US2405001A - Shock absorbing device - Google Patents

Description

J3 16; c. c. WHITTAKER SHOCK ABSORBING DEVICE Filed April 8, 1944 INVENTOR fiar/es Cl i fzif fd/f/T BY 02w? 2 WITNESSES:

ATTORN EY Patented July 30, 1946 T snoox snsonnnvo DEVICE Charles C. Whittaker, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, lPa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 8, 1944, Serial No. 530,218

Claims.

My invention relates to torpedoes, and more particularly to an auxiliary nose for the warhead of a torpedo. Torpedoes move at a relatively high speed through the water, which is in the neighborhood of forty miles per hour, and when a torpedo strikes its target, and the target is a relatively rigid portion of a ship, as that portion of armor plate opposite a bulkhead, the war-head may be shattered before the explosive charge is fired.

The Government of the United States has been granted a certain royalty-free license for governmental purposes with respect to the invention herein described.

One object of my invention is the provision of cushioning means for the nose of a torpedo.

A more specific object of my invention is the provision of an auxiliary nose for a torpedo constructed to be deformed to decelerate a torpedo sufficiently to prevent shattering of the torpedo body when hitting a target.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification and the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 represents the war-head, in longitudinal section, of a torpedo provided with a special nose construction;

Fig. 2 shows a modification, also in section, of the war-head of a torpedo; and

Fig. 3 shows a side view of a torpedo, illustret ing the changes in shape and deformation of the auxiliary nose during contact with a target.

The mechanisms for firing the charge of a torpedo and other devices usually found in the torpedo represent no portion of my invention, and are, therefore, not shown. It should be noted, however, that torpedoes usually have inertia control firing mechanisms or firing mechanisms controlled in some other fashion, which cause explosion of the charge when the torpedo hits the target. Usually, these mechanisms have an inertia switch or some other device in the nose of the torpedo, and when a torpedo strikes a relatively rigid target, the nose and sometimes the entire front of the torpedo may collapse, and thus fail to efiect the proper operation of the detonating charge.

I provide the body of the torpedo I with a substantially conventional hemispherical nose 2, having the offset region shown at 3; and at this offset region, I dispose the auxiliary nose 4 which may be formed by a plain curve, as an ellipse, rotated about its major axis which is in line with the axis of the torpedo, to thus form a pointed surface of revolution. This nose portion, or surface of revolution, is provided with the lifting and towing eye 5 which is suitably secured by welding, or other means, to the auxiliary nose 4 at the depressed region 6. The nose l is depressed at the region 6 about the lifting and towing eye or contact point, so that when the torpedo strikes the target, the bending and deformation will readily take place at the deformed or prebent portion 6. The nose thus provides a relatively weak arc, and collapses upon contact with the torpedo with the target.

It will be noted that in the embodiment shown in Figure l, I merely weld the nose to the torpedo at the region 3. Since it is essential that deformation does not take place at the region 3, I may shape the torpedo nose and the auxiliary nose as shown at 3', in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the auxiliary nose has an offset portion with a strengthening ring 8 disposed about the right-hand end, or open end, of the auxiliary nose 4'. This ring 8 is welded both to the auxiliary nose and the torpedo, so as to form a rigid construction. The chamber, for both the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 and the modification shown in Fig. 2, formed between the auxiliary nose l and the hemispherical nose 2 of the torpedo, I fill with a suitable oil or some other liquid. The liquid may be inserted through the opening 9, and then a suitable plug secured into the opening to prevent escape of the liquid.

At the depressed, preformed, or bent region 8, I dispose a plurality of openings circumferentially of the eye 5, and I fill these openings with rivets 7 soldered into place so as to make the chamber leak-proof. In operation, as shown in Fig. 3, the towing-eye or very point of the nose of the torpedo strikes the target T, and since this auxiliary nose, or false nose, immediately begins to buckle and collapse, the torpedo is slowed down enough to allow time for the detonators to operate to effect the detonation of the main charge before the main torpedo body strikes. This slowing down is sufficient to take the initial impact, to prevent shattering of the torpedo body. The impact, however, is of sufficient magnitude to set the inertia devices in operation to cause detonation of the torpedo. The slowing down is ifected largely in this manner: when the target is struck, the false nose or auxiliary nose will begin to buckle at the region 6, the region occupied by the rivets l, and the pressure of the liquid inside of the chamber will expel the loosened rivets, and thus provide a restricted discharge path for the liquid to escape and thus suitably decelerate the main body of the torpedo.

