Hydro-pneumatic ramjet

Claim 1

A HYDRO-PNUEMATIC RAMJET PROPULSION SYSTEM FOR EFFECTIVELY PROPELLING A MARINE VEHICLE THROUGH THE WATER UTILIZING A REMOTELY SITUATED GAS GENERATOR HAVING A HIGH SPECIFIC POWER CAPABILITY, COMPRISING A THRUST UNIT INTEGRAL WITH THE HYDRODYNAMIC CONFIGURATION OF SAID VEHICLE, AN UNOBSTRUCTED PASSAGEWAY THROUGH SAID THRUST UNIT THROUGH WHICH WATER MAY FLOW, SAID PASSAGEWAY HAVING AN INLET FOR WATER AND AN OUTLET AT THE AFT END OF SAID PASSAGEWAY FOR CONDUCTING WATER THROUGH SAID PASSAGEWAY, A DIFFUSER SECTION ADJACENT SAID INLET FOR DECREASING THE VELOCITY OF THE WATER ENTERING THE PASSAGEWAY SO AS TO THEREBY INCREASE ITS STATIC PRESSURE, MEANS DOWNSTREAM OF SAID DIFFUSER SECTION FOR INJECTING INTO SAID PASSAGEWAY SUBSTANTIAL QUANTITIES OF GAS FROM A REMOTELY SITUATED GAS GENERATOR, THE PRESSURE OF THE GAS BEING ONLY SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE PRESSURE OF THE WATER IN SAID PASSAGEWAY, SAID MEANS FOR INJECTING INCLUDING A POROUS WALL MEMBER IN SAID PASSAGEWAY FOR CAUSING THE PRESSURIZED GAS TO BE IN THE FORM OF A LARGE NUMBER OF SMALL BUBBLES WIDELY DISPERSED INTO THE INGESTED WATER, AND AN EXPANSION NOZZLE ADJACENT SAID OUTLET FOR EXPANDING THE GAS-WATER MIXTURE REARWARDLY THROUGH SAID OUTLET THEREBY TO CAUSE THE TRANSFER OF THE ENERGY OF THE PRESSURIZED GAS DIRECTLY TO THE INGESTED WATER SO AS TO PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL THRUST FOR SAID VEHICLE.