Improvements in Apparatus for Steadying Guns on Shipboard.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1898
Improvements in Apparatus for Steadying Guns on Shipboard.
I, BEAUCHAMP TOWER, of 5, Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, in the County
of London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
In my Specifications No. 14,208 of 1886 and No. 20,220 of 1889, I have
described means of maintaining a constant plane in a floating vessel and in
my latter specification I described the mounting of a gun on the constant
plane.
According to my present invention instead of placing the gun on the steady-
ing apparatus, I mount it so as to swing on the trunnion of the recoil cradle.
Under the gun I place one of the steadying apparatus described in my pre-
vious specification.
I connect the gymbal ring to the gun cradle by a rod in such a way that the
gun partakes of the steadiness of the gymbal ring and the gun being free to
recoil in the cradle does not bring any disturbing force on the steadying
apparatus.
The form of steadying apparatus which I prefer for this purpose differs in
certain details from those previously described. The gyroscope with its sphe-
rical bearing, its tangential and axial jets, its levelling pendulums and deflect-
ing cone, revolves as before in a cell of which the four cylinders form the
corners. The axial jet impinges as before on the four open-mouthed ports but
instead of each open-mouthed port being connected with the cylinder adjacent
to it, it is connected by a passage to that on the side opposite to it. The
cylinders are closed at their upper and open at their lower ends, and the con-
necting rods from their pistons or rams lead downwards.
The cell consisting of the cylinders at the corners connected by plates at the
sides and containing the gyroscope &c. is part of the apparatus which
keeps itself steady with respect to two vertical planes at right angles to one
another. It is mounted in gymbals that is to say in a ring on which it is
pivotted and which ring itself is pivotted on a part of the vessel. The axes
of these pivottings are at right angles to one another. The gymbal ring has
the steadiness of the cell imparted to it in one plane but partakes of the
unsteadiness of the ship in the other plane.
It is placed so that the plane in which it is steady is parallel to the plane
in which the gun swings on its trunnions and this steadiness in one plane is
imparted to the gun by the connection of the rod above mentioned to the
cradles.
i
In the arrangement which I prefer the axes of the two pivottings do not
lie in the same plane as in ordinary gymbals. The axes of the pivotting con-
necting the gymbal ring to the ship, which may be termed the "transverse
axis," being some distance below that connecting it to the cell which may be
termed the longitudinal axis," the gymbal ring being shaped accordingly.

page_text: The transverse axis is parallel to the axis of the trunnions and is mounted
in bearings fixed on the turntable for training the gun.
The bearings and gymbal ring are made hollow, to give passage to the water
to the gyroscope.
The cell swings. in the gymbal ring on the longitudinal
axis, and has a central stirrup shaped arm projecting down to a point a little
below the level of the transverse axis, where it is jointed by a ball and socket,
or a universal joint, to a "swing frame" lying in a horizontal position under
the cell. This swing frame has arms projecting on one side to which are
jointed suspending links, each of which has a length equal to the distance
between the longitudinal axis and the point of connection to the swing frame
below. The swing frame is thus suspended at three points by three suspending
links of equal length parallel to one another (the cell forming one of these
links) so that however it swings it always keeps parallel to its first position.
Connecting rods jointed at their upper ends to the pistons or plungers of the
steadying apparatus project down out of the lower ends of the cylinders and
are jointed at their lower ends to the swing frame, so that as the pistons or
plungers travel in their cylinders they cause angular motion of the cell rela-
tively to the swing frame and the vessel. Thus by properly directing the
motion of the pistons by means of the axial jet of the gyroscope the cell is
kept steady.
The correcting cylinder described in the Specification No. 20,220 of 1889 is
placed on the gymbal ring at the pivot of the rod which connects the ring to
the cradle so that this pivot is moved by it in such a way as to correct the
errors referred to in the said specification. The pivot by which the rod is
jointed to the cradle is moved at will by means of an elevating screw.
