Unidentified prop

[Geertse]

Hello.
Just came across this half wooden propeller.
No markings found except for a rectangular stamp on the blade with text in it.
I can’t read it.
Lenght is full propeller 250cm
Bore diameter 60mm
Edge bordered with sheet metal.
Hub diameter is 190mm
Bolt hole circle is 140mm 8 bolt holes diameter 10mm
Can someone identify this half prop?
Greetings,
Geert

[Geertse]

Another pic

Pic 4

[Geertse]

Prop

Another tip is that there are 6 laminations

[pmdec]

Hi,

Can you take a clearer and closer pic of the marking on the blade?

Regards,
PM

[Geertse]

Prop

I did my best but very hard to get a better picture.

[Geertse]

Prop

Marking is 20mm by 6 mm stamped just above the hub on the blade.
Blade width is about 160mm
I don’t know if it’s French, German, English??
I personally think that the axle hole of 60mm seems to be from a low hp (80) engine. Can it be identified from the method of metal sheeting?
It’s not a pusher prop.
Only thing that’s strange is that for example a le rhone 80hp engine rhe bolt circle is 120mm and here it’s 140
Kind regards Pierre-Michel

[pmdec]

Hi Geert,

The pics are too blurred to see anything. Don't you have a true camera to take close up pics? Even some phones can make clear close ups...

The hub size (140 mm bolts circle) was not in use during WW1 in France but was used later, from the mid twenties I presume. It was named "Y court" hub (Y short) and was:
- 190 to 200 mm wide,
- 140 mm thick,
and had:
- a 56.3 mm central hole,
- eight 10 mm bolt holes on a 140 mm circle diameter.

It was the only French hub with eight 10 mm bolt holes on a 140 mm diameter.

The older prop I know about with such a hub was on a Ratier made in 1929.

Regards,
PM

[Geertse]

Prop

Hello Pierre-Michel,
Thanks already for the info!!!
The axle hole is surely 60mm
Hub is 125mm thick
Can it be with the copper sheeting then?
What airplane was that prop used on? The ratier that you have mentioned?
Thanks
Geert

[Geertse]

Prop

The hub plate has 8 holes of 27mm diametre and are between the hub bolts

[pmdec]

Hi Geert,

Known Ratier prop with "Y short" hub:
Serial 737, studied in 1929, diameter 2300mm, blade width 185 mm, for Potez 36
Serial 825, studied in 1930, diameter 2200mm, blade width 157 mm, for Nieuport 740
Serial 893, studied in 1930, diameter 2200mm, blade width 182 mm, for Potez 36
Serial 1014, studied in 1931, diameter 2200mm, blade width 175 mm, for Nieuport 740,
Serial 1030, studied in 1931, diameter 2200mm, blade width 165 mm, for Nieuport 740,
all using a Salmson 7Ac engine. So it could be a hub specific for this engine.

The prop is not a Ratier and a clear pic of the marking could help...

Regards,
PM

[Geertse]

Prop

Tried it again with a led backlight now

[Geertse]

Prop

Could it be ausgew
I have a german prop with the same rectangular marking but clearly visible ausgew
Means ausgewogen.
Balanced in English
Then it’s a german prop???

[Geertse]

Prop

Another try
It’s not ausgew that’s in the rectangular as earlier mentioned.
Anyone an idea?
Kind regards
Geert

[pmdec]

Hi,
The pic is clear now, but I don't read anything. Perhaps, if the pic is 180° turned, the two last letters could be ED.
The wood is perhaps beech, wich was commonly used in Europe after WW1.
Sorry, but I can't tell anything more about this prop.
Regards,
PM

[Bob Gardner]

Good Afternoon Gert,

I can't read what is stamped inside the box either but it is in the style of AUSGEW. The propeller appears to be made of Beech, indicating that it was made in the latter half of 1918, when the usual woods of mahogany and walnut were not available to Germany due to the British blockade of German ports.

I have seen German naval propellers made of Beech with the stamp BESCHLAG which indicates sheathing, and there is sheathing on the leading edges of this prop. I believe that sheathing on leading edges was more common on naval aircraft rather than on army aircraft.

At the end of WW1 all German Naval and Army flying came to an end, so my tentative conclusion is that this prop is probably naval and probably dates from the latter months of WW1.

As ever, this is merely an assumption on my part, which might be completely wrong!

With kind regards,

Bob