IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Mounier Boxer, of the Royal Arsenal,
Woolwich, in the County of Kent, Lieutenant Colonel Royal Artillery,
Sealed the 9th December 1864, and dated the 18th June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Mounier Boxer
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th June 1864.
I, EDWARD MOUNIER BOXER, of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, in the
County of Kent, Lieutenant Colonel Royal Artillery, do hereby declaro the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES," to be as
follows:-
One part of my Invention has reference to shrapnell shells for rifled
ordnance. Various modifications of such shells have been constructed by me
since the beginning of the year 1860, all however consisting mainly of a hollow
body closed at the front end by a head formed of a separate piece, and fixed
to the shell by soldering or by other means. The interior of the shell was
divided by a loose diaphragm or disc into a front chamber filled with bullets
or slugs, and a back chamber containing the charge of gunpowder, which was
filled in through a tube passing down through the front chamber and diaphragm.
In constructing such shells I have always endeavoured to attain such a forma-
tion of the shell that on the ignition of the gunpowder in the back chamber
either the bullets should be simply ejected from the front chamber without

page_text: thereby producing any scattering effect beyond that resulting from the rotation
of the shell, and without exploding the shell or case, nor materially interfering
with its motion, so that it should afterwards still proceed in its line of flight,
and act as an ordinary projectile; or, if the shell be required to explode as
well as to discharge its contents, that the whole case or shell should be
fractured in the same way as would result if the bursting charge were disposed
uniformly throughout the entire length of the shell..
Now my present Invention consists in the fulfilment of the just described
conditions by constructing such shells and adjusting the charges of gunpowder
for the same in the following manner :-I form the front end of the shell or
case open to the full width of the front chamber containing the bullets, which
chamber is, by preference, made to widen out somewhat towards its open end,
and I fit into such open end of the shell a loose head, the back surface of
which rests against the bullets, slugs, or segment pieces contained in the front
chamber, whilst a shoulder formed on the head rests against the end of the
shell. This head is connected to the shell by means of slight pins or wires
passing through the side of the shell and into the head; and as these pins are
required to be of so slight a nature, for the proper action of the shell, that
the inertia of the head on the rotation of the shell would cause them to be
broken, other stronger pins are inserted through the side of the shell into
grooves formed in the end surface of the head, so as to prevent the latter from
turning in the shell, but not to connect the two parts together in any way.
I form the back part of the shell containing the bursting charge considerably
stronger than the front portion, which, in the case of cylindrical shells,
I furthermore weaken at certain points by forming grooves in the same in the
direction of the axis along the whole length.
The bullets in the front chamber are run in with rosin to prevent them from
moving while in the chamber; and in order to prevent the adhesion of the
rosin to the sides of the chamber, and a consequent increase of the resistance
to the expulsion of the bullets, I line the chamber in the first instance with
paper or other suitable non-adhesive material,
By these arrangements, namely, by connecting the head to the shell in the
slightest manner possible, and by forming the bullet chamber tapering, and
preventing the adhesion of the rosin to the sides of the same, I render the
bullets capable of being ejected by a very slight explosive action in the back
chamber; and again, by making the back part of the shell containing the
bursting charge considerably stronger than the front part, and forming lines of
least resistance in cylindrical shells, I neutralize the unequal action of the
bursting charge, and cause it to fracture the shell equally in all parts. If now

