The Matthews Brothers Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, primarily a producer of furniture, entered the wood propeller business during World War I like many other similar companies. It hired Thomas F. Hamilton in 1917 as general manager of its aircraft department because of his long history in aviation, including hot-air balloons, gliders, and seaplanes. He bought the propeller business from Matthews in 1919 and formed the Hamilton Aero Manufacturing Company, later becoming a secondary source to the United States government for the ground-adjustable propeller pioneered by Standard Steel.

William E. Boeing, one of the founders of the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, enticed Hamilton to join UATC. With the later acquisition of Standard Steel, the Hamilton Standard Propeller Corp. was formed in 1929.

This propeller was used on the Curtiss H-16 twin-engine flying boat.