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).
Experimental development of new Senior Range gearboxes and related personnel issues at the Clan factory.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 136\2\ scan0336 | |
| Date | 9th July 1941 | |
| To HPS.{Horace Percy Smith - Experimental Factory Mgr} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} 1153 Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}2/ET.9.7.41. NEW SENIOR RANGE GEARBOXES. We know from experience on the boxes we have already run, that we can get a reasonable degree of silence with ground gears. Our primary consideration at the moment, however, is the reliability of the bearings. From the experimental point of view, therefore, we could get just as much information from the above gears, double cut and lapped, as if they had been ground. Our anxiety is to get at least one box of the new type running as soon as possible. In view, therefore, of the difficulty you are having with grinding gears, I wonder whether you could build us up one box on the lines I have suggested. If it was reasonably successful, then we might make two or three on similar lines, whilst we are struggling to get some gears ground. The problem about Dorricott is that we have just taken on Vulture and Peregrine at Clan, in addition to Kestrel, and the ability of the Storekeeper is a very important factor indeed, in keeping the job straight. However, if you have a man you could send along to take Dorricott's place, whilst you use him on car progress, we would endeavour to see whether he could cope with the job. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||