Improvements in the Construction of Battle-ships.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Dec., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 24th Sept., 1894-Accepted, 3rd Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Battle-ships.
I, JOHN FREDERICK CREASE, C.B., of Sion, Stourbridge, in the County of
Worcester, Major General in Her Majesty's Army (retired), do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
A battle-ship according to my invention is constructed especially for use as a
ram, capable of travelling at high-speed, of being readily and quickly manoeuvred,
of carrying a sufficient supply of fuel for a considerable distance, and so as to be
practically speaking proof against sinking or disablement by torpedoes, ramming,
an enemy's projectiles, or submarine mines.
The general design of the hull may be more or less varied, but the bottom of
the hull has a gradual upward direction towards stem and stern, respectively for a
considerable portion of the length of the vessel fore and aft of the midship portion-
so that the vessel may be the more easily turned. To further facilitate rapid
turning when in action a deep keel or frame is provided in which there are arranged
rudders one or more fore and one or more aft, of the centre of the vessel's length:
these rudders are or may be of the balanced type; and may be connected together
or not, so as to be operated simultaneously, those in front of the centre of the
vessel's length turning to port wben those aft turn to starboard, and vice versa, or
in connection with the rudders there may be provided actuating gear so arranged
that all the rudders may be operated simultaneously when desired and when so
wished some of them may be disconnected so as to be independently operated.
Instead of or in addition to the keel and rudders it may in some cases be found
desirable to provide the steni or stern or both stem and stern or other portion of
the ship with other means, such as a propeller or propellers, arranged to rotate
about a transverse axis or axes, or with water jet apparatus whereby the turning
or manoeuvring of the ship can be effected or assisted.
The hull is constructed with a central longitudinal space with as many trans-
verse bulkheads as may be desirable, and with at the respective sides a large number
of compartments, some adapted to serve for carrying fuel, to which access is
afforded by introducing into the partitions self-closing taps or doors that will close
by gravity, and which are hung so as to open outward from the longitudinal space
above referred to; the construction being such that in the event of water entering
the compartments its action upon the said flaps or doors would be to keep them
closed against their seats. The construction is such as to present what may
described as a number of comparatively small cells, such that water might enter
a number of them without causing the vessel to sink thus affording great
protection against attempts to sink the vessel by any means such as already
indicated.
be
For protection against projectiles I provide a belt of armour around the vessel
from a point some distance below the lowest water line up to a suitable distance
above the highest water line; from this level a comparatively light upper structure
provides the necessary cabin crew and store carrying accommodation. Froni a
level intermediate between the top and bottom of the belt of armour already
mentioned, an armoured deck rises, which is inclined upward from each side of the
bull towards the longitudinal centre of the vessel at an angle designed not only to
deflect projectiles striking such deck but also to afford an ample reserve of buoyancy
or flotation; and it is upon and above this deck that the officers the crew and the
stores are carried; there being a comparatively light deck or decks above, for the
officers and crew.
There is of course proper provision for lighting and ventilating.

page_text: The engines boilers and other machinery are located within the longitudinal central
subdivided space before referred to and thus are well protected. Such a vessel I
should usually provide with twin screws and, in addition to steering appliances such
as already indicated with a rudder or rudders located as usual, and operated by
any suitable steering gear.
All the rudders might in some cases be worked from one set of gear. The
ordinarily placed rudder or rudders might when desirable be used without the keel
rudders; and vice versa.
The formation of the vessel at the bow stem or prow is completed by a built up
ramming device of great strength placed in front of the fore end of the hull which
is thus amply protected.
Suitable conning towers are provided.
In some cases some of the cells or compartments hereinabove mentioned may
be packed with buoyant material (for example cork) such as will impede projectiles
and in case of water being admitted to the vessel will aid in keeping her afloat.
Dated this 23rd day of December 1893.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Battle-ships.
I, JOHN FREDERICK CREASE, C.B., of Sion, Stourbridge, in the County of
Worcester, Major General in Her Majesty's Army (retired), 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:-
A battle-ship according to my invention is constructed especially for use as a ram,
capable of travelling at high-speed, of being readily and quickly manoeuvred, of
carrying a sufficient supply of fuel for a considerable distance, and so as to be
practically speaking proof against sinking or disablement by torpedoes, ramming,
an enemy's projectiles, or sub-marine mines.
