Rolls-Royce 1920 pattern

The Rolls-Royce 1920 pattern model is here

Before WWI, the Royal Naval Air Service’s mission was naval reconnaissance, combat assistance to the British fleet, surveillance of the coasts of the United Kingdom and attack on coastal areas under enemy control. From the start of the war, the RNAS sent elements, among them several private cars, to the Belgian coasts, placed under the command of Commander Charles Rumney Samson, R.N. After a fight with a German vehicle on September 4, 1914, near Cassel, Samson decided to have his vehicles armored in order to secure his means of communication and facilitate the recovery of pilots who had fallen into enemy lines. This was done on three vehicles, one of them being a Rolls-Royce “Silver Ghost », in a Dunkirk shipyard by installing 6 mm sheet metal plates initially intended for boat boilers. Samson then urged his direct superior to get real armour plates and expand the fleet of armored cars and the final number authorised was 60 vehicles (4 squadrons of 15 vehicles each, the first being only Rolls-Royce fitted), of which 18 would be Rolls-Royce. The plans were drawn up the following month by a committee of the Admiralty Air Department which designed the superstructure consisting of 4 mm nickel-chrome steel plates, placed on oak boards that protect the driver and other occupants up to the waist. Thus, if the driver was protected, the machine gun operator was in the open when using his weapon. The armor plates went low enough to protect a good portion of the wheels. None of the squadrons was ever completed and most of the cars underwent modifications in service. There was no turret and the Maxim machine gun used was placed on a tripod at the rear. At the beginning of October 1914, these armored vehicles were the only ones available to protect the withdrawal of Belgian and British troops between Antwerp and the Yser.

The 1914 Pattern:

Meanwhile, the Admiralty, in London was looking at a new design : a turreted car. The plans were drawn up the following month by a committee of the Admiralty Air Department which designed the superstructure consisting of an armored body and a single fully rotating armored turret which mounted a water-cooled Maxim machine gun and later a Vickers 7,7 mm machine gun. The first Rolls-Royce armored car equipped with an armored turret was delivered at the then Royal Naval Armoured Car Division Headquarters on November 15, 1914. Its 8mm armor was considered resistant to the armor-piercing projectiles provided by the German army. The first three vehicles were delivered on December 3, 1914, and the first squadron was ready by mid december 1914 when it was first sent to the East Coast to guard gainst ennemy invasion. By January 1915, eight squadrons had been completed with everything except machine guns which were very short. However, Navy’s Maxim machine guns could replaced the misses. As the race to the sea was halted and the Western Front stabilized into lines of trenches, opportunities for successful armoured cars operations grew less and less. No. 3 and 4 squadrons (Rolls-Royce) were therefore sent to Gallipoli and next to Egypt. Another Rolls-Royce squadron was also sent to German South West Africa where it proved quite effective. In August 1915, the royal Naval Armoured Car Division was disbanded with the exception of the No.1 squadron which went to Russia with Locker-Lampson. Later in the war, they served on several fronts in the Middle Eastern theater. Chassis production was suspended in 1917 to allow Rolls-Royce to concentrate on aircraft engines.

The 1920 Pattern :

These models are different from the previous ones by the wheels, supplied by Michelin, which replace the spoked wheels of the first models, and thicker armor for the radiator. Some models of this type would be modified with a commander’s cupola a few years later and designated as Type 1920 Mk 1A. The 1921 Indian Pattern was based on the 1920 Pattern. It had extended hull armour to provide extra space and a domed turret with four ball mounts for machine guns.

The 1924 Pattern :

The model was slightly modified in 1924 by the War Office. The typical 1924 version can be identified by the new smaller turret with commanders cupola, the distinctive anti-bullet « spalsh » rails on hood, the machine gun fitted in ball-mount, « dome » added above driver to increase headroom, driver’s cab front armor plate split into two separate vision ports, rear hatch now mounted on left-side of hull (instead of in the middle), larger storage chests on vehicle rear and the addition of a tailgate. 24 copies will be delivered.

