Improvements in Torpedo Launching Apparatus.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in Torpedo Launching Apparatus.
I, JOHN WHITEHEAD, of Fiume, in the Empire of Austria-Hungary, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to torpedo launching apparatus and more particularly to
an apparatus for launching torpedoes under water from the broadside of a vessel
in motion or from any fixed point in a stream, the object of the invention being to
launch the torpedo in such a manner that it is not damaged or deflected by the
water pressure when emerging from the ship's side.
The apparatus consists essentially of an impulse tube for ejecting the torpedo
to which is attached a shield or scoop substantially U-shaped in cross section and
having its open side presented to the water in motion. This shield is exactly in
line with the impulse tube, and is furnished at the opposite side with two swing
doors extending the whole length of the shield and adapted to be locked together
by the bar carried by one of the doors and guided in eyes secured to such door at
intervals. The axes of these doors are connected together in such a manner that
the two doors open and close simultaneously.
Adjacent to the eyes secured to one of the doors there are provided similar-eyes
secured to the other door so that when the doors are closed the corresponding eyes
are exactly in line and preferably immediately side by side. The eyes on one door
are slotted at the place where the bar comes against them on closing the doors. The
bar is turned down to a smaller diameter at such points which may come opposite
the slots in the eyes and the width of the said slots is slightly larger than the
diameter of the reduced portions of the bar but smaller than the diameter of the full
parts of such bar so that when the reduced portions are opposite the slots they may
freely enter into and escape from them, but when full portions of the bar are in the
eyes, which is normally the case, the bar cannot escape from these eyes, thus
locking the doors in their closed positions. The central opening of the eyes is large
enough to enable the full portions of the bar to move freely to and fro therein
when the said bar is shifted longitudinally.
This longitudinal movement of the bar is effected by the action of a piston in
the pressure cylinder when the pressure on the back of the piston is released by
an escape valve operated by a lug on the tail of the torpedo striking the toe of a
lever.
Air under pressure supplied to the cylinder from any convenient source then acts
on the front side of the piston and forces the piston back turning a lever pivotted
to the impulse tube to which the cylinder is secured. This lever is coupled with
the rod or bar by a stud on its free end engaging with a hole at the inner end of
such bar. The bar is thus pushed outward so as to bring its reduced portions into
the eyes opposite the slots. The doors are then unlocked and can be readily swung
open.
The impulse tube with the shield attached thereto is adapted to slide
longitudinally within the watertight casing on ways in which run the rollers and
may be conveniently pushed out and drawn in by a screw journalled in the casing

page_text: and engaging with a nut carried by the impulse tube. The screw is worked by
any suitable motor.
The outer end of the casing is closed by a sluice valve when the impulse tube
and the shield are entirely drawn into the casing.
The torpedo may be entered into the impulse tube by the breech end but to save
room which is particularly important when the apparatus is used on board ship it
will be found preferable to provide the outer-casing with a door through which the
torpedo may be introduced laterally into the shield when the shield doors are open
and thence pushed backwards into the impulse tube.
A convenient carriage for this purpose comprises two arms which support the
torpedo by its after end and by a removable gudgeon screwed into its nose
respectively. Horizontal bars carry the arms and are adapted to be moved
longitudinally and to be turned around their longitudinal axis in a frame which is
adapted to move in a line parallel to the axis of the impulse tube and shield, that
is to say at right angles to the axes of the bars.
The torpedo is laid on the said arms which are then pushed forward by means of
a rack and pinion or other suitable mechanizin carrying the torpedo-bodily into
the shield, the doors being of course opened. The arm supporting the nose of the
torpedo is then partially rotated by the rod carrying it so as to free itself from the
torpedo and is drawn back to its original position.
The frame together with the torpedo is then moved longitudinally towards the
breach end of the impulse tube pushing the torpedo before it which then slides
along the bottom of the shield and the impulse tube, until the tail end of the
torpedo touches the breech cover of the impulse tube.
