IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF PROPELLING AND MANEUVERING FLOATING BATTERIES AND OTHER VESSELS INTENDED FOR THE PURPOSES OF NAVAL DEPENCE AND ATTACK
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Elder, of Glasgow, Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF PROPELLING AND
MANEUVERING FLOATING BATTERIES AND OTHER VESSELS INTENDED FOR THE
PURPOSES OF NAVAL DEPENCE AND ATTACK."
Sealed the 24th March 1868, and dated the 28th September 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Elder at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th September
1867.
I, JOHN ELDER, of Glasgow, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF PROPELLING
AND MANEUVERING FLOATING BATTERIES AND OTHER VESSELS INTENDED FOR THE
PURPOSES OF NAVAL DEFENCE AND ATTACK," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction and maneuvering
of floating batteries and other vessels which are intended to be used for the
purposes of naval attack and defence.
Instead of constructing the hull of the vessel of the usual shape, having a
length several times the breadth, and with a bow and stern for the purpose of
travelling in one particular direction, it is made circular on the plan and in
A

page_text: "
the shape of a portion of a sphere; or it may be of the form of a truncated
parabola or a cone, or of any other form which will admit of a circular or
nearly circular horizontal section on line of floatation, and it may be flattened
or hollowed out at the bottom. It may be constructed either with or without
a turret; if without a turret, the guns would be placed round the vessel at or
near the circumference, and protected by means of armour plates, forming a
bulwark, placed at an angle, or 'tumbling home towards the centre of the
vessel above the deck, and thereby forming a V cutting edge with the plates
forming the lower part of the vessel, and which may be used for purposes of
attack in a novel manner hereafter shewn. It may be provided with a turret,
in which case it is preferred that the bottom of the turret should be circular
in a vertical section, and be so arranged as to be capable of travelling or being
moved in a vertical plane for the purpose of elevating or depressing the guns
within it.
The vessel may be driven by hydraulic, steam, or other motive power, and
contrived as to enable the vessel to travel straight in any direction, or to revolve
on its own axis, or to combine a straight with a revolving motion; thus,
supposing the vessel to be driven by hydraulic power, it may have three, four,
or any suitable number of jets round the circumference (either above or below
the water line), these jets to be so disposed that they may either exert a force
in line with the centre of the vessel or in line in or near a direction at right
angles with it, viz., in the direction of a tangent to the circumference, by
which means the vessel may either be propelled in a straight line when the
force of the water is acting in a line from the centre of the vessel, or it may
be caused to revolve when one or mere jets are caused to act in a line
tangential to the circumference.
In some cases it is preferred to cause a part of the water or moving power
to act always in one direction, while the vessel is being caused to revolve by
means of the other portion of the power. This being effected by means of
carrying the water through a pipe which has a swivel joint in the centre of
the vessel and passing through the bottom, or by means of a hollow ring round
the vessel provided with sluices, and so arranged that only those that act in
the required direction shall be open, the sluices or valves opening and shutting
with the revolution of the vessel. A rudder may be applied at the bottom or
other convenient part of the vessel, which if preferred may also be stirred or
actuated by means of water jets on either side.
A circular bulkhead may be carried all round the vessel, extending from
the deck to below the water line, radiating bulkheads forming with its water-
tight compartments, and the whole structure be framed together by means

page_text: of diagonal bracings and trellis girders. The V edge forming the periphery of
the vessel may be fitted with steel slabs with either a plain or serrated edge,
for the purpose of cutting through vessels or other bodies opposed to it.
Instead of water power a species of horizontal paddle with straight or
inclined boards, and driven by means of a shaft passing through the bottom
(or by any other convenient means), may be employed. Rising and falling
false keels or "leeboards" may be used for the purpose of better enabling the
vessel to travel in a straight direction; rudders may also be fitted in a similar
manner. The armour plates may be so fitted and dovetailed together at the
angles where they meet as to form, either with or without the steel ring before-
mentioned, a continuous ring which may be made to avail for a ram or a
circular saw or knife edge for purposes of attack.
By the arrangement and disposition of the propelling or motor jets, or the
apparatus or means of giving motion to the vessel, it is intended to impart
in addition to the ordinary movement a high velocity of rotation, so that the
accumulation of force within the periphery of the circular vessel, forming
as it were a horizontal fly wheel with a heavy rim possessing the character
of a revolving saw, will when brought in contact with a body produce the
double effects due to collision and cutting or sawing.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Elder in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th
March 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ELDER, of Glasgow, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Ierself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Elder, Her special licence that I, the said John Elder, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Elder, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
AND MODE OF PROPELLING AND MANŒUVRING. FLOATING BATTERIES AND OTHER

