IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin O'Neale Stratford Earl of Aldborough,
of Stratford Lodge, in the County of Wicklow, in Ireland, for the Inven-
OKULT FOOTNT STATUTORY
JO HON
Sealed the 6th February 1855, and dated the 15th August 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin O'Neale Strat-.
ford Earl of Aldborough at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 15th August 1854.
I, BENJAMIN O'NEALE STRATFORD Earl of ALDBOROUGH, of Stratford Lodge,
in the County of Wicklow, in Ireland, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the construction of projectiles with an air channel,
as herein described, cither with or without a vacuum chamber or vacuum
chambers. These improvements are applicable, with certain modifications,
either to projectiles of a size adapted to small arms or to cannon, or to explosive
shells, or to throwing lines to a distance, or any similar purpose. Figure 1
is a longitudinal section of a projectile with the air channel, but without the
vacuum chamber; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of a projectile with a
vacuum chamber; Figure 3 is a modification adapted to explosive shells
without the vacuum chamber; Figure 4 is a similar section, with the addition

page_text: of a vacuum chamber.
I do not limit myself to the exact forms and propor-
tions represented in the Drawings, but I consider them to be the most suitable
generally for the purposes for which each modification is designed. The
form of the exterior part or outer surface of the projectile may be perfectly
cylindrical, instead of diminishing in a slight degree from the fore to the
hinder extremity. Or the outer surface of the foremost part may be slightly
curved, so as to receive a part of the atmospheric resistance in front, and so
relieve the inner surface in some degree, which latter encounters the entire
force of the atmospheric resistance, in the forms represented in the Drawings;
but I prefer the forms represented in the Drawings. The greater portion of the
atmospheric resistance must in all cases be borne by the inner surface. The
foremost orifice of the air channel is of the form commonly termed a bell-
mouth or trumpet-mouth. A spiral groove or indentation may be cut either
on the inner surface of the air channel, or on the exterior surface of the pro-
jectile, or on both; or vanes may be used instead of grooves or indentations,
as represented in Figure 6. The outer surface of the projectile is represented
in this Figure, in order to shew the form which I prefer for the vanes when
vanes are used. Theso vanes are indicated by the letters 1, 1. The fore part of
the projectile in all modifications must be either as broad or broader than the
hinder part, the breadth of the air channel being included in this measure-
ment; tho object of my improvements being to avoid the partial vacuum which
is produced in the atmosphere in the rear of shot of the conical form and other
forms in general use, or to effect this object as far as possible, and at the
same time to present the least resisting surface possible in front. The same
letters indicate similar parts in all the Figures. a is the fore, and 6 is the
hinder, part of the projectile; c is the air channel; d, d, are pieces which serve
to strengthen the projectile, and also to keep the case or chamber g in its place
during the discharge. When this case or chamber is used, there may be any
.suitable number of these pieces d, d, but I consider that four will generally be
sufficient. They are of a form calculated to offer no unnecessary or useless
obstruction to the air passing through the air channel after the projectile has
been discharged; but I consider that the small obstruction caused by the part
e, where their foremost extremities are united in the centre of the air channel,
will prove advantageous, by dividing the current of air as it passes backwards
through the air channel, and causing it to act more effectively against that
portion of the hinder surface of the projectile which is within the air channel;
and when a vacuum chamber is used, it is so placed that this current may act
as advantageously as possible against the hinder surface of the vacuum chamber.
The letter indicates the position of the vacuum chamber in Figures 2, 4,

