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Please help me identity the wooden propeller that an ww2 veteran has given me. unfortunately he is not mentally able to tell me the details and in hopes it is something valuable seeing as I will be putting it in my home currently being built. He was in WWII Veteran of the US. Army Air Corps. I was told he flew missions over enemy territory. I believe he flew a Spitfire in the European Theater, Italy & France. I have attached photos. There is an egraving of the #58. Thank you!
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The four bolt pattern, the lack of stamped identification, and the apparent size suggest that it was most likely built for a target drone. These were sold off as surplus in large quantities after WW2. There are only a few certificated propellers that are under 6 feet in diameter and those a just a few inches shorter. The "58" might refer to diameter in inches or perhaps the pitch in inches, so measure the length and see if that could be either of those. I doubt it's a serial number because of the large numbers of target drones manufactured (55,000 of one model, the Shelduck, alone). It's possible yours was built for some other application, but certainly not for any of the manned aircraft flown in combat or other missions.
Unfortunately, they're not particularly "valuable" despite some high asking prices on eBay. -
I really appreciate your help and after all my research the only conclusion I could come to was is that it could have been from a target drone due to the length. I still think that is very cool seeing as it would have been crafted in the 1930s-1940s if I'm not mistaken. I, ofcourse, did not think it was from a manned fighter aircraft because of the length in which you have cleared that theory for me as well. I will look into the information you have supplied for the knowledge on my prop piece. Thank you again for your help!Comment
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