page_text: VESSELS INTENDED FOR THE PURPOSES OF NAVAL DEFENCE AND ATTACK," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Elder, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Elder, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
in writing and accompanying Sheet of Drawings:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction and manoeuvering
of floating batteries and other vessels which are intended to be used for the
purposes of naval attack and defence.
Instead of constructing the hull of the vessel of the usual shape, having a
length several times the breadth and with a bow and stern for the purpose
of being driven "end on," it is made circular on the plan and in elevation a
portion of a sphere, or the hull or lower body may be either of the form of a
truncated parabola or a cone, or of any other form which will admit of a
circular horizontal section on the line of flotation, and the vessel may have
either a flattened convex or concave central portion at the bottom thereof as
herein-after described. These vessels may be constructed either with or without
a turret; if without a turret the guns may be placed round the vessel at or
near the circumference, and be protected by means of armour plates forming
a bulwark placed at an angle or "tumbling home" towards the centre of the
vessel above the deck, and thereby forming a V cutting edge with the plates
forming the lower part of the vessel, and this edge may be used for purposes
of attack in a novel manner herein-after described and illustrated more in
detail. These vessels may be provided with a turret, and in some cases it is
preferred that the bottom of the turret should be semicircular in a vertical
line, and be so arranged as to be capable of travelling or being moved in a
vertical plane, as well as rotating for the purpose of elevating or depressing the
guns within it.
It will thus be seen that instead of firing only a portion of the guns forming
the broadside battery of a ship of the ordinary form, and then causing the ship
to make a turn of considerable length, requiring considerable time for such
revolution to euable, the other broadside battery to be discharged, in ships
constructed according to my Invention the vessel may be moved about its

page_text: centre and one or more guns..at a time be brought to bear upon the object,
and alternate firing and rotation or circular movement alone or combined
with rectilinear movement may be followed, effecting considerable economy
in time for a given number of discharges.
The vessel may be moved by means of hydraulic jets, by steam or other
motive power, and such propelling apparatus may be so arranged as to enable
the vessel to travel straight in any direction, or to revolve about its own axis,
or to combine a straight with a revolving motion. Thus, supposing the vessel
to be driven by means of bydraulic jets, it may have three, four, or any suitable
number of jets round its circumference (either above or below the water line),
these jets to be so disposed that they may either exert the force in a radial
line with the centre of the vessel or in line in or near a direction at right
angles with it, viz., as a tangent or tangents to the circumference, by which
means the vessel may either be propelled in a straight line when the force
of the water is acting in a radial line from the centre of the vessel, or the
vessel may be caused to revolve when one or more jets are caused to act in a
line tangential to the circumference.
In some cases it is preferred to cause a part of the water or moving power
to act always in one direction, while the vessel is being caused to revolve
by means of the other portion of the power, this being effected by means of
carrying the water through a pipe which has a swivel joint in the centre of
the vessel and passes through the bottom, or by means of a hollow ring round
the vessel provided with sluices and so arranged that only those that act in the
required direction shall be open, the sluice or valve opening and shutting
during and in conjunction with the revolution or rotation of the vessel. A..
rudder may be applied at the bottom or other convenient part of the vessel,
which, if preferred, may also be steered or actuated by means of water jets on
either side.
A circular bulkhead may be carried all round the vessel, extending from
the deck to below the water line, radiating bulkheads forging with it
water-tight compartments, and the whole structure may be framed together
by means of diagonal bracings and trellis girders. The V edge forming the
periphery of the vessel may be fitted with steel slabs with either a plain or
serrated edge for the purpose of eutting through vessels or other bodies
opposed to it.
Instead of water power a species of horizontal paddle with straight or
inclined boards, and driven by means of a shaft passing through the bottom
(or by any other convenient means), may be employed for propelling the
vessel. Rising and falling false keels or "leeboards" may be used for the

page_text: purpose of better enabling the vessel to travel in a straight direction; rudders
may also be fitted in a similar manner. The armour plates may be so fitted
and dovetailed together at the angles where they meet as to form either with
or without the steel ring before mentioned a continuous ring, which may be
made available for a "ram or as a circular saw or knife edge for purposes of
attack.
"
By the arrangement and disposition of the propelling or motor jets or the
apparatus or means of giving motion to the vessel, it is intended to impart
(in addition to the ordinary rectilinear movement) a high velocity of rotation,
so that the accumulation of force within the periphery of the circular vessel,
forming as it were a horizontal fly wheel with a heavy rim and possessing the
character of a revolving saw, will, when brought in contact with a body,
produce the combined effects due to collision and cutting or sawing.
In vessels constructed according to my Invention the shape or deck plan
and horizontal contour is circular irrespective of the shape or form of the
bottom or submerged portion of the vessel, and where that portion of the
vessel represents a segment or small portion of a sphere the buttock lines are
fine, and consequently the vessel will suffer but little resistance from the water
during its passage therethrough.
In order to navigate and manoeuvre the vessel, whether employed as a
mortar ship, or as a floating and moving battery, or as a ram with (or without)
guns, I propose, instead of employing a screw propeller or propellers or a
paddle wheel or paddle wheels or other projecting propelling apparatus, to use
or employ the water jet apparatus, as herein-before mentioned, by means
of a turbine or rotary pump placed in the centre of the vessel and driven or
set in motion by steam power. The suction and delivery pipes of the
apparatus may be in line with one another and opening through the opposite
sides of the vessel radially, by which means the vessel is caused to move in a
straight line. In connection with the straight discharge and suction pipes,
and for the purpose of imparting to the vessel a rotary motion and change
of direction from the rectilinear movement, I connect or fit branch pipes on
either side, curving one right and the other left, in such a manner that when
the water is caused by means of valves or any other well-known means to
flow through any two or more of these curved pipes instead of through the
straight pipes, a rotary movement will be imparted to the vessel as hereiu-before
described.
In order to steer the vessel sliding rudders may be placed in any convenient
position in line with or on either side of the straight pipes, and these may be
raised or lowered in the usual way. In order to enable the vessel to go

