03/09/2018
It is not every day one is called upon to rebuild a Royal Flying Corps propeller. Manufactured by "Vickers Limited - Weybridge". Now to deliver and install it in N.Ireland.
Really interesting construction laminating 6 layers of Mahogany together at the hub x 4, then using small wooden pegs to hold each thin part of a blade to it's neighbour further out toward the tip. For protection from damage, each blade tip just had a canvas cover - at least it was folded over the leading edge twice!!! Not sure I'd have been brave enough to (in the immortal words of Lord Flashheart) "get inside her five times a day and take her to heaven and back!"
Now back from installation at the client's house. I left the manufacture of a wall bracket to Roy Lowe at RP Engineering (Swindon) and a fine job they did too. A bracket screwed to the wall out of sight behind the wooden hub, then a large shaped cap to screw into that, holding the propeller back whilst allowing it to move. Photographs added.
Below is some detail of the aircraft this belonged to. Real living history...
Lot 126
Royal Flying Corps/WW1: An extremely rare Royal Flying Corps F.E.8 fighter plane four blade aircraft propeller, laminated blades with central boss stamped F.E.8. T.7928 Vickers S.W. 100 H.P Mono Gnome, the blades carry the original Vickers Limited decals, retaining some sheathing. The FE8 was a Royal Flying Corps single seater fighter introduced to front line combat in 1916, it was one of the first so-called "scout" aircraft designed from the outset as a single-seat fighter, a total of 295 aircraft were built making this particular propeller a very rare piece.
The FE8 was ahead of its time in many ways, most unusually due to its Nacelle was an all-metal structure - being framed in steel tube and covered with duralumin. The prototypes were fitted with large streamlined spinners on the propellers. They were powered by a single 100 hp Gnome 9 "Type B2" Monosoupape rotary engine driving the four-bladed propeller.
Captain Edwin Louis Benbow MC (10 December 1895 - 30 May 1918) was the only pilot to gain 'ace' status flying the F.E.8 exclusively, On the early afternoon of 23 January 1917, Benbow was in the midst of a dogfight when his gun jammed. While clearing his weapon, he evaded a head-on assault by the Red Baron, who went on to down Benbow's squadron comrade Lt. J. Hay for Jasta 11's first victory, Benbow did not succeed in returning to the attack on that occasion, but on 14 February he destroyed another Albatross D.II. His seventh victory came the following day, with Benbow's only "out of control" claim.
On 6 March, Benbow and the Red Baron clashed again when nine F.E.8s of 40 Squadron fought five Jasta 11 aircraft led by Richthofen. While the Baron was attacking a Sopwith 1½ Strutter, Benbow shot him down, forcing him to land near Hénin-Liétard with a damaged engine, spraying fuel from holed tanks, and seemingly on fire, for Benbow's eighth victory (although Richthofen survived) 8ft. diameter when assembled.
