Northrop Corporation
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The Northrop Corporation is now part of the Northrop Grumman Corporation and was a leading US aircraft manufacturer until its merger with the Grumman Aerospace Corporation in 1994. The company's tradition goes back to four successive company foundings in which Jack Northrop was directly involved.
history
Avion Corporation
Avion Corporation was founded in 1928 in a rented store in Los Angeles. President was George Randolph Hearst , son of William Randolph Hearst , while Northrop served as vice-president. Hearst's mother-in-law Ada Wilbur provided the financial basis for the start-up. The flying wing aircraft Experimental No. 1 , also known as Northrop "Flying Wing" or "All-Wing". All assets of the Avion Corporation were sold in October 1929 to the United Aircraft & Transport Corporation , which was newly founded in the same year .
Northrop Aircraft Corporation
On January 1, 1930, Northrop Aircraft Corporation was officially established as a subsidiary of United Aircraft & Transport Corporation. William E. Boeing was Chairman of the Board , W. Kenneth Jay President, Northrop Vice President, and Don R. Berlin the Chief Engineer. A hangar was used as the production facility on the premises of United Airport in Burbank , where the Alpha and Beta aircraft were built.
In September 1931, the Northrop facilities were merged with the Stearman Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, Kansas , another subsidiary of United / Boeing. The subsequent plans to continue alpha and beta production in Wichita were abandoned after Northrop withdrew from the company. Only a few modifications and repairs were actually carried out in Wichita. Some modified alpha specimens were therefore also referred to as Stearman Alpha.
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was founded in Inglewood (California) in January 1932 as a subsidiary of Douglas Aircraft Company , with Douglas holding 51% of the shares. Northrop was President, W. Kenneth Jay Vice-President and General Manager, while Don Berlin again held the post of Chief Engineer. The manufacturing facility was located at Los Angeles Municipal Airport (Mines Field) in the former White Truck / Moreland Aircraft factory . The Gamma and Delta and some military experimental models were built here . By 1934 the company had manufactured around 100 aircraft and at that time employed 1,000 people. For the production of military aircraft, Northrop built a new factory in El Segundo in 1935 in the immediate vicinity of the old location. Douglas acquired all of Northrop's shares on September 8, 1937 and Northrop Corporation became the El Segundo division of Douglas. Northrop then withdrew from the company on January 1, 1938.
Northrop Aircraft Inc.
On August 1, 1939, Northrop then founded the new company Northrop Aircraft Inc. in Hawthorne (California) . He appeared here for the first time not only as president, but also as chief engineer. In the first year, the Northrop XP-56 experimental aircraft took part in a tender by the United States Army Air Forces for a new fighter aircraft. During the Second World War , Northrop built z. B. the night fighter P-61 Black Widow . On February 2, 1959, Northrop Aircraft Inc. became a division of Northrop Corporation.
Northrop was particularly active in the development of flying wing bombers ( YB-35 , YB-49 and the stealth bomber B-2 Spirit ). The company also produced the Tacit Blue experimental stealth aircraft used by the US Air Force from 1982 to 1985 . The most important series models, however, were the F-89 "Scorpion and especially the twin-engine jets of the F-5 / T-38 series.
After Lockheed Martin lost its Advanced Tactical Fighter contract and was not included in the Joint Strike Fighter program, the company merged with Grumman Aerospace Corporation in 1994 to form Northrop Grumman Corporation , a manufacturer of civil but primarily military products for the Ship, aerospace and defense technology and information technology.
Selection of developed aircraft types
literature
- Richard Sanders Allen: The Northrop Story 1929-1939 , Schiffer Aviation History, 1993, ISBN 0-88740-585-1 , pp. 156-157
- René J. Francillon: McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920. London 1979, ISBN 0-370-00050-1 , pp. 23-25