Variants :

Twenty Rolls-Royce armoured cars in service with No. 2 Armoured Car Company RAF in Egypt and Iraq received new chassis from a Fordson truck and became known as Fordson Armoured Cars. Photographs show them as equipped with what appear to be turrets fitted with a Boys anti-tank rifle, a machine gun and twin light machine guns for anti-aircraft defence.

In addition to RNAS and Tank Corps-supplied armoured cars, the RAF had Rolls-Royces built to equip its armoured car companies. This was done independently of the War Office. They were designated Car, Armoured, Rolls-Royce Type A. Shaped like the 1914 RNAS car, they were fitted with the 1920 turret.

A single experimental vehicle had the turret removed and replaced by a one-pounder automatic anti-aircraft gun on an open mounting. Some cars had Maxim machine guns instead of the Vickers gun.

Combat History :

WWI :

Six RNAS Rolls-Royce squadrons of 12 vehicles were formed. One of them was sent to France; then, after the stabilization of the Western Front, transferred to Egypt. Another went to Africa to fight against the German colonies. In 1915, two more were sent to Gallipoli. From August 1915 onwards these were all disbanded and the materiel handed over to the Army which used them in the Light Armored Motor Batteries of the Machine Gun Corps. The armored cars were poorly suited to the muddy trench filled battlefields of the Western Front, but were able to operate in the Near East. Lawrence of Arabia used a squadron in his operations against the Turkish forces. He called the unit of nine armoured Rolls-Royces « more valuable than rubies » in helping win his Revolt in the Desert. This impression would last with him the rest of his life; when asked by a journalist what he thought would be the thing he would most value he said « I should like my own Rolls-Royce car with enough tyres and petrol to last me all my life ».

Interwar :

Most of the remaining vehicles and new Type 1920 models were sent to the Middle East. Part of those intended for “Mesopotamia” (present-day Iraq), however, were diverted to Ireland. In the Irish Civil War (1922–1923), 13 Rolls-Royce armoured cars were given to the Irish Free State government by the British government to fight the Irish Republican Army. They were a major advantage to the Free State in street fighting and in protecting convoys against guerrilla attacks and played a vital role in the retaking of Cork and Waterford. Despite continued maintenance problems and poor reaction to Irish weather, they continued in service until 1944, being withdrawn once new tyres became unobtainable. Twelve of the Irish Army examples were stripped and sold in 1954.

In March 1927, some armored cars from the 5th Armored Car Company were sent to China to form part of the Shanghai Defense Force. They were withdrawn from China at the beginning of 1929 and sent to Egypt. In the Middle East, the RAF was to be responsible for maintaining order in the region, according to the doctrine of “Air Control” advocated by Hugh Trenchard and TE Lawrence. Believing that armored vehicles would be a useful element for its mission, it received 11 vehicles among those already on site and had 13 more built.

WWII :

At the outbreak of the conflict, 76 Rolls-Royce armored vehicles remained in service. They were stationned in the Middle East or the British Isles. Those which were based in Egypt are implemented by the 11th Hussar, the others are in Syria and Iraq; those that remained in the United Kingdom were in the hands of the Home Guard. By the end of 1941, they were withdrawn from frontline service as modern designs became available. Some Indian Pattern cars saw use in the Indian subcontinent and Burma.

In Egypt :

In 1940, 34 vehicles which served in Egypt with the 11th Hussars regiment had the « old » turret replaced with an open-topped unit carrying a .55 (14 mm) Boys anti-tank rifle, .303 in (7.7 mm) Bren light machine gun, and smoke-grenade launchers. They were positioned on the Libyan border and their mission was to harass the Italian forts near this border. Unfortunately, they were quickly mistreated by the Italian air force. At the end of 1941, they were definitively withdrawn from the combat zones.

In the Home Guard :

Although not officially planned by the British Command, certain Home Guard units used Rolls-Royce armored cars. This was the case, for example, for the 29th “East Lancashire” Battalion, the 53rd “Orpington & Swanley” and the 47th “London County Council” Battalion.