AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTILE
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTILE."
A communication from abroad by Orazio Lugo, of the City of New
York, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 6th February 1866, and dated the 18th September 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou
the 18th September 1865.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF PRO-
JECTILE," to be as follows:-
The objects of this Invention are, 1st, to reduce the recoil of and the
danger of bursting the gun; 2nd, to obtain greater range as well as greater
accuracy with smooth-bore guns; 3rd, to reduce the weight and cost of
ordnance, and to dispense with the reinforces and costly materials in its

page_text: manufacture; 4th, to insure a more perfect combustion of the powder; 5th,
to increase the rapidity of firing, and reduce the frequency of sponging or
cleaning the gun.
The Invention consists in applying a charge in front of the projectile for
expelling the air from the bore of the gun before the projectile at the time the
latter commences to move. It further consists in the employment in the
projecting charge of two or more separate quantities of gunpowder or gun
cotton of different qualities, so arranged to be successively fired that a quantity
of a quality to give a low velocity will be fired first, and afterwards a quantity
of a quality to produce a higher velocity will be fired.
The cannon in which the new projectile is used differs from the ordinary
cannon in having no vent, and being lighter in proportion to its calibre, and
having no reinforce. The projectile is of an elongated form, by preference.
In the centre of the projectile, and extending through its axis, is a hole large
enough for the reception of a small tube, which is inserted tightly thereinto,
and is long enough to reach from the front of the projectile nearly to the
bottom of the cartridge in which the projecting charge is contained. The
case or envelope of this cartridge may be of thin metal, flannel, or other
suitable material, and is divided into three compartments by means of metal
discs, the rear compartment containing compressed gunpowder, the next one
finer gunpowder or gun cotton that will produce a low velocity, and the
forward one still finer gunpowder or gun cotton that will produce a higher
velocity. These discs have each a central opening, through which the tube
passes, and one or more perforations, through which the fire from one com-
partment passes to the gunpowder or gun cotton in the compartment in front
of it. In front of the projectile is a charge of gunpowder or gun cotton, by
the explosion of which the air is expelled from the bore of the gun in front of
the projectile. This charge is contained in a flannel bag or other suitable
envelope, and for convenience should be attached to the projectile. Into the
front end of the tube there is inserted a friction primer, to which is attached
a cord long enough to pass forward through the muzzle of the and thence
gun,
backward beyond the breech. This cord has a hook at its extremity to attach
it to the ramrod, and before and during the loading is kept coiled around the
envelope of the charge or around the front part of the projectile, and before.
loading the hook is attached to the ramrod, so that when the ramrod is with-
drawn from the gun after ramming home the charge the cord will be drawn
out with it. After the ramrod has been withdrawn, the hook is detached from
it, and the end of the cord carried back beyond the breech of the gun to, or
by the man whose duty it is to fire. The charge at the front of the projectile

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself; Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 "AN
IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTILE," being a communication from abroad,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent'
Newton, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and 'by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The objects of this Invention are, first, to reduce the recoil of and the danger
of bursting the gun; second, to increase the range as well as accuracy of
smooth-bore guns; third, to reduce the weight and cost of ordnance, and to
dispense with the "reinforces" and costly materials in its manufacture; fourth,'

page_text: to insure a more perfect combustion of the powder; fifth, to increase
the rapidity of firing, and reduce the frequency of sponging or cleaning
the gun.
The Invention consists in applying a charge in front of the projectile for
expelling the air from the bore of the gun before the projectile at the time the
latter commences to move. It further consists in the employment in the
projecting charge of two or more separate quantities of gunpowder or gun
cotton of different qualities, so arranged to be successively fired that a quantity
of a quality to give a low velocity will be fired first, and afterwards a quantity
of a quality to produce a higher velocity will be fired.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing is a central longitudinal section of a
cannon loaded and ready for firing; Fig. 2 is an external longitudinal view of
the projectile and cartridges; Fig. 3 is an external longitudinal view of the
projectile with the inserted tube through which the projecting charge is fired;
Figures 4 and 5 are front views of the perforated metal dises employed to
separate the several quantities of powder of different quality in the projecting
charge. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the
several Figures.
A is the cannon, which differs from those commonly used in having no vent,
and in being lighter in proportion to its calibre, and having no reinforce. It
is represented of smooth bore, which in carrying out the Invention is preferable
to being rifled; B is the projectile, represented of elongated form, that form
being preferred to the spherical, although it is not considered absolutely
essential. In the centre of the projectile, and extending longitudinally through
its axis, is a hole large enough for the reception of a small tube a, which is
inserted tightly thereinto, and is long enough to reach from the front of the
projectile nearly to the bottom of the cartridge C, in which the projecting
charge is contained. The case or envelope of this cartridge may be of thin
metal, flannel, or other suitable material, and is divided into three com-
partments c¹, c, c³, by means of metal discs b, b. The rear compartment c¹
contains compressed gunpowder, the next one c³ finer gunpowder or gun cotton
that will produce a low velocity, and the forward one still finer gunpowder or
gun cotton, that will produce a higher velocity; these discs have each a
central opening g, through which the tube a passes, and one or more per-
forations i, i, through which the fire from one compartment passes to the.
gunpowder or gun cotton in the compartment in front of it. In front of the
projectile is a charge D of gunpowder or gun cotton, by the explosion of which
the air is expelled from the bore of the gun in front of the projectile. This
charge is contained in a flannel bag or other suitable envelope of suitable.

page_text: form, and for convenience should be attached to the projectile.: Into the
front end of the tube a there is inserted a friction primer, to which is attached
a cord d, long enough to pass forward through, the muzzle of the gun, and
thence, backward beyond the breech. This cord has a hook eat its extremity
to attach it to the ramrod, and before and during the loading is kept coiled
around the envelope of the charge D, as shown in Fig. 2, or around the front
part of the projectile, and before loading the hook e is attached to the ramrod,
so that when the ramrod is withdrawn from the gun after ramming home the
charge the cord will be drawn out with it. After the ramrod has been with-
drawn the hook e is detached from it, and the end of the cord carried back
beyond the breech of the gun to or by the man whose duty it is to fire. The
charge D at the front of the projectile can be fired either by this friction
primer or by a percussion fuze put or thrown into the bore of the gun against
the charge D.
The operation is as follows:-When the friction primer is pulled out by
pulling the cord d it ignites the charge D, and almost at the same moment
the portion of the projecting charge in the compartment c¹ of the cartridge C
is fired through the tube a either by the fire from the primer or by that from
the charge D, and immediately after the portions of the charge in the com-
partments c² and are fired in succession through the holes i, i, in the
discs b, b. The pressure of the gases produced by the explosion of the
charge D in the front of the projectile drives out the air from the bore of the
gun as the projectile is started slowly by the firing of the portion of the pro-
jecting charge in the compartment c¹ of the cartridge C. The gases which
take the place of the air in the bore of the gun being at a very high tempera-
ture, and therefore at a lower density than air at an ordinary atmospheric
temperature, offer less resistance to the projectile, and the explosion of the
projecting charge will therefore act more powerfully upon the projectile, and
increase its range.
By the employment in the projecting charge of gunpowder or gun
cotton of different degrees of combustibility to be fired successively, as
herein-before described, the pressure of the gases behind the projectile are
kept uniform, or nearly so, until the projectile has nearly reached the muzzle
of the gun, and the effect of the charge is thereby greatly increased.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention of an improved con-
struction of projectile, and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim, constructing projectiles with a front charge, and forming the
rear or projecting charge of two or more quantities of gunpowder or gun

page_text: cotton of different qualities, and firing the same from the fire of the front
charge, in the manner and for the purpose herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)