page_text: astern, or in the opposite direction to that in which it has been going, valves
are fitted in the suction and delivery pipes in such a manner that the pipe
which had been used as the delivery pipe can be used for the suction pipe aud
vice versa.
Instead of having one delivery and one suction pipe, I prefer in some cases
to have another delivery and a suction pipe similar to the before mentioned
but placed at right angles to them and fitted with sliding valves; these may
also be curved pipes, similar to those before mentioned, fitted on each side of
these latter, and the whole be worked by means of valves connected to the
same valve gear, so that they may work in unison. By this means the vessel
may be caused to travel in any desired direction and then at right angles
to that direction, or it may be made to revolve either to the right or to the
left, or it may have a cycloidal or a combined straight and revolving motion at
the same time, i.e., it may be made to travel in any particular direction while
revolving around its own axis.
In some cases where a very shallow drought is necessary, I prefer to make
the bottom of the vessel or battery flat, and in order to obtain a sharp cutting
edge the guns are placed further inboard, and the annular space between the
outside of the battery and the protecting armour plate of the guns is made
Dearly or quite horizontal. A turret may be placed in the centre of the vessel
and be made to revolve within the vessel in the usual manner, and it may
be so mounted, and actuated by mechanical means as to remain stationary
in relation to external objects whilst the vessel is caused to revolve about the
turret.
. For the purpose of working the anchors of the vessel and for mooring
it, I prefer to construct wells passing through the bottom of the vessel.
and continued upwards to a sufficient height above the water line, the
anchors being dropped and raised through the wells instead of outside the
vessel.
In some cases I employ several turrets placed in convenient positions on
or above the deck of the vessel, in addition to or instead of mounted guns
round the side or circumference of the vessel. In other cases I prefer to
make the deck for a considerable distance towards the centre slightly curved,
and to place the guns in a central battery or turret, which may either be fixed
or revolve independently of the vessel, and be made to rise and fall as herein-
before mentioned.
In cases where it is desirable to have the line of fire at a considerable
elevation above the water, I build the turret in several tiers or stories; by
this means I am enabled to place the gun or guns at a sufficient.clevation to

page_text: fire down upon the deck of ordinary ships or vessels of war or into a fort or
coast defence.
Instead of constructing the vessel so that the angular rim or cutting
edge round the circumference is above the water line, I propose for some
purposes to make or form it below the water line, so that it may strike a
ship at some point under water, or, when required, below the line of armour
plating.
Vessels constructed according to this Invention may also be employed for
the purpose of carrying a mortar of the largest dimensions in the centre
thereof by making the turret open at the top and building up the bed for the
mortar from the bottom of the vessel by means of transverse baulks of timber
or by other suitable means; the form and great area on line of flotation of
the vessel almirably adapting it for carrying mortars of larger dimensions
than has heretofore been possible, intended to project shells of corresponding
size and weight, as from the great strength of structure obtainable, its great
stability as a platform, and its ability to resist the shock of the heaviest
discharge, such engines of a more destructive character than it has heretofore
been possible to use afloat may be mounted in and discharged from ships
constructed according to the present Invention. Besides having a mortar in
the centre of the battery as before mentioned, one or more turrets may be
placed in any convenient position above the deck surrounding the mortar
turret, by which means the vessel may be adapted both for attack and
defence.
In the accompanying Sheet of Drawings I have illustrated various modes
or methods of constructing the ships or vessels in accordance with the
present Invention, and have shewn various modifications in the shape or
configuration of the vertical section or transverse sectional form of the lower
body or hull of the vessels as well as in the upper body or superstructure, and
in the arrangement and disposition of the batteries, turrets, and other
provisions for utilizing these ships for the several purposes for which they
are designed or are capable of being employed, but in every case the form,
shape, or figure on the plan or horizontal section of the vessel is circular,
although the form and shape of the superstructure may be varied and be
either circular or of any other convenient or desired shape or configuration,
and I will herein-after describe some of the modes or methods in which I
prefer to shape or form and combine the materials together for the purpose
of giving the requisite strength of structure, stability, and other requirements
necessary for effecting the objects for which the ship or vessel is intended to
be employed.

