Wooden propeller with a grey ID disc

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Member for

11 years 6 months

Posts: 25

Hi all
I've come accross a wooden propeller standing over 6 feet that has a grey ID disc on side near Bolton
live never seen any other colours apart from red, green and yellow so I'm rather intruqued to hear what the grey disc may have come from
martin

Original post

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 651

Well, let’s call it a white disk.

White has been used to indicate two things on Rotol props. It was first used to indicate some Jablo blades which is presumably the case here. By 1944 it was being used to indicate aluminium alloy blades.

The disk on this prop is certainly unusual as I’ve never seen stencilling like that on a Rotol prop. Numbers like that a usually done free hand with a brush. The painting of the disk is also a bit odd as it appears to have been badly sprayed or rollered on. Yet again, something I’ve not seen before.

As for ID, there is nothing in these photos which could help us apart form it being right handed which would indicate a Merlin or Kestrel engine. The only way to find out would be to look up into the root end of the blade to see if there was anything carved into the wood there.

Anne