US1314058A - Hugo e - Google Patents

Description

H. E. GRIESHABER.

SPRAY SHIELD FOR SUBMARINE BOATS.

APPLICATIONIFILED OCT. 8, m1.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

IIINGTON D L UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGO E. GRIESHABER, OF GROTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC BOAT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SPRAY-SHIELD FOR SUBMARINE BOATS.

Application filed October 8, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Huoo E. GRInsHABnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Groton, in the county of New London, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spray-Shields for Submarine Boats; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

Thisinvention relates to submarine boats and aims to provide a novel fairwater structure to act as a spray and weather shield for protecting members of the crew on an exterior navigating deck.

When a submarine boat as now constructed is cruising on the surface, its hull and superstructure are so completely awash, on account of the low freeboard, that the deck hatches are necessarily closed. During surface cruising, an elevated navigating deck or bridge, usually above the conning tower, is occupied by members of the crew until such time as the boat is just about to submerge; and it is common practice to provide one or more special hatches, by means of which members of the crew may pass directly from the navigating station to the interior of the boat. Even with this exterior navigating station elevated as eX- plained, it has been found highly desirable, especially in rough weather, to provide some sort of temporary protection forthe members of the crew at the navigating station, such as the familiar canvas weather cloth. This canvas weather cloth is liable to be carried away in a heavy sea when the boat is on the surface; and before submerging the weather cloth must be removed and stowed away or it will be lost.

The present invention involves the provision of a spray shield preferably made of metal or otherwise of suitably rigid construction, and therefore adapted to be anchored permanently in place, if desired, so that it need not be removed, although it is preferably adjusted or retracted, preparatory to submergence; the spray shield'being shaped to withstand deformation and displacement when the boat is propelled submerged; and being of such shape as to afford in itself substantial protection for the navigating station without additional can- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

Serial No. 195,267.

vas Walls, although such additional canvas walls will ordinarily be provided for use when conditions permit.

The spray-shield is preferably adapted for two adjustments, and is of cut-water contour avith its wall members synnnetrically arranged on opposite sides of the cen ter line of the boat in both of these adj ustments; the shield in one adjustment being extended to protect practically the entire width of the navigating bridge in the vicinity of the conning tower hatch, and in retracted adjustment being folded in alongside the slicers to offer small resistance to submerged propulsion. It will be understood that the term. slicers is herein used to include sheers for protecting some upstanding part of the boat, such as one or more periscopes or ventilators or both; and accordingly merely the term sheers will be used in the appended claims when defining the invention as applied to certain well known navigating stations.

The invention will be clearly understood from the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In this drawing, Figure l is a plan view of an amidships portion of a submarine hoat, showing a navigating station equipped with a spray-shield constructed according to the invention, and Fig; 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

The submarine boat illustratedin the drawing comprises a hull 3, a superstructure 4, a conning tower 5, sheers 6 for protecting a plurality of periscopes 7, a navigating deck or bridge 8 arranged above the conning tower and surrounding the base of the sheers, a conning tower hatch 9 and a suitable water-tight hatch-cover 10, the hatch 9 being located just forward of the slicers 6.

The spray-shield comprises a pair of rigid, curved, vertically arranged duplicate wallmembers 11 hingedly connected at their forward ends to a stanchion 12 as indicated at 13.

A pair of stanchion sockets 1 1 are set in the bridge 8 at opposite sides of the sheers 6 and preferably aft of the forward edge of the slicers. Secured to each wall-member 11 are a pair of fastening elements or pin.- tles 15, having eyes adapted to receive pins passing through cooperating pintles 15 on a stanchion 16, the lower end of which rests in the stanchion socket 14 to support the aft end of the Wall-member 11 in the extended position shown in full lines. Fastening elements or pintles for cooperating with the pintles 15 are secured at opposite sides of the slicers 6 asindicated at 18, and are so positioned that when the wall-members 11 are folded in to retracted position as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1, the pintles 15 on the wall-members interlock with the pintles 18 on the sheers 6- so that two pins may be inserted in the pintle bores to lock the sprayshield in its contracted condition. An electrical steering control 19, preferably of the well known type now in use and other suitable'navigating fittings (not shown) may be mounted on the stanchion 12 or otherwise positioned in rear of the spray shield, and so as to be inclosed by the'sprayshield even when the Wall members 11 are retracted.

The spray-shield when arranged as shown infull lines, that is, when the after ends of the wall members 11 are positioned outboard and secured in place at the side edges of the bridge 8', affords sufli'cient protection for a number of men on the bridge, whereas When the spray-shield is contracted and folded in against the sides of the sheers as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1, the conning tower hatch 9 lies within the confines of the shield and the commanding officer may stand in the space forward of the hatch.

