US2391356A - Torpedo director - Google Patents

Description

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Dec. 18, 1945.

E. A. SPERRY, JR, ET AL TORPEDO DIRECTOR Filed July 25, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 mm x 0M6. E M m 55.0, o WA flT R T If A MM FIG.3.

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Patented Dec. 18, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TORPEDO DIRECTOR New York Application July 25, 1940, Serial No. 347,354

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an instrument commonly termed a torpedo director, whose function it is to control the direction orfiringhitorpedoes from war s. While large, complicated and expensi'm o i gedo directors are known and in use on battle ships and destroyers, these devices would not be suitable for use upon the new class of small, high-speed motor torpedo boats which have recently been introduced. These boats operate at high speeds and are subject to rapid deviations from course. Furthermore, they are built so low on the water-line that it Would be impossible to estimate the speed and direction of the target ship-a condition precedent to the use of standard torpedo directors.

It is the principal object of this invention, therefore, to provide a small and simplified torpedo director particularly adapted for the motor torpedo boats mentioned above, which will be accurate in operation at high speed, in high seas, or when zigzagging if battle conditions so require, and which operates on a principle which provides a simple, rapid and accurate solution of the triangle of torpedo fire without the necessity of accurately gauging the target course and speed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a torpedo director which will facilitate cooperation between the commanding ofiicer who is operating the torpedo director and the helmsman who is steering the ship, without the necessity of conversations, either direct or by telephone.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description thereof.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a torpedo director embodying the principles of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a graph illustrating the theory of this invention.

Referring first to Fig. 5, the theory underlying the present invention is graphically illustrated. Let us assume that a target ship is traveling along a course T1T2T3 and that a firing vessel on which the torpedoes are carried and on which the torpedo director is mounted, is traveling a course F1F2F3. If the target ship and the firing ship are traveling at the proper speeds they will collide at point C, in which case it is said that the firing ship is traveling on a collision course. If a sight instrument S on the firing ship is directed on the target ship, it will make an angle 0 with the line of travel of the firing ship. If the firing ship is traveling a collision course, then, obviously, at every point along its course the sight instrument S will remain trained on the target ship because the triangles CTsFa, CT2F2 and CT1F1 are all similar triangles. If, however, the firing ship is traveling too slow or too fast to meet the target ship at C, there will be no collision and the firing ship will pass behind or in front of the target ship as their courses cross. When the sight instrument is turned on the target ship, the commanding officer on the firing ship can see almost immediately whether he is traveling on a collision course, because from the above theory it becomes apparent that if he is on the collision course the sight instrument will remain trained on the target ship. If he is not on the collision course, the target ship will pass behind or in front of the line of sight. When this occurs, it is necessary for the commanding ofiicer to change the course of the firing ship so as to increase or decrease the angle 0, as the case may be, or to alter the speed of the firing ship, until he reaches the condition where the line of sight remains trained on the target ship.

Having thus achieved a collision course, the firing ship is ready for the next step, which is, directing the ship into the torpedo course. It is apparent that if the torpedo is designed to travel at the same speed as the firing ship, or, conversely, if the firing ship is purposely operated at the known torpedo speed, then it is only necessary to slow down the firing ship for an instant and discharge the torpedoes which then continue on the collision course previously determined and will collide with the target ship in the same manner as the firing ship would have collided with the target ship if it had continued on its course to point C. Usually, however, the torpedo will have a, different speed from that of the firing ship, and under these conditions it will be seen that in order for the torpedoes to effect collision with the target ship it is necessary to turn the boat, when the torpedoes are fired, to a different angle from the collision course of the firing ship. The direction of the correction to be introduced in the course of the torpedoes depends upon whether the torpedoes travel faster or slower than the firing ship. If they travel faster, then a correction angle or is introduced in order that the torpedo may meet the target ship sooner at collision point C. If, however, the torpedoes travel slower than the firing ship, then a correction angle 5 is introduced in the opposite direction to correction angle so that the torpedo will collide with the target ship later, that is, at point C".

