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).
Policy and direction for aero engine design and manufacturing, comparing air-cooled and water-cooled engines.
Identifier | Morton\M13.1\ img009 | |
Date | 6th January 1920 | |
To CJ. from R.{Sir Henry Royce} Copy to BM. " " HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} " " Dic. /3054. S.D. POLICY ORIGINAL RECEIVED 8 JAN 1920 1920R5/G6/1/20. RE AERO ENGINES. With reference to your memo CJ20/E17/12/19 re aero engines, I quite agree with the ideas embodied, and that it will be necessary for our designing department to be continually producing new and improved experimental engines for our work, and that it will be advisable to continue to have some experience with air cooled engines as well as with water-cooled. You will remember that in the early days of the War we had quite a little experience with air cooled engines which we found to be so very unreliable, as I originally felt would be the case. Apparently the only powerful air cooled engines which are at all reliable at present are those of the radial type with rotary cylinders. There are reasons why these have considerable advantages over any air cooled engines with stationary cylinders. While we employ so large a staff of draughtsmen in our designing office in Derby and here, we shall be continually producing something which should prove profitable for the company to manufacture. We shall be dependent upon the good judgment of the executive directors to indicate from time to time in which direction the efforts of the designing office should be directed. In the present state of affairs for some little time to come we assume that the main efforts will be on chassis work. Personally, I think it will be better for us to seriously tackle one job at a time (only doing such work as is absolutely necessary on other branches of the work that will keep the current experimental work and manufacturing going) until this is proved to be (Contd.) | ||