Vultee Aircraft

Vultee Aircraft, Inc.
Predecessor	Airplane Development Corporation; (1932–1934); AVCOAviation Manufacturing Corporation; (1934–1939);
Founded	1939;85 years ago
Founder	Vance Breese; Gerard Vultee;
Defunct	1943;81 years ago
Fate	Merged withConsolidated Aircraftto formConsolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation
Successor	Convair
Headquarters	Downey, California, U.S.

Vultee Aircraft, Inc.,^[1]was an aircraft manufacturer founded in1939inLos Angeles County, California,when theVultee Aircraft Divisionof the aviation holding companyAVCOwas reorganized as an independent company.^[2]^[3]It had limited success before merging with theConsolidated Aircraft Corporationon March 17–18, 1943, to form theConsolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation− orConvair.^[1]^[4]

History

In 1932,Errett Lobban Cordformed the Airplane Development Corporation, enabling Gerard "Jerry" Vultee to proceed with implementing his design for theVultee V-1.Construction began inBurbank, California,and was completed in February 1933 in the company's factory located atGrand Central Airport (California).^[5]

AVCO subsidiary

Due to theAir Mail Actof 1934,AVCOestablished theAviation Manufacturing Corporation(AMC) on November 30, 1934, through the acquisition of Cord's holdings, including Vultee's Airplane Development Corporation. AMC was liquidated on January 1, 1936, and Vultee Aircraft Division was formed as an autonomous subsidiary ofAVCO.

Jerry Vultee was named vice president and chief engineer.^[3]Vultee acquired the assets of the defunct AMC, includingLycoming EnginesandStinson Aircraft Company.

A redesigned V-1 meetAmerican Airlines' needs in the eight-passenger V-1A. American purchased 11 V-1As, but additional sales of the aircraft failed to materialize because of government concerns for single engine safety. The last two in the series, a V-1AD and a V-1AS, were built inDowney, Californiaafter the company's manufacturing moved there.^[5]

In 1935, Vultee developed theVultee V-11military aircraft using the wing structure and landing gear from the V-1A, which received sizable international orders. Turkey received 40 in 1937-38, China received 30 in 1937-38, Brazil acquired 25 in 1938-39; the Soviet Union bought 4 and the manufacturing license to build 31 more. After Jerry Vultee's death in January 1938, the Air Corps ordered 7 YA-19s to establish a production relationship.^[5]^{: 5, 20–47}

By 1937, Vultee headed his own factory inDowney, California,with more than a million dollars in orders for V-1s, V-1As, and V-11s.^[3]

On January 29, 1938, before Vultee became independent again, Jerry Vultee and his wife Sylvia Parker, daughter ofTwentieth Century Foxfilm directorMax Parker,^[3]died when the plane he was piloting crashed in a snowstorm nearSedona, Arizona.^[6]

A bronze plaque memorializing the Vultees is located near the crash site at the end of Coconino Forestry andVultee Arch Trails,where a natural rock arch named for them, the Vultee Arch, is located.^[7]Donald P. Smith, Vultee's close friend and vice president of Vultee Aircraft, wrote a letter toTIMEmagazine about Vultee's death:

Sirs:
''Gerard F. Vultee ( "Jerry" ), not Gerald, my close friend and business associate for many years, was killed when the cabin monoplane he was flying with Mrs. Vultee crashed on the flat top of Wilson Mountain [TIME, Feb. 7].... Caught in a local snow-storm and blizzard with no training in blind or instrument flying, he was unable to find his way out. The fire occurred after the crash, not before.

DON P. SMITH Vice President

Vultee Aircraft Los Angeles, Calif.^[8]

AVCOhired Dick Palmer away from Howard Hughes to take Jerry Vultee's place, and Vultee Aircraft Division began to develop military designs. Dick Palmer created theBT-13, BT-15, and SNV Valianttrainers^[3]and oversaw other major production program such as theV-72 Vengeance,serving in the USAAC as the A-31 and A-35.