And in order that the nature of my invention may be fully understood, I will
proceed to explain the same by aid of the accompanying drawings wherein
Fig. 1 shows in side elevation; Fig. 2 in sectional plan; and Fig. 3 in half
mid-ship section, a battle-ship constructed according to this invention.
Fig. 4 is a plan view, to a larger scale, of a balanced rudder, the keel or frame
in which it is mounted being shown in dotted lines.
Fig. 5 is an end view, partly in section, of the keel or frame and rudder shown
in Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 is a side view, to a larger scale than Figs. 1, 2 and 3, showing the stern
end of the ship provided with an additional rudder arranged in the deadwood
thereof.
Fig. 7 is a side elevation, and Fig. 8 a vertical section, showing an arrangement
of pivoted flap or door hereinafter described.
The general design of the hull of the ship may be more or less varied, but the
bottom of the bull has a gradual upward direction towards stem and stern
respectively, for a considerable portion of the length of the vessel fore and aft of
the midship portion-as shown at a and b in Fig. 1-so that the vessel may be the
more easily turned. To further facilitate rapid turning when in action, a deep
keel or frame e is provided in which there are arranged rudders d, of which four
are shown, two being fore, and two aft, of the centre of the vessel's length; but
there may be only one rudder, or more than two, fore and aft of the centre of the
vessel's length. These rudders may advantageously be of the balanced type, as

page_text: shown, and may be connected together, or not, so as to be operated simultaneously,
those in front of the centre of the vessel's length turning to port, when those aft
turn to starboard, and vice vers; or in connection with the rudders there may be
provided actuating gear so arranged that all the rudders can be operated
simultaneously when desired, and when so wished some of them may be disconnected
so as to be independently operated.
The rudders are preferably built up of wood and metal so as not to add to the
weight of the ship when the same is in the water, but rather to increase the
buoyancy of the ship. In the example shown, each rudder is fixed to a rudder
post d that extends upward through the bottom of the ship and by which the
rudder is directly operated from suitable actuating gear. To aid in taking the
weight of the rudders, each rudder, which in the example shown would be of
considerable length, is provided at suitable points with anti-friction rollers e (or
other suitable means) arranged to travel on curved guides or ways (Figs. 4 and 5)
carried by the keel or frame c, which at the centre and ends and between the
rudders, is strengthened by suitable bracing e. An additional rudder d may be
mounted in the dead-wood at the stern end of the ship, as shown in Fig. 6, to
increase the turning power of the ship. If this additional rudder be not used, the
dead-wood should be of an openwork nature, so as to minimise the resistance offered
thereby to turning movement of the ship.
Instead of, or in addition to the keel e and rudders d, it may in some cases be
found desirable to provide the stem, or stern, or both stem and stern, or other
portion of the ship, with other means, such as a propeller g, Figs. 1 and 2 (or
propellers) arranged to rotate in a tunnel about a transverse axis (or axes) whereby
the turning or maneuvering of the ship can be effected or assisted.
The hull is constructed with a central longitudinal space with as many transverse
bulkheads 'as may be desirable, and with at the respective sides a large number of
cells or compartments j, j some, wiz., being adapted to serve for carrying fuel, to
which access is afforded by introducing into the partitions self-closing flaps or
doors that will close by gravity, and which may be hung so as to open outward
from the longitudinal space i above referred to, as shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 8. By
this construction, in the event of water entering the cells, its action upon the said
flaps or doors would be to keep them closed against their seats.
In some cases, some of the cells viz. the outer ones j', are, or may be packed with
cork or some other suitable buoyant material which, in event of water being admitted
to the vessel, will aid in keeping her afloat. To enable the flaps or door to be readily
opened for withdrawing fuel from behind them, they may be each hinged or jointed to
a slide arranged to slide in vertical guides h², as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, so that.
the flaps or doors can be raised vertically when necessary.
As will be seen, the construction such as to present what may be described as
a number of comparatively small cells, such that water might enter a number of them
without causing the vessel to sink, thus affording great protection against attempts to
sink the vessel by any means such as already indicated.
