Prop blade identification

Hi All,

I have been trying to identify which (if possible) aircraft this blade could be from. It was found in a barn in Germany, quite a stubby blade and heavy wood. Unfortunately not all the numbers are there as some of the red paint had come off.
Any direction really appreciated as we are moving to another country and it's history will decide if we take it with us.
Thank you

Good find - there is a good chance someone here can identify it.

Thanks, although no one has come forward anywhere i will still keep trying.

wainsworld18 said:

Hi All,

I have been trying to identify which (if possible) aircraft this blade could be from. It was found in a barn in Germany, quite a stubby blade and heavy wood. Unfortunately not all the numbers are there as some of the red paint had come off.
Any direction really appreciated as we are moving to another country and it's history will decide if we take it with us.
Thank youView attachment 638772View attachment 638773View attachment 638774View attachment 638775

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Good luck, I was a prop specialist but this being made of wood has to predates my knowledge. It kind of looks like a E-2, C-2 blade but those are composite made blades, and longer than this one.

Hi, The blade would certainly look to be a German item with the 9-36059.107 Nr. However, it does not seem to be a VDM part, and the shape (if original) is not familiar. It might possibly be a Junkers type blade but, I am guessing.
Cheers

Eng

Engineman said:

Hi, The blade would certainly look to be a German item with the 9-36059.107 Nr. However, it does not seem to be a VDM part, and the shape (if original) is not familiar. It might possibly be a Junkers type blade but, I am guessing.
Cheers

Eng

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Many thanks for your input, it certainly helps

Davehc1 said:

Good luck, I was a prop specialist but this being made of wood has to predates my knowledge. It kind of looks like a E-2, C-2 blade but those are composite made blades, and longer than this one.

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Thanks for your help, it's a bit of a mystery

Davehc1 said:

Good luck, I was a prop specialist but this being made of wood has to predates my knowledge. It kind of looks like a E-2, C-2 blade but those are composite made blades, and longer than this one.

Click to expand...

I agree, I was a prop specialist in the Air Force but I also worked on them for 16 years with the Dept. of the Navy in their overhaul facilities at both the Alameda Naval Air station as well as at Cherry North Carolina.. That blade looks like a composite but I don't thenk they used such blades back in the ww, era.

Hey wainsworld18,

re: 9-36059.107 W-Nr ege xx421/3

9- 36059 . . . . . . . 107*
. . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . blade . . . . . . . mod#
. design#

. . . .W-Nr . . . . . . . . . . . . ege**. . . . . . . . . xx421 . . . . . . . . /3
. . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . |
Werk-Nummer . . . . manufacturer's . . . . 5-digit SN . . . . blade#3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . plant code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .of a set

* Some manufacturers used a 2- or 3-number code for the modification.
** Some companies were assigned a 3-letter code for the specific plant that made the blade. I think "ege" is a manufacturer's code for for one of the Heine Propellerwerk plants, but I have never been able to find a comprehensive list of the 3-letter codes.

Heine Propellerwerk made wood blades for civil aircraft beginning in 1910, then for a number of the WWI types including zeppelins, then back to civil types. Heine made the blades for the Graf Zeppelin.

Pre-WWII and during the war Heine Propellerwork made blades for lighter military aircraft, including trainer and utility types - and some larger military types with smaller engines. These blades included solid wood propellers, and individual blades for variable pitch props. I know they made blades for some of the Argus engine powered aircraft. If my info on the manufacturer's code is correct, and you can find a list of engine/aircraft types Heine made blades for, you may be able to sort out which one this blade was for.

Davehc1 said:

I agree, I was a prop specialist in the Air Force but I also worked on them for 16 years with the Dept. of the Navy in their overhaul facilities at both the Alameda Naval Air station as well as at Cherry North Carolina.. That blade looks like a composite but I don't thenk they used such blades back in the ww, era.

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Well, Yes they were natural composite,.. Wood!
Used extensively, sometimes compressed wood, usually plied/laminated, often coated and with leading edge strips.
The weight factor could be important and, Germany in particular had problems with metals and production.
Both VDM and Junkers produced a lot of wooden designs, along with many smaller manufacturers.

Cheers

Eng

And many of the Rotol blades were Jablo which was (in simplified terms) a compressed wood composite with a bakelite sheath.

The American Hoover props also used blades made of Jablo or similar

Hi,
This blade has a strong similarity to the contra-prop blades on a picture of the BMW 803 on test that is recently posted in the engines section.
That pic shows a 6-blade contra-prop (front 3 and rear 3) test club with similar shape.
This might be another item but, it looks a likely to be a close relative.
The 9-36059.107 RLM id is conclusive but, we just need someone to find that item in the records.
Cheers

Eng