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Short Bro's Prop (E61)

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  • Short Bro's Prop (E61)

    Hello All,

    I have recently been asked by my farther to try and identify an old propeller given to him many years ago. Unfortunately it is only half a propeller and at some point in its life has been crudely cut in half. There is a clear stamp (E61) and the manufactures logo (Short Bros – London and East Church England). I was wondering if you could shed any light into the history of the prop. I have had a look on the internet and come up with nothing. Looking through your side it does appear to show characteristics of an Airboat prop.

    Links to pictures to follow shortly!

    Many Thanks in advance

    Marcus Mimms

  • #3
    Main photos below, others in links in post above.





    Unfortunately, the part that's missing (the hub) likely contained the information that would identify it. I certainly don't think that it's an airboat prop, and may very well be from a WW1 era aircraft, but narrowing it down to a specific one will be difficult.

    The metal sheathing on British propellers was more common after WW1, and it may very well be from a later model aircraft. I don't know much about the Short Bros. line of aircraft.
    Dave

    Comment


    • #4
      Marcus,

      Following on from our earlier correspondence, I've done a spot of research. This is a very early prop from a Short aircraft. The evidence lies in the decal, both in the design of ship and aircraft shown there, but also in the name of Eastchurch which is in the Isle of Sheppy in Kent. This was where the three Short Brothers started making their aircraft in 1909. Previously they were balloon makers. They made six Wright Flyers under contract for the Wright Bros and then designed their own, most of which were seaplanes.

      The location decscribed on the decal, the square end to the blade and the metal sheathing all suggest this is a very early Short Bros prop blade.

      Can I write a short article on it for the aviation magazines such as Aeroplane and Flypast?. I will also draw the attention of Ewen Cameron of the RAF Museum to it.

      Very exciting !

      With regards,

      Bob
      Bob Gardner
      Author; WW1 British Propellers, WWI German Propellers
      http://www.aeroclocks.com

      Comment


      • #5
        Bob,

        I would be very happy for you to write about the prop.

        I will get better phots of the decal when i return to the UK. There is more detail on the decal than you can see in that photo. The flash on the camera has blocked out a black and white pattern (looks a bit like a printed finger print) just to the right of the ship.

        Thanks very much for your time.

        Best Regards

        Marcus

        Comment


        • #6
          Marcus,

          Ewen Cameron at the RAF Museum has done a spot more research for us. He writes;

          I’ve had a look at a few of photos of Short built aircraft at the Royal Aero Club airfield and later Naval Flying School at Eastchurch. Quite a few early Short designs like the Short T.3 Triple Twin and the T.5 are amongst the types which use props which match the shape of the airscrew on the forum. Sadly none of the pictures I’ve seen are good enough to confirm if these types had metal sheathing fitted.

          I would much appreciate a good photo without flash of the decal when you get home, at a high resolution for my book. I know only too well how difficult it is to photograph decals on a curved surface without some form of reflection !!

          With regards,

          Bob
          Bob Gardner
          Author; WW1 British Propellers, WWI German Propellers
          http://www.aeroclocks.com

          Comment


          • #7
            Marcus,
            It's taken me a while to figure out how to get good photos of decals, but lately I've been most successful by using 2 or 4 floodlights coming from the side at about an angle of 30 degrees from the horizontal and a tripod for the camera. I have never had good photos from a flash, even using a bounce technique.
            If the description isn't clear I can draw a diagram later tonight, but the pictures are usually pretty clear. This one will give you an idea of the detail and the lighting that it produces.
            Dave

            Comment


            • #8
              Thanks Dave,

              I will make sure I follow your advice and get some good pictures of the decal. Hopefully will post somthing on Sunday.

              BR

              Marcus

              Comment


              • #9
                Dave,

                I had somebody back in the UK take some photos and they have revealed some detail I never noticed before. There is a clear image of a Sea Pane and a spinning prop in the decal. I always thought the spinning prop looked like a finger print. Cant believe I did not notice this before. Anyway, there are some pretty clear images here. Will this help identify what type of aircraft it came from? Hope you all enjoy!

                PS I will take some images when I return using your recommended technique.

                http://www.ukpowerhosts.com/propeller/PROP-E61-02.jpg
                http://www.ukpowerhosts.com/propeller/PROP-E61-04.jpg

                BR

                Marcus

                Comment


                • #10
                  There seems to be alot of info on Wikipedia about Shorts planes. Could it be on there?

                  BR

                  Marcus

                  Comment


                  • #11
                    Nice job with the photo!

                    (Shown here as a small version to fit on the page. The links above go to full size images.)

                    Dave

                    Comment


                    • #12
                      Much better for showing the detail. But it would be really nice if you could get a shot from straight on. There is some perspective distortion in this shot that's difficult to correct.

                      Notice how the lettering on the bottom is much narrower than the lettering on the top.

                      Comment


                      • #13
                        Notice how the lettering on the bottom is much narrower than the lettering on the top.
                        I don't think that aspect of it is distortion. Notice the margins between the letters and the circles. The letters on the top actually are larger.
                        Dave

                        Comment


                        • #14
                          Believe me. I've already opened this in photoshop and played around with the geometry. It's WAY off. The words SHORT BROS are indeed larger but the main problem is that the circles are out of round and not concentric.

                          But after a few more hours of curiousity, I think I've got the basic shape corrected and am working to isolate the lettering. Here's a first step with the corrected geometry.

                          Comment


                          • #15
                            Well, you bring up an interesting issue. Since the decals on most propellers are placed on the curved leading face of the blade they are always distorted to some extent in a photograph. Unless you could remove the decal and lay it flat, you'll always have an imperfectly proportioned photo. I don't think that matters for display purposes, but for someone wanting to reproduce an original decal, something like what you've done with this one becomes essential.

                            Is it possible to do that in something like Photoshop without losing the quality of detail in the actual photo?

                            A few decals (like the one on this propeller) are on the flat surface of the prop and can probably be accurately duplicated from photographs, but most of them have the problem of being on a curved surface.
                            Dave

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