chambers
a, B, C, D, which can be thrown into one or kept separate by water-tight doors
in the interior of the boat; these chambers may be put in communication
with the exterior by a door P, screwed to the inside of the boat When

page_text: this door is opened the water penetrates.into the small chamber a, B, C, D,.
but only just above the level of the door P, and in each of these chambers
a workmen can have free use of his hands, whilst at the same time his
head is sheltered and above the level of the water in the chamber he
occupies.
"
:
The main fore compartment A, B, C, serves to contain the ballast (either.
solid or fluid) and compressed air. The middle chamber of the boat B, E, C, Q,
is divided into two compartments; the first or upper one B, E, F, G, which
serves as the entrance chamber, is the one that contains the water-tight doors
J and J; from this chamber there is a communication with the fore compart-
ment by the door J, and with the after compartment by a similar door J
Beneath the entrance chamber is the compartment F, G, C, Q, which I have.
called the work room; there is a communication from the entrance chamber
with this appartment either by the large door K or by the smaller ones k', k², k³,
formed in it. The engine room E, M, G, O, occupies the upper part of the
after chamber above the chamber G, O, Q, R, which is intended, like the
one at the bows, to receive the solid and liquid ballast and compressed air.
There is a communication with the exterior from the engine room by the
door T. Another door T' leads into an appartment S, which I shall hereafter
more fully refer to. A third door T2 opens into the hold or bottom: com-
partment. A series of air cocks establish a communication between the
different compartments of the boat. A last compartment or cell S is situated
below the engine room; the upper part of this coll is closed and the lower part
is opened. This cell contains a drum which can be worked from the engine
To this drum is suspended a large weight which serves as an anchor,
and is intended-to sustain the ship at any required depth; to effect this, the
anchor is let down to the bottom, as much chain being let out as is necessary.
room.
I have not represented the engines, as there is nothing necessarily novel
in their construction; I should prefer them to be condensing engines;
they are employed for driving the screw propeller and the pumps. There
are two or three of these pumps; one of them, which may be worked
by manual labor, is for transmitting the air or water to any desired point
of the boat, whilst the others, which are for the same purpose, may be
driven by the engine. These pumps are each furnished with two orifices,
and will serve either for exhausting the air or for compressing it, according
to the depth at which the boat is below the surface. They answer also
for forcing the air from one compartment to another, for introducing the
quantity. of water required for ballast, and for transferring such ballast
from one chamber to another. These pumps can be made to perform
:

page_text: any one of these operations by opening some of the herein-before mentioned
cocks and shutting others. When the boat floats on the surface, the steam is
supplied from an ordinary boiler with a common furnace, the draught chimney
of which is shown at f, Figure 1, Sheet I; but when the boat is submerged, the
steam is generated by a tubular boiler, with an interior furnace hermetically
closed. This boiler I call tho "pyrotechnic " boiler. The current of air is
here superseded by an oxygenized product. A supply cock or valve, sur-
mounted by a funnel, affords facility for the introduction of the peculiar fuel
required. From this feeder the fuel falls into a receiver, which can be
removed when the engine has ceased working, or when the receiver has
become clogged with a solid residium produced by the fuel. This arrange-
ment is clearly shewn at Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15, on Sheet 2 of the Draw-
pyrotechnic
ings, which represent also the peculiar construction of the "
boiler. Figure 12 is a vertical longitudinal section of the "pyrotechnic
boiler and apparatus connected therewith; Figure 13 is a transverse section
of the same; Figure 14 is a plan of the boiler; and Figure 15 is a horizontal
section of the same, taken through the centre line of the tubular furnace.
The furnace, as I have herein-before stated, is hermetically closed, and
many different descriptions of artificial fuel may be burnt in it. I prefer
however, the two following compositions, but more especially the first-
described one:-

page_text: 5
by a funnel mouth or hopper E; and is furnished with a cock or valve K.
The funnel for regulating the supply of fuel to the furnace E receives the fuel,
and allows it to pass through the opening in the cock or valve which is actuated
by the engine, so that at each stroke a certain given quantity of fuel falls
through the passage a into the receiver N, which fuel is then burnt as in any
other tubular boiler. The carbonate of soda and potash produced by the com-
bustion of this fuel falls through into the ash pan 7. This pan is fixed to the
furnace by hermetical joints, and is removed when it
of being emptied; the engine then ceases working.
gets full for the purpose
The gaseous products of the combustion escape by virtue of their lightness
through the chimney c, which is furnished with one, or, what is still better, two
valves S', which serve to keep out the exterior water. The chimney c is also
furnished at its lower extremity with a cock R', the principal uso of which is
to let out any water that may have introduced itself through the valves S¹.
Figure 14 shews the chain wheel m, which gives the necessary rotatory motion
to the feed cock or valve R.
Two boilers will be found advantageous, so that when the ash pan of one
is being removed to be emptied, the engines may be still supplied with steam
from the other boiler.
The "pyrotechnic" boiler having been supplied with water, the steam is
generated by introducing into the receiver a certain quantity of the herein-
before described fuel, and also a small quantity of priming powder, in connection
with a match for lighting the powder; one end of this match passes out
through a lateral opening in the boiler, not shewn in the Drawings. Tho
match is then lighted, and the aperture through which it protrudes is closed by
a screw cap-or other tight-fitting cover, and the fuel inside the furnace is lighted
by the explosion of the powder contained therein.
One of the most important points to be attended to in working submarine
boats is the constant purification of the air intended for respiration. When
the boat is situated in a current of water flowing with a velocity of three or
more feet in a second, and when the water does not risc more than about
6 or 8 inches in the work room, this purification is readily effected, as the
water absorbs and carries off the carbonic acid which is formed, and the air
becomes naturally and constantly purified.
When the boat is being propelled under water, and the bottom of the work
chamber is left open, the headway creates a current sufficient in itself to purify
the air efficiently. If the water does not flow freely at the bottom of the
chamber, it will be necessary to employ a paddle or dash wheel, or other
apparatus situate therein, for producing an artificial current for effecting the