page_text: And with a view to render the present Specification as complete and
comprehensive as possible whilst confining it within moderate limits of length
and avoiding unnecessary repetitions or prolixity, I have selected for the
purpose of illustrating my said Invention certain of the types of vessels
differing from each other in their general arrangement, their form, mode of pro-
pelling and manoeuvring as well as in the objects for which they are designed
or in the purposes for which they are intended to be employed. I have
therefore selected for illustration only the major links, whilst the minor and
intervening links in the chain of improvement are ouly briefly described or
referred to, and as such they will become self-evident and be readily under-
stood.
I have therefore limited the illustrations accompanying the present
Specification to the several Figures contained in the following Sheets of
Drawings.
Sheet 1 contains a series of diagrams of various forms and descriptions of
vessels in elevation on a small scale.
Sheet contains plans on a small scale of some of the Figures given in
Sheet 1.
Sheet 8 illustrates modes of propelling and steering, as also the general
construction and arrangement of the vessel so fitted.
Sheet 4 illustrates the nature and application of the hydraulic propelling
machinery and certain methods of working the admission and discharge
valves, the connections with the wheel house or steering platform, and the
general arrangement and construction of the vessel so fitted.
Sheet 5 shows a vessel fitted with curved pipes and delivery openings,
together with the valve gear and connectious specially designed for a vessel
intended to be rotated.
Sheet 6 contains diagrams showing various arrangements of machinery
intended for vessels constructed according to the present Invention, and also
arrangements of steam machinery and screw propellers.
Sheet 7 exhibits an application of the present Invention, the vessel having
a fixed battery and revolving turret, and it also exhibits a plan of con-
struction.
Sheet 8 is a vessel with a curved deck, fixed battery, and the turbine or
propelling machinery fitted in a recess in the ship's bottom, also a vessel·
having two decks and tiers of batteries and the engines and ordinary screw
propellor suitably applied.
Sheet 9 shows a vessel with four revolving turrets and without a fixed-
"

page_text: Sheet 10 is an elevation of a vessel having a tunnel or arched recess
running across the bottom, in which one of the several means of propulsion
berein-before described may be placed; it also shows two quarter plans of
methods of framing.
Sheet 11 illustrates a vessel having a flat bottom instead of being of a
uniform curve, and shows the method of construction; this vessel has a fixed
battery and a revolving turret.
Sheet 12 shows a vessel with the bottom somewhat similar to that shewn
in Sheet 11 having a fixed battery and large revolving turret, there being a
pilot house in the centre, and it also exhibits the mode of construction.
Sheet 18 is a vessel specially designed for the purpose of carrying, say,
n 36-inch mortar, and it shows an arrangement and disposition of mortar bed
suited for the purpose of receiving and distributing the percussive action due
to, the discharge of the mortar.
Sheet 14 exhibits two elevations, one with fixed tower amidships with
four tiers of guns, the ship being propelled by means of screws; the other
elevation has a revolving tower and four tiers of guns, and is propelled by
means of the turbine arrangement and water jet propellers, and has also the
arrangement of blade rudder adapted to use.
Sheet 15 exhibits a composite vessel constructed according to the present
Invention with an iron frame and wood skin, and shows plan of construction
as also the method of working the valves from the pilot house.
Before proceeding to describe generally the several Sheets of Drawings
hereunto annexed in the consecutive order in which they are numbered, I
propose for the sake of illustration to select, say, Sheet 11 for the purpose of
describing somewhat in detail a ship of the type there shown, by which the
structural arrangement of the vessel as well as the internal fittings and
appliances are shown in situ, and their respective purposes and their relations
to the other parts are clearly indicated.
Sheet 11 represents a vessel of about 200 feet extreme diameter, say
14 ft. 6" deep to gun deck, with a draught of about 12 feet, and a displace-
ment of about 5,500 to 6,000 tons. The bottom in this case is perfectly flat
for a diameter of about 100 feet, from which the sides rise or radiate at an
angle to the level of the gun deck, and thence return at a lesser angle to the
upper deck. It is intended to steer this vessel by means of eight balanced s
rudders all worked by a wheel amidships, and two of these rudders only will
be in use at one time, according to the direction in which the hull is intended
to be propelled. The bull of this vessel is shown as framed for about 25
feet amidships by circular keelsons, thence to the angle or end of flat at 100

page_text: feet diameter. by alternate single L irons and a centre plate with 4 angle
irons all stiffened by radial stringers; the outer portion is constructed in a
similar manner, with a deeper centre plate to receive the end of the backing,
which is fitted in one of the ways ordinarily employed; armour plating is
shown as being carried four feet below the water line, although this may be
dispensed with and save considerable weight and cost, as no shot can strike
this portion of the vessel excepting at a very oblique angle. Above the upper
deck is shewn a revolving turret, which may carry one or two heavy guns on
the same carriage. Ventilation may be provided for by one or more of.
Sebiele's fans, and would be further assisted by adopting Dible's ventilating.
tubes and apparatus ; accommodation for officers may be provided in the,
centre of the gun deck around the machinery space, and for the crew and
stores there is ample room below. The outside plating is intended to be flush,
so as to offer as little resistance as possible when the vessel is being rotated.
The plates employed in covering the framing of the ship may be worked.
towards the centre, and where T irous are used instead of angle irons they
would to a great extent answer as butt straps and save considerable weight;
water-tight bulkheads may be placed as desired, and made to radiate from the
centre, and so divide the vessel into as many circular passages as may be
required or found useful. The magazines and shell rooms may be surrounded,
with water in case of fire, and may afterwards be emptied by means of pumps.
The upper deck is shown about 8 inches thick in oak, with a inch or 1
inch plate over the beams, this it is 'presumed would prevent a shell from
breaking through...
Having thus briefly described one of the Sheets of Illustrations accompany-,
ing this Specification, exhibiting one of the types of vessels and certain of
the arrangements and dispositions of materials employed in the construction of
the vessel common to other plans and modifications of the Invention illustrated"
in other Sheets, I will now proceed to briefly describe the several Figures on
Sheets 1 and 2.
In Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an elevation of a vessel having four revolving
turrets and with a central pilot house; Figure 2 has a fixed battery with the
pilot house on the top thereof; Figure 3 shews a variation or niodification of
Figure 2; Figure 4 shews the horizontal cutting or ramming edge below the
water line; Figure 5 has a fixed battery, a revolving turret, and the circum-
ference of the vessel is shewn as serrated; Figure 6 has a curved back or deck
with a fixed battery and circular line of ports; Figure 7 is intended for a
moored fort or floating battery having a fixed, battery,, the deck and battery.
being shown as protected with earthwork; Figure 8 has a revolving tower

