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wooden Hartzell Propeller - from UC-78 Bobcat?


all1knew
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Hello all,

 

 Was told this is from a Cessna training aircraft during WW2 and from USAAF Aviation Cadet Training Program at Randoph Field, Texas.

 

http://www.delawareaviationmuseum.org/aircraft/uc-78.html?fbclid=IwAR2X8wRUC77ZjufJM__5-1TrvvzqdIAwKC6geVcs5_2VxKI7JKt4sARcklQ

 

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196259/cessna-uc-78b-bobcat/fbclid/IwAR1Wc7nHC9MsKFAmW89A12L4RjtBoc-zJWNhekwhWaanHgWIsaax1-z9c9Q/

 

This is part of a grouping and here's more on the "story"

 

"a very rare and extremely scarce WWII Hartzell Bamboo Bomber ( AT-8 / UC-78 ) Cessna Bobcat Military Training Aircraft 90″ Wood Propeller. This propeller was sent home after being damaged on an military base airfield in Randolph Field, Texas during WWII by flying cadet Donald Delano Dudley of the United States Army Air Forces. It was then hand signed Post-War by all of his childhood friends back home from 1946 to 1948 as you can see from the autographs on the propeller. D. D. Dudley was a flying cadet during World War 2 in the year of 1940 and retired in 1960 from the United States Air Force as a Major."

 

Propeller Is Marked As Follows:

Serial #33656 – A.T.C. NO. 457 – H.P. 225 – PIQUA, OHIO – R.P.M. 2000 – DESIGN C 707 80 (90)

 

does that all add up? Any help and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

William Kramer

 

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148591917_5449415131742775_2990795646515492132_n.jpg

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thank you for sharing that.

 

Can anyone confirm this type of propeller was used on WW2 era training aircraft?

 

I ask because Wikipedia states this company did in fact make metal propellers during the war but obviously this is a wooden type.

 

William Kramer

 

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Hartzell made both metal and wood props during WWII.  But the Cessna UC-78/T-50 had constant-speed (variable pitch) propellers.  Your prop was not used on that aircraft.

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Thank you!!

 

 Is there a training aircraft from WW2 era which may have used this propeller? It's possible the exact model of aircraft was lost in translation but the "story" does coincide with what the newspaper article states and that is that the pilot crash-landed. I was told he kept this as a memento from that incident. I know nothing of these items which is why I ask, but the propeller here does appear to have damage as well.

 

I think the details are just a little off. I was told "WWII Hartzell Bamboo Bomber ( AT-8 / UC-78 ) Cessna Bobcat Military Training Aircraft 90″ Wood Propeller. This propeller was sent home after being damaged on an military base airfield in Randolph Field, Texas"

 

however the newspaper article says the crash happened at Mitchell Airfield in New York, not Texas. So the facts are just a little smudged and lost in translation, which is why I believe maybe the aircraft type may not be accurate.

 

Anyways if you can think of any training aircraft that may have used something like this during the war please let me know. Additionally, I had read that these AT-8 and UC-78's were used to train bomber pilots (who later flew two-engine aircraft such as the B17) and his obituary states he was a fighter pilot so obviously a lot smaller of an aircraft..

 

William Kramer

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12 hours ago, P-59A said:

410627  AT-6 40-213636PI  Mitchel Field, NY  FLMF 5 Dudley, Don D USANY Jones Beach, LI, NY .......It was a AT-6!...This is the link to order the mishap report from AAIR, It will have photo's of the damaged aircraft....https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Jun1941.htm

going to order the report. Thank you so much for the link!

 

Before reaching out to Hartzell - does anyone have a guess if my propeller is correct for an AT-6?

 

William Kramer

 

Dudley.jpg

AT-6.jpg

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plot thickens.  Can't be from the AT6 crash but is from a Cessna Trainer as I was originally told. I reached out to the Hartzell company and here is their reply.

 

William Kramer

 

Hartzell.jpg

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The thing about that prop I am not understanding is that the damage is not to the cutting edge of the prop. I do not fly, but that is odd. Also the damage looks to be minimal so the strike force was nominal. Odd.

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It is possible the damage happened to the prop when it wasn't flying/running/ or even attached to an aircraft. Neat find anyway!

BKW

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According to Dudley's obituary he had resided in the Standish, Michigan area for about 60 years.  Most of the men whose names are on the propeller are from Standish, MI or in the immediate area.  

 

Here are the names of those I could find.  I was not able to find any of the women's names but that's not all that unusual.

 

 

a1.jpg

a1a.jpg

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3 hours ago, Brian Keith said:

It is possible the damage happened to the prop when it wasn't flying/running/ or even attached to an aircraft. Neat find anyway!

BKW

 

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When I look at this prop the damage is on both ends and in the same location and of the same type damage. This isn't storage related or dropped , it smacked something. I don't know enough about radial engines to know if they can back spin on a compression stroke when shut off. I know from old footage of hand cranked props this did happen.

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