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I am an archaeologist at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Our department has received a donation of two WWI vintage propellers. The provenance is not known, but I believe that they must have originally come from the Aerial Survey Company run by Major Sidney Cotton, 1920-1923. He had hangers at Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John`s and the town of Botwood. One propeller is obviously from a DH-9 aircraft, and I am wondering if the other one could be from a small airship. Here are the markings and I am attaching photographs.
Propeller 1: (9 ft. 6.5 in. long) AB7931 RH 200 HP BHP D2900 P2380 DH9
Propeller 2: (8 ft. 2 in. long) AD 564B 75 HP ROLLS-ROYCE D2480 P1480 SB
Here is what I know about Cotton’s operation in Newfoundland. In 1919, Major Kenneth Edward Clayton-Kennedy (RAF), representing Airco, came to St. John's to promote the commercial use of aircraft. One of the things he suggested was the use of aircraft for seal spotting. He left town with a draft agreement with Job Bothers and Company for seal spotting, but the agreement was not approved by Airco. He returned in 1920 and worked out a two year contract with five sealing companies, along with generous support from the Newfoundland government. According to the contract, Airco was to set up a base in central Newfoundland at Botwood and supply pilots and equipment.
The Botwood operation would also have use of airships and supplies donated by Air Ministry to the Newfoundland government. Among the Airco personnel, Frank Tippen was responsible for the airships and Major Sidney Cotton was responsible for the aircraft. Capt. T. B. Williams was the chief airship pilot. According to Thomas McGrath (p. 125), the materials in Botwood as of November 1920, included “…4 airship cars, 4 or 5 airship envelopes, 2 travelling hydrogen plants, 1 stationary hydrogen plant, 2 large motor lorries, 1 travelling workshop, 1 large airship hanger frame with sufficient corrugated iron to cover it, a motor driven hydrogen compressing outfit, and an assortment of other items.” Brian Turpin informed me that the choice of airship would have been between the SS Zero and the SS Twin, since a number of these were surplus after the war. Capt. T. B. Williams says (p. 126) "I at once got busy getting our equipment together at a wharf at Purfleet, including visits to Wormwood Scrubs, my first service station." This suggests to me that he got the four airships from that station.
Clayton-Kennedy did not tell the sealing companies that Airco had been bought out by Birmingham Small Arms, and that he no longer had the authority to represent the aerial interests of the company. He had used the contract to secure a bank overdraft in St. John's, and planned to run the operation by himself. The sealing companies learned that he had not paid the salaries of the 11 Airco personnel, and they wanted a new operator. Cotton agreed to take over the contract and the bank overdraft on the condition that all of the equipment be signed over to him. He set up the Aerial Survey Company (1920-1923), which became the first commercial aviation company in Newfoundland. It seems that he decided that airships were not practical for seal spotting and he sent the airship crew back to England, and sold off most of the equipment.
According to McGrath (p. 127-12
, Major Cotton had three aircraft in 1921: Westland Limousine III (G-EARV), with enclosed cabin for passengers and open cockpit for pilot, Napier Lion engine; DH-9, 3 seater, 240 Hp Armstrong-Siddley Puma engine; Mk II Martinsyde, type A, 4 passenger, open cockpit, 300 Hp Hispano-Suiza engine. He also had on order from England a Martinsyde 4 seater, with enclosed cabin, with Rolls-Royce engine and 2 Westland Limousine IIs, with 275 Hp Rolls-Royce engines. In 1923 he bought Shackleton`s Avro 554 (Antartic Baby), with an 80 Hp Le Rhone engine.
I am wondering if the first propeller would be suitable for Cotton’s DH-9, since his plane is reported to have had a 240 Hp engine (the discrepancy could also be an error in the literature). It is the only DH-9 referenced in the literature for Newfoundland. At first I thought that the second propeller might be from one of the SSZ airships that were stored in Botwood and not used. In Ces Mowthorpe’s book “Battlebags”, p. 79, he says that “…the Zero was powered with the now superb Rolls-Royce 75 Hawk, specialized designed to power non-rigid airships.” Brian Turpin tells me that two 2-bladed propellers could have been used together on SS-type airships, but he has only seen 4-bladed propellers in photographs. Robinson’s propeller book says that it could be used on Avro 504F a BE2e aircraft, but neither of these were ever flown in Newfoundland. Besides Cotton’s Baby Avro, Jack Caldwell used an Avro 594 III (G-CAWI), with an 85 Hp Cirrus II, 4 cyl. Airc cooled engine, for seal spotting in the late 1920s.
Any advice you can give me on the use of these propellers would be appreciated.
Michael Deal
McGrath, Thomas. 1988. Early Aviation in Newfoundland. Canadian Aviation Historical Soceity Journal 26(4):124-133.
Williams, T. B. 1974. Airship Pilot No. 28. William Kimble, London.
