An Invention for Improving Primarily the Construction of Ships of War, Part of said Invention being applicable to any Ship, Boat, or other Vessel.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 26th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 16th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Invention for Improving Primarily the Construction of Ships of
War, Part of said Invention being applicable to any Ship, Boat,
or other Vessel.
4
Colonel HENRY BATHURST HANNA Bengal Staff Corps (retired) 55,
Parliament Street, London do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This is an invention for improving primarily the construction of ships of war,
but part of said invention is applicable to any ship, boat, or other vessel.
Firstly. To so construct the sides of a vessel of any description that in the event
of such vessel being penetrated by ram, or shot, or rock, or other obstacle, or when
in collision with another vessel will still remain intact.
Secondly. To fit to the ram of ships of war a ram cap or shield, in such a manner
as to render the ram of such ship innocuous.
Thirdly. To fit ships of war with moveable or sliding rams.
Whenever
In the first part of the invention 1 propose to line the interior of all vessels with
an inner skin, and for the purpose of this Specification I shall call the true sides
of a vessel the outer skin. Between the inner skin, which may be constructed of
iron, wood, or any other material, and the outer skin I propose to leave a space of
some inches, or other convenient distance. In this space I propose hanging loosely.
side by side pieces of collision matting long enough when in adjustment to reach to
the bottom of space between the two skins, and six or more feet wide.
the edges of such loose pieces of matting meet 1 further propose to hang other
pieces of matting of the same length & width as the first over the first, in such
a way that the centre of the overhanging pieces of matting shall exactly co-incide
with the adjacent edges of the first, or outer pieces of matting. The upper ends
of both inner and outer collision matting to be firmly secured to the inside of
outer skin of vessel four or five feet above water line. The collision matting
when in adjustment should lie in horizontal folds, or pleats, presenting somewhat
the appearance of closely corrugated iron, such folds or pleats being so lightly
secured as to require no great force to release and unfold them. Should a vessel
be pierced at any point by ram, torpedoc, rock, or in collision, the action which
would take place would be as follows; the ram &c. after penetrating outer skin of
vessel would drive before it the loosely hanging collision mats, which the force
of the blow and the inrush of water would unfold, and in the event of the inner
skin being pierced the loosened inatting would be forced into any hole that might
be made and completely fill it up.
In the second part of the invention I propose to fit the rams of war vessels,
which I shall call for the purposes of this Specification, a ram cap, or ram
shield, which may be constructed of iron and other material lined within & without
with india rubber, gutta percha, or some other elastic substance, in such a way
that when the cap or shield is in position covering the blade of ram, it will like
a railway buffer break the force of the blow and prevent the ram from penetrating
the stricken vessel. The ram cap may be connected to stem of vessel by a rod,
chain, or other means, by which it may be raised and lowered at will.
necessary the
cap may be retained in place by guy ropes. The ram would
usually be capped during naval manœuvres, in close and crowded seas, or in
harbour.
If
In the third part of the invention I propose to fit ships of war with a sliding,

page_text: or removeable ram, which could be rigged when the ship was going into action,
but as a rule I sbould prefer the second method as the ram would be rendered
innocuous, and yet always be ready for use.
Dated this 26th day of July 1893.
An Invention for Improving Primarily the Construction of Ships of
War, Part of said Invention being applicable to any Ship, Boat,
or other Vessel.
HENRY BATHURST HANNA of 55, Parliament Street, London, Colonel of the
Indian Staff Corps (retired) 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 :-
War vessels and some ocean going steamers being now built with double sides
and bottoms, in the water tight compartments and passages so formed I would
hang two sets of collision matting; that on the outer side to be attached
laterally and at bottom near keel that on the inner wall at top of water tight
compartment, and at bottom near keel; both mattings to be laid in small loose
folds or pleats presenting somewhat the appearance of closely corrugated iron,
being many times the actual width or length of the space they fill; the folds on the
outer wall to lie in a perpendicular plane and those on the inner wall to lie horizontally.
Such folds or pleats being unsecured would require no force to release and unfold
them, while if at any time the sides of the vessel required overhauling, it would
be an easy matter to temporarily remove the matting. See; Fig. 1. showing a
transverse section of part of a water tight compartment fitted with two layers of
pleated matting, the inner C.D. with its folds lying horizontally and the outer A. B.
with its folds lying in a perpendicular plane.
