IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE AND SMALL ARMS AND IN THE WADS OR SABÛTS TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE AND SMALL
ARMS AND IN THE WADS OR SABÛTS TO BE USED THEREWITH."-A communi-
cation from abroad by Horace Hollister Day, of New York City,
Michael Ritner, of Vincennes, Indiana, and Josiah Newell .Bird, of
Trenton, New Jersey, United States of America.
Sealed the 2nd December 1862, and dated the 1st August 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st August 1862:
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE AND SMALL
ARMS AND IN THE WADS OR SABOTS TO BE USED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in projectiles for ordnance and small arms
and in the wads or sabôts to be used therewith, consists, first, in the con-
struction of an elongated shot or projectile suitable for penetrating iron-clad
vessels, or other iron or steel-clad structures, and which projectiles are

page_text: particularly adapted to be used in connection with the wad or sabôts, which
forms the second head of the present Invention.
The Invention consists, secondly, in the production and employment of an
elastic wad or sabôt to be applied in the rear of the ball or projectile used
in ordnance and small arms. This elastic wad or sabôt may be formed of a
disc of vulcanized india-rubber between two other discs of hard or soft metal,
wood, or suitable substance, or it may be formed solid or hollow in any of
the ways hereafter described. It is, however, distinct and separate from the
shot or projectile, and when used in charging a gun is not attached to the
projectile.
The improvements in projectiles consist in making hollow shot of steel
or other hard metal as a casing, and filling the same with lead for the
purpose of increasing their specific gravity. The front of the steel casing may
be open, and may be bevilled off to a thin edge, or it may be provided with
projecting shoulders set one in advance of the other. The solid or hollow
shot may be surrounded with a covering of canvas or some textile material
coated or impregnated with india-rubber. In the rear end of the projectile
are placed or cast projecting pins, or the end is made with indentations against
which the wad or sabót will bear, leaving an air space between the front of the
wad and the rear end of the projectile.
The sabôt or wad, which forms the second part of the Invention, is com-
posed of india-rubber, and if made hollow is provided with conical wooden
plugs, leaving the central part of the wad hollow. When the charge in the
gun is exploded, the conical plugs will be driven into and will expand the
sabot or wad so as to cause it to fit the grooves of the gun, if it be rifled; at the
same time the wad will be driven forward against the end of the projectile a
space between the two being left by the projections on the rear of the projectile,
as above mentioned. A solid wad may be made with a concave face for a
spherical shot, and will have sufficient space to expand before overcoming the
vis inertice of the shot. An india-rubber ring as a wad may also with advan-
tage be adapted to the rear end of an elongated projectile, either solid.or
hollow.
From the above it will be understood that the elastic wad or sabôt may be
made either in the form of a disc with elastic edges, or solid with a flat or
concave face, or hollow with a recess behind into which the gases may enter
or force a conical plug in order to cause the sides to expand and fit the bore
of the gun.
:

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 31st January 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE AND SMALL ARMS AND IN THE WADS OR
SABOTS TO BE USED THEREWITH," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :—
This Invention consists, first, in a novel construction of elongated shot or
projectile, for penetrating iron-clad vessels, or other iron or steel-clad struc-
tures, and which is particularly adapted to be used in connection with an
improved wad or elastic sabôt, to be applied in rear of the shot, which sabot
forms the second head of the Invention.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents, in axial section, one form of
the elastic sabot applied to an ordinary elongated shot; Fig. 2 shows, in longi-

