IMPROVE- MENTS IN RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER SUBMERGED DEAD WEIGHTS, AND IN PREVENTING THE SINKING OF VESSELS IN CASE OF ACCIDENT AT SEA, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER SUBMERGED DEAD WEIGHTS,
AND IN PREVENTING THE SINKING OF VESSELS IN CASE OF ACCIDENT AT SEA,
AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." -A communication from
abroad by James M°Leod, of the City of Montreal, in the Province of
Canada, Master Mariner.
Sealed the 27th May 1864, and dated the 12th December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with bis Petition, on
the 12th December 1863.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER SUBMERGED DEAD
WEIGHTS, AND IN PREVENTING THE SINKING OP VESSELS IN CASE OF ACCIDENT AT
SEA, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication from abroad
by James McLeod, of the City of Montreal, in the Province of Canada,
Master Mariner, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the application and use to and in the raising of
sunken vessels and other submerged dead weights of flexible air-tight buoys
attached by means of chains to the bottom of the vessel or weight to be raised,
and protected from bursting by a netting or covering of ropes, such buoys being
inflated with compressed air by means of air pumps worked by hand or by

page_text: power, in communication with the buoys by means of flexible hose pipes.
The pumps may be carried on the deck of the vessel to be raised if such deck
be above the surface of the water, or carried upon the deck of a neighbouring
vessel when the vessel to be raised is entirely submerged. In combination
with these flexible buoys, or separately if desired, a second set of air pumps is
employed communicating by means of a hose pipe or pipes with the hold of
the vessel through the deck thereof, the hatches and companion ways being
closely covered over so as to prevent the air which is forced and compressed
inside the vessel by the pumps from escaping. The hose leads down through
the deck to at least one-third of the depth of the hold. By this arrangement
the water in the vessel may be readily expelled by the pressure of the air, a
hole or holes being made in the bottom of the vessel, if not already existing,
for its free exit. By this means the raising of a sunken vessel may be
effected or facilitated, or a leaky vessel may be kept afloat until run into
port.
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 11th June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
. WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh 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 RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER SUB-
MERGED DEAD WEIGHTS, AND IN PREVENTING THE SINKING OF VESSELS IN CASE OF
ACCIDENT AT SEA, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication
to me from abroad by James M'Leod, of the City of Montreal, in the Province

page_text: of Canada, Master Mariner, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them,.
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
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 Johnson, do hereby
declare 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 consists in the application and use to and in the raising
of sunken vessels and other submerged dead weights of flexible air-tight buoys
attached by means of chains to the bottom of the vessel or weight to be
raised, and protected from bursting by a netting or covering of ropes,
such buoys being inflated with compressed air by means of air pumps worked
by hand or by power in communication with the buoys by means of flexible
hose pipes, the pumps may be carried on the deck of the vessel to be raised
if such deck be above the surface of the water, or carried upon the deck of a
neighbouring vessel when the vessel to be raised is entirely submerged. In
combination with these flexible buoys, or separately if desired, a second set of
air pumps is employed, communicating by means of a hose pipe or pipes with
the hold of the vessel through the deck thereof, the hatches and companion
ways being closely covered over so as to prevent the air which is forced and
compressed inside the vessel by the pumps from escaping. The hose leads
down through the deck to at least one-third of the depth of the hold. By this
arrangement the water in the vessel may be readily expelled by the pressure
of the air, a hole or holes being made in the bottom of the vessel, if not already
existing, for its free exit. By this means the raising of a sunken vessel may
be effected or facilitated, or a leaky vessel may be kept afloat until run into
port.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
I shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all
the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of the hull of a vessel
with the apparatus attached for raising the same; Figure 2 represents a

