AN IMPROVED OFFENSIVE. AND: DEFENSIVE WAR MACHINE
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATON left by Stanislas Réné Renaudin at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd August 1868.
I, STANISLAS RÉNÉ RENAUDIN, of No. 7; Chemin des Cordiers, of. the
City of Strasbourg, in the Department of the Lower Rhine, Empire of
France, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for:
"AN IMPROVED OFFENSIVE. AND: DEFENSIVE WAR MACHINE," to be as follows.:
The object of this Invention is to protect troops from the fire: of an
enemy and at the same time' admit of their. returning it whilst under
shelter. The system which I adopt for this purpose and to which I.
give the name of para-projectile consists of a species off screen, which.
may be composed of one or several plates of sheet iron presenting a.
concave surface or surfaces to the enemy, so that the shots striking them
are repelled in the direction from whence they came: These apparatus
are all supplied with sight holes for reconnoitering, the enemy, and also.
with small embrasures through which the troops under cover can
present the muzzles of and fire! their muskets or rifles; these openings
are provided with movable doors so that they can be immediately closed
when the shots therefrom have been discharged. Those consisting of

page_text: more than one sheet of iron are made in two pieces precisely similar
and mounted on wheeled carriages, having two wheels each, and are
made to fold so as to facilitate their transport, and all alike when raised
in position are supported by props or stays turning on rods connected
to the apparatus at the upper part, so that they may be sloped at any
desired angle, and when packed for removal will lay flat with the other
parts of the apparatus. The several plates or sheets of iron (taking, for
instance, an apparatus composed of three sheets) are connected by
strong hinges to a frame bearing four wheels; this frame is jointed in
the centre by a. powerful hinge which facilitates the folding of the pieces
together and readily admits of their being raised and got into position
when required. The first or upper sheet bearing the sight holes and
embrasures when folded down ouside the second sheet presents a
convex exterior, and when raised on its hinges and in situ and
supported by the props has a concave surface which is opposed to the
enemy; the third sheet, which is attached to the second by means of
hinges, when packed is hooked up to the latter by means of a chain and
hook, and when the apparatus is developed it rests on the ground; or
in lieu of this arrangement I can make use of a rack and pinion, the
sheet being provided with two cylindrical shafts sliding in two hollow
cylinders fixed to the cross beam to which the bearings of the wheels
of the carriages are attached.
The apparatus described may be arranged so as to form a regular
polygon, hexagon, octagon, decagon, or other form, and by this means
"constitutes a fortress which could completely check or overthrow a charge
of cavalry, and which in camp would serve as a tent by having a centre
pole bearing the canvas. Cases or compartments could be made in
the interior for lodging ammunition and other war material.
In place of the single sheets of metal they may be doubled, or a greater
number employed and arranged a short distance apart, and between
the spaces thus formed tow, earth, or sand, or other appropriate
substance is placed, which would effectually resist the impact of the
most powerful projectiles.