page_text: it
and 5. The pieces d, d, may be dispensed with in the more simple forms when
it is required that the projectile shall be of the most simple and inexpensive
construction possible. Under circumstances that render a more complicated and
expensive construction admissable, the part e may be enlarged, as represented
in the section, Figure 5; and a vacuum chamber, as represented in this Figure,
and indicated by the letter, may be added to it; small additional air channels,
through which the air may pass obliquely, may be used, but they are not
necessary. When these are used, they may be made to serve the purpose of
giving a rotary motion to the projectile, and in this case the grooves or inden-
tations or the vanes may be dispensed with. These additional air channels
may also be made to serve the purpose of increasing the atmospheric pressure.
against the exterior part of the hinder surface of the projectile, in a manner
which may prove efficacious when the hinder part of the projectile is smaller
than the leading part. The case or chamber g is not necessary, but it may be
conveniently placed in the position indicated in the Drawings, especially in
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, in which it may be of a parabolic form, or nearly so,
and may be made to serve a purpose similar to that of the parabolic chamber,
commonly placed in the rear of projectiles, by causing the force of the charge
to act in the most favourable direction; it must, however, be so adjusted that
may fall off when acted on in front, by the current of air passing backwards
through the air channel c. The fore part and sides of this case or chamber
should be of sufficient strength and thickness, in the modifications in which a
vacuum chamber or vacuum chambers are used, to insure the hinder surfaces
of these chambers from injury from the force of the powder during the dis-
charge under circumstances that render a complicated construction admissible.
The hinder parts of the vacuum chambers may be formed of elastic materials,
and may even be sustained by springs within, in such a manner that they may
yield to an extreme pressure, and this part may collapse, or partially so, if
affected by the force of the powder, and spring back when subjected only to
the atmospheric pressure when made sufficiently strong. The case or chamber
9 may be made a receptacle for powder or explosive compound or gun cotton,
but I consider that this will be most suitable. To the projectiles which are not
furnished with vacuum chambers, a wadding only may be used, instead of this
case or chamber. Although I have made use of the term vacuum chamber, I
do not mean it to be understood that the air must necessarily be exhausted to
the fullest extent possible from the chamber or chambers so termed, but only
that it should be so exhausted or rarefied to any extent that may be found most
suitable. This may be done by means of an air syringe, or any convenient
means, and the orifice closed by a cock or hermetically sealed when the air

page_text: has been sufficiently exhausted or rarefied. i, i, in Figures 3 and 4, which
represent modifications adapted to explosive shells, is a part so formed that it
acts as a plug, being driven backwards on the chamber h, which contains the
blasting charge intended to burst the shell. The fore edge is sharp, and
projects beyond the shell, and is so fitted that it is forced backwards when it
strikes any object. Percussion caps, or materials of a similar kind to that
used for percussion caps, are fixed on the hinder extremity ', which is forced
against the blasting charge when the foremost extremity strikes an object.
The part is solid. The foremost part of the projectile may in all forms be
made of heavier metal than the hinder or middle parts. I consider it generally
most suitable that the fore part should be filled with lead, and that the hinder
parts, or the hinder and middle parts, should be of iron or other suitable metal,
the comparative weight of each portion being adjusted according to the precise
form and design of each modification. I consider it most suitable that the
whole should be encased in a shell or covering of iron or other strong
metal...
What I claim is, the construction of projectiles with an air channel, as
described, and of the form described, but without limiting myself to precise
proportions, either with or without a vacuum chamber or chambers; and I
also claim the use of a vacuum chamber or chambers, as described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin O'Neale Stratford Earl of Aldborough in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th February 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
O'NEALE STRATFORD Earl of ALDBOROUGH, of Stratford Lodge, in the County of
Wicklow, in Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of August, 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 Benjamin O'Neale Stratford Earl of Aldborough, Her special
licence that I, the said Benjamin O'Neale Stratford Earl of Aldborough, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin
O'Neale Stratford Earl of Aldborough, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others; from time to time

page_text: 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 PROJECTILES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Benjamin O'Neale Stratford Earl of Aldborough, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Benjamin O'Neale Stratford Earl of
Aldborough, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in the construction of projectiles, the greatest
diameter or transverse section of which is at the extreme foremost part, or
whose foremost part is at least as broad as any other portion of the projectile,
including in this measurement the breadth of an 'air channel which passes
through the projectile in a longitudinal direction, as represented in the accom-
panying Drawings.
This form and construction is applicable, with certain modifications, either
to projectiles of a size adapted to small arms or to cannon, or to mortars, or to
explosive shells, or to rocket bullets or projectiles, a part or the entire of which
is filled with a burning composition intended to act as a propelling agent in
the manner of a rocket; and projectiles of a similar form may also be used for
conveying lines to a distant point; or any similar purpose.
Figure 1 is à longitudinal section of a projectile constructed according to my
Invention; Figure 2 is a modification' of the same, adapted to explosive shells;
and Figure 3 represents a modification in which the projectile is strengthened
by supports, which meet at a point in the centre of the air channel (or, more
properly, of the main air channel, as smaller channels or vents may also be
used). I prefer fixing these in an inclined position, having the same incli-
nation as that of the inclined grooves or indentations cut in the internal
surface of the main air channel; when these are used and so placed that they
shall occur in the intermediate spaces between these grooves, they should be
of such a form as to present the least possible resisting surface to the air
passing through the main air channel. In Figure 3, a piece e is represented
as fixed behind these; but the supports or bars may be used without this

