wooden propeller blade

[kiel182]

i just received a wooden propeller blade that was shipped from europe.
the serial number is 9-17302-a-4 and there is also a number underneath that is w-Nnlb 27145/2 does anybody know where i can find out what plane/engine this came off?
your help is appreciated.
kiel182

[Dave]

I think that one is going to be very hard. It sounds like a modern variable pitch blade, but I have no idea where to look it up.

[kiel182]

wooden propeller blade

DAVE
TKS FOR TRYING, DO U HV ANY NAMES OF LARGE EARLY AIRCARFT WITH WOODEN PITCH PROPELLERS?

[kiel182]

wooden propeller blade

dave
just got word that my european connection thinks this a blade fm a junkers 4 and it belonged to the swiss army. checking on the ju 4 this is a single engine plane built around 1916 do think this could be correct?

[Dave]

That sounds like a shot in the dark to me. Without seeing the blade, I have no idea even what it might be, much less what it actually is. I will say that the numbers stamped on it are not characteristic of any of the stampings typically seen or WW1 aircraft.

I've learned to practically ignore some of the claims that go along with propellers unless there is some other basis to support it.

You speak of this as a propeller "blade". Do you mean that it looks like half of a propeller like the one at the upper left?

[kiel182]

wooden propeller blade

tks dave, just found out it cannot be from the junkers 4. my blade is just too big and after seeing pictures of the ju 4 it is too large.
this is def a part of a larger plane, it was connected to a hub as it has grooves that connects to the hub. it was part of the swiss airforce so mite be able to get some info fm them.

[MWP_Lamar]

Sounds like a blade from a variable pitch adjustable prop as Dave noted in an earlier post here. Can you post pictures?

Lamar

[kiel182]

wooden propeller blade

i have a picture of the propeller on my computer, but do not know how to attach it to this document. can i get some guidance or can i send it as an email, need address.
tks



Image add by Lamar

[MWP_Lamar]

This is definitely a variable pitch adjustable prop. Unfortunately it's in pretty sad shape, too as the end is broken off.

[Alex T.]

Hi everybody!

first of all compliments for the useful and nice website! Then my 2 cents about this propeller blade: it has all the looks of a german WW2 propeller to me, probably one of those used on the Ju88s or on the FW190Ds. Some measures of the hub attachment and the chord would help to identify it

Cheers!

Alex

[Harold Lake]

broken mystery prop blade

Keil182,

This post is pretty stale...by 6-months...but I just came upon this forum. The prop blade you aquired from Europe is in fact a German blade designed and manufactured by OMW (Otto Mader Werk - i.e. Junkers) Luftschrauben. The blade's part number, 9-17302, indicates which aircraft was eligible for this item. My list is somewhat incomplete, and I know more about which types did not use it, than those which did. Nevertheless, prime candidates were the Junkers 87 "Stuka" and the Fw 190 A,F and G-series (resp. fighter, fighter-bomber and extened range fighter-bomber). The blade's serial number (werknummer), 27145/2 is preceed by three code letters for the factory that made the part. You list, "nlb" but I am sure you mean "rlb." I hope to have the information as to this precise maker within a short time but, my guess is that it could have been the Junkers facility at Flaming, SW of Berlin.

Hal

[Harold Lake]

Following my earlier posting, I have since determined that this prop blade was not linked to a Junkers propeller as stated earlier but, instead came from a VDM (Verinigte Deutsche Metallwerk AG - United German Metal Works) propeller as evidenced by it's "9" part number. We now know this because part numbers falling in the 10000 range signified VDM units whereas part numbers in the 20000 block denoted Junkers. Further, although most VDM props were powered by Daimler-Benz motors this was not alaways the case. We have yet to find out exactly which German airplane flew with wooden 9-17302 props.

Hal

[Bob Gardner]

Many thanks from this forum for your excellent research, and for telling us about it.

On a personal note do you have any info on German WW1 props?

mfg

Bob

[Harold Lake]

No, unfortunately, my prop documents are mostly confined the Third Reich period. But according to the noted authority and author Bruno Lange, by 1918 there were no less than 20 German propeller makers in business. Others sprang up in 1919/1920 but, after this period only 3 firms were still making wooden propellers: Hugo Heine Propellerwerk, Berlin; J.H. Schaefer & Co., Bremen and Propellerwerk Gustav Schwarz KG, Berlin-Waidmannslust. However, by 1944, a great deal of sub-contracting was the order of the day. This factor, coupled with German security measures, is what makes our job of identifying wooden prop balde makers so "interesting." Master copies of the German 3-letter codes exist, but most only extend through the alphabet to "ozz" so any code beyond this is much more difficult to decipher.

Hal

[Bob Gardner]

Hello Hal,

I agree that chasing down details of props is interesting. So little data is available about WW1 German Props that a new discovery makes my week! No matter how small.

There were seven major German makers before WW1 and six minor. A total of 65 makers existed at some time between 1914 and 1919. They tended to come and go. Almost all became bankrupt at the end of the war, as did British WW1 makers.

With regards,

Bob