A bar carrying carrying a seat and foot-rest is attached to the cradle in such
a position that the man aiming the gun is kept steady with it. He has within
reach the apparatus for adjusting the elevation of the gun and sights and the
means of firing. He has also a training wheel which is connected to the train-
ing gear by means of a universal joint, having its centre in the axial line of
the trunnions so that the man while kept steady with the gun can actuate by
means of a hand wheel the training gear consisting preferably of a worm
gearing with teeth on the racer on the deck.
The gun being only steadied in the plane of its axis, angular motion in any
other plane causes the axis of the trunnions to rock so that when the gun has
any elevation this rocking gives it a virtual movement in training. In order
to neutralise this training movement I connect to one of the suspending links
of the swing frame above mentioned, a crank connected to the training worm
so as to move it endways and turn the gun to an equal extent and opposite in
direction to the virtual training movement above referred to. The throw of
the crank is adjusted to suit different elevations. I also connect one of the
suspending links of the swing frame by suitable levers and rods to the sights
so as to keep them vertical and thus avoid the error in apparent direction which
would result from their inclination.
Dated this 6th day of December 1898.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Apparatus for Steadying Guns on Shipboard.
I, BEAUCHAMP TOWER, of 5, Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, in the County 5
of London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention

page_text: and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
In my Specifications No. 14,208 of 1886 and No. 20,220 of 1889, I have
described means of maintaining a constant plane in a floating vessel and in
my latter specification I have described the mounting of a gun on the plane
so maintained constant.
According to my present invention instead of placing the gun on the steady-
ing apparatus, I fit it in a recoil cradle trunnioned in a gun mount secured
to the deck in any usual way and within the mount I arrange steadying appa-
ratus of the kind described in my former patents.
I connect the gun cradle to a suitable part of the steadying apparatus so
that the gun is held steady while nevertheless it can recoil in the cradle with-
out throwing disturbing force on the steadying apparatus.
Although the steadying apparatus is arranged to operate on the gyroscopic
principle as set forth in my former patents I modify many of the details as I
shall describe referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the steadying apparatus modified according to
my present invention.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, partly sectional on the line A-A of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section on a smaller scale and Fig. 4 is a plan shewing
the gun mounting and its accessories.
Figs. 5 and 6 are views on opposite sides with parts broken away to shew
internal parts and Fig. 7 is an end view.
Figs. 8 and 9 are side views and Fig. 10 is an end view shewing positions
of gun and its mounting when the vessel pitches and rolls; Fig. 11 is a plan
of the steadying apparatus looking from below.
Fig. 12 is a section and Fig. 13 is a plan of the correcting cylinder.
Fig. 14 is a side view and Fig. 15 is an end view of the upper parts of the
training and elevating gear.
The gyroscope a, with its tangential jets b and its axial jet c, its four level-
ling pendulums d, and its deflecting cone e, revolves, as described in my former
patents in a cell of which the four cylinders f form the corners. The axial
jet e impinges, as before, on the four open mouthed ports g, but, instead of
each of those ports communicating as before with the cylinder f on the same
side with it, it is carried half round so as to communicate with the cylinder f.
directly opposite to it, and the cylinders f instead of being, as formerly, open
at the top and closed at the bottom, are now closed at the top and open at the
bottom, their pistons being connected by rods h, extending downwards, to a
swing frame which is mounted on a spherical pivot carried on a U shaped
bracket projecting down from the gyroscope cell. On this bracket is mounted
a lever k, one end of which is loaded and the other end bears against the stem
of an adjustable valve in the passage by which the water enters for supply
of the jets and c. This loaded lever and valve operate as follows:-
The gyroscope revolving on its cup and ball bearing has the greater part of
its weight carried by the upward pressure of the water passing through this
bearing. As the vessel sinks downwards on a wave, the tendency to leave the
gyroscope behind diminishes its downward pressure on the water, so that it
might be lifted by the water from its bearing. This same tendency acting at
the same time on the weights of the levers diminishes their upward pressure
on the valve and causes it to partly close and diminish the pressure of the
water under the gyroscope in the same degree as the downward weight of the
gyroscope is diminished.
