Hi
@bikejunk
It's a slightly odd one. Yes, I think war years, 1944 or 45.
Why is it odd? I'm not sure anybody knows the full significance of the numbers on the fork. They are a date, but is it the date the bike was made, or the fork? Generally the serial numbers keep in pace with the dates, so it doesn't matter much, but your fork seems a little early in date for the serial number, not that I think it's a problem.
I can see the 4 in your photo, but can't quite see the 7 (or any other number). The link below shows an 84 fork in post 272. You can clearly see that the 4 is badly stamped, in the same way yours is. Post 254 shows the serial number, H184621, earlier than yours. And, as you've seen above, there are some with 114 dated forks with lower serial numbers. It may be a replacement fork (I doubt it) or just be that it was a fork that somehow got stuck in stock. I'm not sure.
Serial # 9H011927 does that make this a 1949? [/QUOTE]
thecabe.com
I don't have a 74 example, but here is a 73, showing that the 7 is very distinctive (and, yes, numbers can be stamped sideways). Last photo, Post 1.
1943 Dayton Huffman WW2 Military issue Frame, Fork & Sprocket $900 OBO plus shipping from Southern California (Palmdale, CA) Quick background on the frameset: A buddie of mine has owned this bike since the 80s and didn’t know what it was for the longest time. He stripped it to bare metal, not...
thecabe.com
I hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Adrian