Dad’s Old Sopwith Dolphin Propeller (possibly?)

[Multinell]

Looking to see if anyone has any knowledge about this propeller that lived in my dad’s living room for 40 years before he passed away. I can work out that it’s from a Sopwith Dolphin (unless I’m very wrong) but I don’t know what the markings on the hub denote. Someone is looking to buy it and is asking how much we want for it, but I have no idea of it’s worth - looking online, I can only see Sopwith Camel propellers being sold, not a dolphin?

[Dbahnson]

You have correctly identified it. The drawing number "L3610" is listed on my references as used solely on the Dolphin with the Hisso engine as stamped. My sheet shows a diameter of 2525 mm and a pitch of 2150 mm. I can't verify the diameter on your but the pitch is clearly 2580 mm, so it seems to be a variant model, which is not uncommon. The absence of "witness marks" on the hub suggest that it was never installed on an aircraft, which is also not uncommon among the propellers that survived the years since WW1. Many spares and variants ended up as surplus when they quickly became obsolete.

It looks to be in nice original condition, and it's important to keep it that way rather that perform any attempt to "restore" it, which just ruins its value. I'm not sure of the value, but Camel props seem to be in high demand. Where did you see one for sale, if I might ask? There are reproduction ones showing up now, but they're usually easy to detect.

[Multinell]

Thank you for replying to me - do you know what these marks are on the propeller? We’ve just found them on the back.5d6b42c8-ba70-402a-9fc6-eab913d627dd.jpeg

[Dbahnson]

Those are inspector's stamps, typically AID and the inspector's initials.