page_text: tudinal section, the sabôt and projectile represented in Fig. 1, the same being
in position within a smooth bore cannon, and ready to bo fired; Fig. 3 is a
like section of a "rified" cannon" having in position therein another form of
sabot, as will be herein after 'described, and an elongated shot, which may be
either solid or hollow, whose rear end is corrugated or creased instead of having
wooden or, metal pins projecting therefrom as shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a
section, the same as Fig. 3, and showing the effect of the gases upon the sabôt ·
in the act of "firing off;" Fig. 5 is a cross section of Fig. 4 in the line x, x;
Fig. 6 is a view showing the application of a solid elastic wad or sabot to
round shot and shell; Fig. 7 is a. sectional view of a vulcanized india-rubber
sabot of cylindric form, and solid, but having plane-faced ends instead of
having one end concave as represented in Figs. 3, 4, and 6; Fig. 8 is a
vertical longitudinal section of an elongated shot having rounded ends, and
with an elastic vulcanized sabot in the form of a ring applied thereto, the ring
and shot bearing the relation which they will hold to each other when 'ready
to be discharged from a piece of. ordnance; Fig. 9 is a plan view of Fig. 8;
Fig. 10 represents a cross section of a vulcanized india-rubber or vulcanized
gutta percha wad or sabôt composed of an interior disc of vulcanized india-
rubber.or gutta percha confined between lesser. discs, one of which may be
of soft or hard metal, and the other of wood, or both of which may be either
of wood or. hard or soft metal; Fig. 11 is a plan view of Fig. 10; Figs. 12
are a longitudinal section and plan of the improved projectile for penetrating
iron or steel-clad structures, its interior filling being creased or corrugated
as shown, and Fig. 13 is a. like view of another form of the improved pro-
jectile for penetrating iron. or steel-clad structures.
In Figs. 1 and 2, A represents an elongated ball, which, by preference, is
made of lead, since by its weight it is susceptible of a greater momentum
in proportion to its bulk than any other, although it may be made of any
other metal or compounds of metal. Great difficulty has been experienced
in using leaden projectiles with cannon owing to the melting or softening effect
upon the rear and sides of the ball by the intense heat, and the cutting action
of the escaping gases, but with our application of an elastic sabôt composed of
vulcanized gutta percha, or a compound of either of these materials, such action
upon leaden balls is obviated, and hence lead may be used without the objections
heretofore existing. B is a sabôt (having its central portion hollow) composed
of vulcanized rubber, and; by preference, that which is usually preferred for
"car springs," or that which is known as "rag packing," the composition of
which is well known to manufacturers of rubber steam packing. An excellent
wad or sabot of any of the forms shewn cau be composed of one part by

page_text: weight of india-rubber to from one to two parts by weight of the usual
scraps out of which "rag packing." is made, which will greatly cheapen it.
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the sabôt is externally of cylindrical shape,
with a central cavity 6 tapering from front to rear, and closed with wooden
plugs C, C.: The objects of the cavity b'are to increase the elasticity of the
sabôt, and reduce its cost. The entire sabot is enveloped in a wrapping
D. of canvas thoroughly impregnated with rubber; F is a like wrapping
surrounding the ball A, so as to prevent contact between the metal and the
bore of the gun, and the wrapping of both sabôt and ball may upon its
outer surface be covered with a lubricating material composed of tallow
and beeswax, or the same may be rubbed over at the time of loading the
cannon with plumbago or powdered soap stone or pumice stone, or other
similar substance in flour, thus preventing the adhesion of the wrapping
to the bore of the gun. The cartridge in Fig. 2 is represented. at G.
The lubricated ball and sabôt are rammed home in the gun with sufficient
force to compress the sabôt and cause it to completely fill the bore. When
the explosion takes place the sabot will be forced in close contact with the
ball, and by-reason of the inertia of the latter the sabôt will be still further
compressed longitudinally and expanded radially in all directions, filling
the bore and preventing "windage," as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. If the
plug C be used, the explosion forces it forward into the cavity. b, causing
to operate as a wedge, and thus exert a lateral pressure upon the sabot.
It will be apparent that the interposition of an elastic sabôt filling the
bore between the charge and the ball, will shield the latter from the sudden
percussive force of the explosion, and that the sabôt acting as an elastic
cushion allows the shot or projectile to start gradually from a state of rest,
thus affording relief.at the breech of the gun from the sudden and powerful
pressure on such point at the instant of explosion, as well as relieving the
gun from sudden and violent recoil. This effect is promoted by the spurs E,
as shown Figs. 1 and 2, and by the creases or corrugations as shown formed
in the rear end of the projectile in Figs. 3 and 4, the force required to imbed
the said spurs or corrugations in the substance of the wad or sabot being
communicated to the projectile by a gradual pressure instead of sudden blow.
A further effect due to the spurs or corrugations is to connect the sabot with
the projectile, so that any rotation which the former may acquire from the
rifling of the gun will be effectually communicated to the projectile. The
sabot in no case is permanently attached to the projectile, and is therefore.
free the moment the latter leaves the gun.. The projectile therefore loses no
force in disengaging itself from the sabôt. If thought advisable, however,