The torpedo being in the tube the further operations for launching proceed as
follows:-
The door of the outer casing being held open, the swing doors of the shield are
closed by hand, the reduced portions of the locking bar coming of course opposite
the slots in the eyes. On closing the doors the hole at the inner end of the bar slips
onto the stud on the free end of the lever which as before stated is acted upon by
the piston of the cylinder. Thus the bar is coupled with the lever. The locking
bar is then moved inward either by hand or by actuating the valve gear of the
cylinder whereby full portions of the locking bar are caused to enter into the eyes,
thus locking the doors in their closed position. The door of the outer casing is
'then also closed and secured, the sluice valve is opened and the impulse tube and
shield are run out by means of the motor which actuates the screw until the whole
of the shield has entered into the water. The torpedo is then ejected by
admitting air under pressure into the impulse tube or by any other suitable
ineans and continues its course along the shield until a lug near the extreme
after end of the torpedo strikes the toc of the lever raising the escape valve or
otherwise opening it and permitting the now unbalanced air pressure on the front
side of the piston to drive the piston back thus unlocking the swing doors which
are then opened by the pressure of the water. The torpedo is thus set free at
a moment when the pressure of water due to the speed of the ship or to the
current acts simultaneously on its whole surface.
In this way the torpedo is not subjected to any bending strains at the moment
of leaving the tube and may be launched without damage or undue deflection at
any speed.
The impulse tube together with the shield is then drawn back into the casing,
the sluice is closed the water is removed from the casing and the door in the
casing is opened. The whole is then ready for charging a fresh torpedo into the
impulse tube.

page_text: Improvements in Torpedo Launching Apparatus.
I, JOHN WHITEHEAD, of Fiume, in the Empire of Austria-Hungary, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for launching torpedoes,
and more particularly to apparatus for lauching torpedoes under water from the
broad side of a vessel in motion or from any fixed point in a stream.
The object of the said invention is to provide a incans for launching torpedoes
under water in such a manner that the torpedo will not be damaged or deflected by
the water pressure when emerging from the ship's side.
The said invention consists in enclosing the torpedo ejecting or impulse tube in
a water tight casing, extending from the side of the ship inwards, the outer end
of the casing registering with an opening in the ship's side and there pro-
vided with a sluice valve by which that end of the casing may be closed or opened
to the water.
The invention consists further in providing the ejecting tube with a shield,
attached thereto and extending forward thereof, the said shield being substantially
U-shaped in cross section, the bottom of the U constituting the rear side
or back of the shield and composed of two swinging doors, while the opposite side
is left open.
The ejecting tube and the shield are mounted upon suitable running gear
within said casing.
When launching a torpedo, the sluice at the ship's side cormally closing the
outer end of the casing, is opened. The impulse tube together with the shield, is
pushed outwards in the casing until the shield projects from the ship's side a distance
approximately equal to the length of the torpedo. The torpedo is then launched by
expelling it from the impulse tube, and as it moves along the shield it is supported
by the closed back thereof, and thus protected against strain from water pressure
acting on part of its length only. When the torpedo is entirely outside of the
ship's side, but still within the shield, the swinging doors constituting the back wall
of the shield and against which the torpedo rests, are automatically opened,
thus releasing the torpedo at the moment when the water pressure is upon the
whole thereof.
The torpedo may then continue its course without having been deflected there-
from by the pressure of the water upou a part of its length only at a time, and
without having been subjected to the injurious strains consequent upon such action
of the water.
The torpedo having been ejected, the shield is drawn back into the casing;
the sluice is closed as also the doors of the shield; the water is removed from the
casing and the apparatus is ready for charging again.
In order that my invention may be more clearly understood the same will be
described in greater detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in
which
Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the launching apparatus constituting my
invention with the top plate of the casing removed, some of tho parts being shown
in section.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 2-2 Figure 1 and looking in
the direction of the arrow.
Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section on line 3-3 Figure 1 and looking in the
direction of the arrow.

page_text: dan bide elevation of the cymder and arrangement for actuating
the locking-rod.
Figure 4 is a front elevation partly in section of the charging apparatus, and
Figure 5 is a side elevation of the same.
Figure 6 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the apparatus on board ship,
the port apparatus being ready to launch the torpedo, while the starboard apparatus
is shown with the shield drawn back into the casing.
