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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0373.PDF
JULY 5, 1923 he had gathered round about him and whom he had inspired by his own methods and own talents. Anxious days might still lie in front of them. It was inevitable we should look to this distinguished company to rise once again to the necessities of the day and to prove that measured side by side with the resource and inventiveness of the greatest countries of the world the name of Britain shall stand as high as it had ever stood, and the reputation and prestige of the great firm of Rolls-Royce would be found high in the roll of honour amongst the engineering firms of the world. The Chairman read the following congratulatory telegram it had been decided to send to Mr. Royce :—" Two hundred and eighty guests assembled here at a luncheon to meet Lord Birkenhead prior to the unveiling by the Under-Secretary for Air of your statue desire me to convey to you their deep appreciation of the work you have done for your Empire, and the hope that you may long enjoy health and vigour and continue your good services and to enjoy the happiness which you so richly deserve. They add hearty congratulations on Air-Worthy Certificate being granted by Air Ministry in respect of the Rolls-Royce 650 h.p.—Condor Wargrave." Following luncheon at the Derby Assembly Rooms, the visitors made a tour of the works, the aero-engine shops being a particularly fascinating section. Here were seen the various units which had given so fine an account of themselves during the War, with such improvements as had resulted from the lessons then and since learnt. The tour round the machine and erecting and testing shops was an education in accurate and precise manufacturing methods ; the time and care taken in the testing of every operation, both as to the accuracy of the dimensions and the strength of the material and, in the case of such units as crankshafts, the accuracy of the balance, gave evidence of the fact that nothing except what is right in every respect and accurate within such limits as are in some cases represented by a thousandth of an inch, can pass the rigid examination to which each piece is put during the processes of manu- facture. . We were very interested in the care with which the stamped cylinder jackets were being acetylene welded to the machined steel cylinder barrels, and in the testing of each piece and the hardening and tempering under scientific conditions where the results are of known quantity, and nothing is left to chance. The welded water jackets, for instance, are tested hydraulically to a pressure of 25 lbs. per square inch. Very important and most interesting was the final test of the big engines coupled to the Heenan and Froude hydraulic brake. Here the engines are tested at full loads and full speed. The visitors were able to see in the different engine-testing shops such engines as the 270 h.p. Falcon, of 12 cylinders, 4 ins. bore and 5| ins. stroke, turning at 2,000 revolutions per minute, with a propeller-shaft speed of 1,179 revolutions per minute. This uses petrol at the rate of 19 gallons per hour and oil at the rate of 7 pints. Its weight is only 730 lbs. During the War it was principally fitted to the Bristol Fighter class of aeroplane. The Eagle also shown was of the Series IX. It also was of 12 cylinders, in this case 4£ ins. by 6£ ins., and developing 360 h.p. on the brake at 1,800 revolutions per minute, and weighing 960 lbs. The propeller speed in this case being the same as the crankshaft, to which it is directly coupled. The Eagle engine is an improved model of that used for the trans- Atlantic flight of 1919 and the flight to Australia. This engine was extensively used for bombing and fighting machines during the War by Handley Page, De Havilland, etc., and also for flying boats. It is now being extensively used for commercial purposes, as, for instance, the London-Paris air service. The Condor engine (Series III) is another 12-cylinder, 5£ ins. bore by 7£ ins. stroke, with a brake horse-power of 650 at a crankshaft speed of 1,900 revolutions per minute, and the propeller geared to 815 revolutions per minute. This engine weighs 1,290 lbs. and is an improvement on the 1 A type Condor fitted to the big Avro bombing 'planes. The new engine, although 300 lbs. lighter than the 1 A type, gives the same horse-power. With a few minutes' interlude for tea, a move was made for the unveiling ceremony of the statue in Derby Arboretum, where the most complete arrangements had been installed. Lord W7argrave presided, and during his opening remarks said : " Mr. Royce is known to all of you as a great man with a great career. But for one moment let me tell you of the difficulties that he has overcome in reaching that career. His father died when he was a child leaving his family in impecunious circumstances, and this man—as he is now— then a boy between the ages of 10 and 11, had to go out and earn his living, and