hobo wrote:

Why were 2 and 3 blade props used anyway? Is there some engineering
tradeoff favoring fewer blades in certain situations?

A two or 3 bladed prop was easier to balance than a four bladed one
was. They could also be built faster than the more bladed props.

John Lansford
--
The unofficial I-26 Construction Webpage:
http://users.vnet.net/lansford/a10/