The Otto B-Type pusher was used by the Germans in 1914 and 1915. vIt
was a development of the pre-war pusher aircraft made by the
Flugzeugwerke Gustav Otto of Munich and the Aerowerke Gustav Otto (AGO)
of Johannisthal.
German pusher aircraft during WW1 are exceptionally rare. The
B-Type was slow but reliable and several were used in the first bombing
raid from Ostende against the port of Dunkirk.
This propeller is made of superb quality mahogany; another indication
that it was made at the very start of WW1 and is un-flown. It has
a decal on each blade. There are no bolt holes in the hub.
These were often drilled at unit level. Also, the tip of one blade
has been cut off, which we have left as it is. This was the method
of making a propeller unusable; enforced by the Allied Control
Commission at the end of the war and this is the first example of a prop
decommissioned in this way that we have found.
Propellers of this quality from c1914 are rare and surviving props
decommissioned by the ACC are even rarer.
