Improvements in the Construction.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Jan., 1898.
Complete Specification Left, 9th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 11th June, 1898
Improvements in the Construction.or
JOHN FREDERICK CREASE, C.B., Major General (Retired) in Her Majesty's Army,
of Sion, near Stourbridge, in the County of Worcestershire, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object the doing away with in certain vessels of war
of vertical side armor and the substitution for it in such vessels of horizontal
armored decks covered over the whole of their upper surfaces to a depth of some
feet with light unburnable wood, papier mache or india rubber suitably prepared,
or with some other suitable semi elastic light packing (made as incombustible as
possible) as most convenient.
In carrying out my invention in any given ship I form at or below her water
line a horizontal armored deck, sloped at a certain distance from its central line,
towards the ships sides and extending along the ship for her whole length except
at such portions of her as it may be found absolutely necessary to protect with
vertical side armour. Over the whole upper surface of this armored deck so
placed and not occupied by armored hatchways, I lay down to a depth of some
feet, light wood rendered incombustible, papier mache or india rubber suitably
prepared, or some other suitable light packing which shall be insoluble in water
which shall afford but little opposition to the passage through it of any projectile
and which at the same time shall be sufficiently elastic to wholly or partially
close up again where any projectile has passed through so that the entry of sea
water into the hull of the ship through the hole made by the passage of the
By these
shot through the packing shall be partially if not entirely prevented.
means the entry and lodgment of sea water into any ship so defended will be
confined to any holes made in the packing over the armored deck at or about
the water line and will not spread any further into the hull of the ship.
This invention as described is likely to be very important to the public service
inasmuch as by the use of it ships of moderate tonnage can be constructed without
side armor and be so made as to be practically unsinkable by artillery fire and at
the same time be so light in their hulls compared with ordinary ironclads of
the same tonnage as to be able to carry greater weights of engines, boilers and
coal than would otherwise be the case and so be capable of developing and
maintaining a rate of speed unattainable, in war vessels of similar size and in-
vulnaribility constructed under other conditions.
Dated this Thirteenth day of January 1898.

page_text: Improvements in the Construction of Vessels of War.
JOHN FREDERICK CREASE, C.B., Major General (Retired) H. M. Army, of Sion,
Stourbridge, Worcestershire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed;; to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:.
-
My invention has for its object the doing away with in certain vessels of war
of heavy vertical side armor and the substitution for it in such vessels, at or
about their water lines, of horizontal armored decks extending for their whole
length and covered over the whole of their upper surfaces, hatchways excepted,
to a depth of some feet, with light unburnable wood or papier mache or with
suitably prepared india rubber or cellulose or with some other light packing,
insoluble in water all of which packing previous to use should have been made, by
any well known chemical process, as incombustible as possible.
Sheet 1
In order that my invention may be the more readily understood and explained
in detail I have hereunto annexed 3 Sheets of drawings upon which letters of
reference are marked in corresponding parts on all the figures alike.
Figs. 1 and 2 show two sections of a vessel of war, that in Fig. 1 being made
through one of her armored hatchways and that in Fig. 2 through another part
where no hatchway exists. In these figures A is the armored deck fitted in the
usual manner with steel plates one over the other to the thickness of from
2 to 3 inches as requisite, which extends the whole length of the ship and
which is inclined from a point h at an angle to the ships sides, over the whole
of this armored deck save where the hatchways exist I lay down suitable
packing bb in some cases from 3 to 5 feet in thickness, shown in Sheet 1
Figs. 1 & 2 at b, in other cases to 6 or 8 feet in thickness or more if required. In
Fig. 1 at d is shown the vertical armor in section which defends the hatchway and
which should be made equal in height to the thickness of the packing
surrounding it.
One method according to my invention I adopt for laying down this packing
is by crecting at certain points along the armored deck longitudinally and
transversely to it light divisional steel plates c, c, Sheet 1 Fig. 2 and Sheet 2 Fig. 1
riveted to angle steels fixed to the deck armor by tap screws shown at n, these
plates being in height equal in thickness to the intended packing and stiffened
by having angle steels riveted to their upper edges, the whole of the plates being
so arranged as to form a certain number of bays or bunkers, the numbers being
dependent upon the beam and length of the ship to be fitted, allowing the bunkers
or bays to be about 10 feet wide and 20 feet long. In the bays or bunkers so
formed I place upright on their ends, as shown in section at 6 6 on Sheet 2
Figs. 2 and 3, and in plan in Fig. 4, blocks of light pine or other suitable light
material which has been previously rendered as incombustible as possible by any
well known chemical process, each block to be of such length as to allow its upper
end, when in position, to be in a line with the top of the transverse angle steels g g,
Figs. 2 and 4 and which are placed when necessary from 3 to 4 feet apart. These
blocks should be fitted together in the bays or bunkers so as to fill them without
any intervening spaces and they can be packed, when necessary, with tungstate
of soda or some other chemical calculated to assist in rendering the blocks as little
liable to destruction by fire as possible. Over the platform so made and on the
transverse angle steels g, g, and divisional plates c I fix a light wooden deck e, e,
Sheet 2 Figs. 2, 3 and 4, in the ordinary way, the planks being bolted to them by
means of screws p Fig. 4. In the coal bunkers and wherever else necessary for

page_text: coal or other purposes light deck steel plating might be used instead of the
wooden deck as shown in Figs. 2, 3 & 4.
In another modification of my invention which I employ I place the transverse
and longitudinal divisional plates so that when in position they leave the bunkers
or bays 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, as shown in Sheet 3 Fig. 1. In the bays
or bunkers so made I lay horizontally, on the armored deck, long wood blocks
of pine or other suitable light wood the blocks to be 12 inches in thickness and
width and rendered as incombustible as possible. To fix these blocks in position
I rivet angle steels f f and k k Sheet 3 Figure 2, to the transverse division plates c
on these angle steels I place the ends of the blocks placing them horizontally one
over the other as shown in the plan, the upper tier of blocks being kept in
position by the ribbed steel plates m, m, which are secured by means of screws
to the upper angles of division plates c c. For further securing the upper blocks
half way between each of the division plates c, c, I fit a transverse angle steel g,
Sheet 3 Fig. 4, with a ribbed plate m, the angle steel being scored into the packing
all the ribbed steel plates are let into the wood blocks or other packing so as to
leave a smooth upper surface which will form the deck.
C
When laying any wooden deck over any packing which is less dense or strong
than wood the strengthening transverse angle steels, with their ribbed plates,
should be placed 4 feet apart and wherever coal bunkers are formed over the
packing light steel plating should be used instead of the light wooden deck as
described.
Having thus described the nature of my invention and the manner of perform-
ing or carrying the same into practice I would have it understood that I do not
limit my claim to the particular mechanical arrangements represented in the draw-
ings hereunto annexed, as the same may be greatly varied, without departing
from the true character of my invention but what I claim is:.
-
The doing away with in certain vessels of war of heavy vertical side armor
by the substitution for it in such vessels of horizontal armored decks extending
for their whole length, such decks being covered over their whole surfaces, hatch-
ways excepted, to a depth of some feet, with light unburnable wood or papier
mache or with suitably prepared india rubber or cellulose or with some other suit-
able light packing substantially in the manner herein before described as repre-
sented in the drawings hereunto annexed.
Dated this Ninth day of Auril 1898