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).
Cause of a Phantom III steering failure and a subsequent accident.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 153\1\ scan0280 | |
| Date | 24th April 1939 guessed | |
| 1300 To EH. from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} re P.III Steering Failure. SgS/H21439 Referring to HY.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer}18/G.14.4.39 and HY.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer}7/G.15.4.39 I am afraid I cannot accept your explanation that the cause of the trouble was due to the front wheel running into a heap of loose dirt because it is quite clearly shown in Sr's report of the 5th that the steering failure happened first and then the accident resulting from it during which the front wheel ran into the mound of earth. I agree that Faroux's subsequent statement that he could not say definitely when the fracture occurred enables you to place the interpretation on the events that you have placed but it does not satisfy me. I immediately telephoned Sr. and asked him to ascertain from Mons. Faroux the answer to this simple question: If the failure of the steering did not happen first, why did he have the accident? Unfortunately Mons. Faroux was away from Paris so that we cannot get the answer for a day or so. Sr. tells me it is significant that there is no exterior sign of damage to the front of this car and the toe-in is OK. He also stresses the fact that the front wheel did not bed deeply into mud or dirt, having only gone [unintelligible] in tyre depth. I have discussed the matter with Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} and I understand that he has looked at it from quite a different point of view and said that it was not satisfactory even if the heap of dirt were the cause of the trouble because we have been making motor-cars for years and years; they have been bounced over heaps of stones, mounds of dirt, kerbs and what not and we have not had steering failures. It rather distresses me that such an effort should be made to what I call excuse or explain away such a terrible failure. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||