Independent company

Vultee Aircraft was created in November 1939, when Vultee Aircraft Division ofAVCOwas reorganized as an independent company.^[10]^[3]

TheP-66 Vanguardwas a 1941 fighter program that was intended for Sweden that was inherited by the USAAC, Great Britain and finally, China. The P-66 had a mediocre combat record in China and was out of service by 1943. TheXP-54fighter project was the last Vultee Aircraft design, but only two examples were built.^[11]^[12]^[13]

In 1939, according to Thompson, "The Vultee model 54A, number 141 registered NX21754, flew on July 28. In August theUSAACselected it for volume production as theBT-13,which became the standard type for the category throughoutWorld War II."During the war, Vultee pioneered the use of women assemblers.^[5]^: 66, 75

Merger

On March 17–18, 1943, Consolidated and Vultee merged, creatingConsolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation,popularly known asConvair.^[14]The Vultee management resigned.^[13]^[15]^[1]

Timeline

1929Aviation Corporation(AVCO) holding company formed by multiple participants
1932Airplane Development Corporationformed byGerard F. "Jerry" Vultee;Errett Lobban Cordsoon takes it over
1934 AVCO acquired the Airplane Development Corporation from Cord and formed theAviation Manufacturing Corporation(AMC)^[16]
1936 AMC liquidated to form theVultee Aircraft Division,an autonomous subsidiary of AVCO
1939 Vultee Aircraft Division of AVCO reorganized as an independent company known asVultee Aircraft, Inc.
1941 Consolidated Aircraft Corporation sold to AVCO
1942 Vultee acquires Intercontinent Aircraft Corporation^[17]
1943Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation,generally known asConvair,formed by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft; still controlled by AVCO
1947 Convair acquired by theAtlas Corporation
1953 (or 1954) Convair acquired byGeneral Dynamics
1985 General Dynamics formed the "Space Systems Division" from the Convair Space Program
1993Lockheed Corporationacquires General Dynamics' Fort Worth aircraft division, builder of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
1994 Space Systems Division sold toMartin Marietta
1994 Convair Aircraft Structures unit sold toMcDonnell Douglas
1997 McDonnell Douglas sold toBoeing

Aircraft

Model name, service name	First flight	Number built	Type
V-1	1933	25	Single engine airliner
V-11 YA-19	1935	169	Single engine attack aircraft
V-12	1939	79	Development of V-11
V-51 BC-3	1939	1	Prototype single engine basic combat trainer
V-54 BT-13 & BT-15 Valiant	1939	11,538	Single engine basic trainer
V-48 P-66 Vanguard	1939	146	Single engine fighter
V-72 Vengeance	1941	1,931	Single engine dive bomber
V-84 XP-54	1943	2	Prototype twin boompusher enginefighter
V-90 XA-41	1944	1	Prototype single engine dive bomber
XP-68 Tornado	n/a	0	Unbuilt development of V-84

References

Notes

^^a ^b ^c"January 31, 1944: General Corporation and Investment News, Vol. 159, No. 4251".fraser.stlouisfed.org.p. 444.Retrieved2023-06-18.The earnings are the combined figures of Consolidated Aircraft Corp. and Vultee Aircraft, Inc., which were merged March 18, 1943.—V. 159, p. 348
^Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107–120, Cypress, CA, 2013.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^fYenne 2009, p. 17.
^"Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation".centennialofflight.net.Retrieved2023-06-18.
^^a ^b ^c ^dThompson, Jonathan.Vultee Aircraft 1932-1947.Santa Ana: Narkiewicz//Thompson. pp. 6–19.ISBN 0913322024.
^"Burned bodies of pair recovered".Eugene Register-Guard.(Oregon). Associated Press. January 31, 1938. p. 1.
^"Coconino National Forest."USDA Forest Service.Retrieved: 26 August 2010.
^"Davis-Monthan Field Register."Archived2007-09-27 at theWayback Machinedmairfield.com.Retrieved: 26 September 2010
^Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107, 110–13, Cypress, CA, 2013.ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.
^Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107–120, Cypress, CA, 2013.
^Herman, Arthur.Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,pp. 140, 203, 262–3, Random House, New York, NY, 2012.
^Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107–120, Cypress, CA, 2013.ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.
^^a ^bBorth, Christy.Masters of Mass Production,p. 251, Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, IN, 1945.
^Yenne 2009, p. 18.
^Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,p. 114, Cypress, CA, 2013.
^Thompson, John (8 August 1940)."Vultee Buys Stinson Airplane Factory for Big Expansion Here".Nashville Tennessean.p. 6.Retrieved17 April2020.
^"Vultee Aircraft Buys Intercontinent".Evening Sun.AP. 18 July 1942. p. 11.

