J. A. STEINMETZ.
_
ORDNANCE PROJECTILE.
APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8, 1914.
Lgl 1,001.
’
-
Patented jan.2,1917.
‘Maxim?
%
\
’
W
/
V
G
6%
~TED STATES PATENT OFFICE. JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
‘ ORDNANCE-PROJECTILE.
1,211,001.
Speci?cation of Letters Patent. I
Application ?led December 8, 1914.
I Patented Jan. 2, 1917.
Serial No. 876,081.
'
.
At each crossing, the rod is ?attened and
Be it known that I, JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, welded, the structure at'th'e crossing having
a citizen of the United States, residing at a thickness but little eater than the diam
V T0 all whom it may concern:
Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia eter of the wire.
en'folded, this wire
and State of Pennsylvania, have invented forms a falrly compact mass readily so dis
certainv new and useful Improvements in posed as to ?ll the space in the body of the
Ordnance-Pro]ect1les, of which the follow-1 shell. Preferably the links vary in length to
ing is a .speci?cation, reference being had correspond with the spaces in larger or'
therein to the accompanying drawing.
, smaller shells, but links about ?ve inches 65
The object. of this invention is to provide long and adapted for use in three inch shells
'10
ordnanc‘ojprojectiles adapted for spreading may be used in larger shells, a part of the
ordinary shrapnel balls being omitted, in
barbed wire entanglement by means'of ar
tillery, long, stretches of such wire being such case, to leave room for the wire. When
dropped on unoccupied ground or among the shell loaded as shown is used, the head
70
15 men or animals, or thrown upon moving air‘
?rst disappears as a head and an instant
craft. To this end, barbed wire is placed in later the base and body are scattered in frag- ‘
shrapnel or other cases and so arranged that ments leavingthe wire mass free and mov-v
it will be freed and extended on the bursting . ing rapidly. The wire being comparatively
20
of the shell by impact or internal explosion. light, the momentum {of its arts does not
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 break it but the ‘free end portions straighten
shows in axial section a shrapnel case 5311 out more or less perfectly extending the wire
taining a long piece of barbed wire, Fig. :2 until its tensile resistance overcomes the ex
a small portion of the wire folded as it is in tending force. The extended wire quickly
Fig. 1, Fig. 3 shows on a larger scale a por falls, and as a three inch shell carries several
25
30
35
75
'
80
tion of the preferred form of wire extended, hundred feet the falling or fallen'wire seri
Fig. 4. illustrates the form of the interlocked
ends of two links, Fig. 5 shows a slight modi
?cation in the wire, and Fig. 6 some further
modi?cations in wire construction.
In these ?gures, A represents the body of
a shrapnel case, which is preferably Weak
ened along certain lines by grooving as
ously impedes men or animals, especially on
uneven ground or where parts of the wire
shown at A’.
It can also be successfully placed at night
'
‘
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 ?re of an enemy.
B designates the shell head, shown in this by shells apparently directed at the enemy 9.0,
instance as explosive, C thehead-bursting but. falling short. While the light wire is
charge,_D a common fuse member, E a base
not adapted for purposes sometimes‘ sought
and body bursting charge, E’ a thin dia in using heavy projectiles of the cha1n_ type,
phragm covering the charge E, and F a it is ‘highly ‘effective, by night or day, in op
tube, usually containing or internally coated ‘ posing cavalry attacks or the placing of bat 95
'40 with black powder, leading from the head teriles by the aid of horses, both by its d1
45
50
55
charge to the base charge so that the burst
ing 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
rect e?'ect before it reaches the ground and
by its later effect. If the wire falls upon
cavalry, .for example, the entanglement of
one man or animal leads to the entanglement 105
of others by the same wire, especially since
the barbs engage hook-like, in whichever
direction the wirev be drawn, and thus the
in a somewhat compact mass approximately
command is quickly disorganized. Ifde—
. each link consists of a wire or rod having
may be attached to each end of the wire, as
?lling, ordinarily, this entire space, and in sired, the wire may be held'immovable in 105
many cases made up of connected links each the shell by ?lling the interstices with shot,
having nearly the length of the space in sand, melted resin, orthe like, as indicated
which the mass lies. In the preferred form, at K, Fig. 1,‘ and if desired a small ball I ‘
each end portion bent back and carried ob shown in Fig. 5, to aid, by its momentum,
liquely across the central or body portion to in extending the wire, a result obviously at
form oppositely projecting pointed barbs. tainableby making the terminal portions of
110
2
1,211,001
‘
.i the wire heavier by“ any suitable means. upon itself, inclosed in said cavity, and in '
The wire being light, the links may be of condition to be- extended by the force of ex
varied lengths and be coiled or bent backand
forth as indicated at M, Fig. 6, so as to re
45
plosion when» freed from the shell thereby.
4. The combination with an explosive‘
duce the number of joints or connections to ' shell having a suitable cavity, “ of barbed
any desired extent, and'the links whatever wire having a terminal weight made up of
their number may be twisted instead of many connected links folded to form a com
welded, as indicated at N, or may be con pact mass and contained in said cavity.
50
nected by short preferably barbed members . - 5. The combination with a shell contain
10
0." It is also evident that if all explosives ing a shell-destroying explosive and chain
like wire consisting of: many connected
fectly extended by its own momentum when‘ barbed links folded upon each other, par
the container is destroyed as such by violent, allel to the axis of the shell, and in condition
impact. It may be further noted that the to be readily extended, and means for deto
be omitted the wire will be more or less per
15
projectile may be used with great advantage
in attacking aircraft, especially when it is
nating the shell.
‘
55
I
6. The combination with a projectile hav
provided with a suitable time fuse and ?red ing an explosive head, an explosive base,
60
_ in the proper‘ direction, the wire being‘ ef ’ andlan intermediate cavity, of a long stretch
fective against light framework or fabric of barbed wire forming a compact mass, lo
20 and destructive when caught in rapidly mov cated in said cavity'and adapted to' be read
ily extended, and means for exploding both
ing propelling mechanism.
.
l .
head and base, to leavethe Wire mass free
What ‘I claim is:
4
"
_1. ‘Ina projectile of the class described,
the combination with a shell containing an
25
explosive charge, of continuous barbed'wire
inclosed within the shell arranged therein to
in the air.
,
7. The combination with a suitable ord
nance "shell, of barbed wire ,chain inclosed
in the shell and folded back and forth to
be readily extended by the explosion of said form a mass vof approximately parallel long 70
charge and having a length many times the
8. The combination with an ordnance shell
greatest dimension of the latter, and means
having an elongated chamber between its '
I '
.30 for exploding the shell._
2. The' combination with an explosive end portions with its wall weakened along
shell,»of amass of barbed wire arranged in breaking lines, of a mass ?lling said cham 75,
the shell with many laterally free linearly ber and made up of barbed Wire links suit
connected portions lying alongside each able for entanglement and‘ lying alongside
each other in said chamber ‘approximately
35 other in condition to be extended by the ex
'
'
' >
plosion of the shell and having a length“ parallel to the shell’s axis.
In testimony whereof I a?‘ix my signature 80
when extended many times the greatest -di~
mension of the shell, said Wirev being relai ~ in presence of two witnesses. '
v tively very light and lacking ‘the destructive _
j V . JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ.
‘
“
40 ‘momentum of'ordinary projectiles.
links.
3. The combination with an explosive
shell having a suitable. internal cavity, of a
length of barbed wire folded many times
.
.,
_ Witnesses : '
S. . M. CRAIG,
E. L. BLACK.
.