page_text: it be required to discharge the bullets or slugs from the shell during its flight
without thereby assisting in dispersing them, and without exploding the shell
or case, or materially interfering with its motion, I introduce into the back
chamber so small a charge of powder as will exert just sufficient force to break
the slight pins that hold the head on, and to eject the bullets from the shell,
without imparting to them any material increase of velocity, which operation
will be facilitated by the before-mentioned tapering form of the chamber. If,
on the other hand, it be required to explode the shell at the same time that
the bullets are expelled, I introduce an increased charge of gunpowder into
the back chamber, which charge, on ignition, will fracture the shell equally
from the rear to the front end, and will effect the requisite dispersion of the
bullets.
Another part of my Invention has reference to rockets for throwing ropes.
These have heretofore been constructed as ordinary rockets, namely, with a
deep cavity at the back, and a small portion of solid composition at the
head.
Now my improvement has for its object the continuance of the force of
propulsion through a much longer period than can be attained by the ordinary
construction of rockets. For this purpose, instead of making only one cavity
in the rocket, I form two or more such cavities, the one behind the other,
with a portion of solid composition between them, so that when the com-
position in the rear portion of the rocket is expended, the cavity next in front
is ignited, thereby imparting to the rocket an additional impulse.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Mounier Boxer, in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
MOUNIER BOXER, of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, in the County of Kent,
Lieutenant Colonel Royal Artillery, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edward Mounier Boxer, Her special licence that I, the said Edward
Mounier Boxer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Edward Mounier Boxer, my executors, administrators, and

page_text: 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 PROJECTILES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Edward Mounier Boxer, 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
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 Edward Mounier Boxer, 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 fol-
lowing statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
One part of my Invention has reference to shrapnel shells for rifled ordnance.
Various modifications of such shells have been constructed by me since the
beginning of the year 1860, all however similar in the principle of their action
to my diaphragm shrapnel shell for smooth-bore ordnance, and consisting
mainly of a hollow body closed at the front end by a head formed of a sepa-
rate piece and fixed to the shell by soldering or by other means; the interior
of the shell was divided by a loose diaphragm or disc into a front chamber
filled with segments, bullets, or slugs, and a back chamber containing the
charge of gunpowder which was filled in through a tube passing down through
the front chamber and the diaphragm. In constructing such shells I have always
endeavoured to attain such a formation of the shell that on the ignition of the
gunpowder in the back chamber either the bullets should be simply ejected
from the front chamber without thereby producing any scattering effect
beyond that resulting from the rotation of the shell, and without exploding
the shell or case, nor materially interfering with its motion, so that it should
afterwards still proceed in its line of flight and act as an ordinary projectile;
or, if the shell be required to explode as well as to discharge its contents, that
the whole case or shell should be fractured from end to end without causing
any great lateral dispersion of the fragments.
Now my present Invention consists in the fulfilment of the just described
conditions by constructing such shells and adjusting the charges of gunpowder
for the same in the following manner:-I form the front end of the shell or
case open to the full width of the front chamber containing the bullets, which

page_text: chamber is, by preference, made to widen out somewhat towards its open
end, and I fit into such open end of the shell a loose head the back surface of
which rests against the bullets, slugs, or segment pieces contained in the front
chamber, whilst a shoulder formed on the head rests against the end of the
shell. This head is connected to the shell by means of slight pins or wires
passing through the side of the shell and into the head, and as these pins
are required to be of so slight a nature for the proper action of the shell that
the inertia of the head on the rotation of the shell might cause them to be
broken, other stronger pins are inserted through the side of the shell into
grooves formed in the end surface of the head so as to prevent the latter from
turning in the shell but not to connect the two parts together in any way. I
make the back part of the shell containing the bursting charge considerably
stronger than the front portion, forming, in some cases, internal ribs in the
same for this purpose, which also act as a further support to the diaphragm,
and in the case of cylindrical shells I furthermore weaken the front chamber
at certain points by forming grooves in the same in the direction of the axis
along the whole length. The bullets in the front chamber are run in with
rosin or sulphur or other similar suitable brittle material to prevent them
from being disfigured by the shock which the projectile receives at the dis-
charge of the gun; and in order to prevent the adhesion of the rosin to the
sides of the chamber and a consequent increase of the resistance to the expul-
sion of the bullets I line the chamber in the first instance with paper or other
suitable non-adhesive material. By these arrangements, namely, by con-
necting the head to the shell in the slightest possible manner, and by forming
the bullet chamber tapering, and preventing the adhesion of the rosin to the
sides of the same I render the bullets capable of being ejected by a very slight
explosive action in the back chamber; and again, by making the back part of
the shell containing the bursting charge considerably stronger than the front
part, and forming lines of least resistance in cylindrical shells, I neutralize the
unequal action of the bursting charge and cause it to fracture the shell equally
in all parts. If now it be required to discharge the bullets, slugs, or segments
from the shell, during its flight without thereby assisting in dispersing them
and without exploding the shell or case or materially interfering with its
motion, I introduce into the back chamber so small a charge of powder as
will exert just sufficient force to break the slight pins that hold the head on,
and to eject the bullets from the shell without imparting to them any material
increase of velocity, which operation will be facilitated by the before-mentioned
tapering form of the chamber. If, on the other hand, it be required to
explode the shell at the same time that the bullets are expelled I introduce.

