Some of you might have read of the propeller snagged by the RNLI Lifeboat on the Solent in the UK during last week.
This is the BBC News story:
BBC News - World War II propeller recovered from seabed
The Solentsky Museum now has the propeller safely in the museum under the bow of our Short Sandringham. It was delivered into our care yesterday by the RNLI. Our small dilemma is attempting to exactly match the prop to the 3 or 4 Sunderland and variants that we known to have sank at their moorings at Calshot. It should be possible to identify the exact aircraft.
We always believed that the 4 or so that sank at their moorings at Calshot had the engines (and therfore props) salvaged and the hull left in the briny. Clearly this prop was still attached to its engine as the main shaft is clean and was obviously pulled out of the engine when snagged.
So, can anyone see from these pics the definate type? Clearly a radial engine, but a Pegasus as on the Mk III Sunderlands? Of course, the museum's archivists are attempting to identify from our own records.
Here are the pics I took at the museum today of the prop in its new home.
Thanks
Corsairoz
