10' Wooden Prop

[dmnich]

I need help with info on this prop. I'd like to know the following:
The manufacturer.
The year it was manufactured.
The place it was manufactured.
The type of plane it probably went on.

Thanks,

Dave

[Dave]

Hard to tell, and I can't decipher the numbers sufficiently to try to look it up. Some of the stampings are not original and clearly the prop has been refinished at some point. Without manufacturer's decals, even that is often hard to determine.

You might be able to guess an engine usage by its hub dimensions.

[dmnich]

Thanks

Dave, thank you so much. I will do some more research. I know that this was stored at NAS Willow Grove (PA), where it was found in a store room in the early to mid 80's. The CPO Association had it from there until the base was shut down. I will talk to some of the chiefs and see if they can add any history.

Dave, I do have one question for you. I see that there is a PP262 imbedded into the middle. Does the "PP" stand for Paragon Prop?

Thanks again,

Dave

[dmnich]

Markings

Not sure if this helps any but here are the markings :

PP262
1568-3
X 4987 T
N-1908 I

Thanks,

Dave

[Dave]

Dave, I do have one question for you. I see that there is a PP262 imbedded into the middle. Does the "PP" stand for Paragon Prop?

Yes, I think it does. That designation was assigned to them in 1918, and oak was their wood of choice. Check the hub dimensions. There are similar looking numbers (but no match) that were used for Liberty engines.

[dmnich]

Additional Info

We took it down and it matches up to the Liberty 12. With some further research about where it was found, we now think that the prop was re-furbished by Harold Pitcairn and his team since he used the airfield for design, construction and testing of a number of aircraft, including the Mailwing. Anyway, we're thinking this was propbably used on an Airco DH-4.
So, my question is.....
Does this match what you know about the DH-4? Since I can't seem to find out what propellers were used, are there other planes that used the Liberty 12engines that made their way to NAS Willow Grove in that time frame?

Or can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave]

Unfortunately, the DH4 was flown with a variety of different propellers, and the Liberty 12 was used on a variety of aircraft, including a number of different flying boats used by the Navy in the late teens. Many of these propellers were sold off as surplus in the early twenties.

If you look closely at the front and rear of the hub you can usually see "witness marks" - an indentation in the wood where the circular pressure plate compressed the wood slightly. Absent that, the propeller is usually a surplus prop that was never installed.

Also, the length of the metal sheathing towards the hub in that photo is not typical of the early (WW1) era propellers, so that may be an indication that yours was manufactured a some time after that.