page_text: an increased charge of gunpowder into the back chamber, which charge on
ignition will fracture the shell equally from the rear to the front but will not
unduly affect the dispersion of the contents.
On the accompanying Drawing are shewn shells for rifled ordnance con-
structed according to my Invention.
Figure 1 shews a longitudinal section through a hexagonal shell; Figure 2
shews a plan of the under side of the moveable head b; Figure 3 shews a
section through the front chamber a. The shell is divided by the diaphragm n
into a front chamber a, containing the bullets, slugs, or segment pieces, and a
lack chamber h, containing the bursting charge which is introduced through
the tube m. The back chamber h is formed considerably stronger than the
front chamber a for the reasons before stated, and forms a shoulder upon
which the diaphragm n rests. The front chamber is made to widen out
somewhat towards its front end and is there made open to its full width. Into
this open end is fitted the loose head 6 resting with a shoulder d against
the end of the shell, and with its back surface c against the segment pieces i, i.
It is attached to the shell by means of slight pins f, f, passing through the
latter into it, whilst other stronger pins 9 pass through the shell into grooves
formed in the back surface of the head, so as to prevent the possibility of the
pins f,f, being broken by the inertia of the head on the rotation of the shell,
but not to serve in any way as a means for fixing the head to the shell. Or
projections or edges may be formed on the side surface of the head, fitting
into grooves or notches running down a certain distance from the open end on
the internal surface of the case, and the head may then simply fit into the
open end of the case without having a shoulder, the before-mentioned pro-
jections resting on the bottom of the notches or grooves serving in lieu thereof.
The front chamber a is lined with paper or other suitable non-adhesive
material j, and the bullets are run in with rosin or other suitable brittle
material for the purposes before stated. The head 6 has an aperture o, into
which the fuze is fixed, the end of which fits into the space left between the
seginent pieces i, i. This space has a metal lining p, to which the tube mis
fixed. On firing this shell with only a small charge of powder in the
chamber h, the explosion of this charge will simply result in the breaking of
the pins or screws f. f, that hold the head b, and in the ejectment of the
bullets and segment pieces i, i, from the front chamber a, which ejectment
will, on account of the tapering form of the chamber a and the non-adhesive
lining j, be effected readily without thereby causing any dispersion of the
bullets and segment pieces from the line of flight beyond that which is due to
the rotation of the shell. On firing the shell with a full charge of powder in

