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Boulton Defiant propeller


Pawel Szczudlyk

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I understand that the Defiant had a DH propeller made from metal. Bear in mind that wear would be slight, restricted to the leading edge and what we see as the rear of the blade when stationary. Apologies if you knew that already.

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Other than metal, wartime propellers were made of a resin impregnated laminated wood called Jablo. These did not chip easy but did wear to a surface dull finish with leading edge wear. Blades were carefully checked for damage as even the slightest chip or indentation will degrade performance or even unbalance to airscrew causing vibrations when turning possibly severe enough damage the engine mounts or even cause the loss of the aircraft. So forget chipping.

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Rotol made props with wood, not just Jablo but other patented varieties, and they were common on Spitfires and Hurricanes. However the early war DH propellers were metal - I think they remained metal throughout but I can't swear to that.

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