AN IMPROVED CON- STRUCTION OF PROJECTILE APPLICABLE TO THE WHALE FISHERY
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Balchin, of Myton Gate, Hull, in the
County of York, Gun Maker, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF PROJECTILE APPLICABLE TO THE WHALE FISHERY."
Sealed the 18th March 1859, and dated the 3rd January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Balchin at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
January 1859.
I, EDMUND BALCHIN, of Myton Gate, Hull, in the County of York, Gun
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTILE APPLICABLE TO THE WHALE FISHERY," to be as
follows:-
This improved construction of projectile has reference mainly to the
requirements of whale fishery, its object being to facilitate the capture and
destruction of whales, which not unfrequently inflict injury upon or escape.
from their pursuers. To increase the safety and profit of this trade,.I propose
to employ, in conjunction with the harpoon a hollow lance which contains a
charge of powder, and may be fired into the whale with the view of striking
some vital part, while or just before the harpoon to which a line is attached is
discharged as heretofore to secure the fish. The lance I cast of a cylindrical
forni in cast iron, and give it a kind of bayonet point. The rear end of the

page_text: lance I tap to receive a hollow metal plug, which when screwed up will secure
a wad to the rear of the lance: Through this plug I insert a tube which
contains a fusee match, and projects a considerable distance into the powder
chamber. The inner or forward end of the tube is covered by a pierced cap
piece, and its rear end is covered by a wooden plug, which is passed over the
match and driven tight into the hollow metal plug; a plate is then attached
to the rear of the metal plug, and thus the match is secured with its rear end
projecting out through the plate. This lance may be fired from an ordinary
harpoon gun, and the match being made to burn a suitable time after the
discharge takes place, the lance will, after it has struck the whale, explode, and
inflict a mortal wound, and thus prevent the lingering torture to which whales
are often exposed before their final capture..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edmund Balchin in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
BALCHIN, of Myton Gate, Hull, in the County of York, Gun Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Edmund Balchin, Her special licence that I, the said Edmund
Balchin, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Edmund Balchin, my executors, administrators, and 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 "AN IM-
PROVED CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTILE APPLICABLE TO THE WHALE FISHERY," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edmund Balchin, 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.

page_text: .
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edmund Balchin, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This improved construction of projectile has reference mainly to the
requirements of whale fishery, the object desired to be attained being to
facilitate the capture and destruction of whales, which not unfrequently inflict
injury upon their pursuers, and eventually effect their escape therefrom. To
increase the safety and profit of this trade, I propose to employ, in conjunction
with the ordinary harpoon, a hollow lance or pointed shell, which is to contain
a charge of powder, and may be fired into the whale with the view of striking
some vital part, while or just before the harpoon to which a line is attached
is discharged as heretofore to secure the fish.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 shews the improved lance projectile
in side view; Fig. 2 is a view of the pointed end; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal
section taken through the centre of the lance; and Fig. 4 is a cross section
taken at the line 1, 2, of Fig. 3. a, a, is the lance cast in iron of a cylindrical
form and hollow, but tapering at.one end to a kind of bayonet point, which is
solid,, the rear end of this pointed cylindrical shell or lance I tap to receive a
hollow metal plug b, which carries a wad c, and when screwed up will secure
the wad to the rear end of the lance. Through the plug b, I insert a tube d,
which is intended to receive a fusee match, and project it a considerable
distance into the powder chamber a, so that it may ignite the explosive
compound at or near the middle of the chamber. The inner or forward end
of the tube I cover by a pierced cap piece e, and its rear end I cover by a
plug of soft wood f, which is to be passed over the fusee match before the
match is inserted into the tube d, aud driven tight into the hollow metal plug.
The object of this wooden plug is to prevent the match from being driven in
when fired from the gun; a plate g, furnished with a central hole, is attached
to the rear end of the metal plug b, by screws, as shewn, and thus the match
is secured with its rear end projecting out through the plate. Near its closed
or pointed end the cylinder is furnished with a tapped hole, which is closed by
a screw plug h. Through this hole the powder or explosive compound for
charging the projectile is admitted into the cylinder a, which when filled is
closed by screwing down the plug. To reduce as far as may be the friction of
the projectile against the sides of the gun when being discharged, I proposo
that the extremities only of the cylinder shall fit the bore of the
gun,
diameter of the intermediate part being reduced, as shewn in the Drawing.
the

page_text: This explosive lance may be fired from an ordinary harpoon gun, and the
match being made to burn a suitable time after the discharge takes place, the
lance will, after it has struck the whale, explode, and inflict a mortal wound,
and thus, prevent the lingering torture to which whales are often exposed
before their final capture.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved Con-
struction of Projectile.applicable to the Whale Fishery," and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim, constructing projectiles
which combine the properties of a lance and an explosive shell, in the manner
herein-before described.
'In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Balchin, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
EDMUND BALCHIN. (L.S.)