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).
Unsatisfactory radiator tubes from the American facility and the subsequent cable sent to address the issue.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 149a\3\ scan0037 | |
| Date | 12th August 1920 | |
| To EWT. U.S.A. Dept. From HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to H.P. c. to SH. c. to DY.{F R Danby} Handwritten: X.3678 Handwritten: 9Fe Hal/LG12.8.20. X.3678 - RADIATOR TUBES FOR AMERICA. OY2/G27.7.20. The way in which Springfield have tackled Radiator Tubes has been very unsatisfactory. Early in February we received a memo. from Mr. Southern in America saying that they were sending to us some radiator tubes for test but as these tubes were totally different to what we have proved and tested to be satisfactory, the following cable was sent to America:- "SOUTHERN. KINDLY STOP DESPATCH OF RADIATOR TUBES REFERRED TO IN YOUR MEMO. SRN. ONE "C" THIRTY ONE TWENTY stop POLICY OF COMPANY IS CLEARLY TO OBTAIN PARTS WHICH ARE IDENTICAL AS NEARLY AS POSSIBLE WITH ENGLISH PRODUCTION stop TUBES REFERRED TO DIFFER IN EVERY MATERIAL FEATURE FROM OUR PRESENT PRACTICE AND CHOICE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN MADE WITHOUT PROPER CONSIDERATION stop TESTS REQUIRED ARE LONG AND ARDUOUS AND CANNOT BE UNDERTAKEN ON MATERIAL SO CASUALLY SELECTED. BARRINGTON". In spite of us cabling and telling them not to send the tubes, the tubes arrived some time in March. We have never made any tubes up into a radiator but we did make a small sample and showed it to Mr. Royce; he did not approve of the tubes. Since then we have carried out no experiments with the tubes but have all along insisted that America Contd. | ||