WW2 Rotol War Workers Enamel Lapel Buttonhole Badge - Manufacturer of the Spitfire Propellers

A small enamel badge some damage to the blue enamel either side of the badge but not too bad and an iconic badge nonetheless of the maker of the Spitfire fighter planes' propeller blades. Maker marked Thomas Fattorini Ltd, Regent Street (Birmingham). Circa 22mm across.

The company was formed as Rotol Airscrews in 1937 by Rolls-Royce and Bristol Engines to take over both companies' propeller development, the market being too small to support more than one company. The name is a contraction of "Rolls-Royce" and "Bristol".1 Rotol's propellers were always considered leading edge, its models equipping the Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, and many other Second World War-era aircraft. By the end of the war it had introduced the first five-bladed propeller to see widespread use, used on late-model Spitfires. In 1943 the company changed its name from Rotol Airscrews Limited to Rotol Limited, and in 1952 it acquired British Messier Limited, a specialist in landing gear and hydraulics, and became a Dowty group company in 1958.

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Code: 67805