page_text: the chamber h, the bullets will be ejected as described, and the shell itself will
be ruptured along its entire length, owing to the strengthening of the
chamber hand to the hexagonal shape of the exterior of the shell forming
lines of least resistance facilitating such rupture.
Figure 4 shews a longitudinal section of a cylindrical shell constructed
according to my Invention; Figure 5 shews a plan of the under side of the
loose head b; Figure 6 shews a section on line X, X; Figure 4 and Figure 7
shews a section on line Y, Y, with the diaphragm n removed. The various
parts are designated by the same letters of reference as the corresponding
parts of the first described arrangement, and being generally the same they
need not be further described. The principal difference consists, firstly, in
the formation of longitudinal grooves k, k, k, in the chamber a, constituting
lines of least resistance, along which the shell shall be ruptured, and in
forming strengthening ribs 9, 9, 9, in the chamber h, which also serve as
support to the diaphragm n. The grooves k are here shewn three in number,
and are made to die away towards the front end; there may, however, by any
other number of grooves, and they may be formed in any other suitable
manner.
Another part of my Invention has reference to rockets for throwing ropes.
These have heretofore been constructed as ordinary rockets, namely, with a
deep cavity at the back and a small portion of solid composition at the head.
Now my improvement has for its object the continuance of the force of
propulsion through a much longer period than can be obtained by the ordinary
construction of rockets. For this purpose, instead of. making only one cavity
in the rocket, I form two or more such cavities, the one behind the other,
with a portion of solid composition between them, so that when the com-
position in the rear portion of the rocket is expended the cavity next in front
is ignited, thereby imparting to the rocket an additional impulse.
Figure 8 on the accompanying Drawing shews a longitudinal section
through such a rocket constructed according to my Invention. r, r¹, is the case
formed by preference of two separate parts connected together as shewn, each
part having a cavity s, s', formed in the composition t, t', with a portion of
solid composition u intervening between the two cavities; vis the rocket stick
carrying the line w and fixed in the loops x, x, at the side of the rocket in the
ordinary manner. In firing the rocket the composition t is first ignited,
burning on the surface of the cavity s, and when the portion of solid compo-
sition u is burnt through, the composition is ignited on the entire surface of
the cavity 8', whereby a fresh impulse is imparted to the rocket.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the precise forms of projectiles herein-before described with reference to
the accompanying Drawing, as these may be variously modified without
departing from the nature of my Invention, nor do I claim generally the con-
struction of shrapnel shells for rifled ordnance having a front chamber
containing bullets, slugs, or segment pieces, and a back chamber containing
the bursting charge, as I have previously employed such a mode of con-
struction, as before stated; but what I claim is,-
First, so constructing shrapnel shells for rifled ordnance, and regulating the
charge of the same, that the explosion of the charge will simply eject the
contents of the shell without imparting to such contents much additional
velocity and without breaking the case.
Second, making the head of shells for rifled ordnance of a separate piece, so
supported by the body of the shell by means of a shoulder or projections, and
connected thereto by pins, screws, or their equivalents, that the head cannot
move towards or turn in the body of the shell, but that upon the explosion of
the charge the head is thereby readily separated from the body merely by
breaking the aforesaid pins, screws, or their equivalents.
Third, forming the front chamber of shells for rifled ordnance open at the
end to the full width of the chamber, and closing such opening by means of a
separate head resting with a shoulder or projection against the end of the
shell, and attached thereto by means of slight pins, screws, or their equivalents,.
which are prevented from being broken by the rotation of the shell by means
of projections formed or fixed on the shell fitting into grooves formed in the
head, or by projections on the head fitting into grooves in the shell in such a
manner as not in any way to obstruct the separation of the head from the
shell in the direction of its flight.
Fourth, making the front chamber of shells for rifled ordnance to widen
somewhat towards its front end, which is closed by a separate head connected
to the shell in a slight manner, so as to facilitate the ejectment of the bullets,
slugs, or segment pieces contained in the front chamber.
Fifth, running in the bullets, slugs, or segment pieces contained in the
front chamber of shrapnel shells for rifled ordnance (in which the powder is
contained in a separate back chamber) with rosin or other suitable brittle
substance, for the purpose herein-before mentioned, also lining the front
chamber with paper or other non adhesive material to prevent the adhesion
of the rosin thereto.
Sixth, making the back part of the body of shrapnel shells for rifled
orduance, and more particularly the powder chamber, stronger than the front

page_text: part, so as to prevent the bursting charge from rupturing the back part
without at the same time breaking up the front part.
Seventh, forming lines of least resistance either externally or internally, in
cylindrical shells for rifled ordnance, to facilitate the breaking of the body in
5 such a manner as to cause an equal but small dispersion of the contents and
fragments of the shell.
Eighth, forming in rockets for throwing ropes two or more cavities in the
length of the rocket, separated from each other by solid composition.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Mounier Boxer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
W. C. S. ORAM.
E. M. BOXER. (L.B.)