IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RECOVERING SHIPS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, Patent Agent, of Paris,
in the Empire of France, and 88, Porchester Terrace, Bayswater,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR RECOVERING SHIPS."-A communication from abroad by
Charles Jean Frederic Eyber, residing at Rue Coquillère, Paris, in the
Empire of France.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 25th January 1864, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRI
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, Patent Agent, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and
38, Porchester Terrace, Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS POR RECOVERING SHIPS," communicated to me by Charles Jean
Frederic Eyber, a person residing Rue Coquillère, Paris, in the Empire of
France, and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and
have made solemn declaration that it is a communication.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing:-
:-
For sometime past essays have been made to apply to the recovery of
sunken vessels means based upon the principle of the displacement of water
by apparatus containing air. These attempts have invariably failed because
attention has not been directed to the discovery, firstly, of a form which
renders these apparatus steady, and at the same time in equilibre so as to
distribute the pressure equally over their surfaces; secondly, of a means of
keeping them in a position which allows of acting on the sunken vessel at will;
and, thirdly, because no means have hitherto been discovered of introducing gas
or air gradually and at will so as to displace the water drop by drop, by
which means a small force may be made to produce very considerable effects,
the necessary difference of time being given. After reading attentively the
description following, and examining the annexed Drawings, it will be
acknowledged that the Inventor has attained the above end by entirely new
processes. All the apparatus herein-after described are formed of an envelope
of an entirely new character composed of two cloths waterproofed with india-
rubber m, o, Fig. 1. Between these two cloths is placed a membrane of
pure india-rubber n from 5 to of an inch in thickness, or more if necessary.
These three envelopes are next united by pressure and vulcanised by steam.
The different forms in which these apparatus are made will be hereafter
described, but I will in the first place indicate the organs and details which
apply to all the apparatus whatever their form. The upper part of each
apparatus is provided with a brass tap a, the tube of which is of the same
material as the body of the apparatus, the lower part of which is terminated
by a valve tube G likewise formed of the same material, closed at its lower
end by a valve F to be hereafter described. The dimension of this tube
being in proportion to that of the apparatus it will be understood that the
tap a is intended by opening or shutting to cause the apparatus to rise or
descend; as for the valve tube G it serves as a rudder to the apparatus. A
net b, b, b, formed of tarred ropes envelopes the whole of the apparatus as
represented in the Drawings. As above stated the apparatus are all composed
of the same materials, but the form, the introduction of the air, the valve tube,
and the disposition of the nets vary according to the position of the vessels to
be recovered.
A few details will now be given.
*

page_text: The Figures 1 and 11 represent an apparatus intended for raising a ship
lying in from 3 to 30 fathoms of water. This apparatus when dilated is of
a conical truncated form. Inside it is fixed a grooved pulley E, over which
the cord d drawing the air or gas tube V passes. The leaden valve F is
pierced with five openings represented in plan Fig. 8, and in section Fig. 9.
Figure 2 represents-two apparatus L, L, intended for raising a ship struck
on a rock in shallow water; their form is spherical, cylindrical, and convexed,
in form of a camel's back, the valve tube G in this kind of apparatus is larger
and more conical than in the apparatus Figs. 1 and 1', the net is generally
crossed so as to form triangles. These apparatus are provided with an escape-
ment tube a placed above and at the centre, and with two taps placed one
at each end of the axis of the apparatus. The said apparatus are placed
under a cradle M traced on the plan. The Figure 3 represents the apparatus
intended for raising a vessel already at the surface of the water out of
it; it is suitable for shallow water, its form is ellipsoid, its large axis
differs but slightly from the small one, and the longitudinal axis is much
higher than the other two. It will be seen that the valve tube G of this
apparatus is larger and longer in proportion than those of the preceding
apparatus.
Figure 3 represents the hydraulic water-tight gate, its form is elliptic, and
its balloon is fixed on a cloth with india-rubber lining round which a
frame of sheet iron 8, 8, 3, 8, is screwed to the vessel's bull. The apparatus
just described are applicable to all cases of shipwreck, but in cases where the
ship is not too much injured, it may likewise be raised by displacing the
water by air or gas being introduced into the vessels; in this case all the
openings are closed and cemented hermetically, then if possible a hole is made
under the keel, if possible through the midship frame. By this hole one or
more tubes communicating with an air pump placed in the recovering ship
are passed, the air thus introduced drives the water out by the same opening,
which is always made larger than necessary for the entrance of the air tubes.
The novelty of this process consists in the idea of driving out the water
instead of pumping.it out, and in the exact indication of the place where the
tubes should be introduced. In cases where the ship is greatly injured,
the recovery may still be effected by these apparatus, which attached to the
vessel draw it to the surface of the water.
Figure 1 represents the recovery of a ship sunk in very deep water. The
recovering ship A is in the first place moored as nearly as possible over the
wreck B by 10 or 12 ship's anchors firmly taken in the bottom, or to rocks,

page_text: if any, this being the diver's business, who wearing the diving dress is
entrusted with the descent and placing of the apparatus. He attains his
object in two ways; in the first the diver places himself on the platform of
the apparatus and opens the tap a, when the apparatus descends with him; in
the second way he goes down the rope ladder R, passes one of the cords
9, 9, 9, in one of the pullies c, c, c, and then draws up, the cord, which being
held fast at the steam windlass T placed on the recovery ship draws the
apparatus to the bottom.
Three different means may be employed for attaching the apparatus to
wrecks.
The first, which may be applied to all ships, consists in passing iron wire
cables H around the vessel under the keel, and attaching the pulleys to the
rings by which the cables are joined.
The second means is, when the port holes are made of iron, to pass a piece
of wood or iron P through them, see Figs. 1, 9, and 6, to which chains O are
attached, catching at intervals on an iron beam I made with collars or
shoulder pieces h; next the hooks f, f, f, of the pulleys C, C, C, are passed
in the iron rings i, i, i, of the iron beam I.
The third means consists, when the port holes are not of iron, to bore one
or more openings with an auger or by other means, and then to proceed as
for the second case. In the Figure 2 the recovery of a ship wrecked upon
a rock is represented; the two apparatus L, L, raise the vessel by pressing
under a cradle M. The third apparatus K filled with hydrogen gas is
intended for steadying the vessel when carried into deep water. X, Figures
3 and 3 represents the apparatus applied under the keel for raising the
vessel out of the water in the case concerning the water-tight gate; Figure 4
is a plan view of the Fig. 3; Figure 5 represents the towing of a sunken
vessel N, into harbour, t the diving ship, and the tug. The diver placed
on the platform of the apparatus steers and raises or lowers the wreck at
will by opening the air and water taps. Figure 6 is a portion of the
ropes, rings, and other attaching tackle on a large scale; Figure 7 a section
of a former system of water-tight gate; Figure 8 a plan view of the valve
Fig. 1.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, what I claim is the recovery of ships by
lightening them by the introduction of air or gas either directly into the
vessel as above described, or into the apparatus likewise above described and
represented in the annexed Drawing. I include in this claim all the processes

page_text: detailed above, all the ways and manners of operating, all the shapes rendered
necessary by the particular cases of wreck, stranding, or sinking the hydraulic
water-tight gate comprised, and, lastly, the combination of materials and their
arrangement, the whole constituting an entire novel principle.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
H. BONNEVILLE. (L.S.)