page_text: additional piece; bars may also be added in the fore part. Figure 4 is a
longitudinal section of a rocket bullet or projectile, furnished with a burning
compound, intended to act as a propelling agent in the manner of a rocket. I
do not limit myself to the exact forms and proportions represented in the
Drawings, but I consider them to be the most suitable generally for the pur-
poses for which each modification is designed. The form of the exterior part
or outer surface of the projectile may be perfectly cylindrical, instead of dimi-
nishing in a slight degree from the foremost to the hindmost extremity; but I
prefer the form represented in the Drawings when the projectile is to be used
with a piece having a smooth bore, and I prefer adding oblique vanes or wings
on the outer surface, as represented in Figure 5 and indicated by the letters 7, 1,
which latter are of such a breadth and proportion that their outer edges touch
the inner surface of the bore of the gun, or nearly so, and by that means steady
the projectile while in the gun; to effect this purpose they must of course be
broader at their hindmost than at their foremost extremities. If the projectile
is intended to be used with a rifled piece, the projections on its outer surface
must correspond with the grooves of the rifle, or an exterior covering of lead
or other suitable material may be used, of sufficient thickness to enter tho
grooves of the rifle; and in this case the outer surface of the leaden or other
covering should be cylindrical. The fore end of the main air channel is formed
like the mouth of a trumpet, or nearly so, the object being to present the least
surface possible to be acted against by the air in front, consistently with the
form in other respects, and also that the air which is received at the fore end
of the channel shall be so reflected against the sides, in a manner in some
degree similar to that in which the air is received and collected by the large
end of the tube of a hearing trumpet, and afterwards reflected against its
sides, that it shall be made to act as forcibly as possible against the surface of
the hinder part, in order to prevent, as far as possible, the retardation caused
to ordinary projectiles by the rarefaction of the air or partial vacuum produced
in the atmosphere behind them, in consequence of their rapid motion forwards.
I prefer that an oblique groove or indentation should be cut on the inner sur-
face of the main air channel, and I also prefer that angular or oblique channels
or vents should be so constructed and placed as to permit a portion of the air
which passes into the main air channel to pass obliquely to the exterior when
these small channels are open and not filled with burning composition; and I
prefer constructing these channels or vents in such a manner that they may
assist the rotary motion of the projectile round its longer axis during its flight.
I prefer filling them in the first instance with rocket mixture or suitable burn-
ing composition, but this is not necessary; and even when they are so filled, it

