Need help to identify model/propeller
- Thread starter PACMG
- Start date
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If you've seen enough Hamilton Standard propellers, you'll notice that this propeller has "non-standard" printing. The printed info on a Hamilton Standard blade usually is the following format (with variations):
Essentially it will have the drawing #, the manufacturing #, as well as the maximum and minimum pitch angles for prop feathering.
On your prop I make out the following:
The 1st line immediately sticks out as unusual for a Hamilton built prop (more on this later). The 2nd line is the common prop design 6477A-0 a.k.a. Hamilton Standard Hydromatic, three-bladed constant speed full feathering propeller - which could belong to a B-17, B-24, or C-47 as Wurger correctly stated. The next lines are the standard prop feathering angle minimum and maximum (abbreviated in this case as "low" and "high") of 18 degrees and 88 degrees each at a radius of 42 inches.
So the 1st line reveals more information than your typical Hamilton Standard prop would. In this case, the prop wasn't built by Hamilton at all. It was manufactured under license by Nash-Kelvinator (the auto manufacturer known for cars such as the "Nash Rambler", its name reflecting a merger with the Kelvinator appliance company in 1937). Thus, the "NKT" stands for Nash-Kelvinator Technical ("Technical" is a guess) followed by the company's internal part / drawing # for the prop. I also see a possible (very faded) number "7" at the end of the number, making "12237". Sometimes numbers have the year embedded in them, so the ending "37" could reference 1937, the year of the Nash / Kelvinator merger. Or it could be a coincidence. They didn't start making props until 1941, so it's not a reference to a manufacturing year (unless they're using some sort of internal coded system that's not obvious). If there were any of the company's records which survived (doubtful), you could likely positively ID the prop with that number.
So we can't speak in certainties, but the most likely candidate for your prop is a Ford Motor Company built B-24 Liberator from the 15th Air Force. Ford had the huge Willow Run manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan and Nash-Kelvinator was also based in Michigan. The Ford Liberators used Nash-Kelvinator built Hamilton props. The prop was discovered in Italy, which was in the operating area of the 15th Air Force, a well-known operator of B-24s. See the picture below for reference:
Source: usautoindustryworldwartwo.com
I don't think we can be 100% certain without additional evidence (perhaps other parts found in the area) as wartime demands could have easily meant the prop found its way to a different aircraft type which used the same prop. Interchangeability was one of the selling points of using the same prop type across aircraft whenever possible. That said, the numbers favor a Ford-built B-24 from the 15th Air Force as the source for the prop.
Essentially it will have the drawing #, the manufacturing #, as well as the maximum and minimum pitch angles for prop feathering.
On your prop I make out the following:
The 1st line immediately sticks out as unusual for a Hamilton built prop (more on this later). The 2nd line is the common prop design 6477A-0 a.k.a. Hamilton Standard Hydromatic, three-bladed constant speed full feathering propeller - which could belong to a B-17, B-24, or C-47 as Wurger correctly stated. The next lines are the standard prop feathering angle minimum and maximum (abbreviated in this case as "low" and "high") of 18 degrees and 88 degrees each at a radius of 42 inches.
So the 1st line reveals more information than your typical Hamilton Standard prop would. In this case, the prop wasn't built by Hamilton at all. It was manufactured under license by Nash-Kelvinator (the auto manufacturer known for cars such as the "Nash Rambler", its name reflecting a merger with the Kelvinator appliance company in 1937). Thus, the "NKT" stands for Nash-Kelvinator Technical ("Technical" is a guess) followed by the company's internal part / drawing # for the prop. I also see a possible (very faded) number "7" at the end of the number, making "12237". Sometimes numbers have the year embedded in them, so the ending "37" could reference 1937, the year of the Nash / Kelvinator merger. Or it could be a coincidence. They didn't start making props until 1941, so it's not a reference to a manufacturing year (unless they're using some sort of internal coded system that's not obvious). If there were any of the company's records which survived (doubtful), you could likely positively ID the prop with that number.
So we can't speak in certainties, but the most likely candidate for your prop is a Ford Motor Company built B-24 Liberator from the 15th Air Force. Ford had the huge Willow Run manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan and Nash-Kelvinator was also based in Michigan. The Ford Liberators used Nash-Kelvinator built Hamilton props. The prop was discovered in Italy, which was in the operating area of the 15th Air Force, a well-known operator of B-24s. See the picture below for reference:
Source: usautoindustryworldwartwo.com
I don't think we can be 100% certain without additional evidence (perhaps other parts found in the area) as wartime demands could have easily meant the prop found its way to a different aircraft type which used the same prop. Interchangeability was one of the selling points of using the same prop type across aircraft whenever possible. That said, the numbers favor a Ford-built B-24 from the 15th Air Force as the source for the prop.