The operations described above may be summarized as follows:

1. The commanding officer must place his sight on the target ship.

2. The commanding ofiicer must indicate the changes in the course of the firing ship in order that the sight instrument shall remain on the target ship-in other words, in order that a collision course may be effected.

3. The helmsman must direct the ship promptly into the collision course.

4. The commanding officer must indicate to the helmsman the necessary change in course for torpedo travel.

5. The helmsman must turn the ship into the torpedo course.

6. The commanding officer must release the torpedoes when the torpedo course is reached.

This mechanism has been designed for the purpose of effecting the above operations quickly and efficiently with the simplest mechanism, with maximum cooperation between the commanding ofiicer andthe helmsman without the necessity of conversation between them, and under the special conditions to which the small motor torpedo boats are subjected, namely, high speeds and heavy seas and a low platform of operation from which it is impossible to gauge with any accuracy the target direction, target angle, or target speed.

It will be noted that in the sequence of operations noted above, the first of these is to train a sight on the target ship. The sights heretofore employed are not feasible for use upon motor torpedo boats because of the speed, rapid variations in direction, vibration, and low platform of operations of such boats. Since everything depends upon the spatial direction of the line of sight remaining constant, because otherwise it would be impossible to tell when the firing ship is travelling a collision course, a line of sight stabilized in azimuth is essential to a torpedo director for this type of boat. For this purpose, We em a zsviie e psiie at lfl ifid c'dihprising rotor mounted for rotation in a vertical plane around the horizontal axis |2 within gimbal ring I3 pivoted on horizontal axis |4 within a ring |5 which is pivoted for rotation within casing IS on vertical axis Integral with the ring I5 is a vertical shaft 20 extending upwardly into a cylindrical transparent casing 2| and carrying at its upper end a spider 22 which carries at diametrically opposite ends a sight mechanism consisting of a vertical bar 24 at one end and a V-shaped sighting member 25 at the diametrically opposite end. The rotor may be spun in any convenient manner, as, for instance, by air directed against turbine buckets in its periphery by means of a jet through which air is driven in well known manner. The director gyro ll, if spun rapidly enough, will maintain its vertical plane and therefore its position in azimuth wherever it happens to be placed in azimuth. Therefore, the sight instrument 24, 25 will maintain its line of sight in azimuth regardless of the deviations from course of the vessel. For rotating the sight mechanism so that the line of sight may be adjusted on the target ship, a spring pressed plunger 30 (see Fig. 4) may be operated to cause gear 3| to engage a gear 32 on ring l5, whereby the said ring may -be rotated around vertical axis ll. Any suitable locking or caging means (not shown) may be provided for locking the gyro about its horizontal axis to prevent precession when knob 30 is operated. The gyro rotor, and therefore the line of sight, will hold its position in azimuth regardless of ship deviations, and therefore vibration of the boat, rapid deviations from course, yawing, and the effect of high seas, will not operate to displace the line of sight.