serve as a newspaper boy to Smith and Sons, selling papers round the streets. At the age of 11 he was able to get a further year's education, and after that he was apprenticed to a locomotive works. By his brain, his industry and his determination he rose step by step to the eminence he occupies today in the opinion of his countrymen. We are honoured by the presence of many of the distinguished statesmen of the country today, and we are especially honoured, when the Air Conference is being held in London, by the presence of the Deputy Air Minister, the Duke of Sutherland, who will address you in a moment, prior to the unveiling ceremony by the Countess of Birkenhead." The Duke of Sutherland, Under-Secretary of State for Air, said he had been lucky enough to number amongst his friends in the past Charlie Rolls, who, jointly with their great designer, Mr. Royce, had given his name to their car and engine. They had heard a great deal recently of motor gliders. That term referred to generally the light aeroplane, but if such a thing existed on the ground, it would undoubtedly be the Rolls- Royce car. When they came to the manufacture of aero- engines, then indeed the question became a more serious one. When your engine breaks down in a car, you merely stop on the road, but when such a thing occurs in the air, every occupant of that machine is in jeopardy of life or limb. In realising that danger, how nobly had Mr. Royce and his assistants risen to the occasion. He thought he was right in saying that between October 1, 1922, and May 31, 1923, the Rolls-Royce aero-engines, now fitted exclusively to the Handley Page aeroplanes on the London to Paris service, had flown for some 2,100 engine hours. As worked out by them, there had been one forced landing on average for every 24,000 miles flown, or once round the earth. The mileage achieved by the Rolls-Royce aero-engines in civil aviation had now reached the stupendous total of 1,225,000 air miles. That figure was compiled, from the actual record of engines up to May 31 last. Only last Saturday he flew to France and back under the power of their engines with clock-like regularity and precision, and on that occasion one of the greatest French aeroplane designers and manufacturers expressed to him his admiration and envy of the reliability of British engines. He did not think he was over-stating the case if he said that the whole future of civil aviation depended on its safety, which again very largely depended on the reliability of the engines used. His Grace, after enumerating some of the great achievements of the Rolls-Royce aero-engine, concluded by saying there was no doubt that both military and civil aviation owed a great debt to the genius of Mr. Royce and those who worked with him. He felt they could leave it safely in his hands to go on developing these engines for the future on the lines that they believed to be necessary for the safety and extension of aerial transport and for the expansion of our military Air Force. He would like to take that oppor- tunity of paying a tribute to British aeroplane engine con- structors in general, and to say that he knew we could leave it to them to see that we maintained the proud position that we now occupied in aero-engine construction. He had much pleasure in then asking the Mayor, on behalf of this ancient borough of Derby, to accept the statue which Lady Birkenhead was then going to be kind enough to unveil. The Countess of Birkenhead then formally unveiled the statue to enthusiastic cheers, and the Mayor of Derby signified his acceptance on behalf of the Borough. Mr. J. H. Thomas, M.P. for Derby, followed with a short address in proposing a vote of thanks to the Duke of Suther- land, the Ma3'or and to the Countess of Birkenhead for their presence and assistance that day. Lord Birkenhead, in seconding the resolution, said the firm was beyond all question the most distinguished firm carrying on a similar business in the world. It owed its reputation and its greatness to three men : to Mr. Rolls, no longer with them, driver and pioneer ; to Mr. Royce, scientist and man of genius ; and in the third place to Mr. Claude Johnson, still with them, matchless organiser and a man of business. You may have your scientist, very often little skilled in business ; you may have your pioneer, very likely even less skilled, but unless and until the practical man came along and brought them together there may be no practical outcome, and it was the practical outcome of that rare comradeship that had brought this great prosperity to so large a section of the population of Derby, and which had brought so much security to these islands and this Empire. The vote having been carried with acclamation, the Duke of Sutherland briefly replied, and the proceedings concluded with " God Save the King." During the day's proceedings it was announced that the following communication had just been received from the 373
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