IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND DISCHARGE OF PROJECTILES
Year: 1857

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Macintosh at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
February 1857..
I, JOHN MACINTOSH, of Euston Square, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE AND DISCHARGE OF PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in combining gunpowder or other explosive matters
with caoutchouc, gutta percha, or other cements, and in coating cloth, paper,
or other fabrics with the same, and in forming the above preparation into
O projectiles or missiles, alone, or in combination with other materials; also in
mixing explosive compounds with the above cements, and in forming charges
suitably arranged for igniting and discharging projectiles.
3
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Macintosh in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th August 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MACINTOSH, of Euston Square, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Macintosh, Her special licence that I, the said John Macintosh,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Macintosh, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
witli, 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 THE
MANUFACTURE AND DISCHARGE OF PROJECTILES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Macintosh, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 bo
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 Macintosh, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
:
1.
In order to carry out the first part of my Invention, I take gunpowder or
meal powder, or other explosive compounds, and mix the same with india-
rubber in a state of solution, by the agency of naptha, turpentine, or other
solvent, or with gutta percha dissolved in bisulphuret of carbon, or by heat, or
with a combination of india-rubber and gutta percha solutions, or other
suitable waterproofing solutions or cements, or other materials capable of
causing adhesion of the mass, with which I then spread or coat cloth or other
fabrics, paper or other fibrous materials; and where the object is to increase
their rapid combustion, they are previously saturated or impregnated with
nitrate or chlorate of potash or other well known materials, as in the manu-s
facture of gun cotton, touch paper, &c. &c.; but when slow combustion is
desired, iron or steel filings, oxide of iron, or nitrate of soda, or sulphur may
be added. The materials are coated on the same principle as that adopted in
waterproofing fabrics, and when dry, I apply the same to the manufacture of
projectiles in the following manner:-I cut shreds or strips from the above
material and form the same into balls, with which I fill shells, the result being,
that when the shell bursts the balls contained therein become ignited and
scattered in all directions, setting fire to all combustible materials. Or,
supposing the projectile to be my patent lateral explosive shell, as described

page_text: in my Specification of 24 March 1852, No. 14,041, instead of filling the pro-
jectile with gunpowder as therein described, I roll or wind around the portion
of the projectile usually surrounded by the powder a sufficient length. of
material as described to fill the space otherwise occupied by the powder, and
I then cover the interior of this roll of inflammable material, with, a varnish, or
fabric, or paper, or other material rendered non-inflammable, for the purpose
of protecting the projectile from accidental ignition. The projectile is.
furnished with a fuse from the driving charge in such a manner as to cause
ignition of the inflammable material after discharge, the object being as.
described in the foregoing example. By lengthening the form of this projectile,,
which is fully described in my Specification above referred to, and illustrated.
in Fig. 3 of the Drawings thereunto annexed,. I produce an incendiary bar or,
bolt of any required length or dimensions.
:
In these two examples a great advantage arises, from the fact that the
inflammable material cannot possibly become deranged by the primary impulse
of the driving charge of the gun, and can only be destroyed by burning, which.
commences on or before arriving at its destination, where; especially in the
latter case, the large quantity of inflammable material is productive of the most.
effective results.
When applying my Invention to projectiles of the rocket class, I wind around;
a suitable mandril the material described, beginning with a most-inflammable,
character, and completing the roll with a material moderately inflammable,
and finally protecting the exterior with a non-inflammable material. The
mandril is then withdrawn...
1
: i
The object of this arrangement is to .cause the rapid combustion of the,
interior of the rocket, which kindles instantly throughout its length, pre-
senting a greater burning surface during its flight, and also to allow tho
exterior rolls of material to burn slowly, after the manner of carcasses,
on reaching its destination.. The rockets must be furnished with a head,
and choked, as is well known, and when required to, be discharged from a
rifled gun, the tail or rear end must be suitably arranged for introduction:
into the gun, by a concavity of lead or other suitable material attached thereto,,
for preventing windage, and forming this extremity of the projectile,. and
which must be furnished with a small hole or bore containing a fuse leading,
from the centre of the leaden concavity to the interior of the rocket. The
concavity is filled with my composition, which becomes ignited by the primary.
discharge of the gun, and lights the fuse communicating with the interior of,
the rocket, and thus, after the projectile has reached a certain distance, the
interior of the rocket becomes itself ignited, and the projectile continues its!

