German ww1 prop id

[Geertse]

Hello,
I recently aquired a German ww1 propeller.
It is 3000mm lenght.
On the back of the hub is mentioned 3000,185,and (3285 or 3235) hard to read.
Oh the side of the hub there's
......PROPELLER
B.....
200PS
D.....
One of the blades is stamped with ausgewogen
There are 9 layers of mahony/ash wood.
It is full lenght.
Special is that the prop end edges are fitted with copper sheeting.
It appears to be original
Other feature is that the propblades are clockwise (so engine turning in other direction or pusher engine)
After a little research:
Engine probably benz
The D mentioned is probably EDELDRUK


Please more info??
Greetz

[Bob Gardner]

Greetings Geertse,

Please add some photographs of your prop so that we might see it, and some of the data as well. It is often difficult to read these data on old props and we might be able to find some clues there.

So far, your data indicates;
D possibly Druck or Druk indicating a pusher installation
Brass tips; can also indicate a pusher or a seaplane
D300 Durchmesser (diameter) 300 cm
Ausgewogen balanced
200ps a Benz engine of 200hp

The use of mahogany and ash suggests it was made before 1917-18.

The only prop that I know of which roughly fits these details was made by Imperial for the Freidrichshafen G II.

With kind regards,

Bob

[Geertse]

Prop

I'll take pictures this weekend.
I'm sure it's a pusher type prop.
But not one for the 260ps engine.
So there are not a lot of airplanes from the pusher type with the 200ps engine I suppose?
Greetings,

[Bob Gardner]

At the moment, only one that I know of.

The word before propeller and the word after B... should help.

Bob

[Dave]

I'm sure it's a pusher type prop.

On what basis? The direction of rotation doesn't necessarily dictate traction vs. pusher configuration.

[Geertse]

Prop

Because you can read druk on the hub.
So that must be a pusher otherwise it's zug.
I've read that the copper sheeting is mostly used for seaplanes and pusher planes for german props.
Grtz

[Dave]

Sorry, I didn't realize you could read DRUK.

[gino]

Hi

This is the same propeller which was discussed 01-15-2013 titteled
"legacy unknown propeller"

Regards
Gino

[Geertse]

Prop

I don't know about a discussion ....
What was the verdict then?
Are there any pictures posted then?
Grtz

[gino]

You can still find it on the early prop site. I think there
were a few pictures but some details have been removed
by the owner later. Initially the prop was offered for sale
on different sites for 4000€ but she removed the price after
a few days.

Regards
Gino

[Geertse]

Prop

I took the propeller out into daylight and now it's for sure there's DRUK on it and
IMPERIAL PROPELLER
BENZ
200 PS
....
DRUK

That's what I can read.

[Geertse]

prop

Here are some pictures.
you can't see the text on the pictures,but with the daylight it's readable.

[Geertse]

prop

one of the hub side

[Geertse]

Prop

I hope that this info is enough to identify the propeller.
The big serial number on the hub is now certainly 3265
Grtz

[Bob Gardner]

Geerste,

This confirms that the prop is very probably from a Friedrichsfafen G II bomber introduced by the Graf von Zeppelin in 1916. The pitch (Steigung) is probably 185 cm, written as ST185. Perhaps you can make that out?

The Imperial Company was originally the German branch of the French Integrale company which was seized by the German Government on the outbreak of war. It continued producing props under this name, primarily for Fokker and Friedrichshafen, until 1916 when it closed down and re-opened as the Imperial Co. where most of the props I have recorded were made for Friedrichshafen and a minority for Gotha.

With kind regards,

Bob