Abbreviations and Other Stampings on Early Wooden Propellers


Listed below are some of the abbreviations seen stamped on hubs of early propellers.  Some are lanquage and time frame specific and must be interpreted within the context of their use, as there are some abbreviations which have more than one potential application.  I will happily add any additional items as they are submitted to me.
AP- Aeromarine Plane & Motor Co.*

BAP - believed to refer to "Bureau of Aircraft Production" number

Blindage - (French), unknown meaning at this time. (Literal meaning is "armor plating".)

BP - Burgess Company*

CAU - Caudron (French), several models

CP -  Curtiss Propeller*

D - usually followed by a number, referring to "diameter" or length of propeller in inches, meters, cms., etc.  Applies to German props as well.

DEH - DeHavilland, followed by the model number, (also Airco)

DWG - "drawing" number, referring to the blueprint from which the propeller was manufactured. (Also stamped as "DG" or "DRG")

EDULZUG - (German) for "Right Hand Tractor"  ("Entgegen Dem Uhrzeiger Lauf" meaning literally "against the watch pointer run", i.e. counterclockwise,  and "ZUG", meaning pull, or tractor.  The opposite would be MDULZUG, with the "M" referring to "Mit" or "with",  rather than against, i.e. clockwise).  This terminology, unfortunately, refers to the direction of rotation as viewed from the front of the airstream, which is opposite of the British, US, and French terminology, which describes the rotation as viewed from behind the airstream..  See "Design" for more information.

Gn -  often referring to Gnome engine.

HS or Hisso - typically referring to the Hispano-Suiza engine, often with the horsepower stated, as in "HS 200"

HP -  horsepower

HP - Hartzell Walnut Propeller Co.*

I.P.C - Integrale Propeller Co., may be French or British

LH - "left hand" referring to the direction of rotation of the propeller for that engine.  See design.

LP - Lang Propeller*

MONO - for "Monosoupape" or single valve engine, typically Gnome.

Nie - (French) Nieuport

P - usually followed by a number, refers to pitch of the propeller.

P.P. - Paragon Propeller (American Propeller Company)*

PS - (German)  horsepower

Rh - Le Rhone engine ("h" is often lower case)

RH -  "right hand", referring to the direction of rotation of the propeller for that engine.  See design.

S.H.A.M. - (French), SHAM means Société des Hélices Armées et Matricées, that could be translated in Company for Strengthened and Molded Propellers (credit to Pierre Michel DeCombieux, 2018)

Serie -  (French) denotes the model or series number, which refers to the blueprint, or drawing, number from which the propeller was constructed.

S.C. -  "Signal Corps" number.  I believe this was just a serial number, rather than an identification of model, etc.

S.G.D.G. - "Sans Guarantee du Government" (French), not guaranteed by the government.

SP - Hall-Scott Motor Car Co.*

TP - Thomas Morse Aircraft Co.*

Spa - SPAD, various models, as in Spa VII

ST - (German) for pitch


*Asterisk indicates abbreviations assigned to manufacturers  by the Navy, July 1918.