OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS

**Definition:** This place covers:

Arrangements of offensive or defensive equipment on vessels and vessels characterized thereby:

Marine mine-laying and mine-sweeping

Naval water craft for particular purposes

**Limiting references (this place does not cover):** - Hydrodynamic features of hulls of underwater vessels, construction of armoured hulls and of hulls for vessels built to withstand hydrostatic pressure when fully submerged, e.g. of submarines, general cargo aspects of ammunition stores and handlers, stabilization of vessels using ballast tanks, civilian surface vessels and floating structures for particular purposes, among which vessels or other floating structures for aircraft other than military aircraft carriers, e.g. floating landing strips. -> B63B - Equipment for life-saving in water in general, for dwelling or working under water, diving chambers or diving bells, and divers' sleds -> B63C - Nuclear propulsion of submarines, propulsive elements e.g. propellers or jets per se, transmitting power from propulsion power plant to propulsive element in general; steering of vessels in general -> B63H - Rocket torpedoes; torpedoes; control of torpedo attitude -> F42B17/00 - F42B19/00 - Mountings of acoustic transducers on underwater equipment -> G10K11/004

**Glossary:** - Air-conditioning: The process of controlling the humidity, ventilation, and air temperature in a vehicle. An installation which performs this process. - Aircraft carrier: A warship equipped with a flight deck and hangars which carries aircraft and serves as a floating and propelled air base, and from which aircraft are able to take off and land on. - Ammunition: Articles used in charging guns and ordnance, as powder, shot, shell; offensive missiles in general. - Ammunition handler: An installation for transporting ammunition from an ammunition store to a gun or launcher. - Artillery: Machinery used for explosive discharge of projectiles in war, including ordnance such as mounted guns, cannon, mortars, and anti‑aircraft weaponry; large-calibre firearms used both offensively and defensively in military operations. - Attitude: The position of a vessel in relation to its line of travel. The orientation in space of a floating or submerged body. - Camouflage: The disguising of objects, e.g. ships, used in war in such a way as to conceal it from the enemy. The disguise used in this way. - Conning-tower: A superstructure on a submarine in which the periscope is mounted and from which steering, firing, etc., are directed when the submarine is on or near the surface; A low observation tower of a submarine, constituting the main entrance to the interior. - Degaussing: The process of decreasing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field (named after Carl Friedrich Gauss). - Depth charge: An anti-submarine weapon, dropped by either surface ships or from aircraft, intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. - Diving chamber: A simpler form of a submersible vessel to take divers underwater and to provide a temporary base and retrieval system in the depths. - Divers' sled: A self-propelled or towed watercraft on which a diver rides. - Gun: A weapon, mounted on a substructure, consisting essentially from a metal tube from which heavy projectiles are ejected by explosive force; a piece of ordnance or cannon. - Hydrofoil: A wing-like structure which creates hydrodynamic lift when moved through the water at speed. - Mine: A bomb placed underwater which detonates when activated by a marine vehicle passing over or near it; a marine mine (opposite to land mines). - Mine-sweeping: The operation of removing explosive mines which are tethered underwater or floating. - Missile: A long-distance weapon that is self‑propelled, and directed either by remote control or automatically, during part or all of its course. - Periscope: A tubular apparatus containing a system of prisms or mirrors so as to give a viewpoint displaced from the observer's eye by the length of the tube. - Projectile: An object fired from a gun with an explosive propelling charge, such as a bullet, shell, rocket, or grenade; a body projected or impelled forward, as through the air. - Schnorkel: A retractable or foldable device comprising an air passage and an exhaust passage providing air supply and exhaust discharge to a submarine operating near the surface. - Submarine: A warship or civilian vessel adapted for autonomous long term operation underwater. - Superstructure: Those parts of a ship, other than masts and rigging, which protrude above the main deck. - Torpedo: A self-propelled submarine missile, usually cigar-shaped, carrying an explosive. - Torpedo handler: An installation for transporting a torpedo from a storage place into a launching position. - Trimming: Adjustment or division of ballast and/or payload to alter an underwater vessel's trim. - Turret: Traversable or swivel mounted gun - Umbilical: A cable or conduit providing a diver or an underwater vehicle with essential electric and similar supplies. - Underwater vessel: A water craft adapted for temporary or continuous operation under water, e.g. submarines or submersible boats.