Unidentified prop

[pmdec]

Hi, Bob and Geert (others welcome, too!!!),

.../... 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.../...

So, you also think the prop is made of beech! This wood was used in France after the WW1 for quite all wooden propellers.

Before WW1, French used walnut and mahogany, as makers did think they were the best woods for propellers. And those woods became quickly mandatory by the Army: walnut for warplanes and mahogany for school planes. But, with the use of walnut to make the butts (right word?) of Lebel riffles, this wood became scarse and at the beginning of 1917 new instructions for wood used for propellers came. I have a list of authorized woods for French propellers in late 1917: See attached pic.
I supposed some other woods beacame authorized because I have seen airworthy stamped props from 1918 using oak.
Later, all Frech propeller makers used mahogany, walnut and beech, and all French props I have seen from the mid twenties and later were made of beech.

Regards,
PM

[Bob Gardner]

Good Morning Pierre Michel, and I wish you a Happy Christmas!

Thank you for this list of wood authorised for the French manufacture of propeller, which I have added to my database.

The authorised woods for British props is similar and is listed in the 1917 Handbook on Propeller Construction published by the Controller of the Technical Department of the Department of Aircraft Production at the Ministry of Munitions.

The authorised woods are:

Walnut which includes Black American, Nicaraguan, and Honduras.
Mahogany Cuban Mahogany and Australian Queensland Silk Wood.

The following woods were authorised for use in certain parts of propellers;
Grand Bassam, Lagos and Benin Mahogany, African Iroko, English Ash, Japanese Walnut, Silver Spruce, and Benin Walnut.

With kind regards,

Bob

[Geertse]

Prop

Hello,
Thxs Bob and Pierre-Michel for the help untill now.
I have carefully removed the layer of varnish on the stamp and what came visible is the following sign or mark. I suppose it’s a B in the middle
Perhaps this gives a clue
Kind regards,
Geert

[Bob Gardner]

Gert,

I have no idea what that stamp might mean. ( It looks a little like a Bentley car badge.) I look forward to some definitive news from fellow-forumites!

With kind regards,

Bob

[Geertse]

I think it’s a B in the middle, not sure. There are letters besides the B also.
The only thing I’m sure is the outer bording.
Greetz

[Geertse]

Prop

Stamp

[Bob Gardner]

Thank you Geert for this latest photograph, which is excellent.

I have photographs of three German Army props with boxes with lettering and of two German Naval props with boxes and lettering. All of these photos are clear but none has lettering which match these vague shapes.

With kind regards,

Bob

[Geertse]

Hello Bob
Thanks for all the great info.
Kind regards