Vintage Sensenich Wooden Propeller, Circa 1945

$2,850.00

This is a beautiful wooden Sensenich propeller, dating to 1945. The propeller is stamped "H 3668" on the rear of the hub. Given its construction and designation, it is likely this propeller was flown at the very end of WWII.

The Sensenich Propeller Company was established in 1932 to manufacture fixed-pitch wood aircraft propellers for the growing aviation market. The company started in Pennsylvania by two brothers. Their first experiments included pushing propeller-driven farm wagons down the narrow dirt roads of Lancaster County and, in the winter, strapping an engine and their wooden propeller to an ice sled, which they tethered by a hundred-foot hawser to a stout stake set in the frozen Susquehanna River. Using tools typically reserved for making wagon wheels, and encouraged by local aviators, the brothers began trialing with the graceful compound curve of a propeller. By the early 30s, the company developed a broad range of light aircraft propellers.

In 1941, the company built a large modern plant to support full-scale war production. Throughout the span of World War II, Sensenich employed 400 people and crafted more than 5,000 propellers a week. Wood was the only material the company used during the war. Sensenich didn’t begin producing metal propellers until the late 1940s.

CONDITION:

The propeller is in very good condition, with obvious visual wear consistent with age and past use. The wooden propeller has the Sensenich winged blue stamps on one side. The tips and leading edge are sheathed in brass. Propeller is painted yellow along the blade tips, now faded. Most significantly, the propeller was previously cut down, almost in half, just past the hub, so that it stands upright. This was most likely done for display purposes.

Dimensions: 3 3/4" H x 39 1/2" W x 6" D.