US1316005A - Incendiary projectile. - Google Patents

Description

0.1.1. vAuIlN. INCENDIARY PROIECTILE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I0, |919.

Patented Sept. 16; 1919.

yUNITED j sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

CLAUDE THEODOEE JAMES VAUTIN, or LONDON, ENcLietNn, AssIGNoE 'ro THEEMALLOY v LIMITED, or LoNDoN, ENGLAND.

INcENDrAnY PROJECTME..

Specication of Letters Patent. i Patented 16, 1919.

Application led April 10, 1919. Serial No. 289.176.

To all whom tmay concern:

Be it known that I, CLAUDE THEODORE yJAMES VAUTIN, asubject of the Kingeof Vterial of such projectiles within an outer casing .or shell, usually of steel but sometimes of softer material as in a cartridge case, and to provide the projectile with both an igniting and a bursting charge, the former of which served to ignite the incendiary material, and the latter of which served t0 `burst the said shell and scatter the said ma terial. Sometimes a double-purpose charge that both lgnites the incendiary material and bursts the shell or other containing case has been employed. One result of such constructions was that the incendiary material was necessarily scattered with considerable force, owing to the force required to burst the containing vessel or shell, and the incendiary material was consequently subdivided by the burst more finely than was altogether desirable.

I have found that the incendiary material is better distributed after it has been ignited if it be not contained in a container or casing which is thus to be opened by a disruptive force.

For the purpose of obtaining this improved-distribution of the ignited incendiary material, the present invention provides a projectile whose body, or an outer shell thereof, 1s formed wholly or in part of an `ignitible substance that is hard-when cold,

butbecomes soft and fluid 'when ignited, for example a metallic mixture hardened by mechanical pressure. Such an ignitible sub-` stance may be a metallic mixture which comprises a combustiblebinding material or is rendered hard by incorporation with such a binding material. The said ignitible substance preferably comprises as the binding material either sulfur or sulfur together with a metallic suliid decomposable by the -metal of the mixture;

The projectile` provided byths invention illustrated by way of example in theaccompanymg drawing,wherein- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation showing a projectile accordingto the invention adapted for use in a Stokes gun, and

Fig. 2 is -a like view of a hand-grenade according to the'invention.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation of a modified form of the present invention.

Referring' first to`Fig. l, the projectile comprises a head A and a base B of steel, the former being a disk having a central aperture A1, and the latter being in the form of a disk with a central tail-piece or stem B1 which is hollow.' y The aperture in the head is screw threaded to receive the ordinary fuse C for igniting the mixture, and the tailpiece B1 ofthe base is arranged to receive the usual propellant charge .and is perforated as shown at B2, so that the gases liberated by the charge when fired, can escape into the chamber of the gun. The outside diameters of the base and head are such as to fit the bore of the gun.

Two or more steel rods D are prepared which may have shoulders I)1 at each. end, and are of such a length between the shoulders that, when the rods are inserted between the said head and basewith their ends passing into holes prepared to receive them in the head and base, respectively, the latter will be spaced apart the distance requisite to give the projectile its desired length. The ends of the rods D are screw threaded and pass, as above stated, through holes in the head and base and receive nuts D2 on their projecting ends so as t0 hold the head and` base firmly together at a predetermined dis- 'tance apart. Alternatively, the rods may be `secured in the basel otherwise than by shoulends obtained.V Thismaterlalisthencastonto the frame the'base B and head A united by the twoor moresteelrodsfD in such a way'that a cylindrical block E of thematerial, coredoutatEltopmvidea chamber for a detonatol', 5115 the space betweenthe head andbase and constitutes the body of the projectile. It will be appreciatedthatthematerialisthusstamund thesaid two rodssothatthe rult con-v stitutesasubstantiallysolidunit.

Inuse,thefuseCisinsertedin thehead zsandfhepropellng inthestexuB.1

otherwise, the whole body E ofthe projectile and forms a liquid slag of great fluidity together with'molten iron, and this slagandironisscaeredbytheshockof or gravity and in amore desirable mannerthanifitwerescatteredby anex- 4 plosive charge. As' an example of an alternative to the above Sulfunous mixture a, metallic sulfid such as can he decomposed by the metal constituent of the thermalloy or other alumino thermic mixture may be employed, this sulliid being ground to a fine powder andmixed with finely divided sulfur equivalent to from 15%-50% by weight of the sulfid. In.this case the metallic sullid, such as iron pyrites, after having been finely with say from 15%.-50% of its weight of sulfur, and this mixture is heated with constant untilthe mass becomes fluid. It isthen cast and allowed to cool and set hard. This hard roduct is finely ground and added in the dl alumino-thermic Y and the heatedas above the of sulfur and aluminium with thermalloy.. The proportion of aluminium or other vreducing metal or allo r is, however, so that the said met will suilice to ombine both with the sulfur` of the metallic sulid and with the free sulfur added thereto.

