Possible WW2 Luftwaffe Prop blade (found in Africa)

[dooley]

Hey Guys,

I'm a bit of a WW2 enthusiast. Over the weekend i was cleaning out my partners grandmothers gutters etc (she just turned 90) and was going through the grandfathers stuff in his workshop. He was a Marine Engineer, and was in the merchant navy during the second world war. Anyway, i found this base of a prop blade. My father in-law was told by his father that while on leave in Africa, he came across this WW2 german wreck. Being an engineer he new the metal was the best! so he took this much of it (refer to pictures) and has made several things out of it before he passed (including a key for his wifes 21st, in 1944....!!) anyway if anyone could help me out with trying to figure out what plane this blade came from. I have a quick look through pictures and the closest shape i can relate it too is a Bf109 Emil?? any help/advice/anything!!! would be very much appreciated!
thanks guys,
Josh

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

It is not Luftwaffe.

The Germans would not have stamped it SER. No.. Just not a German marking.

If you also look at the other marking. You see a stamped name of the company ending in Corp.

Not a German manufactured Prop.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

In fact it is an American S-90AT-8 Prop built by McCauley Propeller Systems. All of that info, from Manufacturer to Prop type is stamped on your prop.

That prop for instance is used on this Cessna 182 in the link below. The prop is listed in the Specs.
AirplanesUSA Aircraft Sales - Aircraft for Sale - Cessna Beech Piper Mooney Cirrus Diamond Grumman

A quick search shows that that prop is used on many types of Cessna's.

 

[dooley]

So it is possibly just a Cessna 182 prop? or could these have been used on other aircraft? it was found in 1942..?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I don't know how long these props have been made, but and what different types of aircraft use them.

It certainly is not a Luftwaffe prop though.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I just did a very quick google search, and all the aircraft that I found that use it are Cessnas.

I don't have any other info however. I am not familiar with this prop.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I just went to the company's website and read up on their products and history.

They did not make props for fighters, only general aviation and the sort. During WW2 they built over 20,000 props though.

That does not mean that it could not have come from a military aircraft. The military used many different types of "general" aviation props. It is however not a fighter prop or a Luftwaffe prop.

 

[gumbyk]

Hi Dooley,
Der Adler is correct, it is a McCauley propeller, and given that it was certified to Civil Air Regulations effective in 1956, its production date is sometime after that.
The FAA Type Cert Data Sheet lists its eligibility as O-470, or IO-520 series engines, up to about 285 hp.

It looks like it isn't WW2 era, unfortunately.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yeap certainly not found in 1942, or any time during WW2.

Sorry, I know that is not what you wanted to hear.

 

[A4K]

Great work guys, and sorry for you Josh that it's not older (though personally I'm relieved it's only a Cessna prop that got the chop and not a historic item!)

 

[nuuumannn]

Hi Guys, a bit more info on the blade; I recognised the blade butt as soon as I saw it; it's from a McCauley (as Adler pointed out - you can see the 'MC' and the 'EY' either side of the circular imprint) threaded hub constant speed prop. McCauley made two types of C/S props, threaded and threadless, indicating how the blades attach to the single piece hubs.The threaded ones like wot this blade is from date back to the 1950s. The threaded butt screws into a ferrule, which fits into the hub. These props are a bit of a chore to work on, you have to drill out a hole in the ferrule in order to locate a dowell pin, which happens once the thing is torqued into place; I can't remember the torque value, but it's high, a couple of hundred foot pounds or something and you get this ginormous bar attached to the end of the torque wrench and walk it round the prop hub. The ferrule can only be drilled a few times before you have to throw them away - which is a waste considering the cost of aviation parts. The threadless hub prop is easier to work on. The hole in the blade butt is where you stuff the lead weights when balancing each blade before they are fitted to the hub.

The blade part number, as Adler pointed out is S90AT-8, which tells us that the prop was originally 90 inches diameter and the blade profile was 'AT', whatever that means and the '-8' tells us that the blades have been cropped to 82 inches diameter from the original 90 inches. These props are old and are getting rarer these days, but there's still a few about. You find them on things like Fletcher Fu-24 topdressing aircraft or as you know early Cessna designs, like the 180 - a great workhorse.

This Fletcher has one fitted:

Hope this is useful.