page_text: and earthwork; Figure 9 has a high fixed tower with six tiers of guns;
Figures 10 and 11 show the hull of the vessel as conical instead of being a
portion of a sphere, having fixed batteries and turrets; Figure 12 has a fixed
battery, four revolving turrets, and a wheel house in the centre or amidships;
Figure 13, fixed batteries on two decks or tiers; Figure 14 is a mortar ship
or float; Figure 15 a form of fixed battery, being a modification of those
previously shown.
In Sheet 2, Figure 1 is a plan view of Figure 13 of Sheet 1; Figure 2 is
a plan view of Figure 11, Sheet 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 14, Sheet
1; Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 12, Sheet 1; and Figure 5 is a plan viow
of Figure 9, Sheet 1.
On reference to the foregoing illustrations it will readily be seen that by the
present Invention is offered an improved form for the construction of ships of
war and floating batteries or vessels intended for coast or harbour defence and
for attacking an enemy's ship, round ships may bave a diameter of, say, 300
feet on the main or fighting deck, and have a displacement of about 10,000
tons, with a draught of water, say, of 14 feet, and although more especially
adapted for coast and harbour defence, they may be fitted with all the
necessary accommodation for performing an ocean voyage of several days'
duration. From the nature of the designs it will be seen that the round form
offers facilities for protecting the hull not possessed by any other model or form
of ship, by enabling the sides and other parts of the ship to be constructed at
such angles with the plane on which the ship floats as may be found to offer
the least solid resistance to projectiles, and by changing the direction of motion
of the shot rather than by endeavouring to resist their impact, will tend to
lessen the possibility of the shell of the vessel being pierced or injured. The
equal length obtainable in a round vessel only, whilst securing a steady bottom
and superior platform for a large number of the heaviest guus, offers a stability
even in a rough sea which will enable the whole of the bulwark batteries to
be made use of when the motion of a ship of the ordinary form would only
admit of the gun ports being occasionally opened, and this form of ship may
advantageously be made use of in supporting central turrets of much greater
height and diameter than could possibly be erected on board of ships of the
usual form. The advantages of this latter arrangement when firing down on
the decks of ships or into forts are invaluable, and also when the vessel may be
opposed to heavily armour-plated opponents or coast defences. The revolving
or rotating properties which the means of propulsion employed give the ships
may also be used in place of the ram for the destruction of ships, the vessel
itself receiving (while tearing up the sides of another vessel with the sharp

page_text: edge at the lower extremity of the sides) an infinitely small amount of damage
when compared to the effects that even the strongest ram would suffer from
when in violent collision with another ship of war. It is generally to be pre-
ferred that water propulsion be employed as that best adapted to the
and as being most protected from injury by the form of the ship.
purpose,
For the better illustration of some of the combined arrangements which
form parts of the present Invention, and of the means by which the propulsion
and steering of the vessel may be effected, reference may be made to Sheets 4, 6,
7, 8, 15, upon which are shown the methods by which the entire control of the
propelling power and its effect on the direction of the ship may be so
centralized as to be manageable by a single individual, or be so concentrated
as to be governable by a magnetic steering apparatus as herein-after described.
In Sheet 4 is represented a type of the pump by means of which the vessel
may be propelled, Figure 1 being an elevation, and Figure 2 a half plan of
the propelling machinery, and exhibiting the arrangements of valves and water
passages by which the motion and direction of the ship is governed. The
following is one of the modes or methods by which I propose to connect or
unite the gearing for actuating the valves of the propelling as well as the
steering gear. On a drum or shaft placed in some convenient position above
the pump there may be fixed a wheel or pulley at such an angle to the drum
on which it is keyed as will cause a point on the strap which encircles the
wheel or pulley to travel in a vertical direction, while the drum is made to
revolve a distance equal to the lift required by a sluice valve placed in the
water passages leading to and from the pump to open or close the suction or
delivery passages by which the pump is supplied or fod; baving determined this
angle, four snugs or pivots may be fixed to the pulley strap, from which either
directly or by means of levers connection may be effected with the sluice valves
with which the water passages are provided. It will be seen that in turning
the druin and fixed pulley once round, the strap being prevented from revolving,
the whole four passages leading to the pump will have had their suction or
under passages and their delivery or upper passages opened in succession, one
suction and one delivery being fully opened in opposite pipes at one time, the
side or remaining two passages being closed from top to bottom, and that if the
pilot or steersman should assume a position looking directly along the suction
which is open on the turntable, which may be placed on the deck or where
found most convenient (and which turntable may carry the donkey engines for
steering), the turntable being at the same time fixed to the drum and fixed
pulley, it will be found that looking straight ahead be will be looking along
the axis which indicates the direction the ship is sailing in. On Sheet No. 3

