Original 1920s U.S. Army Air Service / Corps Decorated Propeller Clock – Keyless Auto Clock Co. Original Items

Original Items: One-of-a-kind. Here we have a lovely 1920s era U.S. Army Air Service / Corps copper tipped propeller, which has been decorated and had a small clock added to it. It is just under half the propeller, missing the central hub, and is made from laminated wood, as were all propellers of the period. It has had the two aircraft roundels that the U.S. used at the time. 1926 is when the Air Corps replaced the Air Service, and they used the same insignia, so unfortunately we are not able to tell which it is from, or more correctly, it would be correct for both. We do not know what type of aircraft this came from originally.

The propeller section measures 41 1/2″L x 11 1/2″W, and is about 5 inches thick at the base. It has had a small KEYLESS AUTO CLOCK CO. RIM WIND – RIM SET model installed, and has a wire on the top so that it can be hung from a wall or ceiling. The clock is non-functional, and we do not know if it would be possible to repair.

A lovely piece of early U.S. Aviation history, ready to display!

The United States Army Air Service (USAAS) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1918 and 1926 and a forerunner of the United States Air Force. It was established as an independent but temporary branch of the U.S. War Department during World War I by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation Section, Signal Corps as the nation’s air force; and March 19, 1919, establishing a military Director of Air Service to control all aviation activities. Its life was extended for another year in July 1919, during which time Congress passed the legislation necessary to make it a permanent establishment. The National Defense Act of 1920 assigned the Air Service the status of “combatant arm of the line” of the United States Army with a major general in command.

The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical rift developed between more traditional ground-based army personnel and those who felt that aircraft were being underutilized and that air operations were being stifled for political reasons unrelated to their effectiveness. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, and was part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Army’s middle-level command structure. During World War II, although not an administrative echelon, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force.