Under some circumstances especially in the case of a war vessel it might even
be advisable to build the ship with treble sides and bottoms in such a manner that
the interior space so formed would be only of sufficient width to contain the
collision matting; say, from 1 foot to 18 inches wide. But the space so enclosed
should not be subdivided into separate compartments by bulkheads, and its inner
walls should be free from all obstructions, and be perfectly smooth, in order that
the automatic unfolding of the pleated matting should not be hindered in any way.
The innermost skin of a ship so built may be constructed of steel flanged plates,
the flanges of which should project into the interior of ship, and not into the walled
enclosure as they would impede the free working of the matting. The innermost
side of vessel should be strengthened by braces and ties and be supported by false
ribs, care being taken that such braces, ties, and ribs shall not in any way interfere
with the matting. In some cases wood may with advantage be employed in
constructing the innermost skin. The water tight compartment just described may
extend right round the ship to some feet above the water line, or may be limited to
protecting the more vital parts of the ship.
The action which would take place, in the event of one ship ramming another
vessel, or of a shot penetrating the sides of a ship, fitted with folding or pleated
collision matting, would be that the ram would drive before it the loosely hanging
matting, the pleats of which would simultaneously unfold into any, hole that may
be made in the interior skin, where, in fact it would be jammed fast, and on the
withdrawal of the ram the great weight and inrush of the water, and the jagged
sides of the rent, would firmly maintain the matting in its place; whilst from the
inside of the ship it could be instantly caught up with boat hooks, or with hooks
attached to ropes, dragged in and secured. To facilitate this operation numerous
rings should be inserted in the inner side of inner matting.

page_text: The following are the advantages accruing from the above invention :-
1. Automatic action which would largely contribute to the safety of a ship.
2. Absence of all complicated machinery liable to be thrown out of adjustment.
3. Doing away with the heavy armour belting of war vessels, which it is now
scarcely possible to make thick enough to effectually keep out shot, which increases
their displacement, which, from its position at the water line, seriously affects their
stability and which adds considerably to their cost.
4. The abolition of water tight compartments within the ship itself a source of
much inconvenience to the ordinary work, comfort and health of the ships crew,
and risk, in the event of one or more of those compartments filling with water, by
seriously affecting the equilibrium of the ship, thereby hastening the catastrophe
they were intended to avert.
5. The greater speed at which the vessel may be moving when struck, or may
continue to move afterwards, the greater the safety it will enjoy since the fiercer
the inflow of water the stronger the pressure on the matting, and the more
effectual the stopping of the leak.
In order to minimize the danger resulting in peace times from the rams of war
ships, I propose to fit them with what I shall call a ram-cap, or ram-shield,
which should be constructed of the best wrought iron of two or three feet in
diameter, resembling in shape the top of a railway buffer. It should accurately
fit the ram blade, and, that the ram itself may not be injured, the cap should be
lined with wood, or india rubber, or other such like substance. The buffer part
of the ram should also be thickly coated with the same material to give it plenty
of elasticity. The cap may be attached to a strong iron bar sheathed in india
rubber, or other similar substance, and firmly pivotted on to the stem of vessel, or
be attached to a chain hung from a boom, which when needed could be run out
from the bow. The ram cap when in adjustment might be steadied by two lateral
guy ropes, and when not in use the ram-cap could be unshipped and secured to bows
of ship. See; Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Fig. 2 a section of the ram cap, showing the
manner in which it should be attached and adjusted to the ram of a ship; Fig. 3, a
side view of the ram cap; and Fig. 4, a front view of the same.
The ram-cap or shield would ordinarily be used when a ship was at anchor in
harbour, when traversing narrow or crowded seas, in fogs, and when taking part in
peace manoeuvres.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Firstly. Collision matting arranged in pleats and placed in the water tight
compartments of a ship, its folds lying either perpendicularly, or horizontally; in
the former case the collision matting should be attached to the sides and bottom, in
the latter to the top and bottom of such water tight compartments. In the event of
a collision the loosely pleated matting, unfolding under the weight and inrush of
water would automatically fill up any rent that may have been made in the inner
skin of vessel.
Secondly. A second water tight compartment especially arranged for the reception
collision or leak matting, and situated within the ship adjoining the usual water tight
compartments which are formed by the double sides and double bottoms of ships.
Thirdly. An arrangement by which a vessel of war may be provided with a ram-
cap or ram shield to minimize, in times of peace, the damage it may do to other
ships by a blow from its naked ram.
Dated this 25th day of April 1894.
HENRY BATHURST HANNA,
Colonel, Indian Staff Corps (retired).