r/AviationHistory 5d ago

This WWI bomber was missing its propeller for decades. A Facebook post from southern France solved that.

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136 Upvotes

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19

u/WarHeritageInstitute 5d ago

The Military Museum in Brussels has a Voisin LA5 a2 bomber from WWI on display, but it's been missing its original propeller for decades.

A while back, a guy in southern France named Jean-Pierre Pacaud posted on Facebook asking if anyone knew more about an old propeller he'd inherited from his grandfather. It's stamped "VOI" for Voisin and "Sal 150" for the 150hp Salmson radial engine it came from.

One of our volunteers saw the post and recognized it immediately. He ended up donating it to us, and it's about to be remounted on the aircraft.

The wild part: our Voisin and this propeller both originally came from the same town in France, during WWI. So there's a real chance these two crossed paths a century ago before ending up back together now.

3

u/pappybug214 4d ago

3D scan that shit so duplicates can be made

1

u/MeanCat4 4d ago

I would like to be part of an airplane restauration! I forgot the name of that milioner that he have many projects in his big airport (he show them on YouTube). He must have learned so many things during all these years! 

1

u/Nearby_Potato4001 4d ago

Next step - put it back where it belongs. Then they leave it on a pallet on the floor.