RW - Rolls Royce Armoured Car

[Rheged]

T E Lawrence reckoned that the Rolls Royce was the ideal vehicle for the desert

Lawrence was known to be a fanatical devotee of the marque and once said "A Rolls in the desert was above rubies .... Great was Rolls and great was Royce! They were worth hundreds of men to us in these deserts."  In his experience they were the only cars that could withstand both the punishing terrain and the weight of the armour and guns he often mounted on them. He exploited their versatility and reliability to the full and used them almost exclusively in his raids, many of which are well documented in the book "Steel Chariots in The Desert", written by S.C. Rolls (coincidentally named), Lawrence's long time driver. 

Full article here:- https://www.wellhereweare.com/home/2017/7/4/blue-mist-how-lawrence-of-arabia-stole-grannys-rolls-royce    and worth reading

There's this article too:-https://autoweek.com/article/car-life/armored-rolls-royce-ghosts-ruled-deserts-arabia-chariots-war

[PR19_Kit]

And they were still operating in the same desert in WWII.

My Dad was in charge of a 'flight' of them during the Habbaniya siege, all of which had names. One was 'Buffalo' as my Mum had a pic of it with Dad standing alongside. 

[zenrat]

Yes,  but they didn't look as sturdy as a Staghound for example.
I expect they are tougher than the average modern SUV though.

[NARSES2]

Yes,  but they didn't look as sturdy as a Staghound for example.

The Staghound always looked under armed to me. That is until the final versions came along with the 75mm gun.

Every time I think of the RR armoured car my mind always goes to Anthony Quin in the Film Lawrence of Arabia. No idea why, but it does 

[Mossie]

Nice pair. . Can't wait to see the dinosaur in a caunter pattern.

[Mossie]

And they were still operating in the same desert in WWII.

They'd become a bit like Trigger's broom by that time, very few had an original chassis (several were on Fordson truck chassis, some were on Phantom chassis). There were a lot of additions to the superstructure with a few having completely different turrets. Hardly two were alike.

[PR19_Kit]

They'd become a bit like Trigger's broom by that time, very few had an original chassis (several were on Fordson truck chassis, some were on Phantom chassis). There were a lot of additions to the superstructure with a few having completely different turrets. Hardly two were alike.

Yes, Dad said they had a devil of a job keeping them going as the parts of one never fitted any of the others if they tried. 

[Mossie]

I can believe it.

[zenrat]

IIRC Silver Ghosts were hand built so even the standard cars had unique parts before 30 years of military modification to keep them running.