page_text: the further arrangements necessary for giving direction to the ship are com-
pleted. Figures 1 and 2 show a combined set of rudders placed at the entrance
to the water passages, which are moved in conjunction with the sluice valves
by gearing or otherwise, by which the suction and delivery may be diverted to
one side or the other, and the ship caused to take the direction desired by the
rush of the water against the flat surfaces of the rudders as they are more or
less angled. Figure 1, Sheet 5, represents a bent pipe arrangement by which
the same object may be attained. The gearing employed for the rudder (in
Figure 1, Sheet 4) being connected to a horizontal sluice valve, Figure 2, by
which the curved pipe at either side may be opened or shut, and the course of
the ship be changed or governed, or the ship may be made to revolve upon its
own axis for the purposes of destroying or seriously injuring opponents, as
herein-before set forth.
Having ascertained by experiment that the resistance to the movement of
the round form of vessel constructed according to this Invention through the
water is about equal to that of a vessel of equal displacement and fineness to
that of Her Majesty's iron ship of war "The Black Prince," and vessels of
like proportions, and that with machinery capable of propelling the ship at the
rate of, say, twelve knots per hour, the ship may be caused to revolve five to
seven times in a minute, and this would give a velocity which at the proposed
diameter of vessel would be equal at the periphery to about a mile per minute,
and the force that could be gathered from the velocity thus obtained would be
such as no amount of armour plating could resist, and it would thus make
this kind of vessel the most formidable war vessel afloat.
which the vessel is fitted may be independent of the movements of the bull,
and while they could follow the revolution of the ship they could also be made
to turn in an opposite direction, in either case in any given or desired ratio
for the purpose of facilitating any desired manoeuvre.
As the turrets with
For the purpose of further elucidating the construction and mode of working
or manoeuvring vessels according to the present Invention it will be seen by
reference to Sheet 7 that Figure 2 is a quarter plan of the upper deck A, and
Figure 3 a quarter plan of the frames of the hull B, B, B, with the bulkhead
D by which the interior of the ship is intersected; and Figure 1 is an elevation
showing the form of the sides F, with the junction of the latter to the bottom G,
showing the arrangements of the water pipes H and turbine J by which the
ship is to be propelled, and which will be more fully explained in connection
with the Sheets 3, 4, 5, and 6.
On Sheet 4 is represented the pump or turbine by which the ship is pro-
pelled, with the arrangements of valves and water passages and the apparatus for

page_text: working the valves, by which the direction of the water entering or leaving
the pump may be changed or governed. Figure 1 on this Sheet is a half
elevation and section of the pump and its casing. A is the shaft by which
the power is transmitted to the turbine B enclosed in the casing C and
cover D. The pump casing C is divided borizontally into two parts by the
web G, the upper part containing the turbine and having direct communication
with the delivery passages F, F, and the under part E, E, leading to the
suction entrance H, by which the pump receives the water. The passages E
and F, although separated in the pump, lead into a single pipe after leaving
the pump, which may be used either as a suction or discharge pipe as required.
To bring the action of the pump quite under control the water passages E, F,
are intersected by the sluice valves J, J, J, which when raised or lowered
place either the suction or delivery parts of the pump in communication with
the sea.
For working the valves in unison it is intended to place in some
convenient position above the pump a turntable L and drum M, on which will
be placed the donkey engines intended to give motion to the wheels N, N, by
which the turntable may be made to revolve as berein-before described. On
the drum M is fixed a pulley or wheel O encircled by the strap P. On the
strap P four snugs R, R, may be placed above the centres of the four valves J, J;
these snugs have a travel in a vertical direction equal to the lift required by
the valves J, J, J. In opening and closing the suction and delivery passages E
and F-these snugs are further connected with the spindles K, either directly
or by means of levers, as shown in the Drawing, so that the sluice valves J, J,
may be raised or lowered as the snugs ascend or descend in the guides S, S, of
the casing T, as before described. It will be seen that in causing the turn-
table L with its drum M and pulley O to make half a revolution that the
snug R, which cannot revolve and which is now in its highest position, will
have travelled to R, thus closing the delivery passage F and opening the
suction E, and that the snug R, now in its lowest position, will have travelled
to R', opening F and closing the now open suction E'. It will further be
evident that should the pulley O be made to stop when its highest point is
above the side passages of the pump E, F, E, and F³, the water will be
admitted by one of these passages to the pump and discharged through the
other, thus changing the course of the ship in a few seconds to one at right.
angles to the centre line passing through the passages E, F, and E', F.
On Sheets 3 and 5 are delineated two methods of employing the pump
which has just been described in connection with the propulsion of a vessel..
Figure 1 and Figure 2 on Sheet 3 show an elevation and plan of an arrange-
ment of pipes in connection with rudders by which the direction of the