As in the former Patent No. 14208/86, there is, besides the main poris g, a
narrow central passage leading by pipes m and n to the correcting cylinder o,
the piston of which is linked to an arm on a rocking shaft through a slot
of which passes the end of a blade spring q tending to hold the piston of o

page_text: central. On the rocking shaft p is fixed another arm which is connected' by
a rods to the cradle t of the gun. As shewn in Figs. 14 and 15 the connecting
pin of the upper end of the rod s is fitted to slide in a bracket u fixed on the
cradle and can be raised or lowered by turning a hand wheel nut v, so as to
vary, as desired, the elevation of the gun.
el
The cell of which the cylinders f form the corners contains the gyroscope
and is that which remains steady with respect to two vertical planes at right
angles to each other, notwithstanding the pitching and rolling of the vessel.
The cell is, as before, mounted in gymbals, that is to say, it is pivoted by two
opposite trunnion's wo to a square ring which is itself pivoted by opposite
trunnions y y on arms projecting down from the ring to brackets projecting
up from the turntable 2. The axis of the trunnions y y is at right angles to
the axis of ww, but is at a lower level. The gymbal ring has the steadiness
of the gyroscope cell in the vertical plane in which the axis of the gun moves
when it is elevated or depressed, and the steadiness in this plane is imparted
to the gun cradle by the rod s which connects the cradle to the rocking shaft
of the correcting cylinder o, which is attached to the gymbal ring. As before,
the trunnions and gymbal ring are made hollow for passage of water to the
jets of the gyroscope.
From one side of the swing frame i project two arms 1, 1, which are linked
by rods 2, 2, to the frame of the gun mounting, the length of the links 2, 2,
being equal to the distance of the centre of the spherical pivot below the
axis of the trunnions ww. Thus the swing frame i is suspended by three
hangers of equal length, 2, 2 and the cell, so that, however it swings, it always
remains parallel to the same plane, the turntable, see Figs. 8 and 9. As
the pistons of the four cylinders f are jointed to the swing frame i they cause
the movement of the gyroscope cell relatively to the swing frame and the
vessel, and thus as the motions of the pistons are determined by the directions
of the axial jet c, the gyroscope cell is kept steady notwithstanding the move-
ments of the vessel.
A bar 3 carrying a seat 4 and a foot rest 5, is attached to the gun cradle t in
a convenient position for the gunner who, when seated, is kept steady with the
cradle. He has within reach the hand wheel by turning which, as already
described, he can vary the elevation of the gun. He has also within reach a
hand-wheel on a spindle 6 which by gearing 8 works a spindle having a
universal joint 9 and extending down to bevil gear 10 connecting it to a worm 11
which engages teeth on the circular base of the turntable. Thus the gunner,
by turning the wheel 7. can train the gun as desired. The gunner has also
within reach suitable firing apparatus and can determine direction of the gun
by means of sights 12. As the gun cradle can rock to a certain extent in the
vertical plane passing through the axes of its trunnions, this rocking move-
ment affects to a certain extent the direction of the gun in respect of training.
In order to correct this when the gun is elevated, I fit the training worm 11 in
bearings in which it can slide lengthwise, and I connect one end of the
worm spindle to one arm of a bell crank 13, the other arm of which is con-
nected adjustably by a link 14 to an arm on the rocking shaft from which one
of the suspending links 2 extends down to one of the arms 1 of the rocking
frame i As this rocking shaft is partly turned by the swing of the arm 2,
the training worm 11 is moved lengthwise, so turning the gun mounting
sufficiently to compensate for the virtual error in training due to the rocking
of the trunnions. The length of arm to which the link 14 is jointed, is
adjusted by a hand-wheel 15 and screw to suit different elevations of the gun,
the arm being elongated as the elevation is increased so as to give the greater
amount of correction required for the training.
