Mersey Mystery Propellor

Hi Lownslow, yes, I see what you mean on the size, although the photo I am looking at shows DH4’s with 4 blade props and the blade size differs.

Andy

Hi
That looks very like the other half of a prop blade in No 7F Sqdn ATC in Liverpool, the prop came off a RARE DH-6A and they had one at HOOTON PARK RAF station and I believe there were not many of this type built ???.

Hi Atcham and all, after looking through the Cooksley and Rimell “WW1 British Aeroplane Propellers” publication it looks very similar to that fitted to a DH4, these could be RH or LH tractor type.

Andy

The shape’s similar Andy, but the DH4 or DH9 propeller, is I think, quite a bit bigger.

Reversed, yes, the sergeant’s stripes are upside down. 😉

Mark

As we used to say “The arrows point to where ones brains are”. :rolleyes:

John

Hi Atcham and all, after looking through the Cooksley and Rimell “WW1 British Aeroplane Propellers” publication it looks very similar to that fitted to a DH4, these could be RH or LH tractor type.

Andy

The prop in your photo is reversed and if the photo has not been reversed then the “BE.2” replica being admired by the 1960s Chief Techs has been fitted with a “gash” prop.
The props on the BE2c and RE.8 are different but both rotate clockwise when viewed from the front.

John

Reversed, yes, the sergeant’s stripes are upside down. 😉

Mark

Doh….I hadn’t noticed that!! 😮

I still reckon its a blade from a propeller for an RAF V-8. The earlier Renault propellers used on Farmans and early BE-2s had a much slimmer blade.

The prop in your photo is reversed and if the photo has not been reversed then the “BE.2” replica being admired by the 1960s Chief Techs has been fitted with a “gash” prop.
The props on the BE2c and RE.8 are different but both rotate clockwise when viewed from the front.

John

Certainly the shape of the blade and the sheathing would suggest its a blade from a four-bladed propeller for an 80hp RAF V-8 engine.

That could equally be fitted to a BE-2, RE-8 or even a DH6 trainer. The sheathing really only came in about 1915/16, once the RFC had discovered their propellers fell to bits every time they flew in the rain!!

Sadly the main data would have been stamped on the boss, which is of course missing.

If you need a more appropriate home for it, we’ll be happy to display it alongside our BE-2 at Sywell !!! 😉

I think Anon is probably right in his hypothesis! But it would be good to identify the type from which it might have originated.

No way is it a Spitfire.
Atcham tower, say hello to SGJ for me. We used to live a couple of streets apart and Saturday afternoons in the late 60s were spent cycling the three miles or so together to the MSAE clubrooms at Liverpool airport.

Washed up prop

It is very definitely a WW1 prop blade, probably RE-8 or something.
Is the implication here then, that this thing had been floating in the Mersey from WW1 ’til it was found? – Rubbish. It was probably chucked in the water by someone because they didn’t want it, or, nicked from a garden shed by kids and used as a boat, or some such nonsense. The “finder” then happened across it about an hour later – if it happened at all.
It’s probably never been in the water, however, let’s not let a few obvious facts get in the way of a good story.
Spit prop, my a**e! Sorry to be cynical chaps but aren’t they all Spitfire parts when people don’t know what they are looking at?

Thanks for the input so far, everyone. John, a friend of mine (actually George Jones of early Wrecks and Relics fame) has also just suggested an Re 8 or Be 2. The story about it being recovered in WW2 may not be accurate. It must have been a lot earlier, judging by the lack of water damage.

This prop blade was washed up on the beach at New Brighton Wirral, during WW2 and spent years hanging up in a scout hut before going into storage in an attic. Last year’s dig on a Spitfire which crashed in Birkenhead Park after losing its prop, jogged a local scout master’s memory. Perhaps he had part of the evidence? However, I think it looks too small to be from a Spit and the sheathed tip is very un-Spitfire like. Maybe from a Master or even a pre-war type from RAF Sealand, although it doesn’t look like it was in the water for very long. Suggestions on ID will be welcomed!
The prop will be presented to the Warplane Wreck Museum at Fort Perch, New Brighton, where the Spit parts are on display.

Looks very much like a blade off an RE.8, certainly WW.1

John

looking at the size & shape & the copper sheathing on the tip it looks like First World War or pre-1939 to me.

David

I’ll stick my neck out and say pre-war although i’m not an expert on props. There are others on the forum who will probably be able to give you more info. Failing that, email a pic to these guys: http://www.aeroclocks.com/

They sell vintage props.

Good luck.

BTW don’t know where the “thumbs down” icon came from. I don’t think I activated it!