Prop blade Worthing beach

Further to the above, please find further detailed pictures of the propellor blade.

We can pretty much discount it being the Heinkel blade as the earlier VDM (metal) blades had a hard-wearing and distinctive orangey-brown anodised finish that would be apparent in some areas.

My money’s on it being from the Lancaster as the profile looks right. An end-on shot of the remaining root of the blade will more-or-less put the issue to bed.

Anon.

Not actually sure of the measurements at the moment. Awaiting further details. Many thanks for your interest though. I’ll upload further information as soon as I get it.

Just out of interest whats the diameter across at its widest point?

Rob

A Heinkel 111 did go into the sea off Worthing on 8th April 1941 so that could also be a possibility.

Doesn’t the Reed prop have more curvature on the leading edge of the blade? This aerofoil section looks very similar to the profile of a Heinkel 111 blade that was recovered from a crash site in the Falfield, Glos area.

Thanks for that fascinating information. I’ve checked the records and there were no Anson or Swordfish crashes in the sea off Worthing, however a Walrus did crash in the sea off Worthing on 21st July 1942. I do intend to get further photographs so will most definitely upload them for you guys to view. Thanks again to everyone who’s taken the time to reply.

It looks like it has been snapped off well short of the hub so full blade length could be over five feet. The blade in the picture doesn’t look as if it has any significant thickening, which would be the case as you move further towards the root end. I am still harbouring the suspicion that it may be the outer section of a Reed propeller.

This type of prop was cut and pressed from a sheet of duralumin around 30mm thick so that was its maximum thickness at the root end. This is unlike a typical Lancaster (de-H) blade, which, shaped from a forged billet got gradually thicker from the tip to the root, where it was around 5ins diameter. This means that, around the mid-to-lower section of a de-H blade (about where the subject blade is broken off), its thickness should be around 2ins and heading towards an oval section. The blade in the pic looks like a flat blade type but without more pics it is hard to tell.

The Reed (or Fairey-Reed) props were commonly on Swordfish and sometimes Walrus aircraft (3-blade) and the Anson 1 (2-blade). Post war, it was really the Chipmunk trainer that was the only application.

Were there any Anson or Swordfish crashes in the sea off Worthing?

Anon.

Seems like the length of the prop blade is about 3.5 feet.

Providing you have a Facebook account, more info can be found here; https://www.facebook.com/groups/Beachcombing/permalink/798218700227693/

The profile does look like an early Lanc “needle” type blade. They were quite pointed and distinctive.

Anon.

Thanks chaps for your reply. The picture was uploaded by a friend on Facebook so will try and get some more information for you. Thanks.

There was a Lancaster crash close to Worthing pier and a propeller blade from that incident turned up on the beach there in approx. 1980

Hmm, that’s a tough one. It appears to be a tapered blade and could be a Reed-type. Can you post a pic of the blade section and the tip profile, UKWMO?

Anon.