page_text: for sake of convenience, the two may be united with slight strips of tin in
the ordinary way of securing balls to wooden wads, in which case the projectile
will free itself from the wad or sabôt on its discharge without any appreciable
diminution of its force. In using the sabot, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the
plug C may be dispensed with; it is, however, beneficial in reducing the
quantity of rubber required to make the sabôt, and if made of sufficient
length to extend forward, and, have a bearing against the rear end of the
ball A, all tendency of the expanding gases to drive the plug forward
out of the sabot will be prevented, in which case the sabôt itself will be
forced forward upon the plug, the effect of which will be to increase the
lateral expansion of the forward end of the sabôt. In some cases it may be
found advisable to form the ball A with a central aperture, as indicated
by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. This aperture or cavity may be filled with a
plug of wood, or by pouring in plaster of Paris in a heated state, or with other
like material, the effect of which will be to give stiffness to the ball, particu-
larly if made of lead, and also reduce the proportionate weight of its rear part.
It will be apparent that our Invention is not confined to the use of
vulcanized india-rubber and gutta percha sabóts of the specific forms shown
in the Figures; as the same may be made spherical or elliptical, or in any
other form, either hollow or solid, and still used with good effect.
When the elastic wad or sabôt is made solid it is preferred to have it
fashioned into the form of a section of a cylinder, with one of its faces concave,
as at 9, 9, 9, in Fig. 6, in which Figure it is represented in proper position for
use in connection with a spherical shot or shell, but when used with an
elongated shot or shell, as represented in Figs. 3 and 4, the rear end of the
projectile may be creased or corrugated as indicated in the Figures, and the
wad or sabot inserted in the gun with its concave face in contact with the
powder or the cartridge; when so used, the plane face h of the sabot will
abut against the points or corrugations of the projectile J, leaving spaces
between the wad and the projectile before the explosion takes place, as repre-
sented in Fig. 3. Upon the powder becoming ignited and converted into gas,.
as at H, Fig. 4, the wad or sabot will become comprassed, and its diameter
increased so as to pack its periphery k (see Fig. 5) against the bore and into
the grooves of the gun, while at the same time the plane face of the sabôt
will be forced into the spaces or creases in the rear end of the projectile, as
clearly shown in Fig. 4, thus causing the projectile to rotate according to the
twist of the rifle grooves k' of the gun. When used in connection with hollow
elongated projectiles, this improved sabot affords this peculiar advantage, to
wit, that more of the interior of the shell can be utilized for contents of a

page_text: destructive nature, since no portion of the body of the shell is occupied by:
bands "let in to its main portion for the purpose of preventing windage, the
use of which necessarily contracts the space available for the insertion of
bullets and other missiles, and oft-times impedes the flight of the projectile*
itself. In Figures 8 and 9, I have shown an elongated shot I having rounded
ends, and a sabôt or wad of vulcanized elastic material, in the form of a ring l
in proper position thereon to be fired from a cannon. Figs. 10 and 11 show.
another form of vulcanized elastic sabôt, the same consisting of a central
disc m of vulcanized rubber material, as above described, and clasped between
two discs of lesser diameter, one of which m' may be of soft metal, such as
brass, and the other m² of wood. It is obvious that the inclosing discs m²
and m³ may be either of soft or hard metal, or of wood, and still subserve a
good purpose, but it is preferred that the disc m' should be of soft metal, and the
disc m² of wood, the whole held together by a screw m³, or in any other suitable
manner. The metal disc m² may be notched or creased similar to and for
the like purpose to the rear end of the projectile J, Figs. 3 and 4. For the
purpose of penetrating iron or steel-clad structures, I employ the improved
construction of shot shewn at Figs. 12 and 13, which shot it is proposed to
use in connection with the improved sabôts. L, Fig. 12, is a cylinder of steel
or other hard metal, the thickness and length are the same, depending upon
the size of the bore of the gun from which it is to be fired. The ends n of
the cylinder are bevilled off upon the inside, so as to present a chisel edge,
and the interior of the cylinder is filled with lead flush with the extremities of
the cylinder, the object being to use the heaviest known substance among the
baser materials for the body of the projectile, and to surround it with a hard
cutting substance so as to cause it to penetrate the sides of iron-cased ships,
forts, or other structures to be battered down. The rear end of the projectile
has its lead filling creased, to adapt it to be used in connection with the
improved sabót. A modification of this construction of shot is shewn at
Fig. 13; it consists of a steel cylinder m, having its forward end solid, and
composed of a series of cutting edges in the form of plane-ended punches,
as at p, p', and p², each one of the series from p to p³ being of increasing
diameter, and with its perimeter circular. The interior N of this cylinder is
filled with lead flush with its rear end, at which point the lead is creased or
corrugated in the same manner and for the same purpose as the rear end of
the projectile shown in Fig. 12. It is evident that by combining lead as
the bulk of a projectile with a casing of steel or other very hard metal, as
described, the most effective shot as to weight will be attained with the least
amount of bulk to be resisted by the medium through which it is designed to

page_text: pass, and that for this reason alone it must constitute a most formidable
and destructive weapon.
Having now explained the nature of this Invention of improvements in
projectiles for ordnance and small arms and in the wads or sabôts to be used
therewith, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as afore-
said, first, constructing shot or projectiles for penetrating armour plates in the
manner above described with reference to Figs. 12 and 13; and, secondly,
constructing elastic wads or sabôts in the manner and for the purpose above
described.
In witness whereof I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of January, in the
year
of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)