page_text: is my intention that they shall act as channels for the passage of the air after
the composition has burned out. These small channels or vents are also intended
to assist in conducting the air or the gases resulting from the burning of the
composition, when such is used, more effectively against the hinder surface of
the projectile; their external apertures are indicated by the letters o, o, Fig. 5.
When these are used, the inclined indentations or grooves on the inside of
the main air channel may be dispensed with, or the vanes or wings on the
exterior surface, or both of these, may be dispensed with; but I prefer
the use of all these conjointly for projectiles intended to be used with pieces
having a smooth bore, the whole being so combined and proportioned as to
act conjointly in causing the projectile to spin forcibly and steadily on
its axis of rotation. The necessary modifications for rifled pieces have been
already explained. The same letters indicate similar parts in all the Figures.
a is the fore, and b is the binder, part of the projectile; c is the main
air channel, the part f is solid; d, d, Figure 3, are pieces which serve to
strengthen the projectile. When these are used without the additional picce
c, the piece g may rest against them; and if this latter piece be made to contain
a parabolic chamber, the fore part may very conveniently be made to fit so as
to rest against them. 9 is a metal piece placed behind the projectile, in order
to cause the full force of the explosion to act in driving forward the projectile;
it may be flat behind in all forms of projectiles, or it may have the hinder
part hollowed in the form of a parabolic chamber for the projectiles formed as
represented in Figures 1, 2, and 4. When the piece g is used, it must be so
adjusted that it shall not adhere to the prejectile after it leaves the mouth of
the piece, and to insure this I prefer placing a little gun cotton, or a small
quantity of rocket mixture or percussion powder, or any suitable composition,
between the piece g and the projectile which is fired, through a small hole or
vent placed in the centre of the piece g, or at the apex of the parabolic chamber,
when it is formed with a parabolic chamber, in the forms represented in the
Figures 1, 2, and 4; but two or more holes or vents should be made at the
sides of the piece e in the form represented in Figure 3. A flat piece with
two or more vents is very suitable for the projectile, Fig. 4. The piece 9 may,
however, be dispensed with altogether, and the entire of the main air channel
may be filled with powder, a sufficient quantity being also placed behind it; or
a considerable part of the channel may be filled with rocket mixture, or suit-
able burning composition, or any material which will be blown away by the
force of the discharge, according to the purpose for which the projectile is
required, but a part at least of the centre of 'the channel should be filled with
powder. The whole may be made up in the form of a cartridge. Powder or

page_text: rocket mixture or other burning composition may also be placed round the
exterior on the narrow part or rear of the projectile, or between the wings
when intended for pieces having smooth bores, and the whole may be inclosed
in paper or in cases of the ordinary kind, the precaution being taken to make
the foremost part 'sufficiently strong to prevent risk of its being broken by
ramming down when used for the common muskets or for guns not loaded 'at
the breech; and it is advisable for such pieces that the end of the ramrod or
rammer should be as broad 'as it can conveniently be made, in consequence
of the foremost part of the projectile being hollow. When the projectile is not
made up in a cartridge it is advisable that the end of the ramrod or rammer
should be of a convex form, or of a form as nearly as possible suited to fit into
the hollow foremost extremity of the projectile.
I prefer forming the outer shell of the projectile of steel or iron of suffi-
cient thickness to give the necessary strength; a sufficient portion of the
extreme foremost part, to enable the projectile to cut into any body which
it strikes, may also be of steel, when it is of importance that it should be
capable of this; the remaining portion not occupied by the chamber for
explosive compound in explosive shells, or for rocket mixture or burning
composition, or the entire, with the exception of the air channel, if a
chamber to contain 'explosive compounds or burning composition is not
used, may be filled up either with lead or iron or other metal, or the fore
part may be filled with lead and the hinder portion with any lighter metal,
so as to place the centre of gravity of the projectile in any part most suitable,
according to the proportions of the projectile and the precise use for which it
is intended: ii, in Figure 2, which represents a modification adapted to
explosive shells, is an annulus or circular piece, whose foremost part forms the
foremost extremity of the projectile'; it is so fitted that it is forced backwards
when it strikes an object and acts as a plug, its hinder extremity being forced'
against the blasting charge contained in the chamber h, which is intended to
burst the shell; or in place of this arrangement, any convenient number of
channels filled with burning or explosive composition may proceed from the
chamber h to the foremost extremity of the projectile, each channel being
terminated by a nipple furnished with a percussion cap. m, Figure 4, is the
rocket mixture or burning composition; any suitable portion of the shell of the
projectile may be filled with rocket mixture or burning compound.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is, the con-
struction of projectiles, the greatest diameter or transverse section of which is
at the extreme foremost part, or whose foremost part is at least as broad as

page_text: any other portion of the projectile, including in this measurement the breadth
of an air channel with a trumpet mouth, which passes through the projectile in
a longitudinal direction; this Invention being applicable to projectiles of all
descriptions, whether for small arms or ordnance.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin O'Neale Stratford Earl of
Aldborough, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of
February, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
ALDBOROUGH. (L.S.)