Figure 7 is a vertical section of a ship showing the apparatus as arranged in
Figure 6, and
Figure 8 is a horizontal section taken along the enclosing case and showing the
impulse tube and shield in plan.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
The apparatus embodying my invention consists, among other parts, of an
impulse tube a for ejecting the torpedo A. To this ejecting tube is attached a
shield or scoop b. This shield is substantially U-shaped in cross section, is
exactly in line with the impulse tube and when extended beyond the ship's side,
has its open side presented broadside to the water in motion. The side of the
shield opposite from the open side consists of two swinging doors c, c extending
approximately the whole length of the shield. The doors are hinged, as at co to
the top and bottom of the shield Figures 1 and 2.
The doors c, care adapted to be locked together in the closed position by the rod d
extending longitudinally of the shield and carried in, and guided by the eyes c¹
secured at intervals to one of the doors. The other door is provided with a
plurality of eyes c² so located that when the doors are closed, the eyes c¹ will
register with the eyes c², one of the latter being preferably between two of the
former. The eyes on one door are slotted longitudinally as shown most clearly at
c3 Figure 2, the slot being located at that point of the eye where the rod would
engage it in closing the doors. The rod d is turned down to a reduced diameter at
points d' along its length, the distance between such reduced portions corresponding
to the distance between eyes c².
This reduced portion of the rod is made slightly less in diameter than the width of
the slots in the eyes c², but the slots are narrower than the full portion of the rod, so
that when the full portion of the rod d is within the eyes the doors will be locked;
but when the rod is shifted longitudinally and the reduced portions d¹ of the rod are
brought within the eyes c² and opposite the slots c³, the rod may readily escape from
the eyes c and the doors will thus be unlocked. The doors are thus locked
in the closed position by the rod and eyes and unlocked by the shifting rod, the
rod being adapted to move freely to and fro.
This longitudinal movement of the bar d is effected by the action of a piston e
working in a pressure cylinder f Figures 1, 3 and 3^.
A lever his secured at one end to the rod of the piston e and is provided at its
other end with a lug h2, which latter engages the end of the rod a nearest the
impulse tube.
When the torpedo has reached that point in its forward motion in being launched,
that its tail comes opposite the pressure cylinder, the tail of the torpedo strikes a
lever h which is caused thereby to operate upon a lug g, which actuates an escape
valve and releases the air pressure upon the back of the piston.
Air under pressure supplied to the said cylinder from any convenient source
then acts on the front of the piston, and shifts the rod d to such a position that the
doors c, c will be unlocked.
The impulse tube a and shield b are adapted to travel longitudinally in a water
tight casing on ways or guides m secured to the said casing and in which run the
rollers n carried by the carriages n¹ secured to the shield. The motion is imparted
to the shield and tube by the screw i journalled in the casing and engaged with a
nut carried by the impulse tube. The screw i may be operated by any suitable
motor.

page_text: The casing opens at one end into an opening in the ship's side and is there
provided with a sluice valve o Figures 1 and 6 and is made of sufficient length to
entirely enclose the impulse tube and shield when the same are drawn into the
casing.
The casing is provided with a lateral opening at one side for the introduction of
the torpedo into the impulse tube, and is there provided with a door p Figures 2
and 8. This door p consists of a metal plate with ribs p² which are adapted to be
engaged by the clamping screws p³, carried by the hinged arms p¹. The
arms p carry at their upper ends hinged locking arms p4, which engage lugs p
on the casing 1.
The torpedo may be entered into the impulse tube at the breech end and when
such a method is resorted to altogether, the side door p of the casing may be
dispensed with, but to save room, which is particularly important when the apparatus
is used on board a ship, it will be found preferable to provide the casing with an
opening such as the door p, through which the torpedo may be introduced laterally
into the shield when the shield doors are open and thence pushed backwards into
the impulse tube.
I have devised a convenient carriage for transporting the torpedoes, and
introducing them into the casing as shown in Figures 4 and 5, where 9 and r
represent arms which support the torpedo by its after end and by a removable
Horizontal bars or tubes 8 carry the arms
gudgeon screwed into its nose.
and and are provided with racks s¹ which engage pinions u carried in a
frame t.
The frame t is mounted upon suitable running gear t¹, which travels upon guides
or rails 2 and 3. Horizontal motion to and from the casing may be given the
torpedo supported by the arms q and r by operating the pinions and wheels u¹ ;
and horizontal movement along the length of the casing may be given the torpedo
by moving the whole carriage or frame t upon the rails t2 and 3 by operating the
hand wheel w, which is secured to the upper end of a shaft w¹ which is parallel
to the frame t and carries at its lower end a pinion w² which engages a rack w³
formed on the rail t³.