The helmsman first places the ship approximately on the collision course so that the later corrections in the ships course will be minimized. After having sighted on the target ship, the next duty of the commanding officer is to try to effect a collision course by his own ship, in other words, such course that the line of sight without further adjustment remains on the target. For this purpose he may have to indicate to the helmsman a change of course in one direction or the other, and he does this by means of a match-the-pointer system, as follows: The spider 22 carries a pointer 40. If desired, a plurality of such pointers may be carried, preferably at intervals, so that the helmsman can see the pointer from various positions with respect to the torpedo director. A second pointer 4| is carried by a vertical ring 42 which is supported on a plate 43 adapted to be frictionally rotatable around a Vertical axis on a plate 44 fixed to the casing I6. The frictional engagement of plate 43 with plate 44 may be effected by means of upper and lower flanges 45 and 46. The pointers 40 and 4| are matched initially. When the commander has placed his sight on the target ship and the target ship moves away from the sight in one direction or the other, the commanding officer knows that the direction of his own ship must be changed in one direction or the other to effect collision course. He therefore takes hold of ring 43, either directly or by taking hold of knob 50 (which is for an additional purpose to be described hereinafter), and. rotates ring 43 around the vertical axis until pointer 4| shows a correction to the right or left of pointer 40. Since pointer 4| is carried by ring 42, which is frictionally held to casing l6 so that it normally moves with the ship, the helmsman will correct the course of the vessel merely by applying the helm in one direction or the other to bring the pointers 40 and 4| into matching or coincident relationship. When these pointers are brought into matching position, the commanding ofllcer can then see whether his sight 24, 25 remains on the target ship; in other words, whether he has applied the proper correction. If the target ship still moves out from the line of sight, the commanding officer moves ring 42 to indicate an additional correction to the helmsman who then operates the ship to bring the pointers into coincidence. When, finally, the line of sight stays fixed on the target ship, the commanding ofiicer knows that he is on a collision course and his next concern is setting the course of his firing ship in the proper direction for the release of the torpedoes. As hereinbefore stated, if the torpedo speed is the same as the firing ship speed, then it is only necessary to close the throttles of the firing ship for an instant to slow down the ship while the torpedoes are discharged, and the latter will follow the same course as the firing ship does, namely the collision course. If, however, the torpedo travels faster or slower than the firing ship, then a correction in firing course, either of the nature of angle or angle 5 is necessary. The commanding ofiicer has a chart from Which he can read off the proper correction to be intro- Pet-m duced, said correction being a function not only of the difference between firing ship speed and target speed, but also of the angle 0. He then turns knob 50 on the end of a shaft 5| having a worm and gear connection 52, 53 with a shaft 54 carrying at its upper end a spider 55 having a plurality of pointers 56 adapted to cooperate with pointers 40 and 4|. The pointer 56, which may be of a different color, and which is matched initially with pointers 40 and 4|, is operated to the right or left of pointer 4| and the helmsman now steers his ship to effect coincidence of pointers 40 and 56. When this coincidence is effected, in other words, when these pointers are matched, the ship is on the proper torpedo course necessary to effect collision between the torpedo and the target ship. Yawing of the firing ship, or zigzagging to avoid enemy fire, will not interfere with the proper launching of the torpedoes, because the commanding oflicer can wait until these pointers approach coincidence and. at that instant he can push the buttons which release the torpedoes.

The torpedo director may be mounted upon any suitable base 60 fixed to the firing ship, and may be mounted on said base 60 by means of adjustable supports 5|, 62, 63, so that the director may be properly leveled.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, we have herein described the principle and operation of our invention, together with the apparatus which we now consider to rep-resent the best embodiment thereof, but we desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other equivalent means. Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements in the combination and relations described, some of these may be altered and others omitted without interfering with the more general results outlined, and the invention extends to such use.

Having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a torpedo director for ships, in combination, a line of sight device adapted to be actuated by an operator, means fonstahilizing said device in any position in azimuth in which it is placed, a pointer fixed to said sight device, a second pointer supported on said ship for movement similar to said first pointer, means for setting said second pointer relative to the ship for collision course correction as determined by the observed direction and rate of movement of the target relative to the line of sight whereby the ship may be steered to collision course by maintaining said pointers in coincidence.

2. In a torpedo director for ships, in combination, a line of sight device adapted to be actuated by an operator, means for stabilizing said device in any position in azimuth in which it is placed, a pointer fixed to said sight device, a second pointer supported on said ship for movement similar to said first pointer, means for setting said second pointer relative to the ship for collision course correction as determined by the observed direction and rate of movement of the target relative to the line of sight whereby the ship may be steered to collision course by maintaining said pointers in coincidence, a third pointer supported on the ship for movement similar to said first pointer, and means for setting said third pointer relative to the'ship and to said second pointer for torpedo course correction whereby said ship may be steered to torpedo course as indicated when said third pointer and said first pointer coincide.

ELMER A. SPERRY, JR. JOHN D. PEACE, JR.

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