help identifying ww1 wooden prop

[adc_1]

I got this propeller from my Grandfather who was a Dr in England in WW1 and who brought it back with him in 1919. What is curious is that it was made by the United States Aero Propeller Co. Milwaukee Wis.U.S.A. I have been able to find very little about US Aero and find the connection to the Canadian or British Air force confusing The hub has is stamped "R215 A.J.Edmonds "which I understand sourced for the Canadian/British flying corp, and possibly mounted on a Sopwith. I have attached pictures to help. I believe the wood is mahogany though can't be sure. I am interested in finding out the link between US Aero, the Cad/Brit airforce and what kind of plane it was mounted on. Also interested if it has any historic value.

[Dbahnson]

It's unlikely that it was used on a Sopwith and it may not have actually ever been mounted on an engine, as there are no clear "witness marks" on the hub. With so little stamped information on the hub it's impossible to identify a specific make and model (or in many cases several of them) for which the propeller was designed. You may be able to eliminate a number of engines by going to this page and comparing the hub dimensions to the table linked to that page. The metal hub assembly was essentially part of the engine, so it's quite specific.

The only U.S built combat aircraft used in WW1 was the DH4 but that was powered by a Liberty engine and your hub does not appear to be consistent with that.

I think the majority of WW1 era propellers that remain intact were actually spares that became surplus items as engine design rapidly changed and eventually metal propellers were utilized, so many of the ones found today have no signs of compression of a metal plate on the hub, where the wood would expand and contact with normal changes in heat and humidity.

It's a very nice propeller and appears to be in excellent original condition. Can you post a picture of the entire propeller to include both blades?