The famous British Supermarine Spitfire used various propellers during its early service. Rotol Airscrews, Ltd was formed in 1937 as a joint venture of Rolls-Royce and Bristol. The name, a combination of “Rolls-Royce” and “Bristol,” was suggested by the wife of a Bristol employee being transferred to the new enterprise. This Rotol propeller blade was likely manufactured by Jablo Propeller, a small wood blade company.
A British shortage of duralumin material during World War II led to application of the Schwarz process, where special machinery pressed a hard metal mesh coating and cellulose sheet over the entire propeller primarily consisting of soft wood, usually pine or fir, to produce very hard composite wood blades.
In the post-war period, with the metal material shortage ended, so did application of wood blades for the Spitfire. In 1958 Bristol and Rolls-Royce sold Rotol to the Dowty Group. Today Dowty Rotol is one of the world’s leading propeller manufacturers.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.