Beardmore

[Dunhill]

Gentlemens,
We (my girlfriend and I) have just bought a wooden propeller. We would like to know a bit more about it.
It has four blades (wood)
It is stamped:
LP 982 ALH
180 Hp Beardmore
FE2B

Then four squares:
A.I.D H27 three times then one with AID 387

G818 N27
D2740
P1260

Blades are painted till half their lenght with under a kind of weave coating (dark grey). At their end metal also painted in dark grey.

Thank you very much for your help!

Marie-gabrielle and Geoffrey

[Dave]

Gentlemens,
We (my girlfriend and I) have just bought a wooden propeller. We would like to know a bit more about it.
It has four blades (wood)
It is stamped:
LP 982 ALH Lang Propeller, Left Hand Rotation
180 Hp Beardmore Engine
FE2B Aircraft

Then four squares:
A.I.D H27 three times then one with AID 387 Inspection Stamp
G818 N27 Production Number
D2740 Diameter in mm
P1260 Pitch in mm
Blades are painted till half their lenght with under a kind of weave coating (dark grey). At their end metal also painted in dark grey.

Thank you very much for your help!

Marie-gabrielle and Geoffrey

It sounds like a very nice propeller, hopefully still in original condition. You are fortunate to have all of the aircraft/engine information stamped on the hub. Can you post a picture of it?

[Dunhill]

Thanks!

Dear Dave,

Thank you very much! Of course I will do! I am currently sending this mail through my phone. I will do later this afternoon / evening.
What do you want to see from the propeller?

Thanks again!

Geoffrey

[Dave]

A full size photo of the entire prop and a close up of any decals would be most welcome.

See this web page for an example of photos that I use.

[Dunhill]

Fine! Will do! May I ask you a last question (you may want to answer after seing the picture). We are no intending to sell the propeller but we would like to have it insured. What would be a reasonable range of values.

Geoffrey

[Dunhill]

Pics

Please let me know if they are big enough

[Dave]

Nice. That's a keeper.

Bob Gardner may be able to give you a narrow range of current value for it, which would be more accurate than mine.

[Dunhill]

Thanks for your help! We may ask Bob. No hurry on the value.

[Dave]

Probably no need to ask. He strolls through here periodically.

[Dunhill]

Dear Dave,

I have another question.
As you may have noticed there is a canvas on the propeller which has paint on it.
I want to keep it as original as possible and do not want to add or remove anything from the it's original condition.
But I want to protect it as much as possible from any external damage. What would be the best way to protect the:
- wood
- paint
- canvas

Best Regards,

Geoffrey

[Bob Gardner]

Good Morning Geoffrey,

Congratulations on finding such an excellent propeller. From your photographs it seems to be in superb original condition. It is also exceptional to have all the possible data stamped clearly.

If offered at auction here in the UK it might well reach £4000 GBP, say roughly $6000 USD and €4600 EUR (should the Euro still exist!).

The engine hp is 160, not 180hp. I agree that it looks like 180hp.
The drawing number LP982 was the standard propeller used on the FE2B aircraft from July 1918 onwards. LP indicates the designer of the prop, the Lang Propeller Co. The manufacture was probably contracted out to another company. I have records of the Sage and the Boulton & Paul companies making large nos of these props.

The batch number, 818, dates the prop to mid 1918.

Much of the value of your prop derives from its superb condition. Your first option is to do nothing to it all except ensure that it does not hang in direct or even reflected sunlight and that it is kept in a room of at least 60% humidity, preferably more, and away from the drying warmth of a radiator or fire.

If the surface is dusty or dirty, wipe it clean with a cloth dampened (not wet)with a little soapy water. The fabric on the blades is Irish linen. It gave structural integrity to the blade if hit by enemy (or friendly!) fire. At the tips is brass sheathing to protect the wood from erosion. The aircraft was a pusher operating from grass fields.

Once or twice a year polish it with pure bees wax. This must be unadulterated bees wax out of a tin. It is sold at supermarkets in aerosol form but this has additives such as silicones which are much too powerful for finishes that are nearly 100 years old. You can polish th ecompete prop with bees wax; wood, linen, brass and paint.

With kind regards,

Bob

[Dunhill]

Dear Bob,

Thanks for the answer!
We have not done anything yet and we are not intending to do anything which can alter the current state of it.
Unfortunately I have noticed four little wholes at each end of the propeller. A former owner had it, I guess, hanging. How bad is that? Should I just leave it as is?
All I know from it is:
Was in France, probably since it arrived in 1918, was stored for a long time in a barn. Landed in a cellar, reached a retailer specialised in anything else than propellers, and now is still in France waiting to move back to UK.
As we have to ship it back at some point, we will then insure it for your mentioned price.

We will do our very best to keep this piece of history in good shape and pass it on to the future generation.

Thanks again,

Marie-Gabrielle & Geoffrey

[Dunhill]

If for any of your work you may need pictures of the propeller we will do our best to provide them to you.

Marie-Gabrielle % Geoffrey

[Dave]

I'd leave the holes alone. They're a small yet insignificant part of the prop's history, and don't really detract from its value. Once part of the prop looks "repaired" it becomes suspect for other repairs elsewhere, and the value diminishes.

[Bob Gardner]

Geoffrey,

Some notes about my valuation.

It is based on the sum the prop might make at auction, which is a good indicator of what you could get for the prop in whatever way you sold it.

The insurance valuation is different and is what it would cost to replace your prop quickly with a similar prop. You might wish to advise your insurance company that WW1 four-bladed props are extremely rare and exceptionally rare when in the condition of yours. Finding a similar prop quickly is almost impossible. You should insure it for, say, £9000 GBP, which would probably be enough to enable you to buy a four-bladed restored prop from a London dealer, not necessarily an SE5 prop.

With kind regards,

Bob