Attempting to Identify Early Wooden Propeller

[mgiordano526]

Greetings,

I had the opportunity some years ago, to purchase a genuine early 1900 wooden WW1 propeller with brass sheathing from the widow of United States WW2 and Korean fighter ace James Empey. They had retired in San Antonio, Texas years ago where he passed away, and she subsequently did 6-7 years later.

I have confirmed that the propeller is the real deal, that it is authentic from talking to Kevin Ryan at Hartzell Propellers Inc. We spent a good while on the phone, reviewing the pictures, and confirming that it was a propeller purchased and used by the US Army Signal Corps (see "S.C. 7993" marking on prop).

I am now trying to identify the manufacturer and value of the propeller, It is a beautiful mahogany prop over 8 feet long. The only markings on it are:
N.O. 499
S.C. 7993
8'4" x 5'3"
Attached are four (4) pictures of the prop.
If anyone can shed some light on the manufacturer, age, and value of this propeller, it would be most appreciated.
Regards,
M

[Dbahnson]

Your post was duplicated and I inadvertently deleted the one containing the attachments. Can you please hit "edit" on your post and re-submit the attachments? Sorry for the mistake.

Thanks.

[Dbahnson]

While you can never be 100% certain, I think your propeller was designed for the Standard J1 using a Hall Scott A 7 A engine. You can confirm the engine usage by comparing hub dimensions on this chart. If the bolt holes sit on a circle with a 6 inch diameter then it's almost certainly designed for the Hall Scott engine, not the OX5 that is very similar.

I haven't seen any other props of that design used on anything but the Standard J1, although it's certainly possible that it was. See this link for a prop of identical design and dimensions which was clearly used on the Standard J1.

The "SC" number refers to a Signal Corps number, but is not useful for identification purposes. It certainly appears that the prop has been refinished, both because of the absence of decals and also the polished appearance of the metal sheating on the tips.