Another of the suspending links 2 has an arm on the rocking shaft, from
which it hangs connected by a link 16 to one arm of a bell crank, the other
arm of which is jointed to one arm of a lever 17; the other arm of this

page_text: lever is jointed to one end of a rod 18 which is suspended by a pair of equal
radial arms 19 and 20 and connected to a sight carrier which carries the sight
bar 21, this sight carrier having an arm extending upwards and linked to an
equal arm projecting up from the arm 20. Thus as the sights are elevated or
depressed their movement is in a vertical plane, however the vessel may rock.
As described in my former specification above referred to, while the fluid
flows from the reaction wheel, it causes it to revolve with considerable velocity
and consequently by its gyroscopic action to maintain constancy of attitude of
its axis. Should the framing deviate from its true axial attitude relatively to
the reaction wheel, the jet from the central pipe enters with force into one or
other of the four passages and thus produces an increase of pressure in the
cylinder to which this passage leads, causing a movement of the framing which
nearly or quite rectifies the deviation, the final correction of the position of
the gun cradle being effected by the action of the jet which also enters into
one or other of the two channels leading to the correcting cylinder.
Although, according to the present invention, the pressure cylinders f are
inverted and each port g leads to the cylinder opposite to it, the action of the
gyroscope the levelling pendulums d and the correcting cylinder o, is the
same as before, retaining the axis of the frame or cell containing the gyro-
scope always vertical. As the gun cradle is at one part of its length pivotted
by its trunnions on the mounting and another part is connected by the rod s
to the lever of the correcting piston, the axis of the gun when it is neither
elevated nor depressed is maintained always horizontal, that is to say parallel
to the plane of rotation of the gyroscope, and when the gun is elevated or
depressed so as to be inclined to the horizontal, the axis maintains that inclina-
tion notwithstanding the rolling of the vessel. As the plane i swings parallel
to the turntable its centre remains in the axis of the cell, and thus the con-
necting rods are always symmetrical with respect to the axis of the cell,
however the cell may swing.
The apparatus is intended to be used for a gun having its axis athwart ship,
so that the pitching of the vessel merely moves the gun fore and aft bodily
and partly turns it on its axis without affecting the horizontality of its axis;
it is only when the gun is elevated or depressed from the horizontal that cor-
rection has to be made for errors of elevation due to pitching.
The appliance described for correcting these errors does not correct the errors
of depression, this not being necessary, as the range is always short when the
gun is depressed and an error in the depression angle has little effect.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
-
1. In apparatus for steadying a gun on ship-board the combination of the
gun with a cradle in which it is fitted to slide, the said cradle being provided
with trunnions journalled in bearings on the gun mounting, and being con-
nected by a link to an arm moved by the piston of the correcting cylinder,
substantially as described.
2. In apparatus for steadying a gun on ship-board the inversion of the
gyroscope cylinders and of the passages leading to them from the axial jet
ports, and the connection of the pistons of the said cylinders to a swing frame
below, which is mounted on a spherical pivot carried by a bracket on the gyro-
scope cell and has two arms linked to the frame of the gun mounting, being
thus suspended by three equal links, substantially as described.
3. For training the gun, a hand wheel and gear with universal joint con-
necting it to a worm engaged with teeth on the periphery of the circular base
on which the gun is mounted, substantially as described.
4. In combination with the training worm a bell crank and adjustable con-
nection to one of the suspending links of the swing frame, for the purpose of

page_text: correcting the training of the gun when affected by the rocking of the trunnion,
substantially as described.
5. For elevating the gun, a hand wheel screw and slide on the cradle adapted
to adjust the upper end of the link connecting the cradle to the piston of the
correcting cylinder, substantially as described:
6. For maintaining the movement of the sight bar in a vertical plane, the
combination of the sight bar with a swinging rod connected through a bell
crank and lever with one of the suspending links of the swing frame, substan-
tially as described.
7. Apparatus for steadying a gun on ship-board, comprising the gyroscope
and its connections and the training and elevating gear, substantially as
described, with reference to the drawings.
Dated this First day of September 1899
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.