ID this propeller, please!

[NNAM]

I am a volunteer researcher at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fl. We recently had an inquiry about a propeller root, cut in two to make bookends, and presented to Governor Joseph B. Poindexter, Territory of Hawaii. Gov. Poindexter served in Hawaii from 1934 through 1942.
I have tried to find the military contract number, drawing number, and other markings on this root, and have come up empty. Can you assist or point me in the right direction? I would like to know what type of aircraft this propeller was used on.
I appreciate your assistance.

 

[jetcal1]

Try contacting this guy. World's Largest Vintage Propeller Collection from the "Golden Age" of Aviation, also known as the "forgotten" years

 

[Michael Hope]

I have looked for a possible use for that part number and came up with nothing. The part # is similar to other Ground adjustable blades that the US Navy used. But what I see as strange is the marking of "10'6"" after the model/part #. Most other ground adjustable blades had a maximum diameter of 120 inches/10 feet. I asked my father about this and he suggested that some airships also used ground adjustable propellers, but that larger diameter was not an issue for ground clearance as it was on a nose of an aircraft. Example the Boeing Stearman used an 102 inch diameter propeller. For 10 foot 6 inch is what a DC-3 used for comparison for size.
Do you have any images of the shank from the side as that would help to determine a possible use.

 

[NNAM]

Here are the side photos, which somehow disappeared from the above.

 

[CATCH 22]

There is a USNavy customer inspection stamp visible. It should be an a/c for the Navy not for the USAAC/USAAF. And it's a gift from the Fleet Air Base Pearl Harbor, not from an Army Air Base. With a great probability they have used something they have in their base. A "Catalina"(PBY) comes first to mind, but the diameter of a Cat-propeller is AFAIK 11' or 11'-6" depending on the type of blade. That's for a PBY-5 though. At Pearl Harbor they had earlier models too.

 

[vikingBerserker]

How cool is that

 

[Michael Hope]

Here are the side photos, which somehow disappeared from the above.

That is definitely a blade from a ground adjustable propeller. It is NOT from a PBY Catalina, as it used a controllable propeller, first the H/S 3E50 counterweight type at 11 feet in diameter.

 

[Michael Hope]

I have done some more looking and I have found that blade model listed in a US Navy publication: Propeller Application and Parts, Section 8701A, First Edition, January 1945, page 59 for the blade item # 18, and it could be used on an Airship ZNP-K3 to K8, for page 3.
It is a ground adjustable blade. This document is in AirCorps Library and you can not copy the content without purchase.

 

[NNAM]

I have done some more looking and I have found that blade model listed in a US Navy publication: Propeller Application and Parts, Section 8701A, First Edition, January 1945, page 59 for the blade item # 18, and it could be used on an Airship ZNP-K3 to K8, for page 3.
It is a ground adjustable blade. This document is in AirCorps Library and you can not copy the content without purchase.

Thanks so much! Guess I'll have to join AirCorps Library so I can read it - History and Heritage Command probably can't find it for me.

 

[NNAM]

I have done some more looking and I have found that blade model listed in a US Navy publication: Propeller Application and Parts, Section 8701A, First Edition, January 1945, page 59 for the blade item # 18, and it could be used on an Airship ZNP-K3 to K8, for page 3.
It is a ground adjustable blade. This document is in AirCorps Library and you can not copy the content without purchase.

According to the Pilot's Manual, the props on K ships K-3 thru K-8 were 9' diameter. Any idea why the discrepancy?
Power Plants
K-3 to K-8: Engines (2) Wright, Model R-975-28, Direct Drive-Horsepower, each 420 H.P. at 2200 RPM
Propellers (2) - Three Blades - 9' on Diameter.

 

[Michael Hope]

According to the Pilot's Manual, the props on K ships K-3 thru K-8 were 9' diameter. Any idea why the discrepancy?
Power Plants
K-3 to K-8: Engines (2) Wright, Model R-975-28, Direct Drive-Horsepower, each 420 H.P. at 2200 RPM
Propellers (2) - Three Blades - 9' on Diameter.

I do not know. I was looking at documents and that is what it said as a possible installation. It is possible that the propellers were changed from two to three bladed because a 10 foot 6 propeller will be noisier than a 9 foot propeller, or the blade was used on a different/earlier airship.

 

[NNAM]

I do not know. I was looking at documents and that is what it said as a possible installation. It is possible that the propellers were changed from two to three bladed because a 10 foot 6 propeller will be noisier than a 9 foot propeller, or the blade was used on a different/earlier airship.

Thanks - I'll keep looking for an explanation. The drawings, etc. certainly look like the right one!