The door of the casing / being open, the torpedo is placed upon the arms q and r
as above explained, and carried forward towards the casing by actuating the hand
wheels u¹ or other suitable mechanism. In this way the torpedo is carried bodily
into the shield.
The arm supporting the tail of the torpedo is then partially rotated so as to free
it from the torpedo and is then drawn back to its original position.
The frame t together with the torpedo is then moved longitudinally toward the
breech of the impulse tube, pushing the torpedo before it, which then slides along
the bottom of the shield band thence into the impulse tube until the tail of the
torpedo touches the breech cover of the impulse tube.
The torpedo being in the impulse tube, the further operations of launching it are
as follows:-
The door of the outer casing being open, the swing doors c, c of the shield are
closed by hand or otherwise, the reduced portions of the locking bar d coming
opposite and passing through the slots c³ of the
eyes c².
The end of the bar is then coupled with the lever h¹ and the locking bar is
moved inwards either by hand or by actuating the valve gear of the cylinder f,
whereby the full portions of the locking bar are caused to enter into the eyes c²,
thus locking the doors in their closed position.
The door of the outer casing is then closed and locked, the sluice valve o is
opened and the impulse tube together with the shield are run out by means of the
motor which actuates the screw i, until approximately the whole of the shield has
entered into the water.
The torpedo is then ejected by admitting air under pressure into the impulse
tube, or by any other suitable means, and continues its course along the shield
until a lug near the extreme after end of the torpedo strikes the toe of the lever h

page_text: raising the escape valve g Figure 1 or otherwise opening it and permitting the new
unbalanced air pressure on the front side of the piston to draw this piston back,
thus unlocking the swinging doors, c, c, which are then opened by the pressure of
the water.
The torpedo is thus set free at the moment when the pressure of the water due to
the speed of the ship or to the current of the stream, acts simultaneously on its
whole broadside.
In this way the torpedo is not subjected to any bending strains at the time of
leaving the tube and may be launched without damage or undue deflection at any
speed.
The impulse tube together with the shield is then drawn back into the casing,
the sluice is closed and the water pumped out of the casing.
Obviously I may make many changes in the above described apparatus without
departing from the spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for launching torpedoes from the broadside of a ship or in
moving water below the water level, the characteristic feature of which is that the
launching tube (a) together with a shield (6) forming an extension thereof (such
shield being Ụ shaped in cross section and having its open side directed towards
the current while the opposite side is formed of doors (cc) hinged on axes parallel
to the longitudinal axis of such shield extending over the entire length of the latter
and adapted to be locked) is adapted to move longitudinally in a watertight
casing for the purpose of extending such shield into the water before launching
the torpedo, the torpedo on leaving the ship, unlocking the doors (c c) in order
that they may be opened by the water pressure so that the torpedo is never exposed
to water pressure acting on part of its length only without being laterally
supported.
2. A constructional form of the apparatus defined by Claim 1 in which the
doors (cc) are provided at their meeting edges with eyes (c¹ c²) through which
passes longitudinally a rod (d) turned down to a smaller diameter at places (d¹)
adapted to come opposite the eyes (c2) on one of the doors such eyes (c²) being
provided with slots (3) through which the parts (d¹) but not the thicker portions
of the rod (d) may pass and in which this rod when the doors are closed is coupled
with a lever (h) acted upon by a piston (e) of a cylinder (f) the valve (g) of which
cylinder is so acted upon through the medium of a lever (h) by a stop at the rear
end of the torpedo that when the latter leaves the launching tube (a) the rod (d) is
shifted lengthwise by the piston (e) to bring its down portion (d) in front of the
slots (ca) of the eyes (c2) and thereby unlock the doors.
3. For the launching apparatus defined by Claim 1 a charging apparatus consist
ing of two horizontal arms q, r, adapted to turn on their longitudinal axes and to be
moved transversely to the launching tube casing, such arms being adapted to
support the torpedo and supported in turn by a frame movable parallel to the
launcbing tube casing, so that by shifting the casing the torpedo may in the first
place be brought into the axis of the launching tube, and then by shifting the
supporting frame (t) may be introduced into the launching tube itself.
Dated this 9th day of August 1898
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.