Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Vickers Crayford propeller DRG 2837V

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Vickers Crayford propeller DRG 2837V

    Attached are images of a Vickers Crayford propeller.
    Markings include ENGINEMONOORLERHONE; PITCH 6-79; VC 1412; SERIES 104; DRG 2837V.
    I would be grateful to know to which aircraft this would have been fitted. Thank you.
    You do not have permission to view this gallery.
    This gallery has 4 photos.

  • #2
    Vickers drawing numbers are not included in an of my reference materials, but Bob Gardner discusses them in volume 5 of his series of books.

    Can you post a photo of the entire propeller? Knowing the diameter (length from tip to tip) and rotation (LH or RH) would help as well.

    (I'm guessing that it's 8 feet 4 inches in diameter.)

    Comment


    • #3
      That’s an interesting prop. The decal refers to the Vickers Ltd. factory at Crayford, near Bexleyheath, which existed from 1918 to 1985.

      I see the diameter marking: it appears to be 8’4”, although the first digit is partially obscured.

      Apart from the clear and obvious markings for drawing number, serial number and pitch, the words: ENGINE MONO OR LE RHONE show that the propeller was designed to be suitable for either of two engines: i.e. Gnome Monosoupape (MONO) or Le Rhone.

      Regarding the rest of the lettering, there appears to have been an attempt at some stage to highlight the script with dark ink or paint.
      This has muddied the water somewhat by missing out at least one letter (H) and possibly suggesting parts of characters that were not originally there.

      In my opinion, it most likely originally read: MONO 100 HP LE RHONE 110 HP.
      This would be consistent with a choice of Gnome Monosoupape 9 B-2 (100 HP) or Le Rhone 9 J (110 HP) engines, both of which were were widely used in the WW1 era.

      This narrows down only slightly the possibilities as to aircraft type but, as both engines rotate clockwise when viewed from behind, knowing whether the “thread” of the propeller is right or left handed will tell us whether the propeller was designed for a pusher or tractor configuration.
      Last edited by Mtskull; 03-28-2022, 02:42 AM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Thank you.

        On close inspection, the diameter marking is 8'4". It also looks like there has been an attempt to highlight the script with ink or paint.

        Attached is a picture of the whole propeller. It occurred to me that perhaps I should also photograph it from the other face as well ?
        You do not have permission to view this gallery.
        This gallery has 1 photos.

        Comment


        • #5
          Nice!

          That’s a left hand propeller, so when fitted to the Gnome Monosoupape or Le Rhone engines it must have been a “pusher” application.
          This should narrow down the possibilities considerably; I’ll do a bit of searching…
          That said, unless somebody can find a definitive reference to the drawing number any suggestions that I come up with are going to involve a fair degree of speculation.
          Last edited by Mtskull; 03-28-2022, 06:58 AM.

          Comment


          • #6
            OK, as far as I can ascertain, there are three possibilities for pusher-type aircraft that could have been fitted with either type of engine previously mentioned:

            Airco DH 2
            Royal Aircraft Factory FE 8
            Vickers FB 12

            Obviously the Vickers connection would appear to be strongest but the possibility cannot be ruled out that Vickers also made propellers that were fitted to other manufacturers’ aircraft. Likewise, it is entirely possible (although IMHO less likely) that the same propeller could have been used on different aircraft using either of the two engines.

            Comment


            • #7
              Bob Gardner has a section in his extensive book series on British Wooden Propellers. In volume 5 he has a photo with the identical markings (8' 4" diameter is clear in his photo) and attributes the propeller to the Vickers FB12. I'd be "confident" that this propeller was manufactured to be used on that model, accepting Mtskull's explanation above that it's possible it could have been used on one of the other aircraft he mentions. Bob did not include further reference to the drawing number in the discussion, but his knowledge of British propellers is unmatched worldwide, in my opinion.

              The tiny decals are certainly unusual . . .

              Comment


              • #8
                Dave,

                Speaking as someone who doesn’t purport to be an expert and whose “research” consists solely of drawing together threads of information that are freely available in the public domain, may I just say that it is very gratifying to have my theory confirmed by an authority on the subject. Thank you!

                Andy

                Comment


                • #9
                  Thank you one and all for such informative posts.

                  It never ceases to amaze me how much expertise abounds and I am grateful to you for sharing your knowledge.

                  Richard Menage

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X