Help to Identify a pre WWII propeller

[nelson_d_r]

Help please to identify a pre WWII wooden propeller. Length approx 8 feet, two blades with 8 holes in the hub. The propeller blades are covered in canvas and painted black.

Markings near hub are:

D. 2743 P.2655 G.1501.N15

Y503 H.P. 110 -13

...the propeller is believed to have been on board a B-17 'Flying Fortress' that crashed in December 1943 in the mountains in Sligo Ireland. No idea why this propeller was B-17 baggage, possible a replacement for a single engine business/personal plane or simply a souvenir.

Thanks,

Dan

[Dave]

Dan,
I'm out of town at the moment, but will try to look up those numbers when I get home. It certainly sounds like a WW1 era propeller that was just being transported as a souvenier. By the time the B17 was around, those props had very little actual use.

[Bob Gardner]

Dan,

Your prop dates from around 1918-1920 and is British. It is from an Avro 504, powered by a Le Rhone 110hp engine. It was a very early war bird that flew in combat in 1914 and 1915 but such a good aircraft that it was adopted as a trainer, in which role it continued until 1940. The 'D' and 'P' numbers are the diameter and pitch in mm.

With regards,

Bob
www.aeroclocks.com