Nose cone

Anon,

That’s fantastic, thanks. I think this is pretty conclusive and I’m happy to call this as a Curtiss Electric Propeller Power Unit Cover. Thanks Anon, Vampirefan, Trolley Aux, Eddie and everyone else who has helped with this. I’m very grateful.

Nose cone

I have measured the diameter of the mounting plate for the cone/shroud, on the Curtiss pitch change mech I have and it is approximately 215mm.

I really need a pair of calipers to measure it accurately but it seems to be pretty close to the dimensions of the one in question.

For the record: this design of pitch change was licensed from Curtiss by Rotol (as was the hollow steel prop blade idea by de-H) and it was fitted to some of the late war hubs in lieu of the hydraulic mechanisms.

Not sure if it was just a few hundred in service to see how they performed or a few thousand, but I am aware that some late Wellington aircraft had electric prop pitch change gear so it is not just P-47’s that had them fitted. It was actually a standard fitment to all the war time Curtiss props including, of course, Wildcat fighters and other US types.

Most manufacturers went for Ham-Stan hydromatic props as they were more reliable. Not only that but the aircraft electrical systems weren’t suited to high-current equipment, which also carried a weight penalty.

Anon.

For a good picture of a Curtiss Electric prop, see here: http://www.enginehistory.org/Convention/2005/Presentations/FeyTom/P08%20Curtiss%20Electric.pdf

Looks about right to me!

Dome

It is probably from off of a (small) jet engine but I can’t help thinking that the chaps who suggested a Curtiss prop cover could be right. The profile looks spot on.

I have a pitch-change motor from off one of these propellers. It is missing the cover but the mounting backplate/ring is still there. I’ll try and remember to measure its diameter and see if it corresponds with your measurement, RA.

For those who may be a bit confused, it is not a spinner but could be the cover which goes over just the pitch change motor and gearbox, not the whole prop. Have a look at a picture of a war time P-47 to see what it looks like.

Anon.

It seems a little larger than a Gnome engine starter cover, but still likely to be a starter bullet fairing as pointed out in several posts….. as to which one… well! (Vol 3 anyone?)

I now have dimensions for this whcih I hope may help identify exactly what it is. The overall diameter is 219mm, the internal diameter is 213mm. The metal thickness is 2.5mm. The overall length of the whole thing is 381mm. Any ideas?

I don’t have exact dimensions just now, but it is definitely too small to fit a cartridge starter inside, so I don’t think it is from a turbojet engine. I should be able to get measurements next week, but the diameter has to be approximately 12 inches.

How big is it. Looks wayy to small to be anything Spinnerish..

Could that ‘C’ stamp be Canadair?
Some Canadair Sabres used Avro Canada Orenda engines…

The Avon is fairly similar too…

P47 type prop pitch control cover I would say

Spinner

Looks like a prop dome from a Curtiss Electric propeller.

Looks more like an engine starter motor cover…

Is the marking in the circle legible ?

I’m thinking either victor auto land aerial cover (the one right at the front of the nose that wasn’t used) or the first Buccs had a similar cover over the front wide band homer pods (the early S band ones) on the wings as well before they switched to the final profile for the X band version

Part number format is possibly BAE.

Best I can do at the moment.