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).
Conditions and technical challenges of armoured cars for India Office tests.
| Identifier | Morton\M5\ img034 | |
| Date | 27th August 1921 | |
| To BJ. from R.{Sir Henry Royce} c. to CJ. c. to Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. to Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} X4195 R5/G27.8.21. X.4195 - RE ARMOURED CARS. (for India Office tests) With reference to the India Office and armoured cars, I think Mr. Hives should have the conditions of the tests given to him and that he should go over the ground with a chassis after communicating with DA.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} and me. You will notice that they have not stated a maximum speed at which they wish to travel. Secondly, I would like to point out that previous to the recent discussion a load of 4.3 tons was never mentioned. This is an enormous load, and I believe Mr. Day said that they have since determined that the load need not be quite so heavy. The maximum speed is extremely important because if they only want to travel slowly it is probable that an ordinary lorry chassis would suit their purpose better than our comparatively high speed chassis. If, however, they want a chassis with as much H.P. as we have, say, 80/90 H.P. then it is worth while for us to continue to compete for this work. Regarding the cooling water temperature, there is not much advantage in going slowly, the disadvantage being that the fan would not be running fast enough. From their description of the failure that the water boiled at high speeds might be accounted for by the fact that the fan belt was slack, and therefore not revolving at anything like its proper speed when the engine is running fast. This accompanied by a following wind would result in boiling. contd- | ||