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).
Broken bronze sphere from the torque tube of chassis 18/25, detailing the circumstances of the failure.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 77\1\ scan0111 | |
| Date | 24th June 1912 | |
| XH 86 X688 Mr Royce Re broken bronze sphere. from Torque Tube of TDB1/L24612. chassis 18/25 (Ferguson) In accordance with Mr Johnson's instructions I am sending to you the broken pieces of this sphere, together with particulars of the breakage. Fergusons advise us that the car was travelling at about 30 to 35 m.p.h. and struck a culvert on the road, which caused the rear part of the car to rise about 1 foot in the air and come down suddenly. The bronze ball broke off apparently through fouling the neck of the driving sleeve at the front end. The Cabriolet body which was folded down at the time, was also damaged, which gives some indication of the severity of the shock. Mr Bailey has been into this matter and made tests of other spheres and I attach his two reports, together with a report from The Sheffield Testing | ||