Help with Army Air Force propeller identification

[Falcon75]

I'm an active duty Air Force officer trying to identify a wooden propeller my wife bought me as a gift in San Antonio, Texas. The prop is about 7 feet in length, has metal leading edges, ten mounting holes, and carries markings: Ser No AF11-23138
Above that, legible only in part: DN? ?1K21605
At the seller's suggestion, my wife put Hartzell replacement decals on the prop, but I'm not sure if they accurately reflect the original manufacturer. A pilot myself, I'm particularly interested in what type of aircraft the prop was used on. A variety of training aircraft were used at Randolph AFB throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Can anyone help? In receipt of an e-mail I can send images. Thanks.

[Dave]

Could the number be 44K24605? (That one is listed, and was used on a Cessna Bobcat, a plane which seems to have left a lot of wooden propellers behind.)

[Falcon75]

Help with Army Air Force propeller indentification

Dave, Thanks so much for the swift reply. It could indeed be 44K24605 but the numbers are tough to read. I have some images of the prop but don't know how to post them with these messages. Perhaps if you can help me with that or send me an e-mail. I'm at mark.wells@usafa.edu

[Dave]

Here are the photos of the prop and markings:





And a different light on the numbers:



Look closely at the "AF" number which looks like AF11-23138, then look at the "1" between the threes and compare them to the "1's" after AF and you'll see that they're not the same. I think the AF number is AF44-23138 and that the drawing number also has a "4" where you thought there was a 1. That also fits with a 1944 military contract, and corresponds to model 90JA-81.

When all is said and done, I'm going to say it's almost certainly a prop for the Cessna AT 17, or T50 or UC 78, whatever designation was used, since I think the drawing number is actually 44K 24605, which would fit. Although that is listed as a Sensenich drawing number it is possible that it was built under license by another manufacturer, like Hartzell, but I doubt that's the case here. It certainly looks as if someone tried to "restore" it, which is why the numbers often get hard to read, and tried to leave the decals intact, which is what makes that halo around them. I realize you added the decals, but there may have been Sensenich ones there.