page_text: purification of the air. A species of blowing machine, which may also be
employed for purifying the air machine, continually draws in the air in the
boat, and causes it to pass through an alkaline purifying mixture, and
expels it perfectly pure and fit for respiration.
The alkaline mixture which I propose to employ consists of about 2 pounds
of water, half a pound of lime, and two ounzes of potash, and, if necessary, a
certain amount of prepared oxygen may be admitted. The oxygen may be
easily prepared and compressed into a chamber or receptacle for the purpose,
the gas being allowed to pass out at will by a stop-cock.
By this arrangement a sufficient amount of oxygen to supply three men for
a space of five hours may be easily carried on board.
The room is
In using this submarine boat, the air must be first compressed in all the
divisions or compartments of the boat except the engine room. The water for
ballast is then taken in until the ship is almost submerged.
then entirely closed, the crew having entered by the door T. The air cock
from the central or entrance chamber or compartment is now opened, to
equalise the pressure of the atmosphere in both chambers. The door of com-
munication is then opened, and the submerging of the apparatus is then
completed, by setting the pumps to work to introduce water, which operation
I prefer to be effected by hand, without having recourse to the engine.
Having arrived at the bottom or at the level to which it is necessary to
lescend, the atmosphere is placed in equilibrium with the column of water
pressing on the boat's sides. The door at the bottom is then opened, accord-
ing to circumstances, or one of the side chambers may be entered by the
interior door for that purpose, care being taken, however, to keep it shut after
passing through. The door at the side of the boat is then opened, and the work,
whatever it may be, is proceeded with.
be
With a submarine boat of this description the greatest depths may pene-
trated, whilst at the same time perfect control over the boat is obtained with
the facility of moving about in any direction, whether it be for ascending,
descending, or for horizontal progression. Greater depths may also be penc
trated and existed in for several hours without any communication with the
surface than has hitherto been found practicable with the most improved
diving bell.
The apparatus has the advantage also of remaining perfectly tranquil
during a storm or rough weather, and it is not affected by the causes which
agitate the surface of the water; the great desideratum of keeping up a
constant supply of pure air inside the boat is also well provided for. A boat
of this description will be found to be a most destructive engine of war-

page_text: fare, as it affords facility for the attachment of petards or other destructive
apparatus to a ship's side without running the risk of any attack therefrom,
as the attacking party will be perfectly concealed; it is also applicable to the
construction of marine works, or the offecting of repairs under water; also to
the saving of life and property at sca; to the discovery of coral, sponge, and
oyster beds, and to the cultivation of the beds of bays or rivers for effecting the
artificial propagation of fish.
:
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of the said Invention; but what
I consider to bo novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to mo by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general construction and arrangement of apparatus for effecting
submarine navigation, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of steam as a motive power in submarine
boats, such steam being generated in the ordinary manner.
Third, the application and use of steam as a motive power in submarine
boats, such steam being generated by a boiler of the peculiar construction
herein-before described.
66
Fourth, the peculiar construction and arrangement of what I term the
pyrotechnic" boiler, and the furnace and apparatus connected therewith;
also the peculiar kind of fuel used with such "pyrotechnic" boiler, as herein-
before described.
Fifth, the system or mode of purifying the air in submarine boats, by the
employment for that purpose of a natural or artificial current or currents of
water, or of an alkaline solution, as herein-before described.
Sixth, the construction and arrangement of submarine boats with several
compartments or divisions therein, in the manner and for the purpose herein-
before described.
Seventh, the application and use of cocks or valvos for the purpose of forming
an air communication at will between one compartment and another in
submarine boats.
Eighth, the application and use of pumps for compressing the air in sub-
marine boats to a certain density, according to the depth, to which the boat is
to descend; also the employment of pumps in submarine boats for the
purpose of introducing a discharging water ballast, as herein-before described.
".

page_text: Ninth, the application and use of lateral doors or openings for working at
the sides of submarine boats, as herein-before described.
Tenth, the application and use of the heavy weight or anchor, in the manner
and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the First day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.B.)