Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 1916 |
| Dissolved | 1929 (became Curtiss-Wright Corporation) |
| Headquarters | Buffalo, New York |
| No. of locations | 3 |
| Key people | Glenn H. Curtiss founder & president |
| Industry | manufacturing |
| Products | airplanes |
| Revenue | US$1,566 million |
| Employees | 21,000 (1916) |
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer that went public in 1916 with Glenn Hammond Curtiss as president.
Glenn Curtiss had helped found the Aerial Experimental Association in 1907 and he created the Herring-Curtiss Company with Augustus Moore Herring in 1909; this was renamed the Curtiss Aeroplane Company in 1910.[1]
The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was created January 1916 from the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York and Curtiss Motor Company of Bath, New York. Burgess Company of Marblehead, Massachusetts, became a subsidiary in February 1916[2].
It became the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world during World War I, employing 18,000 in Buffalo and 3,000 in Hammondsport, New York. Curtiss produced 10,000 aircraft during that war, and more than 100 in a single week. It is particularly famous for the Curtiss JN4 two-seat biplane, one of the most popular planes of all time. Curtiss worked with the British and Canadian Allies, JN 4s were built in Canada, and many were used as trainers in England. The Curtiss flying boat the HS-2L was used extensively in the war for anti-submarine patrols. Bases were built in Nova Scotia, France and Portugal for the purpose. The Royal Navy and Curtiss worked together to make flying boats-- both used the experience to produce a line of products, this culminated with the NC-4.
Other notable Curtiss aircraft include flying boats it made for the United States Navy, including the NC-4, the first airplane to fly across the Atlantic Ocean—in 1919.
On July 5, 1929, Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company became part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with eleven other Wright and Curtiss affiliated companies.
During World War II, Curtiss manufactured over 3,000 Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft for the US army and also the P-40 fighter, made famous by its use by Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers in China. Later in war, Curtiss also manufactured over 7,000 SB2C Helldivers.
Contents |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Dana Bell (ed.), "Directory of Airplanes their Designers and Manufacturers" (Smithsoniian Institution, 2002) ISBN 1853674907.
- ^ David Mondey (ed.), revised and updated by Michael Taylor, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (London: Greenwich Editions, 2000). ISBN 0862882680.
[edit] Bibliography
- Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.
[edit] Further reading
Sobel, Robert. The Age of Giant Corporations: A Microeconomic History of American Business, 1914–1970. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972. ISBN 0837164044.
[edit] External links
- The Curtiss Company U.S. Centennial of Flight Commemoration
- Buffalo Free-Net Glenn Curtiss in Buffalo,NY, Niagara Aerospace Museum, Rotorcraft
- CURTISS AEROPLANE AND MOTOR COMPANY, Virtual Aircraft Museum
| Preceded by Curtiss Aeroplane Company |
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company 1916–1929 |
Succeeded by Curtiss-Wright Corporation |
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