page_text: ship may be governed. On Figure 1 is represented an elevation of the pump A,
as on Sheet 4, with the turntable L and drum M. To the turntable in this
arrangement are added the tooth wheels i and 2, which are made to revolve
in opposite directions by the segments V and V, and in revolving cause the
rudders W and W¹, &c., to take an angle to the axis of the ship, and by guiding
the entrance and delivery of the water to the pipes X cause the ship to take any
desired direction or cause the vessel to revolve upon its own centre. For this
purpose as well as for steering the ship the whole four rudders W, W', W, W,
may be employed, or only the opposite ones W and W₁ or W and W³ at one
time. The engines and boilers may be disposed as shewn on the Drawing, or
as may be found most suitable.
When
Figure 1, Sheet 5, shows an arrangement of bent pipes by which the ship
may also be steered. The pump A in this plan is the same as in Figure 1
and 2, Sheet 4, the straight pipes B and C being employed only when the
course of the vessel is straight. On leaving the pump A the water enters the
chamber D, from which the pipes B, C, E, F, G, and H radiate. In a
casing J is placed a sluice valve, of which Figure 2 is an elevation.
necessary to change the direction of the vessel the pipes E and G or F and H
by drawing the sluice valve horizontally to one side or the other have only to
be opened, and the water impinging upon the curved surfaces of the pipes
will have the tendency of sucking round (as it were) the ship by the suction
1, and pushing it round (as it were) by means of the delivery pipes. To
enable this to be effected in unison with the sluice valves in the water passages
of the pump the sluice valves of Figure 2 will be connected to the drum M in
exactly the same way as the rudders are in Figure 1, Sheet 3, and thus bring
them all under one control, as explained in connection with Sheet 4.
ول
Sheet 6, Figure 1, illustrates a simple arrangement of engines enclosed in
a chamber and working directly through the bottom of the ship upon the
screw shaft by means of connecting rods, the screw shafts being supported by
four brackets A. To keep out the spray and water the piston rods may be
made to work through a plate, cross box, or casing, which will be secured to
the bottom of the ship and rise as high as the under side of the cylinders
enclosing the girders, crossbeads, and connecting rods and other parts. The
box formed by this casing would be open to the sea, and may have a door on
one side, on opening which the parts working in the water may be examined.
This arrangement of engines may be employed for steering the ship as well as
for rotating it, the starboard engine going "ahead," and the larboard engine
"astern."
The eluvation rouresented in Figure ? is similar in all the pronelling

page_text: arrangements to Figure 1, but instead of being a fixture and forming part of
the ship, it is intended that all the engine arrangement should be enclosed in
a kind of turret, and that the brackets for supporting the propeller and screw
shaft should be secured to the bottom of the turret. The object in view in
this arrangement is to be able to propel the ship as she would go supposing.
the turret to be in the position shown in the Drawing, and at the same time
by turning the turret round in either direction cause her at once to change
direction and go forward at any angle to or with her original course. The
turret may be similar to those used in the Royal Navy, and be made to revolve.
upon wheels placed underneath it. Instead, however, in this particular
instance, of. its working on a level, it is intended that it should revolve upon
the inclined plane or screw shown round the engine chamber, and that by
making the turret, engines, and apparatus revolve the screw may be drawn up
out of the water, and so be protected from harm in shallow water, and be
easily repaired in case of accident.
Figure 1, Sheet 8, is a part section and elevation of the ordinary screw
propeller and rudder arrangement applied to the round ship. Although two
sets of machinery are shewn in this plan, it may be necessary to have a greater.
number, or one set of engines with one propeller may be found sufficient for
all purposes; to facilitate the rotation of the ship two sets of machinery may
be preferable, the engines being driven in contrary direction, the two screws
would by turning the water on the rudders (which would require to be angled
on opposite sides of the axis of the ship) cause the vessel to revolve..
The engines for working the hydraulic jet and its apparatus may be varied
from those herein-before described, and the pump A made to revolve, and
instead of forcing water through long pipes, the length of piping need not
exceed about 40 feet.
In the illustration, Figures 2 and 3, Sheet 8, A is the pump connected' to
the bottom of the ship by the bracket B, which is cast on the pump casing;
on the inside of this bracket, which is circular, a wheel or rack-will be fixed,
into which the pinions C, C, will work, the spindle D, D, being in com-.
munication with the turntable or steering gear placed upon an upper deck ;;
it will be evident that in causing the pump to revolve the suction entrance F
may be placed under any part of the ship, and if the direction be chosen.in
which the vessel is to proceed, the centre line x, y, on the plan has only to be
placed in a line with the radius of the chosen direction and the necessary
ovement of the vessel will be effected. It is evident that this application.
may be worked with equal success in making the engines revolve with the