page_text: fight. By this method of manufacturing rockets I dispense with the ramming
at present in use, and the projectiles are in every respect peculiarly adapted
for discharge from a'rifled gun, as from the materials used in their composition
they cannot become deranged by the primary impulse of discharge. I manu-
facture fire: balls of my improved material, furnishing them with a suitable
fuse; they may be used as hand grenades or otherwise, or may be furnished
with a bursting charge.
With reference to the manufacture of fuses, the material may be used
most advantageously; and I may here draw a distinction between fusees
made under this Invention and those described in my Specification for
the "application of incendiary materials to be used in warfare," No. 1774,
dated 6. August 1855, and scaled by permission of the Government on
19 December 1856, wherein I described the manufacture of fuses "by
mixing gunpowder, india-rubber, and naptha," for the preservation of the
powder from damp; whereas under the present Patent the fuse is formel
from cloth or other fabrics, paper or other fibrous materials, treated as de-
scribed, in combination with gunpowder and other explosive compounds
mixed with india-rubber, &c., as described, the advantages of which are, that
the strength and adhesion of the mass is greatly aided, and that by the
introduction of the additional explosive compounds, the progress of combustion
can be most accurately determined and regulated.
In the second part of my Invention, which relates to the discharge of pro-
jectiles, I will commence with the Minié ball. Instead of using gunpowder
in its usual state for the driving charge, I fill the cavity of the ball with a
composition of gunpowder, india-rubber, or gutta percha, or fibrous materials
rendered explosive, or a combination thereof,,so as to cause adhesion of the
mass and protect it from damp or the action of water. It being requisite that
the powder should be capable of undergoing rapid combustion, I merely com-*
bine therewith sufficient india-rubber or gutta percha to cause the necessary
adhesion of the mass, and in some cases, in order to aid the rapidity of the
ignition, I add to the composition the fulminate of mercury, or other suitable
explosive agent. The composition may be pressed into the cavity of the bullet,
and suffered to acquire the form thereof, or moulds may be made use of to
cast the same, and these charges may at any time be placed in a solid state in
the cavity of the projectile, and caused to adhere thereto by an adhesive water-s
proof varnish or cement. This system is equally well adapted to the projectiles'
of this class for use in cannon or other large pieces of ordnance.
וי
With respect to the ordinary cannon or musket ball, instead of using gun-
powder in the ordinary manner, either in simultaneous loading or otherwise; I*

page_text: employ my composition either attached to or separated from the ball. In both
cases it is only necessary to prepare moulds of the form of the breech of the
piece in which the composition is to be used, and with a concavé surface corre-
sponding to the ball to be projected, whereby any quantity may be cast and
kept ready for use. For simultaneous loading, I prefer to attach the projectile
to the composition during the operation of casting, but it may be attached at
any time by an adhesive material. It is evident that when a wad is used,
the concave surface should be dispensed with and a plane surface adopted.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that my Inven-
tion is applicable to all descriptions of projectiles and missiles, including rockets
used in war, or in other operations; the mode of adoption will in each
individual case be obvious from the explanations I have given in the foregoing
special instances. And with respect to the proportions of the requisite materials,
it is unnecessary and indeed almost impossible to lay down any definite rules,
inasmuch as the respective quantities of materials may be varied ad infinitum,
according as rapidity or the contrary of combustion is desired, or the protection
from moisture, or non-liability of derangement by the primary impulse of
discharge should become a matter of importance; but I claim,-
First, the improved method of manufacturing projectiles by the application
thereto of the cloth or other fabrics, paper or other fibrous materials, saturated
or treated as described, in combination or connection with gunpowder and
india-rubber, gutta percha, and the other materials specified, or any others
substantially the same and having the same objects in view, as are herein
specified.
.
And, secondly, the improved method of discharging projectiles of every class
by the adoption of the composition of gunpowder, india-rubber, gutta percha,
fibrous materials, the chlorate of potash, and fulminate of mercury, in the
manner described, or by any other materials, or in any other manner sub-
stantially the same thereto, and purposing to effect the like results, as hercin
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Macintosh, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
JOHN MACINTOSII. (L.S.)