Help Identify WW2 Spitfire Prop Blade

[Aldo81]

Hi, I was hoping someone could shed some light on what WW2 aircraft this may have come from by its visible markings. I was told it was from. Supermarine Spitfire but I have no expertise to confirm this.

thank you in advance.

 

[Crimea_River]

Far from an expert but it certainly looks the part. Someone should be able to confirm beyond a doubt, based on the numbers.

 

[ThomasP]

It is a Rotol designed blade.

The RS indicates Jablo wood with Rotoloid covering and a brass leading edge sheath.

[edit] The RS mentioned above was usually used as a suffix (ie [RA10046/RS]) but it looks like they ran out of room or could not get a good stamping.

The JP in JP143148 indicates Jablo Propeller Ltd, a propeller manufacturing company which was owned by Rotol. The 143148 could be the Jablo Propeller Ltd internal blade design number, but this is just a guess. It may be a batch number.

The PP A64262 may be the production batch number.

The four 6-digit numbers in the pink circle (pink for Jablo Propeller Ltd) on the side of the blade are the S/Ns of the different blades indicating a 4-blade propeller. The number 060850 is the S/N for this particular blade as it is duplicated on the bottom of the blade.

[edited to remove incorrect information]

 

[Aldo81]

It is a Rotol designed blade.

The RS indicates Jablo wood with Rotoloid covering and a brass leading edge sheath.

The RA100167 is a blade design used on the Seafire Mk 15 & Mk 17 (and maybe other Marks). The RS mentioned above was usually used as a suffix (ie RA100167RS) but it looks like they ran out of room or could not get a good stamping.

The JP in JP143148 indicates Jablo Propeller Ltd, a propeller manufacturing company which was owned by Rotol. The 143148 could be the Jablo Propeller Ltd internal blade design number, but this is just a guess. It may be a batch number.

The PP A54262 may be the production batch number.

The four 6-digit numbers in the pink circle (pink for Jablo Propeller Ltd) on the side of the blade are the S/Ns of the different blades indicating a 4-blade propeller. The number 060850 is the S/N for this particular blade as it is duplicated on the bottom of the blade.

You are an absolute star and a wealth of knowledge in this field. Thank you so much. Is there any way of dating the blade?

 

[ThomasP]

If you could find the matching corporate records for production and inspection of the production batch you would have the date of manufacture. Such records may still exist in the corporate or national archives, but I am not aware of anyone mentioning that they had found such.

[edit]

 

[PhilHoff]

Hello,

Looking at the geometry of the blade, it is designed for a Merlin engine (rotating clockwise when seen from the cockpit, anti-clockwise when seen from the front of the plane) and not a Griffon engine, that rotated the other way. That rules out the Seafire XV or XVII, which were Griffon equipped. So it looks more like a Spitfire VIII or IX propeller, of a Seafire III.

Philippe

 

[ThomasP]

DOH! Sorry, I have a difficult time recognizing the direction of rotation from pictures of the blades. If the blade is for a Merlin, then I may have read the blade design number wrong. It may be 10046/ instead of 100167, If so then it is probable that PhilHoff is correct.

 

[Aldo81]

Thank you PhilHoff and to everyone else for your help. Its been extremely valuable. So would it be fair to assume this prop blade would be dated somewhere around 1942 and more than likely used in the war effort?

 

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

Information received,
"The answer is RA10046: Spitfire VII/VII/IX/LFX/PRX/PRXI. I may be wrong but the 'PR' on the base may signify it is was manufactured at Princess Risborough even though the colour code suggests a Jablo blade. Hope this helps."