page_text: pump, or in only causing the extremities of the pipes to change the direction
of the water jet as it is received from the sea or delivered from the pump.
Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 6, are sectional elevation and plan of another modi-
fication of the screw propelling arrangement. In order to protect the engines
from the water a wrought-iron trunk is formed upon the vessel and carried
down a sufficient depth to enclose the screw shaft, which works through a
stuffing box in the usual manner. In order to reduce the resistance offered to
the water by this trunk, it may be made tapered towards the ends, as shewn
in the plan, Figure 4.
In Figure 8, Sheet 6, is shewn an elevation of another modification of
turbine. In this case the discharge pipe comes out at the centre of the vessel,
and has a bend connected therewith by means of a stuffing box joint or other
suitable means by which it is free to revolve. Upon this bend is fitted a spur
wheel into which a pinion gears; the shaft fitted to the pinion leads up to the
steering house, where a similar pinion is fitted to the end of the shaft, which
gears into a wheel connected to the wheel house, by which means the discharge
pipe of the turbine may be directed in any desired direction.
For the purpose of enabling these vessels to be steered automatically with
accuracy in any given direction I employ a novel construction of magnetio
compass and electro-magnetic actuating and governing apparatus, by which the
movement of the donkey engine of the steering gear is controlled. The
automatic steering is thus effected:-The several rudders or steering blades
are combined together and connected and operated by means of a donkey
engine, somewhat in the manner to that in which the valve gear for starting
and reversing of my patent double-cylinder marine steam engine is worked,
and such rudders or steering blades as should be brought into action are
lowered or made to act, whilst others are correspondingly raised or withdrawn,
in each case by the steam power of the donkey engine. The movement of the
donkey engine from a state of rest and change in the direction in which it is
to act upon the steering gear will be operated in one of the following modes:--
In connection with the magnetic needle and card of the steering compass is
an engraved annular plate or ring adjustable by means of a tangent screw or
an external knob; this plate or ring is in the magnetic circuit of a powerful
electro-magnetic apparatus rotated by the main propelling engine by means of
a band or other gearing. When the vessel is required to be steered due north,
the magnetic needle and the north poles of the magnetic card and of the
engraved annular plate or ring coincide, and the vessel is steered and
propelled due north; but if the course is to be changed to due south and the

page_text: vessel reversed without its first making a circular course (as is necessary with
a ship of the ordinary form), the engraved annular plate or ring is moved half
way round the circumference of the compass and the electro-magnetic apparatus
is then called into action, and in turn acting upon the steering donkey engine
causes it to continue to act in the required direction until the correct course
is attained, and in like manner the direction of the ship to any intermediate
point of the compass between due north or due south (either to port or
starboard) can be effected by the movement of the engraved annular plate or
ring into the required position, so that upon the needle coming over or opposite
to a given point or portion of the ring the action of the electro-magnetic
apparatus is stopped, and, in its turu, upon its ceasing to act upon the valve of
the steering donkey, the direction of the ship remains unchanged until some
other disturbance of the then existing state of things is necessitated, when by
again moving the engraved annular plate or ring activity is again produced in
the several functional parts, and will continue until coincidence is again obtained'
between the polar needle and engraved annular plate or ring, the electro-
magnetic apparatus being immediately called into activity by the movement of
the ring, and the extent and direction of that movement, whether it be to the
right or to the left, determines the direction of the movement of the donkey
steering apparatus. In a similar manner, through the electro-magnetic
apparatus and the use of a stopping or starting wheel and reversing gear,
the various parts of the propelling machinery may be governed or controlled
and the direction of their movement changed at will. The movement of the
central water jet or nozzle, and of the various combinations of jet pipes herein-
before described or herein, illustrated is intended to be effected from one
central point or position, or it may be from two or more parts of the ship,
that the steering of the vessel, the stopping or starting, and the relation of one
kind of movement of the ship to some other movement may thus be effected.
by simply giving the requisite position to the circular plate, ring, or wheel,
and then leaving it until the working of the donkey engine has performed the
required operations, and then it self-actingly ceases to act, having performed
for the time the function required of or from it.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the construction.
and mode of propelling and manoeuvring floating batteries and other vessels
intended for the purposes of naval defence and attack, and illustrated by means
of the several Figures in the accompanying 15 Sheets of Drawings some of
the modes or methods in which I prefer to put my Invention into practice, I
should add that I am aware that floating buoys and vessels intended to be
moored have heretofore been constructed circular on the plan and of conical

page_text: and various other forms in elevation and vertical section, and such vessels have
been constructed not only in wood but also in plate iron and other sheet
metals, I do not therefore intend hereby to claim generally constructing
vessels circular on the plan or apart from and irrespective of the herein
specified purposes for which they are intended to be used or employed, nor
irrespective of the mode of constructing and combining the frame, the skin or
shell, and other parts thereof as herein described; but what I claim is,→
First. The improvements in the construction and mode of propelling and
manoeuvring floating batteries and other vessels intended for the purposes of
naval defence and attack as berein described and set forth.
Second. Constructing floating batteries and other vessels intended for the
purposes of naval attack and defence in the manner herein set forth and as
illustrated in the several Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed.
Third. The novel mode of building or constructing navigable and steam
propelled ships or vessels as herein-described and as illustrated in the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
Fourth. Adapting and applying water jet propelling apparatus for the
purpose of propelling and manoeuvring floating batteries and other vessels in
manner herein described and illustrated.
Fifth. The modes or methods herein described of combining together and
actuating or working from any convenient position the whole of the admission
and discharge valves and other parts of the apparatus employed respectively
for propelling, steering, and manoeuvring steam propelled ships.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Elder, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight,
Witness,
WILLIAM SMITH, C.E.,
19, Salisbury St.,
Strand, W.C.,
Agent for the Patentee.
JOHN ELDER. (L.S.)