Year: 1888

page_text: We, MAX VON FÖRSTER, engineer, residing at 11 Culm Strasse Berlin, Prussia, and
OSKAR WOLFF, gun-powder manufacturer, residing at Walsrode, Prussia, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
Our invention relates to shells charged with a high explosive such as humid gun-
cotton, which for its detonation requires the detonation of an initiating cartridge, the
said shells being provided with a percussion fuze, and its object is to prevent the shell
from prematurely exploding during the handling and transport and in the gun while
being projected therefrom, and also to avoid an explosion of the shell from taking
place by the mere impact of the same against its mark and before its having penetrated
into the same.
For this purpose the shell is provided inside with a tube rigidly connected therewith
and open at its forward end; the fuze is lodged within this tube in such position that
its initiating-cartridge is separated from the charge of the shell by the walls of the
said tube, which are made of considerable strength; the fuze is secured in the tube by
a fastening adapted to give way when, upon the shell striking against its mark, the
fuze is impelled forward within the shell by its inertia, and a channel is provided for
in the charge of the shell, opposite to the mouth of the tube, into which the fuze, after
having broken its fastening, can fly, so that the initiating-cartridge on exploding will
be in immediate contact with the charge.
By these means the initiating-cartridge is prevented from causing the charge of the
shell to explode in case it should accidentally explode within the said tube; moreover
the fuze is not immediately affected by the impact of the shell against a very hard
mark, and the premature explosion of its detonating-cap, often produced by the said
impact with the present constructions, is avoided. The fuze will on the contrary
operate in a regular manner, any means contained therein for retarding the detonation
of the cartridge, will come duly into action, and the bursting-charge will be exploded
with certainty at the proper moment.

page_text: Improvements in Explosive Projectiles.
We, MAX VON FÖRSTER, engineer, residing at 11 Culm Strasse Berlin, Prussia, and
OSKAR WOLFF, gun-powder manufacturer, residing at Walsrode, Prussia, 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:-
Our invention relates to shells charged with a high explosive, such as humid gun-
cotton, which for its detonation requires the detonation of an initiating cartridge, the
said shells being provided with a percussion fuze, and its object is to prevent the shell
from prematurely exploding during the handling and transport and in the gun while
being projected therefrom, and also to avoid an explosion of the shell from taking
place by the mere impact of the same against its mark and before its having penetrated
into the same.
For this purpose the shell is provided inside with a tube rigidly connected therewith
and open at its forward end; the fuze is lodged within this tube in such position that
its initiating-cartridge is separated from the charge of the shell by the walls of the
said tube, which are made of considerable strength; the fuze is secured in the tube
by a fastening adapted to give way when, upon the shell striking against its mark,
the fuze is impelled forward within the shell by its inertia, and a channel is provided
for in the charge of the shell, opposite to the mouth of the tube, into which the fuze,
after having broken its fastening, can fly, so that the initiating-cartridge on exploding
will be in the requisite immediate contact with charge.
By these means the initiating-cartridge is prevented from causing the charge of the
shell to explode in case it should itself accidentally explode within the said tube;
moreover the fuze is not immediately affected by the impact of the shell against a very
hard mark, and the premature explosion of its detonating-cap, often produced by the
said impact with the present constructions, is avoided. The fuze will on the contrary
operate in a regular manner, any means contained therein for retarding the detonation
of the cartridge, will come duly into action, and the bursting-charge will be exploded
with certainty at the proper moment.
On the annexed sheet of drawings Fig. 1 represents in sectional view a shell com-
prising our improvements, the tube c containing the fuze being inserted into the
bottom of the shell. Fig. 2 is a section of the fuze and of the tube c drawn to a
larger scale.
The complete fuze employed in this case, and marked in Fig. 1 by the letter =
consists in the percussion-fuze pf no, the detonating cap e containing, in addition to
a fulminating compound s, the column of gun-powder 1, serving to retard the explo-
sion, and in the initiating-cartridge inclosed in the tube r, which is fixed to an
extension of the case p of the percussion-fuze by means of screws, and which thus
holds together the parts of the fuze z. The percussion-fuze comprises, in addition to
the said case p, the piece f containing the primer, the ring o and the guard n, the
latter being a small perforated disk having two resilient arms extending downward
therefrom and flaring outward, the said guard being placed between the piece ƒ and

page_text: the ring o, and the parts being so arranged that normally the piece f will be kept
down by the guard n and the ring o, whereas when the piece f is impelled forward
in consequence of the impact of the shell, it will draw the arms of the guard n into
the ring o and strike with its primer against the pin at the top of the case p,
whereby the primer is caused to detonate. In addition to the said guard the drawing
shows a spiral spring placed on top of the piece f. The entire fuze as described does
not, however, in itself form any part of the invention which we claim, and fuzes of
different construction may be employed.
Upon its portion containing the initiating cartridge i, the tube is provided with
apertures through which the cartridge, on exploding at the proper time, i.e. after the
fuze has flown forward, may act with certainty on the charge of the shell. This
complete fuze is inserted into the protecting tube e integral with the screw-plug b,
and it is placed therein in such position that the initiating-cartridge, instead of being
turned towards the bursting-charge, as heretofore usual in all bottom-fuzes, is turned
away from the said charge and completely separated from the same, on one hand by
the walls of the tube c, on the other hand by the case p of the percussion-fuze, the
bursting-charge being thus secured against an accidental explosion, if the cartridge
should detonate within the tube c.
The fuze is maintained in the tube c by means of a thin wire d, having only such
strength as that it will prevent a dislocation of the fuze during the transport and the
handling of the shell. When the shell is fired from the gun, the fuze has, relatively
to the driving-power of the powder-gases, under all circumstances the tendency to
remain in the tube c, the same bearing with the offset a of its head against the upper
edge of the tube. As soon, however, as the shell strikes against a sufficiently resistant
mark, the fuze breaks the wire d and flies forward into the channel k formed in the
bursting-charge. Supposing that the material composing the charge, has a certain
degree of elasticity as is the case with gun-cotton, the concussion produced by the
fuze striking at the end of the channel k against the said material, will be moderated,
so that the detonating-caps does not explode at once, whereas the percussion-fuze
comes into action, and by the flame of its primer ignites the column of powder
contained in the detonating-cap, the powder thereupon bringing about the explosion
of the said cap and of the initiating cartridge i, and the cartridge in its turn operating
to detonate the blasting-charge with which it is at the time in close communication.
During the period in which the fuze flies forward in the shell and the column of
powder burns down, the shell has time to penetrate into its mark.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
1. In a shell, the combination, with the body of the shell and its bursting charge
of the tube c, a percussion-fuze with initiating-cartridge i. inserted into the tube c,
and means for fastening the fuze in the tube and adapted to give way when the fuze
flies forward in consequence of the impact of the shell against its mark, the bursting-
charge being provided opposite to the tube c with a channel k, substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
C
2. In a shell, the combination, with the body of the shell and its bursting-charge,
of the tube c, a percussion-fuze with initiating-cartridge i, inserted into the tube c,
and the wire d, the bursting-charge being provided opposite to the tube c with a
channel k, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated the Tenth day of September 1888.
CARL PIEPER,
Agent for Applicants.