British propeller - Sopwith Baby

British First World War propeller, propeller hub, hardware and 130 hp Clerget rotary engine front plate. Blades are covered in grey/green painted linen. Marked on centre of propeller (side) 'G.182[??] N44 12.17'. Prop os marked, 'AL555B'.

From its markings this item can be generally identified as being from a Sopwith Baby or one of several modified versions of the design built by Nieuport or Fairey. Later versions of the type were equipped with the 130 hp Clerget, and some earlier aircraft were also re-fitted with this engine to replace the 110 hp model. The AWM prop is marked AL555B; Types AB555B and AD555B was used on the Fairey Hamble Baby and Nieuport Baby respectively. The 555 part of the number relates to the aircraft/engine combination, with letter prefixes/suffixes for versions etc. Not all of the latter are completely documented, and the precise form AL555B has yet to be traced. The propeller appears similar to those fitted to the Sopwith Camel, but the Camel prop has a 644, 705, 2850 or 3510 number. For all versions, the Baby was a small float aircraft similar to the Sopwith Pup and used by the Royal Navy from 1916. It was developed from the earlier Sopwith Schneider. The Baby was operated from large ships and seaplane carriers. One example of a Baby is known to have operated from an RAN ship, the cruiser HMAS Brisbane (I). In 1917 Brisbane was dispatched to the Indian Ocean to help look for a German raider, later identified as the SMS Wolf. To assist with the search, the Australian ship received Baby N1014 on loan from the seaplane carrier HMS Raven II. For several weeks the aircraft was flown several times a day on searches, without success (see AWM photo JO3236). Its pilot was Flying Officer A W Clemson. N1014 was built by Blackburn and was delivered with a 110 hp Clerget engine. RAN sources indicate that the aircraft may have been fitted in service with the larger 130 hp powerplant, which would have involved fitting a propeller similar to the one now held by the AWM. However, no documentation has been found in AWM records to confirm a link, or indeed to provide any indication of the source of this item.