Propeller for German SSW Riesenflugzeug aircraft

Wooden laminated twin bladed propeller fitted to a German multi-engined R plane. Fabricated from 16 laminations, each lamination 12mm thick. Possibly from the same aircraft as RELAWM11639.

Stamped onto the side of the propeller hub is the following:
R (possibly refers to the classification given to large multi-engined bombers - Riesenflugzeug)
N 95 (the serial number)
330 PS (horsepower)
D 430 (diameter in cm)
ST 265 (pitch)
SSW D. (Siemens Schuckert Werke)

This propellor is probably from the wreck of a multi engined SSW 'R' plane which was extensively photographed by AFC personnel in February 1919 at Bickendorf, near Cologne. The size of the blades fitted to that aircraft are not exactly known, but photographs of the six examples built by SSW show that they were in the order of 3.5 to 4 meters, matching the size of this object. The propeller hubs are stamped in part with SSW, supporting the contention that these blades were for an SSW aircraft. Further support is given by the horsepower rating of the blade: this propeller is rated for 330 hp, indicating that it and its companion propeller were probably designed to share the 660 hp power supplied by the three 220 Hp Benz Bz IV engines which were known to have been fitted to the RIII, RIV, RV and RVI examples. The SSW R plane at Bickendorf is seen in AWM photograph C04502 and on p 48 of 'The German Giants, The story of the R Planes 1914-19 , Haddow and Groz 1969.

It is also possible (but less likely) that the propeller came from a Zeppelin Staaken R XIV plane also at Bickendorf. This aircraft mounted five propellors - one in the nose (4.1 m in diameter) two nacelle tractor propellors, (3.25m diameter) and two nacelle pusher propellors of 4.3 m or 14 feet 1 inch. The Staakens were initially fitted with Austro-Daimler 12 cylinder engines or Basse & Selve BuS IVa 300 hp engines.