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Rolls-Royce 1914 Admiralty Turreted Pattern
Armoured Car
Early vehicle with Maxim Machine Gun
Specifications
Country of Origin/Used by: | Great Britain |
First Produced/Service Dates: | Late 1914 |
Manufactured by: | Rolls-Royce, Ltd. |
Crew: | 2-3 |
Armament: | Turret: (1) Maxim .303 Machine Gun (Early Vehicles) or Vickers .303 MG (Later Vehicles); Commander: (1) .303 Lewis Gun (on some later vehicles) * |
Engine: | 6 Cylinder Gasoline |
Miscellaneous Info: |
Following the first standardized
armored cars designed by the Admiralty (First Pattern) at the beginning
of World War One, a new design of armored car was put forth. Among other
things, the new vehicles were fitted with a new armored hull, a fully
enclosed crew compartment and a rotating turret which mounted a machine
gun. The Rolls Royce 1914 armored car was one of those new "Admiralty
Turreted" Pattern vehicles, along with similar vehicles includng the
Lanchester
4x2, Clement-Talbot and Delaunay-Belleville
armored cars. The 1914 Pattern vehicles were based on the 40/50 Rolls Royce "Alpine Eagle" (aka "Continental") model chassis. The Alpine Eagle was an upgraded version of the normal 40/50 cars, which were commonly known as "Silver Ghosts". Interestingly, the 40/50 cars were not officially known as the Silver Ghost until approximately 1926. Not surprisingly then, the 1914 Admiralty pattern cars are very similar to the later turreted Rolls-Royce 1920 and 1924 Pattern Armored Cars as they all used the same base chassis. Thusly, the identification of the (3) three similar Rolls-Royce turreted vehicle types can be difficult at times. The vehicles were upgraded and improved a number of times as they were in service for many years. For instance, older pattern hulls were sometimes fitted to new vehicle suspension & drive trains. "Typical" 1914 Admiralty Turreted pattern vehicle characteristics include spoked-wheels, a lower/smaller turret, solid front engine plates and the driver's cab front armor plate having vision slits that are on the same level. Finally, another use of the 1914 Pattern cars in World War One occured in the Middle East. Some of the cars had their armor removed and were fitted with wooden bodies. These Rolls-Royce Support Cars ("Tenders") were used to assist the armored cars and their units by conducting reconnaissance and hauling men, equipment and supplies. * Experiments were carried out to mount the heavier Vickers 1 Pounder (37mm) Quick Fire "Pom Pom" gun, but it was not successful and was not put into service. |
Data Sheet Available: |
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Photos
Reference | Source/Provider |
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Bill Emerson |
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British War Office |
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British War Office |
Early Rolls-Royce 1914 Admiralty Turreted Pattern Armored Car Photo (Above) | Dave Haugh - Content Editor |
Rolls-Royce 1914 Admiralty Turreted Pattern Armored Car Photos | Dave Haugh |
Rolls-Royce 1914 Admiralty Turreted Pattern Armored Car Photos | The Imperial War Museum |
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Valerie Gilman & the Gilman Family Collection |
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Dave Haugh |
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The Imperial War Museum |
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Dave Haugh |
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Gordon Angus Mackinlay - Australia |
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US Library of Congress via Mark Holloway - Beatty, Nevada USA |
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US Library of Congress |
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James Stejskal |
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Robert Goldman - Kfar Saba, Israel |
References Available
Online
Reference | Source/Provider |
"Experience with Heavy Vehicles during World War 1" By W.F. Bradley | Armored Car - The Wheeled Fighting Vehicle Journal (Issue #27) |
"Rolls Royce Armoured Cars" By Frank Canvin | Rolls Royce Enthusiast Club of Australia |
"Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and the Great Victory" | Rolls-Royce, Ltd via the Hagley Digital Archives |
Printed
Reference | Author |
AFV Plans: 1914-1938 Armored Fighting Vehicles (Stackpole Books) | George Bradford |
A Photo History of Armoured Cars In Two World Wars | George Forty |
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Mikael Terfors |
" |
Tim Gosling |
British Armoured Cars: 1914-1945 | B.T. White |
Early Armoured Cars (AFV Profile #9) | Major General N.W. Duncan |
Early Armoured Cars (Shire Album #209) | E. Bartholomew |
Encyclopedia of Armoured Cars | Duncan Crow & Robert J. Icks |
Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia
and the British Military Mission to the Hejaz (Casemate
Publishers) Book Review by Patrick Keenan - Editor |
James Stejskal |
Rolls Royce Armoured Car, The (Osprey New Vanguard #189) | David Fletcher |
Rolls-Royce Armoured Car Owners' Workshop Manual: 1915-44 (All Models) (Haynes Publishing) | David Fletcher |
Talbot in the First World War (Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq Register, Ltd) | Stephen Lally & John Tomsett |
The Royal Armoured Corps Tank Museum: Armoured Cars (1900-1963) | |
War Cars: British Armoured Cars in the First World War | David Fletcher |
Hobby Modeling
Kits and Accessories
Model Kit | Manufacturer | Scale | Other Information |
Rolls-Royce Pattern 1914/1920 Armored Car Model Kit (VS-010) | Meng Model | 1/35 | Injection Molded Plastic. |
Rolls-Royce 1914 Admiralty Turreted Pattern Armored Car Model Kit (35.1185) |
Resicast | 1/35 | Multi-Media |
Rolls-Royce 1914 Pattern Armored Car Model Kit (RO803) |
Roden |
1/35 | Injection Molded Plastic. |
Rolls-Royce Armoured Car Model Kit (Pattern 1914) (EB/VK.1) | Scale-Link Ltd. | 1/32 | White Metal; Out of Production. |
Aftermarket Item | Manufacturer | Scale | Other Information |
Model Photos
Reference | Source/Provider |
Rolls Royce (Model 1914) Armored Car and Rolls-Royce "Tender" (1/35 Roden) Model Photos | Major (Retired) Don Allen - Orleans, Ontario |
Rolls Royce (Model 1914) Armored Car with Vickers 1 Pounder "Pom-Pom" Gun (1/35 Conversion) Model Photos | Major (Retired) Don Allen |