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MARINE REVIEW. 7 ii Capt. Alex. McDougall's Patents.* WAR VESSEL--SPECIFICATION FORMING PART OF LETTERS PATENT NO. 498,682-- DATED MAY 30, 1893---APPLICATION FILED AUGUST 20, 189I--RENEWED MAY 3, 1893-- SERIAL NO. 472,910--NO MODEL. In this specification Capt. McDougall describes his coast defense vessel. He says: "My present invention relates to an improved type of ves- sels which are particularly adapted for use in times of war for coast and harbor defense. 'These vessels are adapted either to be propelled by steam or other power, or to be towed from place to place by suitable towing steamers. 'The hulls of these ves- sels are of the same general shape and construction invented by me, and. embodied in various letters patent of the United States, which have been granted to me or to my assigns, and which have heretofore been used for carrying freight and passengers. In those vessels there have been turrets both near the bow and stern, for supporting working decks, and in case the vessel is provided with propelling mechanism, the turrets at the stern carry a suitable cabin, which offers accommodations to the officers and passengers. In the present vessel those turrets, working decks and cabins are dispensed with. 'The bow portion of the present vessels is covered above the water line with an auxiliary armor, which consists of wood or other suitable back- ing, fastened to the outside of the vessel, and covered by a plat- ing of iron, steel or other metal. Directly back of this auxiliary armor and extending a short distance above the same is a con- ning tower, in which is placed a steering apparatus and which is provided with the usual slots or holes to enable the steersman to see ahead. Some distance in the rear of the conning tower, ae and at about the central part of the boat, is a heavy metal tur- ret, which is used to enter the hull and for ventilating the same. Upon this central turret are to be carried machine guns, to pre- vent boarding and to keep off attacks from torpedo boats and small craft. If the vessel is provided with propelling mechanism then the smoke stack is placed behind this central turret near _ the stern. 2 - and at the lower portion are horizontal. 'The matter which has just been outlined is that which is intended to be covered and claimed herein. So far asthe mount- ing of the guns is concerned, it isextraneous to the invention as embodied in this patent. One or more guns may be used, mounted within the vessel, or on top of the same, but preferably so as to point out through the extreme nose. I have devised an improved means of mounting the guus within the vessel, which I will now describe, but it should be understood that I make no claim to the same herein, since it forms the subject matter of a Separate application for letters patent, filed by me on the 23d day of March, 1892, and numbered serially 426,123. The ex- treme bow or nose of the vessel consists of a heavy circular metal plate ce, made hemispherical in cross-section and which is hinged at the top so as to swing outwardly. Extending down from the nose of the boat in the interior thereof are two or more inclined tracks which converge into a single track at the forward end. 'These tracks extend back to the engine and boiler rooms Mounted upon each of said tracks is a gun of any suitable construction which is adapted to be loaded at the lower part of the track, then to be moved up the incline so as to swing open the said hinged plate or nose, then to be fired and finally to be returned to the bottom of the "Under this heading we will publish specifications accompanying letters patent granted to Alexander McDougall, of West Superior, Wis., since his first application for & patent on the whaleback type of vessel, May 1, 1880. track and reloaded. 'The manner of mounting and handling the guns, which I have just described, I consider to be the most de- sirable arrangement which can be adapted, but it is to be re- membered that, so far as the present invention is concerned, any desirable and convenient method of arranging and operating the same may be resorted to. "If the vessel is to enter an actual engagement the water tanks at the bow and stern and also the water bottom are filled with water so asto partially submerge the boat and leave only the curved upper deck exposed. When out of an engagement the vessel is ballasted with sand or gravel so as to give her the requisite stability, or if desired, coal or other fuel can be used for this purpose, so that the vessel will be enabled to take long voy- ages. When the vessel is provided with propelling mechanism it isto be kept head on to the approaching man-of-war, so as to present only the bow portion to the same, which will be but a very small surface, owing to the high water line of the boat. The gun or guns within the improved vessel are now fired at the approaching man-of-war preferably from the nose of the vessel, and a heavy and rapid fire can be kept up, so as to greatly dam- age the upper works of the man-of-war, if not to actually penetrate the hull of the same. The improved vessel would have no dif- -- ficulty in keeping head on as described, since it has been found that vessels of my improved type can be steered with greater ef- fectiveness than ordinary boats. Little or no damage would be received from shells or shots, for the reason that the only por- tion which is exposed is of such character that the shot or shell will strike a glancing blow, and for the additional reason that the exposed surface is protected by the auxiliary armor before referred to. 'In case the vessel is not provided with its own propelling mechanism, then it is towed by a tug or other propelling steamer to the harbor or entrance which is to be defended. An anchor is now passed out through the bow so as to head the vessels iu the direction in which the approaching man-of-war is supposed to be coming. Another anchor is now passed out through the stern and is dropped some distance to the starboard side and another anchor is dropped in the same way to the port side. By means of the two steering anchors the stern of-the vessel may be swung around so as to point the bow in any position of a wide arc, and in this way the approaching man-of-war may be covered -and shelled in precisely the same manner and with equal effect- iveness as when the vessel is provided with its own propelling mechanism. The principal advantage of my present invention is that a vessel of this type can be built very cheaply. Another great advantage is that ordinary freight and passenger vessels of my improved design can be quickly and economically converted into vessels of war in a very short time by armoring the bow, re- moving the turrets and adding the conning tower, central turret and interior arrangements. Another very important advantage is that very large and powerful guns may be used. The mouth and the greater part of the gun are outside of the vessel so that the concussion caused by the firing of the gun can not affect the vessel or the crew in any way. Another reason why very large and heavy guns can be used is that they can be arranged so that they will be, for the most of the time, below the water line, and will tend to steady the boat instead of making her top heavy as is the case with many modern ships of war. When a wide har- bor or entrance is to be protected it will be an advantageous ar- rangement to place a number of the vessels in a circular line con- verging away from the mouth of the harbor or entrance so as to offer practically an impregnable barrier to the approach of any men-of-war or other vessels. If the vessel is not in the engage- ment and more particularly in the case of a steam vessel, it may be put into very effective use in the transportation of troops or stores; and when necessary the vessel may be very quickly re- converted into a freight and passenger boat at buta slight expense. a 'Fig. 1 isa side elevation of one of my improved war ves- sels showing the same as being provided with propelling mech- anism. Fig. 2 is a similar view of one of my improved war ves- sels adapted to be towed, and Fig. 3, a cross-sectional view of Fig. 1. Ais the hull, B the bow and C the stern. The frame work of the hull consists of transverse frames extending entirely around the interior thereof. The transverse frames are strength- ened longitudinally by means of suitable braces extending fore and aft; also by the usual keelson and further by means of the false bottom a, which forms the top of the water bottom. The transverse frames are further strengthened by means of cross stringers or rods, and by vertical braces. Such a frame work is described in letters patent of the United States, granted