Mystery prop on the Isle of Arran

Its american lookin I think variable pitch not fixed as mentioned earlier.. P47?

Wildcats

Here are photos of the Wildcat V and VI (from page 38 of “Grumman Guidebook Volume 1”); I think you might be right, Kiteflyer!

If this is the same prop that we saw when on holiday on the island in 1987 we were told that it was recovered from one of several ‘Wildcats’ that were pushed over the side from a carrier post war. The story went that the divers wanted to get the engine and prop up as one, and using a charge to seperate them from the airframe remains, ended up with a prop unit and lots of bits of engine.

Jeff

I went to an aircobra crash site in the pacific a few years ago – it had steel prop blades. The hub looks american to me – similar to the two blades props used on Harvards.

How about a Martlet (Wildcat). Curtiss Steal prop, lots of FAA activity around Arran and judging by the condition of the blade we may not be looking at an aircraft that ended up as a full cat 5 case.

Anne

The 2 pics/links posted for P.40 and P.38 have ali blades so that doesn’t help.

P-40 prop?

http://www.bcam.net/displays/display4.htm

i don’t think it’s from a lightning i included a pic of a prop of a crashed p-38 lightning (if thats what you were refering to) from near goxhill that was placed on the memorial there.
anyway my opinion the prop looks german as someone said before

thanks

Hence the bafflement as I know absolutely nothing about them.
Tomahawk, Lightning?

It is a curtiss electric prop with hollow steel blades.
Probably from a American aircraft.

My feeling is German; the hub looks German, and they used a lot of steel, especially once the aluminium started to get scarce.

Could it be from a non aircraft application ?

I must admit I’d assumed the prop was fixed pitch from the size of the hub, but the early “bracket type” hubs were quite small, IIRC.

It’s still the steel blades that’s puzzling me most. Apart from the huge post-war hollow DH props, I’ve never heard of them.

Verner Small’s local slnat on the list of Arran crashes includes those already listed, i.e.

Hi
Some known Arran crashes
Cheers
Jerry

ANSON N4939 – 28/1/41
ANSON DJ472 – 2/8/42
ALBACORE L7109 – 9/9/42
B-17G 42-97286 – 10/12/44
B-24D 42-41030 – 20/8/43
BEAUFORT L4479 – 30/8/42
C-60 42-56014 – 30/9/43
CHESAPEAKE AL941 – 22/7/43
MARTINET MS757 – 18/1/44
MARTINET MS756 – 17/2/44
SEA OTTER JM880 – 31/8/45
SWORDFISH HS552 – 5/9/43

However, he also notes incidents relating to:
Seafire near Auchariach (possibly the nearest crash site to Kildonan but clearly the prop does not belong to it!)
Barracuda in sea south of Cumbrae (a little bit far from Arran)
Wellington in Brodick Bay
Another Swordfish (a forced landing rather than the above crashed example!)
Walrus in Lamlash Bay
Another B24 on Am Binnein (the infamous one which killed 22)
Skua on Brodick Golf Course (which involved no injuries)
and “AN OTHER” in the sea off Corriecravie (which killed 3).

From this list (which Verner felt was INCOMPLETE when he gave it to me in 2001), I would hazard a guess (as I don’t know too much about the type) that it is most likely to be the Blackburn Skua!!

Why?
1. It had a three bladed prop.
2. It was apparently involved in a low energy incident on Arran.
3. From Papa Lima’s latest photo, I also reckon that the prop could still be a variable pitch, which the Skua had (attached photo show the “spindlyness” of the Skua’s VP prop and shaft, which I believe looks very similar to the one in Kildonan)
4. From the early (1938ish?) use of the Skua and the Britsol Perseus powerplant, this might open up the possibility of using steel blades?

Just my latest “two cents”!

Anyway, I hope to be in Arran in a few days from now so hopefully we’ll solve this soon!!

Regards

Graham

I have now “magnified” the propeller boss, and it appears to me that there are three separate blades.
I am surprised also that this seems to have “stumped” our panel of experts!

I wonder if the twisting ws the Reed patent.

Anson and Chesapeake had 2 blades, Albacore, B.17, B.24, C.60, Beaufort and Sea Otter were VP. Anybody know about the Martinet?

As I recall, the Fairey-Reed propellor used by the swordfish was forged and then machined from a single piece of light alloy – if you look closely at the propellor, the blades have been ‘twisted’ for want of a better phrase from the central boss which is solid. I don’t think that the propellor in the first photo fits that description.

Oops – just realised this has already been mentioned

I didn’t know steel was used at all on aircraft of that era. I’m fairly sure it wouldn’t be DH or Rotol which narrows it down quite a lot.
Did Fairey make their own props for the Swordfish?

Edit:
Apparently they did – Fairey-Reed.

Thanks Papa Lima, you live and learn 🙂

So, if the prop is steel would that help to narrow down which type of a/c it came from?

Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic using a steel propeller, for example . . .
They’ve been around for an awful long time!