From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Letter from Claude Johnson to Mr. Royce explaining the decision to not proceed with the three-speed gearbox.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 181\M12\ img009 | |
| Date | 22th November 1923 | |
| (1) 9 CJ's Letter of Thursday 22. Nov. 1923. to Mr. Royce. My dear R.{Sir Henry Royce}, I was very sorry to find how upset you were at my pointing out to you that, in my humble opinion, it would be wrong to make a three speed gear box at present. Knowing how hard you have worked in connection with the three speed gear box, I am not surprised at the pain you should have felt. Knowing also that you conscientiously feel that the three speed gear box is from an engineering and practical point of view so far superior to the four speed gear box, I can understand how outraged your scientific judgement was by the idea that we should not at present build the three speed gear box. You know that I am the last person on the face of the earth to wish to cause you distress and I should not have done so had it not been from a very strong sense of duty. I hope you will forgive me and sympathetically realise my difficulties. I feel that I have assassinated a child of your brain but we must hope that this is an exaggerated view and that we are rather keeping the child in the background until the public have ceased to clamour for the present child and are educated to demand the more recent and more beautiful product. I shall look forward to seeing you on Tuesday and will catch the usual train which, I think, arrives at Chichester about 12.30. The figures which I quoted you on the telephone, namely, that in Great Britain, France and Italy, the four speeds are 47 as against 12 three speeds, were not founded on solely small cars. Thirty-seven cars from 20/30 HP were as 29 to 8. Thirteen cars of " 30/40 HP " 11 to 2. Sixteen cars " 40 HP and over were as 14 to 2. Yours ever, (Sgd) C.J. | ||