Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Projectiles to Turret Guns.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May. 1896
Complete Specification Left, 4th Feb., 1897-Accepted. 17th Apr., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Projectiles to Turret Guns.
I, JOSIAH VAVASSEUR, of 8 Great George Street, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In my former Specification No. 14932 in the year 1895 I have described apparatus
for supplying projectiles to turret guns by means of a rotating shot carrier beneath
the gun platform.
The carrier which revolves about the same centre as the turret, carries the
projectiles to the rear and as each projectile is bronght into position it s raised by
a hoist to the breech of the gun. Only a limited number of projectiles can be
carried upon this revolving shot carrier.
The object of my present invention is to render a larger supply of projectiles
readily available.
A second shot carrier which may be rotated independently of the primary carrier
is arranged to carry an inner series or circle of projectiles. These projectiles are
arranged on the carrier in a nearly vertical position, with the nose of the projectile
downwards and they can be transferred as required on to the primary shot carrier.
In the arrangement which I prefer the shot is raised by a lift from a shot room
below; it is held in a cup like holder on which are two pairs of trunnion like
wings. The guide rails of the hoist receive these wings whilst the nose of the
projectile rests on a table on the top of the runner of the lift. On the inner revolving
carrier are short receiving guides which when in position form continuations of the
guide rails of the lift and the runner of the lift rises high enough to land the
cup like holder with the projectile into the receiving guides of the inner revolving
carrier.
A pair of catches prevent the return of the shot and its cup like holder when the
runner of the lift descends, they drop in beneath the upper pair of trunnions.
The transfer of the projectile from the inner to the outer carrier is effected by
tipping or causing it to turn about the upper pair of trunnions; it then slides
down out of its cup like holder into a place upon the outer carrier. The outer
carrier takes the projectile to the rear of the gun where is the hoist which lifts it
to the breech as already explained.
The empty cup like carriers are taken down by the lift.
Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Projectiles to Turret Guns.
I, JOSIAH VAVASSEUR, of 8 Great George Street, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, 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:-
In my former Specification No. 14932 in the year 1895 I have described apparatus
for supplying projectiles to turret guns by means of a rotating shot carrier beneath
the gun platform

page_text: The carrier which revolves about the same centre as the turret, carries the
projectiles to the rear and as each projectile is brought into position it is raised by
a hoist to the breech of the gun. Only a limited number of projectiles can be
carried upon this revolving shot carrier.
The object of my present invention is to render a larger supply of projectiles
readily available.
A second shot carrier which may be rotated independently of the primary carrier
is arranged to carry an inner series or circle of projectiles. These projectiles are
arranged on the carrier in a nearly vertical position, with the nose of the projectile
downwards, and they can be transferred as required on to the primary shot carrier.
In the arrangement which I prefer the shot is raised by a lift from a shot room
below; it is held in a cup like holder on which are two pairs of trunnion like
wings. The guide rails of the hoist receive these wings whilst, the nose of the
projectile rests on a table on the top of the runner of the lift. On the inner
revolving carrier are short receiving guides which when in position form continuations
of the guide rails of the lift and the runner of the lift rises high enough to land
the cup like holder with the projectile into the receiving guides of the inner
revolving carrier.
A pair of catches prevent the return of the shot and its cup like holder when
the runner of the lift descends, they drop in beneath the upper pair of trunnions.
The transfer of the projectile from the inner to the outer carrier is effected by
tipping or causing it to turn about the upper pair of trunnions; it then slides
down out of its cup like holder into a place upon the outer carrier. The outer
carrier takes the projectile to the rear of the gun where is the hoist which lifts it
to the breech as already explained.
The empty cup like carriers are taken down by the lift.
In the annexed drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section showing a turret gun
mounting and apparatus in accordance with my invention for supplying projectiles
to the guns. Figure 2 is a plan of the same and one half of the figure is in section.
A is the gun platform, it is supported by a ring of rollers B which run upon the
roller track C. D is a shaft coming up from below which rotates the gun platform;
the shaft has a pinion at its upper end which engages with a circular rack. E is
the armour plate wall of the barbette and F is the armour on the rotating part
of the structure. G G are the guns, they are mounted in cradles moveable about
trunnions G' G.
In Figure 1 the gun is shown in its loading position with the breech depressed.
His a projectile in position to enter the gun, it rests upon a tray J. K is a
telescopic rammer which thrusts the projectile into the gun. Beneath the gan
platform there is a chamber the walls of which A' A¹ are fixed to the gun platform.
Lis an annular shot carrier in this chamber, it is supported on rollers L' which
rest upon guide rails A' A. M is the hand and power gear for rotating the annular
shot carrier L.
The shot as will be seen rest side by side being ranged radially around the
carrier; each shot lies upon a tray J similar to that already referred to. N is a
telescopic hoist for raising the shot from the carrier L to the gun. Each tray as
will be seen has a socket Ji on its under side and when the shot on the tray is to
be elevated to the gun, the socket is brought over the head of the hoist and by the
movement of a handle N the hoist is brought into action and caused to raise the
tray J with the shot upon it; the tray as it rises is slowed through a small angle
and so the axis of the shot is brought to align with the bore of the gun. All these
arrangements are in substantial accordance with the Specification of my former
Patent 1493295.
O is the second annular shot carrier which I now provide to work in conjunction
with the other, it is supported by rollers O which run upon a guide rail A. Pis
hand and power gearing by which the shot carrier O can be rotated. Qare the
projectiles in this shot carrier, each is held in a cuplike holder R consisting of two
rings connected the one to the other and each with a pair of studs or trunnions R¹ R¹

page_text: upon it suitable to be received into the trough like guides S of a shot hoist which
brings the projectiles up from below. The shot carrier has upon it other trough
like guides O'O' which can be brought to coincide with guides S of the shot hoist so
that when the shot rises above the guides of the hoist it enters those upon the
carrier which at that time form continuations of the hoist guides.
The upper pair of studs R' as they arrive near the top of the guides 0 displace
latches T which immediately afterwards drop in beneath the studs so that when the
platform of the shot hoist descends the latches retain the projectile.
Each shot as it is brought up by the hoist is thus received between a pair of
guides 002 and the carrier O is moved round step by step as its compartments are
progressively filled. The outer shot carrier L is filled by transferring projectiles to
it from the inner carrier O. For this purpose the guides 0 admit of the shot being
tilted as is indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 and so the base of the shot may
be brought to rest on one of the trays J on the carrier L and readily passed to its
place upon the tray. T¹ are handles connected with the latches I by which the
latches are withdrawn to allow the shot holders to be returned to the shot hoist.
U is the powder hoist, it delivers the cartridges centrally between the guns.
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. The revolving shot carrier O in the chamber beneath the gun platform so
arranged as to receive the projectiles delivered by the shot hoist and retain them in an
approximately upright position substantially as described.
2. The combination of the two revolving shot carriers L and O so arranged that
the projectile may be transferred from the carrier O which first receives it, to the
outer carrier L which brings it into position to be passed to the gun substantially as
described.