IMPROVE- MENTS IN VESSELS OF WAR AND IN ORDNANCE
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Vincent Greene at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st March 1865.
I, WILLIAM VINCENT GREENE, of Dod St., Limehouse, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN VESSELS OF WAR AND IN ORDNANCE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, first, to improvements in vessels of war, and consists
in so constructing the same as to render practicable the use of ordnance of
greater size and power than any heretofore used.
One plan for effecting this object is as follows:-The hull of the vessel to
be employed for this purpose is to be made of two or more distinctive and
independant parts, the lower portion thereof constituting a floating carriage or
platform for guns of great size and power. The upper or outer portion of the
ship, which is to have a separate bottom, and by preference flat, is to be so
constructed as to contain accommodation for the commander, the officers, &
crew, as also for propulsion, stores, etc. I prefer propelling by two screws,
and steering by two rudders. The gun having been loaded and pointed, the
gunners may retire from the lower portion, carriage, or platform, to the upper
or outer portion of the ship, and the gun be discharged therefrom. The
carriage of the gun therefore being seperate from the upper or outer portion
of the ship will take the whole force of the recoil, which in turn will be
absorbed by the external water in which it floats. As the report of guns of a
calibre such as I propose using would be very deafening, and perhaps injurious
to the gunners were they exposed thereto, I propose that the ship be covered

page_text: with a stout deck or decks, and that the internal partitions or sides seperating
the ship from the carriage be sufficiently stout and well padded to deaden the
noise. In order to attain accuracy of fire, proper sight holes are to be pro-
vided in the outer portion of the ship, as well as in a line with the carriage or
central part, and suitable tackle or apparatus is to be provided for pointing
the gun from the said outer or upper portion of the ship. As the force of the
recoil will tend to push the carriage backwards and downwards, the said
carriage is to be so constructed as to be free to slide in the direction of the
length of the ship, and elastic bands or other suitable arrangements are to be
provided for bringing the carriage to its proper position for another charge.
When the ship is not in action the carriage or platform may be bolted or
otherwise fastened to the outer portion of the ship. The carriage or platform
may be made of two or more parts sliding or moving one within the other, the
trunnion bearings having by preference a spherical base, so as to form a ball-
and-socket joint. It may also be provided with space for stowage. It will
be seen that almost the only limit to the size of guns to be employed according
to this Invention will be the strength and dimensions of the floating carriage
or platform, and as one large gun will be preferable, as being more destructive,
to several of less power, I prefer the use of one gun only in each ship con-
structed according to this Invention; but when so desired, two or more may
be employed. In all cases however when one large gun only is used there
should be a reserve in case of accident. The guns may be worked on trunnions,
but I prefer the use of guns constructed as herein-after described.
II. Another arrangement for effecting the berein-before mentioned objects
is as follows:-A vessel of the Warrior or any other class is to be provided
with a tube or passage running throughout its length, and open to the water,
especially at the stern. The tube or passage is to be placed at such a depth
that the greater portion thereof will be immersed in water while the ship is in
action. In this tube or passage a gun of large size is to be placed, the breech
end thereof being made spherical, or surrounded by discs, as herein-after
described, or embedded or fitted in or on a carriage of such form and diameter
or size as to offer after each discharge a sufficient resistance to its passage
through the water, air, or other matter or fluid contained in the tube or
channel. By this arrangement the force of the recoil will be absorbed by the
water, air, or other matter or fluid in the tube without injury to the ship
or inconvenience to those therein. Two or more tubes or passages may be
thus employed in one ship if so desired. Proper arrangements are to be pro-
vided for cleaning, loading, and pointing the gun or guns, also for bringing
them to their proper position after the recoil. Two guns may be used to each

page_text: tube thus: Two openings are to be provided at the top of the tube or
passage, the gun having been loaded within the ship is lowered through the
upper opening, when by the force of the recoil after a discharge it will be
driven opposite, or near to the other opening, where it is to be raised by
suitable tackle or apparatus provided for the purpose. While this is being
done another gun may be loaded and lowered into the upper opening, and so
on in constant succession. The tube or channel may be imbedded in or
surrounded by a yielding matter, material, or materials, and in some cases the
tube may be made of a telescopic form, so that while in action it may extend
beyond the hull of the ship.
III. Another arrangement for working heavy ordnance is to suspend the
same from the ship by suitable rods or tackle, the said gun or guns being
made to float or partially float in or on the water when discharged. This
object may be attained by constructing a twin ship or ships open to the water
over a portion of their bottom, or by other equivalent means.
The gun being
suspended from the ship may be raised to any desired position for loading, and
when lowered to the water may be pointed from the inside of the ship by
means of suitable apparatus provided for that purpose. The guns to be
employed for carrying out this part of my Invention should be enclosed within
a series of discs, or be otherwise so imbedded or encased as to offer sufficient
resistance to its passage through the water after a discharge, as also to give a
certain buoyancy thereto.
IV. Another arrangement consists in so constructing vessels of war that the
force of the recoil of the gun or guns to be used therein shall be diffused
evenly and equally over the whole or a large portion of the hull of such
ship. To effect this a series of grooves or recesses of varying diameter are
formed in the hull of the ship, the said grooves or recesses being slightly
curved on their surfaces. A gun having a series of steel discs or springs
corresponding in number with the grooves in the ship is then fitted therein,
and will be free to move in any direction necessary for pointing or firing. In
order to diffuse the strain evenly over the whole spring, I prefer to make the
barrel of the gun tapered towards the breech, or a strong collar may be fitted
on the part of the barrel where the spring terminates, & elastic or other
pads or collars be placed between the discs.
:
A similar object may be attained by imbedding ordnance in a casing or
cusbion of fibrous or other yielding matter, material, or materials, the gun
being by preference of a spherical form at the breech, so as to form a ball-
and-socket joint, & permit of the gun being moved in its bed or cushion in
any direction necessary for firing.

page_text: Although I have spoken of guns of larger calibre than any heretofore
made, I would have it understood that by this Invention guns such as are
now used may be advantageously employed, much smaller ships than those
now employed being sufficient for the purpose.
Secondly, lightness and strength being important conditions in ordnance to
be employed as herein-before described, I would here state I do not confine
myself to any particular mode or modes of attaining those objects, but guns
possessing such properties may be made,-
I. By fitting on to a tube or barrel a series of discs of steel or other strong
metal or material, all or the greater portion of their surfaces being apart
from each other, and, when so desired, filling in the intervening spaces with a
strong light material, by preference fibrous.
II. By coiling around a steel or other tube a series of layers of felt,
canvass, or paper, seperately or combined.
III. By coiling around a steel or other tube or barrel a series of thin
ribbands or bands of steel or other metal in combination with paper, or any
fibrous or woven material.
IV. Making ordnance of a spherical form of a diameter equal to the whole
or a portion of their length, or encasing ordnance in a spherical shell or case
of a diameter equal to the whole or of a portion of their length, the sphere in
either case commencing from the breech. In each case the said matters or
materials may be cemented together by india-rubber, glue, or other suitable
adhesive matter, and be rendered impermeable to external or other influence
by vulcanization or other chemical treatment.