JEWELLERY, ANTIQUE & ART AUCTION Tuesday, 8 September 2020 - 10:00 AM start

A rare WWI Martinsyde Aviation (1908-1922) two-bladed airplane propeller

Lot Details

as used by the G102 Elephant. Laminated mahogany pegged construction, each central section with four bolt holes. Original shield form label attached, War Department stamped arrow and WD together with 'BEARDMORE MARTINSYDE'. Note: The Martinsyde G.100 ‘Elephant’ and the G.102 were British fighter bomber aircraft of the First World War built by Martinsyde. The type gained the name ‘Elephant’ from its relatively large size and lack of manoeuvrability. The G.100 was gradually succeeded by the more powerful G.102 with a 160 hp Beardmore engine. Family provenance: This propeller comes from the family of Godfrey Gleeson Johnstone who was flying with the Royal Flying Corps when he was killed in action flying a Bristol Fighter on 30/1/18, a photo of G. G. Johnstone being sold with this lot, together with a silver medal farming certificate awarded to R. Johnstone of Motuotaria New Zealand, presumably this is Robert, Godfrey's father, as noted in the document attached.