page_text: plan; Figure 3 a longitudinal section; and Figure 4 a cross section of the
same.
a represents the sunken ship or vessel about to be raised with the apparatus
attached to it; b, b, are buoys placed on opposite sides of the vessel to which
they are secured in the manner to be herein-after described. These buoys
may be of a cylindrical or any other approved circular form of convenient size
and length commensurate with the service required of them, they will be made
of gutta percba, indian-rubber, or of canvass prepared with a composition of
turpentine and indian-rubber to make it water and air tight and prevent
.mildew. They will be strengthened on the outside by a network of strong
ropes.g.to prevent their rupture or bursting when inflated with the compressed
air. On one or more of the main longitudinal ropes of the network just
described will be strung strong brass or copper thimbles fabout two feet apart
through which the chains i will pass connecting the buoys with the main
cable h passing under and round the bottom or sides of the vessel, a brass or
copper coupling k will be introduced into the after end of the buoy for the
reception and connection of it with the hose leading from the air pump; 'e-is
the hose referred to of suitable size and constructed of indian-rubber or gutta
percha or other suitable air-tight material. This hose is to be screwed to the
coupling k in the end of the buoy before the buoy is placed under the ship's
bottom, but will not be attached to the air pump until the buoy is in place
and secured to the ship. In the event of the deck of the sunken ship being
above water, the air pump can be placed upon it as represented by d, and
the hose e screwed to the coupling attached to the compressor, but in the
event of the deck being submerged the air pump will be placed on the deck
of a vessel anchored along side and the hose attached to it in the same manner
as before mentioned, care being observed to provide a sufficient length of hose
to allow a sufficiency of slack in the event of the attendant vessel moving
slightly from her anchorage or raising with waves or the tide. In either case
whenever the apparatus is ready for working a diver should descend and by
signals communicating with the person in charge of the air force pump notify
to him when there is a sufficient degree of compressed air in the buoys in
order that it may not burst. At the end of the hose near the air pump there
is a stop-cock m to prevent the escape of the compressed air from the hose
and buoy when the hose is unscrewed from the air force pump, in order to
have another hose attached, leading from a second buoy, when the same
process will be repeated, and so on until a sufficient number of buoys have
been inflated at various points around and under the vessel to lift and float it
off. If the ship. is not run out of water the buoys will probably not be

page_text: required; in this case the hose n from the air pump c can be let into the hold
or in the compartment in which the leak has taken place, and the air forced
into the interior of the vessel in the manner herein-after described. If the
vessel has no hole in the bottom, but only strained to such an extent as to sink,
a diver can go down and make an increased aperture or connection between
the water on the outside and that in the hold of the vessel, or in one com-
partment, according to circumstances, after the connection is thus effected the
air pump can be started and the air forced into the hold, which will have the
effect of gradually forcing the water out through the aperture in the bottom
so formed, replacing it with the compressed air from the pump, and thus
gradually lift the vessel. It must be observed in all cases where this system
is applied that the hatches and companion ways are to be firmly shored down
with spars across the ship's deck, also that the deck of the ship is strengthened
in the same manner, in order to prevent the air forcing it up with the pressure
generated by the compression. In case of a vessel.being sunk and filled with water
the hose n from the air pump on the deck or on a neighboring vessel will
be screwed to a coupling o placed securely in the deck of the sunken vessel, a
smaller hose screwed to the lower end of the same coupling under the deck
will descend about one-third the depth of the hold and be held in this position
to discharge the air, which, rising up through the water, will gradually force it
out through the hole in the bottom, filling as the water recedes the space
between it and the bottom of the deck, and by the buoyancy thus created
gradually lift up the ship or vessel to the surface. In a case of this kind when
the hull of the vessel is filled with water and the compressed air made use of
to drive it out through the hole in the bottom, after a certain stage a portion
of the air also follows the water, thereby relieving the vessel of the great strain
which would otherwise be on it. Vessels provided with this apparatus, in the
event of striking while on their voyage, can be prevented from sinking and
brought safely into port by its use with the air pump driven either by. steam
or worked by hand. It can easily be applied to all vessels now built, but
with particular advantage to vessels constructed with the view to its reception
and use by having the decks screw bolted instead of spiked to give the necessary
strength to prevent them being lifted up by the pressure of the compressed
air. As a general rule the air pump working in connection with the buoys
can be worked by manual labour, while steam power could be with advantage
applied to the larger pump to be made use of for forcing the air into the hold
of a sunken vessel.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is used or carried into

page_text: effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
1st, the application and use of flexible air-tight buoys to be attached to the
bottom or sides of a vessel in the manner described, and then inflated with
compressed air conveyed to them by flexible air-tight hose communicating
with an air pump or compressor on the deck of the same vessel or on that of
a neighbouring one, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-
before described.
2nd, the peculiar arrangement for forcing air into the hold of a vessel from
an air pump through a hose leading down through the deck at least one-third
of the depth of the hold before discharging from the pipe, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
3rd, the application and use, either separately or conjointly, of the two
methods above referred to of raising sunken vessels or other dead weight, or
of preventing vessels from sinking after springing a leak, or having a hole
knocked in their bottoms, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of June,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.B.)