'A modified form ofprojectile to the invention comprises a central r' forated lron'tuhe T screwed at oneend into.

the aperture iliffthe head plate and secured at the other end to the base plate having a {lash-hole 0 in the center thereof -communi- .eating with the interior of the tube. The

'tube olfthebasewiththelrvluultthatwllenitisV redandthefuseis'alsoiimbyimpadzor und is eslred proportion to the l' former end of-lthe tube may be closeddbyh: screwpl or yanordlnaryfuse,an tube itself is wholly or {11n-many lled with the tible mixture w 'ch surrounds the tween the two plates.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the bod Ez of thehandgrenadehavingtheformo anoblate spheroid is composed of the same maferial as the body of the projectile described above with/reference to Fig. 1, and is cast about a core to providean axially disposed detonator-chamber E which is closed at one end and is screw-threaded'at the other,as shown atE,toreceivethefuse.

in the construction described abovewithrcferencetoFig.1,theprojccle maybesaidtobedevoidofametal -casmg .or shell, it istobe-undelstood thatfitmay bepartlyinclosedinsuchavcasmg' .Thus,. forexample,theheadAandthehmeBmay each be provided with a cylindrical dirtedtowardtheopposite end oftheprojectilebutonlyofsuchaxiall aswill leaveinthecenter oftheprojechleaband ofthebody-portionexposedtotbeairandw not emzircled by' a metallic casing. Furthermore, it'is within the scope of thisinvention to consta-uct a projectile substantiallyasahollowbodyw osewallorcasmg isfonnedwhollyorinpartofonekindo 'ahardignitiblemetalhcmlxturesuchasis exemplified above, and to lill the said casing with another kind of incendiary metallothermic material, such for example as one not containing free sulfur Or such a'hollow casing ma be left ed. In addition, instead of eating the above-mentioned mixed ingredients to form a lastic mam which is then cast into the esired shape, the mixed 'ents may be molded ieder plllessure tof l1e desire:l forn without a `cation o eat, wi out e artln' g from Ithe sco of the invention'. P What I claim as my invention and desire to secure .by Letters Patent is:- 1. An incendiary nojectile comprising an outer shell com in part of an ignitible v metallothermic material that is hard when cold but becomes soft or fluid when 2. An incendiary projectile comprising-an' Y outer shell composed wholly of an ignitible metallothermic material that is hard and deng'when cold but becomes soft or fluid mechanical pressure 4. 'Aninceniary projectile compris' an outer shell wholly of an ignuitgible metallothermic mixture of powders.. compressed intoa hard solid condition.

5. An incendiary `rojectile comprising an outer 'shell comp in part of an ignitible mctallothermic .mixture which contains as v1w lmetallothermic material one ingredient 'a combustible lbinder and outer shell composed whollyof an ignitiblemetallothermic material which consists of a metallic powder, an oxygen compound of a metal and a sulfur-ous binder, and which is hard when cold but becomes soft or fluid` When ignited. j

8. An incendiary projectile comprising an outer shell composed in part of an ignitible metallothermic material which contains a metallic powder land as a binder sulfur mixed with av sulid decomposable by the metal, and which is hard when lcold but becomes plastic or liquid when ignited.

9. An incendiary projectile comprising an outer shell composed wholly of an ignitible which contains powdered aluminium and as a binder sulfur mixed with a sulid decomposable by aluminium, and which is hard when cold but becomes soft or fluid when ignited. 4

10. An incendiary projectile comprising a self sustaining body which is exposed to the atmosphere and is composed of an ignitible metallotllermic material that is hard when cold but becomes soft or liquid when ignited.

11. An incendiary projectile 'comprising a body which is exposed to the atmosphere and is composed of an ignitible metallothermic mixture of powders that contains a sulfurous substance as a binder', and is hard when cold but becomes soft or fluid when lgnlted.

12. An'incendiary projectile comprising a body which is exposed to the atmosphere and is composed'of an ignitible metallothcrmic 4material vthat contains an oxygen compound of a metal and sufur as a binder and is hard and .dense when coldy but becomes plastic or liquid when ignited.

13. An incendiary projectile comprising in combinationfa frame, and a hard solid mass of metallothern'iic material constituting the body of the projectile carried thereby with its outer surface exposed to the atmosphere.

1l. An incendiary projectile comprising in combination two metal plates and a distancemember holding the same together to constitute al frame, and a hard solid mass of metallothermic material constituting the body of the projectile carried thereby with its outer surface exposed to the atmosphere.

In testimony whereof I aix'my signature.

CLAUDE THEODORE JAMES VAUTIN.

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