For protection against projectiles, I provide a belt of armour around
the vessel from a point some distance below the lowest water line up to a
suitable distance above the highest water line; from this level a comparatively
light upper structure provides the necessary cabin, crew and store carrying
accommodation. In order to reduce the weight of the armour, owing to the
extra draught due to the provision of the keel or frame c, the belt of armour,
in the example now being described, extends only partly around the ship, and
from a level intermediate between the top and bottom of the belt of armour
already mentioned, an armoured deck m rises, which is inclined upward from each
side of the hull towards the longitudinal centre of the vessel, and also from each
end, at an angle designed not only to deflect projectiles striking such deck, but also
to afford an ample reserve of buoyancy or Hotation. It is upon and above this
deck that the officers, the crew and the stores are carried; there being a compara-
tively light deck or decks n above, for the officers and crew. The ends of the

page_text: central space i are protected by transverse armoured bulkheads that may be flat
as seen in plan and as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, or curved as shown in dotted
lines. There is of course proper provision for lighting and ventilating. The
engines, boilers and other machinery are located within the longitudinal central
subdivided space i and thus are well protected, a sufficient portion of the cellular
construction on each side of the said central space being omitted where necessary
to accommodate the engines. Such a vessel I should usually provide with twin
screws, and, in addition to steering appliances, such as already indicated, with
a rudder 2, or rudders, located as usual, and operated by any suitable steering
gear.
All the rudders viz. d, d', d², might in some cases be worked from one set of gear.
The ordinarily placed rudder 2 or rudders d d might, when desirable, be used
without the keel rudders d; and vice versa.
The fore and aft portions o and respectively of the ship, are made of cellular
construction, the cells being filled with buoyant material, and protected on top by
an armoured deck p arranged below the water line. The formation of the vessel
of great
at the bow, stem or prow is completed by a built up ramming device
strength, placed in front of the fore end o of the hull, which is thus amply
protected.
Suitable conning towers are provided.
As will be readily seen, by the construction described, there being no heavy guns
and their fittings but only light ordnance and torpedoes, the armour can be made
heavier than otherwise would be the case so as to render the ship practically
proof against projectiles, whilst ample space is afforded for large engine and boiler
power, and also for a large quantity of fuel, so that a high speed can be realized
and maintained for a considerable time, which could not otherwise be obtained and
the cellular construction of the sides and ends of the ship, renders her practically
speaking proof against sinking or disablement by torpedoes, ramming, or an enemy's
projectiles. Furthermore a ship so constructed will have enormous powers of
manoeuvering in order to utilize her ram.
The battle ship shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is designed to have approximately a
T
280 foot
Total
. 11500
The approximate dimensions of the armour, in inches, are indicated on the
drawings.
Figs. 9, 10, 11 are similar views to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, illustrating a
modified construction of battle-ship, according to this invention, in which there is
no keel or frame e and rudders d at the bottom of the vessel, but in which fore and
aft balanced rudders d' are mounted in the dead-wood a¹, b' at the fore and aft

page_text: portions of the ship. By this arrangement, the ship can be provided with heavier
armour than in the first case, without producing too great a draft, consequently in
this example the ship is provided with a belt of armour extending all around her,
and the inclined armoured deck m (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) is omitted and replaced by a
horizontal one m'. In other respects the battle-ship shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11 is
substantially the same in construction as that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and
is designed to have approximately a
Length of
Breadth
Draft
Displacement
Indicated horse power (natural)
Speed
380 feet.
75 "
26 "
-
12700 tons.
18500
20 knots.
In a further modified construction of battle-ship according to my invention,
shown in half mid-ship section in Fig. 12, the belt of armour on the ship's side
may be omitted and the ship be provided with an armoured deck m commencing
from a point on the ship's sides below the water line, inclined at an angle towards
the centre of the ship, and each terminating in a line some distance above the water
line, so as to be capable of deflecting any shot striking it, the inner and upper
ends of the inclined armoured deck being connected by a flat armoured deck m' of
suitable thickness as shown. The spaces between the inclined decks m and the
extensions m² of the deck m are or may be made of cellular construction. In
other respects the general construction of cells and rudders for the ship shown in
Fig. 12 will be the same as shown in one or other of the preceding arrangements
herein described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improved type of battle-ship hereinabove described wherein the hull is
constructed with a central longitudinal space with transverse bulkheads and
with at its respective sides a number of compartments or cells packed with
buoyant material and other compartments adapted to carry fuel, also with a
comparatively tight upper structure adapted to accommodate officers, crew and
stores, and is provided with a belt of armour for a portion or the whole of its length
as set forth.
2. A battle-ship constructed substantially as hereinabove described with reference
to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive; or modified according to Fig. 6.
3. A battle-ship constructed substantially as hereinabove described with reference
to Figs. 9 to 11 inclusive.
4. A battle-ship constructed substantially as hereinabove described with reference
to Fig. 12.
Dated this 24th day of September 1894.