Handley Page 0/400 prop?

[gcread]

Attached is a photo of the prop I am trying to identifty. It is 99" long; the bore hole is abut 2 7/8"; there are no bolt holes; the wooden hub is about 7 7/8". When I bought the prop about 20 years ago, it came with the attached photo, with a stamp on the back stating "Handley Page Machine in shop at Elizabeth N.J. Dec 1918." Of course I don't know if this picture is in fact of an aircraft connected to the propeller. I have learned that Standard Aircraft Company did manufacture a certain number of Handley Page 0/400 aircraft in the US, that it had a factory in Elizabeth NJ, and that it utilzed a Liberty 12 engine with a two-bladed prop, rather than the typical four-bladed prop used in Britain. Can anyone help me identify the prop?

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[Dave]

It looks a little small to have been used on the Handley Page, and the hub for a Liberty engine should be about 10 inches wide to accomodate an 8 inch bolt circle diamter. Here's a photo of a Liberty engine sized hub which is stamped Handley Page, and here's the propeller itself, which is about a foot or more longer than yours. (It's one I own but loaned to a friend with a restaurant.)

Without stampings, however, any identifcation becomes a guess at best. Yours likely never completed the manufacturing process to be put into service.

[gcread]

Thank you. The only stamps I can find is 453 in a circle on the face of the hub, and *1073* on the side of the hub (serial number?). I had a feeling this would be very hard to identify. There was a note with the propeller that referred to it as a "Findings" propeller -- does this mean anything? (I can't find any prop manufacturer with that name.) Greg

[Dave]

No, not sure that "Findings" has any specific meaning. I don't think I've heard of that name as a manufacturer, but there were hundreds of those, so it could be a possibility.

I noted the hub diameter you listed and, yes, it's too small for a Liberty engine. Although you'd need the bold hole circle diameter to help narrow it down, you can eliminate some of the possibilities based on the center bore, the width and the height shown on this chart.

[Bob Gardner]

Greg,

Ninety-nine inches translates as 2520mm (mm was the currency used for most props during WW1). There were several props of this diameter designed by the Air Department of the British Admiralty for small aero-engines, primarily for the American Curtiss OX 2 with 90hp and the Rolls Royce 75hp Hawk. These powered aircraft such as the Curtiss H4, Curtiss JN4, Maurice Farman, and DH6.

With kind regards,

Bob

[gcread]

Thanks, Bob. Greatly appreciate input. Best, Greg

[gcread]

Bob, Do you know how to find out dimensions and manufacturer of two bladed prop used on US made Handley Page 0/400s with Librrty 12 engines? Greg

[Bob Gardner]

Greg,

The US Handley Pages had drg nos of 14163 and X 7033. I don't have data for their dimensions.

British HP with the Liberty engine had the drg no AB X 4987 (where X indicates experimental) D 3200mm P1870mm


Bob

[gcread]

Thanks, Bob. Greg