I am an archaeologist at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Our department has received a donation of two WWI vintage propellers. The provenance is not known, but I believe that they must have originally come from the Aerial Survey Company run by Major Sidney Cotton, 1920-1923. He had hangers at Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John`s and the town of Botwood. One propeller is obviously from a DH-9 aircraft, and I am wondering if the other one could be from a small airship. Here are the markings and I am attaching photographs.
Propeller 1: (9 ft. 6.5 in. long) AB7931 RH 200 HP BHP D2900 P2380 DH9
Propeller 2: (8 ft. 2 in. long) AD 564B 75 HP ROLLS-ROYCE D2480 P1480 SB
Here is what I know about Cotton’s operation in Newfoundland. In 1919, Major Kenneth Edward Clayton-Kennedy (RAF), representing Airco, came to St. John's to promote the commercial use of aircraft. One of the things he suggested was the use of aircraft for seal spotting. He left town with a draft agreement with Job Bothers and Company for seal spotting, but the agreement was not approved by Airco. He returned in 1920 and worked out a two year contract with five sealing companies, along with generous support from the Newfoundland government. According to the contract, Airco was to set up a base in central Newfoundland at Botwood and supply pilots and equipment.
The Botwood operation would also have use of airships and supplies donated by Air Ministry to the Newfoundland government. Among the Airco personnel, Frank Tippen was responsible for the airships and Major Sidney Cotton was responsible for the aircraft. Capt. T. B. Williams was the chief airship pilot. According to Thomas McGrath (p. 125), the materials in Botwood as of November 1920, included “…4 airship cars, 4 or 5 airship envelopes, 2 travelling hydrogen plants, 1 stationary hydrogen plant, 2 large motor lorries, 1 travelling workshop, 1 large airship hanger frame with sufficient corrugated iron to cover it, a motor driven hydrogen compressing outfit, and an assortment of other items.” Brian Turpin informed me that the choice of airship would have been between the SS Zero and the SS Twin, since a number of these were surplus after the war. Capt. T. B. Williams says (p. 126) "I at once got busy getting our equipment together at a wharf at Purfleet, including visits to Wormwood Scrubs, my first service station." This suggests to me that he got the four airships from that station.
Clayton-Kennedy did not tell the sealing companies that Airco had been bought out by Birmingham Small Arms, and that he no longer had the authority to represent the aerial interests of the company. He had used the contract to secure a bank overdraft in St. John's, and planned to run the operation by himself. The sealing companies learned that he had not paid the salaries of the 11 Airco personnel, and they wanted a new operator. Cotton agreed to take over the contract and the bank overdraft on the condition that all of the equipment be signed over to him. He set up the Aerial Survey Company (1920-1923), which became the first commercial aviation company in Newfoundland. It seems that he decided that airships were not practical for seal spotting and he sent the airship crew back to England, and sold off most of the equipment.
According to McGrath (p. 127-12
, Major Cotton had three aircraft in 1921: Westland Limousine III (G-EARV), with enclosed cabin for passengers and open cockpit for pilot, Napier Lion engine; DH-9, 3 seater, 240 Hp Armstrong-Siddley Puma engine; Mk II Martinsyde, type A, 4 passenger, open cockpit, 300 Hp Hispano-Suiza engine. He also had on order from England a Martinsyde 4 seater, with enclosed cabin, with Rolls-Royce engine and 2 Westland Limousine IIs, with 275 Hp Rolls-Royce engines. In 1923 he bought Shackleton`s Avro 554 (Antartic Baby), with an 80 Hp Le Rhone engine.I am wondering if the first propeller would be suitable for Cotton’s DH-9, since his plane is reported to have had a 240 Hp engine (the discrepancy could also be an error in the literature). It is the only DH-9 referenced in the literature for Newfoundland. At first I thought that the second propeller might be from one of the SSZ airships that were stored in Botwood and not used. In Ces Mowthorpe’s book “Battlebags”, p. 79, he says that “…the Zero was powered with the now superb Rolls-Royce 75 Hawk, specialized designed to power non-rigid airships.” Brian Turpin tells me that two 2-bladed propellers could have been used together on SS-type airships, but he has only seen 4-bladed propellers in photographs. Robinson’s propeller book says that it could be used on Avro 504F a BE2e aircraft, but neither of these were ever flown in Newfoundland. Besides Cotton’s Baby Avro, Jack Caldwell used an Avro 594 III (G-CAWI), with an 85 Hp Cirrus II, 4 cyl. Airc cooled engine, for seal spotting in the late 1920s.
Any advice you can give me on the use of these propellers would be appreciated.
Michael Deal
McGrath, Thomas. 1988. Early Aviation in Newfoundland. Canadian Aviation Historical Soceity Journal 26(4):124-133.
Williams, T. B. 1974. Airship Pilot No. 28. William Kimble, London.
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