US1211001A - Ordnance-projectile. - Google Patents

Description

J. A. STEINMETZ.

ORDNANCE PROJECTILE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8, 1914.

L l 1,001. Patented jan.2,1917.

Maxim? V G W 6% T D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ORDNANCE-PROJECTILE.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

I Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

Application filed December 8, 1914. Serial No. 876,081.

V T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH A. STEINMETZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ordnance-Pro ect1les, of which the followit will be freed and extended on the bursting of the shell by impact or internal explosion.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows in axial section a shrapnel case 5311- taining a long piece of barbed wire, Fig. :2 a small portion of the wire folded as it is in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 shows on a larger scale a portion of the preferred form of wire extended, Fig. 4. illustrates the form of the interlocked ends of two links, Fig. 5 shows a slight modification in the wire, and Fig. 6 some further modifications in wire construction.

In these figures, A represents the body of a shrapnel case, which is preferably Weakened along certain lines by grooving as shown at A.

B designates the shell head, shown in this instance as explosive, C thehead-bursting charge, D a common fuse member, E a base and body bursting charge, E a thin diaphragm covering the charge E, and F a tube, usually containing or internally coated with black powder, leading from the head charge to the base charge so that the bursting of the base and body may be an instant later than the bursting of the head.

In the annular space between the body walls and the axial tube and also between the diaphragm and the head, is placed a long.

segment or stretch of barbed wire arranged in a somewhat compact mass approximately filling, ordinarily, this entire space, and in many cases made up of connected links each having nearly the length of the space inwhich the mass lies. In the preferred form,

. each link consists of a wire or rod having At each crossing, the rod is flattened and welded, the structure at'th'e crossing having a thickness but little eater than the diameter of the wire. en'folded, this wire forms a falrly compact mass readily so disposed as to fill the space in the body of the shell. Preferably the links vary in length to correspond with the spaces in larger or' smaller shells, but links about five incheslong and adapted for use in three inch shells may be used in larger shells, a part of the ordinary shrapnel balls being omitted, in such case, to leave room for the wire. When the shell loaded as shown is used, the head first disappears as a head and an instant later the base and body are scattered in fragments leavingthe wire mass free and mov-v ing rapidly. The wire being comparatively light, the momentum of its arts does not break it but the free end portions straighten out more or less perfectly extending the wire until its tensile resistance overcomes the exuneven ground or where parts of the wire are held up by shrubs or, the like.

A battery can quickly spread wire over a large area and in places where it could not otherwise be placed, such for example as a, zone protected by the fire of an enemy. It can also be successfully placed at night by shells apparently directed at the enemy but falling short. While the light wire is not adapted for purposes sometimes sought in using heavy projectiles of the cha1n type, it is highly effective, by night or day, in opposing cavalry attacks or the placing of batteri es by the aid of horses, both by its d1- rect efi'ect before it reaches the ground andby its later effect. If the wire falls upon cavalry, for example, the entanglement of one man or animal leads to the entanglement of others by the same wire, especially since the barbs engage hook-like, in whichever direction the wire be drawn, and thus the command is quickly disorganized. Ifde sired, the wire may be held'immovable in the shell by filling the interstices with shot, sand, melted resin, orthe like, as indicated at K, Fig. 1, and if desired a small ball I may be attached to each end of the wire, as shown in Fig. 5, to aid, by its momentum, in extending the wire, a result obviously attainableby making the terminal portions of the wire heavier by any suitable means.

The wire being light, the links may be of varied lengths and be coiled or bent backand forth as indicated at M, Fig. 6, so as to reduce the number of joints or connections to any desired extent, and'the links whatever their number may be twisted instead of welded, as indicated at N, or may be connected by short preferably barbed members in the proper direction, the wire being effective against light framework or fabric and destructive when caught in rapidly moving propelling mechanism. l

What I claim is: 4

described,

1. Ina projectile of the class the combination with a shell containing an explosive charge, of continuous barbed'wire inclosed within the shell arranged therein to be readily extended by the explosion of said charge and having a length many times the greatest dimension of the latter, and means for exploding the shell. I

2. The' combination with an explosive shell,of amass of barbed wire arranged in the shell with many laterally free linearly connected portions lying alongside each other in condition to be extended by the explosion of the shell and having a length when extended many times the greatest -dimension of the shell, said Wirev being rela v tively very light and lacking the destructive momentum of'ordinary projectiles.

3. The combination with an explosive shell having a suitable. internal cavity, of a length of barbed wire folded many times upon itself, inclosed in said cavity, and in 4. The combination with an explosive shell having a suitable cavity, of barbed wire having a terminal weight made up of many connected links folded to form a compact mass and contained in said cavity.

- 5. The combination with a shell containing a shell-destroying explosive and chainlike wire consisting of: many connected barbed links folded upon each other, par allel to the axis of the shell, and in condition to be readily extended, and means for detonating the shell. I

6. The combination with a projectile hav ing an explosive head, an explosive base,

and an intermediate cavity, of a long stretch of barbed wire forming a compact mass, lo-

cated in said cavity'and adapted to' be readily extended, and means for exploding both head and base, to leavethe Wire mass free in the air.

7. The combination with a suitable ordnance "shell, of barbed wire chain inclosed in the shell and folded back and forth to form a mass vof approximately parallel long links.

8. The combination with an ordnance shell having an elongated chamber between its In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

j V JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ.

Witnesses S. M. CRAIG, E. L. BLACK.

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