Spitfire Rotol Propellers

Just thought id start this thread, some of us are spreading our wings to make authentic prop markings for the Spit, il just start by posting some good info ive found. These are "Post War" documents, i think Wartime markings are a bit different, i will try to find some.

I think it was somewhere around the spring of '44 that the Spit IX changed from a white disc to a pink one, at least for the Jablo blades. Sheathing was brass, not steel, so not an armoured blade. Where the question mark appears above my head is trying to find out how many Spits had the thin Rotoloid covering (RTS vs. RS).

Ive just emailed Dowty and asked them for any info they have, hopefully i may get an answer. Meanwhile il keep searching, Im not normally this OCD, but its given me a burst of interest.

May be of some use?

Thanks BrassEm, that one is a Post WW2 marking, it was "fancy'd" up after the war.

Agreed after looking into it further. Just for some reference.

Thanks Brass, they look like RAAF Spits ? Id love to be able to see the serial numbers etc.

That is the best res I could get after trawling through a whole mess of stuff at the Australian War Memorial website researching for the 457 liveries. The serials may be readable on the actual photos but that would mean a trip to Canberra. On a side note they have digitised the 457 squadron log book too, which is an interesting read. If I come across any Rotol WWII references I will definitely post here. (Lots of post war references as you know.)

Thanks Brass, i PM'd you a link you might be interested in.

If it's any use, I took some close ups of a photo of that crashed Spitfire from my post about Danish Spitfires.

One can see some of the serial numbers on it there.

According to one of the webpages the picture must be from 1955.

Thanks Sporg, great close ups,i believe the ROTOL badge is a post war add on.

Thanks Sporg, great close ups,i believe the ROTOL badge is a post war add on.

You're welcome. :)

And you might be right.

I searched a bit, and found this very interesting page with vintage Spitfire items.

There are some very interesting colour pictures showing the Rotol markings clearly.

It seems that these blades are from the war or immediately after, so might be helpful?

http://www.skyfield.demon.co.uk/page.2.html

(Try to browse around, there are more than one page showing propellers.)

Some samples from the pages:

The last piece was a factory gift to an employee, so maybe that's why it has the Rotol logo, despite being from the war.

Great research there Sporg, i reckon we should get some Authentic markings out of those.

I have had some great info sent to me from an engineer at Dowty Propellers that absorbed ROTOL way back when. Heres 4 pages of relevant info from 1942 in colour to :