Improvements in the Manufacture of Ordnance.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 1st Apr., 1890-Accepted, 17th May, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JOHN HAMILTON, of No. 162, East Thirty-sixth
Street, in the City and State of New York, United States of America, Manu-
facturer.]
Improvements in the Manufacture of Ordnance.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This improvement relates to ordnance generally, but it is specially applicable to
a cannon.
The improvement consists in a piece of ordnance having its core section formed
of longitudinal parts and its body section formed of wire or ribbon wound around
the said longitudinal parts. It will be found advantageous to enclose the body
section in a shell or jacket to protect the wire or ribbon. The body section will
preferably be externally screw-threaded or spirally ribbed to engage the enclosing
shell or jacket. Indeed, the entire wire or ribbon forming the body section may be
screw-threaded or spirally ribbed inside and out so that the different coils or layers
of the wire or ribbon will engage with one another. The wire or ribbon will pre-
ferably be wound so that the different coils or layers will extend across joints in
the adjacent coils or layers. The longitudinal parts composing the core section
may be thin strips or plates radiating from the axis of the piece of ordnance, or
they may be wide segments interlocking with each other. The interlocking may be
effected by providing their meeting edges with tongues and groves.
There may
be a wearing tube or lining tube inside of the core section.
This improvement makes it possible to employ a very much higher quality of
metal in the core section than could be obtained in a solid tube, and ordnance may
be constructed in very much less time than is possible when the ordinary method
of construction is employed. Ordnance embodying the improvement will be much
cheaper than other ordnance which is built up or formed of a number of com-
ponent parts. Such ordnance will have great clastic strength. When no longer
serviceable, ordnance constructed in accordance with this improvement may be
taken apart so easily that the commercial value of the metal will be greater than
it is ordinarily.
.
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Ordnance.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, 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 :-
This improvement relates to ordnance generally, but it is specially applicable to
a cannon.
The improvement consists in a piece of ordnance having its core section formed of
longitudinal parts and its body section formed of wire or ribbon wound around the
said longitudinal parts. It will be found advantageous to enclose the body section in
a shell or jacket to protect the wire or ribbon. The body section will preferably be

page_text: •
externally screw-threaded or spirally ribbed to engage the enclosing shell or jacket.
Indeed, the entire wire or ribbon forming the body section may be screw-threaded or
spirally ribbed inside and out so that the different coils, or layers of the wire or ribbon
will engage with one another. The wire or ribbon will preferably be wound so that
the different coils or layers will extend across joints in the adjacent coils or layers.
The longitudinal parts composing the core section may be thin strips or plates
radiating from the axis of the piece of ordnance, or they may be wide segments
interlocking with each other. The interlocking may be effected by providing their
meeting edges with tongues and grooves. There may be a wearing tube or lining
tube inside of the core section.
This improvement makes it possible to employ. a very much higher quality of metal
in the core section than could be obtained in a solid tube, and ordnance. may be, con-
structed in very much less time than is possible when the ordinary method of
construction is employed. Ordnance embodying the improvement. will be much
cheaper than other ordnance which is built up or formed of a number of component
parts. Such ordnance will have great elastic strength. When no longer serviceable,
ordnance constructed in accordance with this improvement may be taken apart so
easily that the commercial value of the metal will be greater than it is ordinarily.
In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a
cannon embodying the improvement. Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section of a
portion thereof drawn on a very much larger scale. Figure 3 is a transverse section
of the same drawn to the same scale as Figure 2. Figure 4 is a perspective view of
a portion of wire or ribbon which is used in the cannon represented in the previously
named figures. Figure 5 is a central longitudinal section of a portion of a cannon of
modified construction. Figure 6 is a transverse section of the construction shown
in Figure 5. Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in. all the
figures.
In Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, A designates a core section composed of a number
of parts made in the form of segments of a circle. fitted together laterally. They
extend throughout the length of the cannon. As shown, there are six of these
parts a¹ a² a³ a¹ a³ a. The laterally meeting edges or sides of these parts may extend
in the direction of the axis of the cannon or in other words may be straight from end
to end of the cannon or they may have a slight spiral extension. Preferably they will
be made as last suggested and then the joints formed by the contact of their meeting
edges or sides may advantageously correspond to the spiral of the rifling of the
cannon if there be any rifling in it. These parts may be made of any suitable
material, as, for instance, what is known as gun metal or steel.
Each part may advantageously be provided along one of its sides or lateral edges
with a tongue, 1, and at the other of its sides or lateral edges with a groove, 2, of
corresponding size. The tongue, 1, of each part will enter the groove, 2, of the next.
adjacent part. As shown, the sides of the parts do not extend radially in continuous
planes, but portions, 3, which are close to the internal are-shaped surfaces of the
parts, while radial, are out of line with other radially disposed portions, 4, located
adjacent to the external arc-shaped surfaces of the parts, and the tongues and grooves
are intermediate of the portions 3 and 4. When thus constructed, the joints will
serve as gas checks or, in other words, will preclude the discharge of gas between the
sections.
B designates wire or ribbon preferably made of spring tempered steel. It is shown
as comparatively flat in the transverse section; or, in other words, it is considerably..
wider than it is thick. It is wound around the exterior of the internal part. A spirally
and serves to bind the sections of said internal part together.
As shown, the internal part A is externally screw-threaded or ribbed and the,wire
or ribbon B is internally screw-threaded or ribbed. The screw-thread or rib. on the
interior of the wire or ribbon engages with the screw-thread or rib on the exterior of
the internal piece of the cannon. The wire or ribbon is so wound that the convola-
tions of each coil fit closely together side by side and therefore cover the internal
'piece at every point.

