AN IMPROVED ARMOUR OR SHIELD FOR PROTECTING SHIPS, FLOATING BATTERIES, AND ARTILLERY FROM PROJECTILES
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Martin Van Vuren Wisker
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th July 1864.
I, JOHN MARTIN VAN BUREN WISKER, of 44, Castle Street, Holborn, in
the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED ARMOUR OR SHIELD FOR PROTECTING SHIPS, FLOATING BATTERIES,
AND ARTILLERY FROM PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
The nature of said Invention chiefly consists, first, in protecting the hull of
vessels and the sides of floating batteries and forts by means of yielding cable,
rods, or plates, the ends of which are secured to loops of india-rubber or other
elastic material; and, second, in protecting the guns and gunners on the deck
of ships, and artillery on land by means of a slanting shield or plate, the upper
part of which is made to yield for the purpose of allowing projectiles to pass
over the same without injury to the plate or danger to the gunners.
For protecting ships, beams are secured at suitable intervals from stem to
stern, either vertically or horizontally as may be found most convenient;
these beams should be of sufficient strength to resist shot and shell. Through
these beams holes are bored for the insertion of short lengths of india-rubber
or other elastic material. These elastic pieces are formed with loops upon
either end, to which the cable or other kind of armour is attached by hooks or
other suitable device. The elastic pieces are placed at sufficient distance from
the hull to permit them to yield when the armour is struck by projectiles
without bringing said armour in forcible contact with the ship. The elastic

page_text: pieces are protected by means of the projecting sides of the beams, the latter
being constructed of or plated with iron or steel. For additional security, two
or more rows of cables or rods may be employed, the inner ones being so
arranged as to fill up the spaces between the outer cables or rods, thereby
rendering the ship invulnerable; this armour may be advantageously applied
in a similar manner to floating batteries and forts.
When my Invention is applied to the purpose of protecting guns and
gunners placed in exposed positions, the slanting shield or plate used is
confined at its lower end or side by means of a hinge joint, and a spring is
placed at the back of said plate in such a manner that the upper and
unconfined end of the plate yields when struck by a projectile, thereby greatly
diminishing the effect of the blow, and allowing the projectile to pass over the
plate without injury to the gun carriages or danger to the gunners. Sufficient
space is left between the yielding plates for he guns. The plates are hinged
to the side of ships, forts, and batteric which are, so constructed as to
protect the confined end of said plates.
The details may be varied without departing from the spirit of my
Invention, my chief object being to render ships, forts, and batteries proof
against the most penetrating projectile, which, especially as regards ships, can
only be practically accomplished by means of a yielding armour, which I
prefer to construct of cable, while the said armour or plates may be con-
veniently detached when not required for protection.