Dating WWI-Era Goodyear Airplane Tires

[Halteclere]

I have a pair of airplane wheels and tires I believe are from a De Havilland DH-4. Are there any markings on the Goodyear tires that can help determine the date or date range they were made?

Family lore is that they came off of a WWI aircraft, so everyone assumed a Curtis Jenny. But based on tire info I've found online only the DH-4 had 750x125mm tires.

-Mitch

['14-'18aviationcollector]

Very nice tyres Mitch, and welcome to The Aerodrome!

I helped to restore an original DH9, military serial number F.1278. When received it was fitted with 750 x 125 mm Dunlop Cord Aero Tyres. The DH4, DH9 and DH9a were very closely related to each other, so I'm very confident that all these models were fitted with 750 x 125 mm tyres, as I'm sure other aircraft types were.

Regards,

David.

[Halteclere]

Hi David, thanks for directing me to the DH9s. Interesting how WWI aircraft designs often went through a lot of different variations post war, and quickly spread around the world.

-Mitch

[Jim]

One thing to keep in mind is that the tires on an aircraft were not considered to be permanent but rather they were replaced whenever they were damaged or wore out. And tires of the teens and twenties were made with relatively new technology and as such wore out or succumbed to damage much more quickly that modern tires that are now very durable. This means that tires were being made and replaced as long as there were aircraft that could use that particular size meaning that it would be very difficult to say if a particular tire was made during the war or in the many years afterwards that such aircraft were in use.

[Maxim08]

Mitch, the wheels appear to be British Palmer Aero as partially identified by the radial rim drillings for the specialized clips used by Palmer Aero to retain the wheel disc fabric. Look carefully at the rim and you may find Palmer Aero branding.

Regards,
John