It will be observed that the spray-shield is of characteristic prow-shape in both the described adjustments, that is, shaped like the fore part of a ships hull, and is at all times of high cut-water efficiency. The

shield constitutes a protecting shell open at top and rear when in extended condition; and when folded in against the sides o-f the sheers 6, the shield'constitutes a self-filling and self-bailing fair-water structure or auxiliary sheers, the side walls of which merge smoothly into the contour of the sheers 6. Should the boat submerge with the spray shield secured in place on the bridge 8, with the wall members 11 retracted, the spray shield will offer negligible resistance to submerged propulsion, and whether extended or retracted will withstand deformation or displacement and upon emergence of the boat, will be drained free of waterbefore the conning tower hatch is opened.

Thisspray shield may be supplemented by the usual canvas walls extending aftalong the outer edges of the navigating bridge, or by rigid side walls substituted for the canvas walls, as disclosed in the companion application, Serial No. 195,268, filed of even date herewith, but even with out such additional walls, it serves as a sub exterior navigating station, a plurality of upstanding sections permanently disposed in substantiallyvertical position with respect to" the deck of said station, one end of each of said sections being pivotally secured to the boat while the other endsof said sections are relatively movable with. respect to each other, and means for anchoring said sections in a relatively extended position to form a spray shield for said station .during surface propulsion and in a relatively retracted position for offering small resistance to submerged propulsion; sub stantially as described.

3. In a submarine boat, in combination, an exterior navigating station, and a sprayshield of cut-water contour mountedon the boat andcomprising a-plurality of relatively movable sections arranged to protect members of the crew on the navigating station when the boat is on the surface, the sections being adjustable to-change the contour of the shield to increase the cut-water efliciency thereof for submerged propulsion, substantially as described.

4:. In a submarine boat having an exterior navigating deck, a spray-shieldof prowshape adapted to be secured permanently to the deck and comprising a plurality of sections which are relatively movable to vary the maximum beam'ofthe spray-shield while maintaining the characteristic prow-shape thereof, substantially as described.

1 5. In a submarine boat, in combination, an exterior navigating station, a pair of rigid sections, one end of each of said sections being pivoted about a substantially vertical axis and the other endsof said sections being movable'away from and toward each other, and means forsecuring the movable endsof said sections inan extended position so asto form a spray shield for said station and in a retracted position offering relatively small resistance to submergedpropulsion; substantially as described.

6. In a submarine boat, the combination with an elevated exterior navigating station. upstanding sheers thereon and a hatch, for permitting members of the crew to pass directly from the station to, the inteiior-of the boat, of a plurality of substantially vertically arranged rigid wall-members permanently connected to the boat at their forward ends forward of the hatch, the wallmembers being adapted to be swung out away from the center line of the boat to protect members of the crew on the navigating station from flying spray, and also being adapted to be swung in toward the sheers toform a fair-water shell of small resistance to submerged propulsion, and means for securing the wall-members in both adjustments, substantially as described.

7. In a submarine boat having an exterior navigating bridge, an adjustable sprayshield comprising a substantially vertically upstanding member fixed in place on the bridge and a pair of substantially vertically arranged wall-members hingedly connected to the first mentioned member and adjustable to vary the maximum Width of the shield, and means for securing the rear portions of the wall-members in place, substantially as described.

8. In a, submarine boat, the combination with sheers, a navigating station forward of the sheers and a hatch for permitting members of the crew to pass directly from the station to the interior of the boat, of a sprayshield arranged forward of the hatch and comprisin a plurality of relatively movable wall-memers of rigid construction, the wall-members being relatively adjustable to an extended position to form a shield for protecting substantially the entire width of the station and to a retracted position with the rear portions of the wall-members against the sides of the sheers to form a relatively narrow shield adequate to protect a single member of the crew, substantially as described.

9. In a submarine boat having an exteri'or navigating station, a hatch whereby access may be had directly from the station to the interior of the boat, and sheers a [t of the hatch; a shield comprising a pair of wallmembers of rigid construction hinged! y connected to the boat at their forward ends so that the rear ends of the wall-members may be swung out to form a wide shield or swung in to form a relatively narrow shield, the Wall-members being duplicates and being curved so that when swung in they incloso the hatch and the forward portion of the sheers symmetrically on both sides of the center line of the boat, substantially as described.

10. In a submarine boat having an exterior navigating station and sheers upstanding in rear of the station; a fair-water sprayshield arranged forward 01 the sheers and comprisin a plurality of pivotally mounted wall-members formed and arranged so that they may be moved to expand oncontract the spray-shield on both sides of the forward portion of the sheers, substantially as described.

11. In a submarine boat, the combination of an exterior navigating deck, a hatch therein, fixed sheers aft of the hatch, and open topped adjustable sheers arranged forward of the hatch for protecting the hatch, the adjustable sheers being self-filling and self-bailing in all adjustments, and means for securing the adjustable sheers in position when adjusted, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

HUGO E. GRIESHABER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

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