The specific dimensions selected for the auxiliary nose, in themselves, are no part of my invention, but the design will, of course, be so selected to have a definite relation to the speed of operation of the torpedo, the important feature being that point In, as it moves back toward the nose 2, must not contact the nose 2 before the torpedo is substantially brought'to'rest, or at least moves with a relatively low speed so that the detonating sequence has had time to ignite the main charge of explosive before the main torpedo structure strikes with suificient force to rupture itself.

I do not wish to be limited to the particular false nose construction I have shown, but wish to be limited only by the scope of the claims hereto appended;

I claim as my invention:

l. A false nose for a torpedo, in combination, a torpedo body having a hemispherical nose integral with the body, the torpedo body and nose at the junction region being so shaped, or circumferentially depressed, that the outside diameter of the hemispherical nose at the base of the hemisphere is substantially equal to the inside diameter of the body, a hemi-ellipsoidal false nose disposed over the hemispherical nose so as to form a chamber between the two noses, the base of the hemi-ellipsoidal nose fitting snugly over the base of the hemispherical nose, the two noses being welded to each other at their bases to form a liquid-tight joint, and a liquid disposed in the chamber formed by the two noses, the hemiellipsoidal nose circumferentially of the tip being bent inwardly a relatively smallv amount so that when the torpedo hits a target the false nose will begin its collapse at the portion bent inwardly, the tip, at the bent inwardly region, being provided with a plurality of apertures plugged with rivets that are soldered into place to make the connection leak-proof but to have relatively little strength when the surrounding metal is stressed, whereby the rivets are, when the torpedo hits a target and the false nose begins to collapse, expelled from the apertures by the rising pressure of the liquid in the chamber, and the torpedo is suitably slowed down to prevent damage to the equipment for causing the detonation.

2. A false nose for a torpedo, in combination, a torpedo body having a hemispherical nose integral with the body and the nose being so dimensioned and shaped that the outside diameter of the base of the hemispherical nose is sub- 4 stantially equal to the inside diameter of the body, less twice the thickness of the material of the body, a hemi-ellipsoidal false nose having a circumferential flange at the base with an outside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the body, the base of the false nose having an outside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the body, the flange being disposed to fit snugly over the base of the hemispherical nose, a strengthening ring disposed over the flange, and the ring, flange, and base of the hemispherical nose being welded to each other.

3. A torpedo having a substantially conventional dome-shaped nose, a false dome-shaped nose of greater height than the conventional nose fitted over the conventional nose to thus form a chamber between the outer surface of the conventional nose and the inner surface of the false 7 nose, said chamber being filled with liquid and the material of the false nose being weakened at suitable places to be ruptured when the liquid is subjected to pressure as happens when the torpedo hits a target.

4. A nose construction for a torpedo, comprising, a-snub nose for the torpedo, a longer deformable false hollow nose hermetically connected at its base to the region of the base of the snub nose whereby a leak-proof chamber is formed between the two noses, a liquid disposed within the chamber, said false nose being provided with relatively small frangible inserts that become ruptured at the initial impact of the torpedo with a target to thus provide escape vents for the liquid as the false'nose collapses when a target is hit, whereby the impact of the torpedo on the target is cushioned.

5. A nose construction for a torpedo, comprising, a substantially conventional nose for the torpedo, a longer deformable false hollow nose hermetically connected at its base to the base of the conventional nose, whereby a leak-proof chamber is formed by the false nose over the conventional nose, the false nose near the tip being provided with a circumferential deformation to localize the initial collapse of the false nose when a target is hit, the false nose being provided with a plurality plugged apertures at the circumferential deformation which provide vent openings for the contents of the fluid medium in the chamber when the false nose begins to collapse and the plugs are expelled 'by the medium.

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