The stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression threatened the continued existence the American aviation industry just as it started to grow in the wake of unprecedented government legislation and Lindbergh's transatlantic flight. The newly-formed Hamilton Standard Propeller Corporation, suffering from dwindling government contracts, scrambled for a new product to sustain the young corporation. Chief engineer Frank Caldwell's design for a hydraulic two-position, controllable-pitch, or hydro-controllable, propeller that he had patented in 1929 saved the company.

In 1933 Hamilton Standard and Frank Caldwell won the prestigious Collier Trophy for development of the company's controllable pitch propeller. This is a chromed cutaway of that type of propeller on its crankcase.

 Display Status

This object is on display in Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Boeing Aviation Hangar
Object Details
Date ca. 1933 Country of Origin United States of America Type PROPULSION-Propellers & Impellers Manufacturer Hamilton Standard Propellers
 Physical Description Type: Two-Blades, Controllable Pitch, Metal Diameter: 198.8 cm (78.25 in.) Chord: 24.8 cm (9.75 in.) Engine Application: Unknown Materials Aluminum
 Inventory Number A19400003000 Credit Line Gift of Hamilton Standard Propellers, Division of United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, CT Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
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