page_text: I have shown several coils of wire or ribbon wound around the internal part and I
have shown the wire or ribbon as screw-threaded or spirally ribbed on both sides, so
that the interior of the second coil will engage with the exterior of the first coil; the
interior of the third coil will engage with the exterior of the second coil, and
so on.
The different coils of wire or ribbon are so wound that the convolutions of the
second coil will be out of line with the convolutions of the first coil; the convolu-
tions of the third coil will be out of line with the convolutions of the second coil
or approximately in line with the convolutions of the first coil, and so on. Thus
they will break joints and protect the internal piece the better.
As the cannon is tapered the different coils of wire or ribbon terminate at different
distances from the muzzle of the cannon.
It will be noticed that in Figures 2 and 3, I have shown a greater number of coils
or layers of wire or ribbon than in Figure 1, but no particular number of coils or
layers is invariably essential.
C designates an outer shell or jacket which may be made of any suitable metal,
as for instance, cast iron or steel. It extends from end to end of the cannon covering
the wire or ribbon B and, as shown, it engages with the external screw-threads of
the wire or ribbon adjacent to it. It may be formed upon the wire or placed thereon
any other suitable manner.
in
It is provided with trunnions.
A breech piece or cap D) is arranged rearwards of the wire or ribbon B and
the shell C. As shown it is secured upon the rear extremity of the core
section A.
The breech of the cannon may be made in any suitable manner; as it forms
no feature of my present improvement, I have not shown any manner of
securing it.
The overlapping joints between the parts composing the core section by serving as
gas checks, enable the parts to expand or move transversely to a slight degree so
that the strain to which they will be subjected may be transmitted to the wire or
ribbon and shell, and therefore partially borne by the wire or ribbon and shell.
This will be advantageous because then all parts of the cannon will contribute to
resist the strain.
In Figures 5 and 6, the core section is made of a number of longitudinal parts
consisting of thin strips or plates extending radially to the axis of the cannon.
These strips or plates are very narrow circumferentially of the cannon. In order
that their sides may be radial to the axis of the cannon and consequently may fit close
together, they are tapered or inclined from the outer to the inner edge. These
strips or plates may be straight in the direction of the length of the cannon or if
desired may have a spiral extension. These parts will preferably be made of steel.
In these examples of my improvement, the wire or ribbon is round in the cross
section and is not screw-threaded. The other parts are the same as in the first
described example of the improvement. Inwards of the core section there may be a
wearing tube, G, and this will preferably be of steel.
The making of the core section of a number of thin strips or plates is advan
tageous for that it renders it possible to effectively temper and anneal the metal."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :
1. A piece of ordnance having its core section formed in longitudinal parts and
its body section formed of wire or ribbon wound around the said longitudinal parts,
substantially as specified.
2. A piece of ordnance having a core section formed of longitudinal parts, a body
section formed of wire or ribbon wound around the said core section and an exterior
jacket to protect the wire, substantially as set forth.
3. A piece of ordnance having a core section composed of parts fitted together

page_text: laterally and a wire or ribbon wound around the same and externally screw-threaded
or spirally ribbed, substantially as set forth.
4. A piece of ordnance having a core section composed of parts fitted together
laterally and screw-threaded circumferentially and a wire or ribbon screw-threaded
or spirally ribbed and wound around the same, substantially as specified.
5. A piece of ordnance having a core section composed of parts fitted together
laterally and several coils of wire or ribbon which is screw-threaded or ribbed upon
'contiguous surfaces, said coils of wire or ribbon being so disposed as to break joints,
substantially as specified.
6. A piece of ordnance having a core section composed of parts fitted together
laterally, a screw-threaded wire or ribbon wound around the same and an external
screw-threaded outer shell engaging with the said wire or ribbon, substantially as
specified.
7. A piece of ordnance having a core section composed of parts fitted together
laterally and screw-threaded circumferentially, a wire or ribbon wound around said
core section and screw-threaded or spirally ribbed and an outer shell engaging with
the screw-thread or rib of the wire or ribbon, substantially as specified.
8. A piece of ordnance having a coro section formed of a number of longitudinal
parts severally made sufficiently thin to admit of their being thoroughly tempered and
annealed, substantially as specified.
Dated this 1st day of April 1800
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.