Bibliography

McKillop, Jack."Vultee SNV Valiant."Brown-Shoe Navy: U.S. Naval Aviation.Retrieved: January 6, 2006.
Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,Cypress, CA, 2013.ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.
Rumerman, Joel."Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation."US Centennial of Flight Commission,2003. Retrieved: January 6, 2006.
Thompson, Jonathan.Vultee Aircraft 1932–1947.Santa Ana, CA; Narkiewicz/Thompson, 1992.ISBN 0-913322-02-4.
"The Vultee V-1A"Golden Age of Aviation E-column,Retrieved: 6 January 2006.
Yenne, Bill.Convair Deltas from Sea Dart to Hustler.North Branch, MN: Specialty Press, 2009.ISBN 978-1-58007-118-5.

External links

[GC&IN_V159-1] "January 31, 1944: General Corporation and Investment News, Vol. 159, No. 4251".fraser.stlouisfed.org.p. 444.Retrieved2023-06-18.The earnings are the combined figures of Consolidated Aircraft Corp. and Vultee Aircraft, Inc., which were merged March 18, 1943.—V. 159, p. 348

[2] Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107–120, Cypress, CA, 2013.

[deltas17-3] Yenne 2009, p. 17.

[centennialofflight.net-4] "Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation".centennialofflight.net.Retrieved2023-06-18.

[jt-5] Thompson, Jonathan.Vultee Aircraft 1932-1947.Santa Ana: Narkiewicz//Thompson. pp. 6–19.ISBN 0913322024.

[bbopre-6] "Burned bodies of pair recovered".Eugene Register-Guard.(Oregon). Associated Press. January 31, 1938. p. 1.

[7] "Coconino National Forest."USDA Forest Service.Retrieved: 26 August 2010.

[8] "Davis-Monthan Field Register."Archived2007-09-27 at theWayback Machinedmairfield.com.Retrieved: 26 September 2010

[9] Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107, 110–13, Cypress, CA, 2013.ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.

[10] Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107–120, Cypress, CA, 2013.

[11] Herman, Arthur.Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,pp. 140, 203, 262–3, Random House, New York, NY, 2012.

[12] Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,pp. 107–120, Cypress, CA, 2013.ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.

[Borth,_Christy_p._251-13] Borth, Christy.Masters of Mass Production,p. 251, Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, IN, 1945.

[deltas18-14] Yenne 2009, p. 18.

[15] Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,p. 114, Cypress, CA, 2013.

[Tennessean-16] Thompson, John (8 August 1940)."Vultee Buys Stinson Airplane Factory for Big Expansion Here".Nashville Tennessean.p. 6.Retrieved17 April2020.

[17] "Vultee Aircraft Buys Intercontinent".Evening Sun.AP. 18 July 1942. p. 11.

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v t e Vulteeaircraft
Manufacturer designations	V-1 V-11 V-12 V-20 V-32 V-33 V-35 V-37 V-38 V-39 V-40 V-41 V-42 V-43 V-44 V-45 V-46 V-47 V-48 V-49 V-50 V-51 V-52 V-54 V-55 V-56 V-57 V-58 V-61 V-69 V-70 V-72 V-74 V-75 V-76 V-77 V-78 V-80 V-83 V-84 V-85 V-86 V-88 V-90 Model numbering continued byConvair
By role	Fighters XP-54 P-66 Vanguard Attack aircraft V-11 V-12 YA-19 A-31 Vengeance A-35 Vengeance XA-41 Trainers BC-3 BT-13 Valiant BT-15 Valiant

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States Israel