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World War II aviation industries United States America individual airframe manufacturerers Curtis Wright
Individual American Aircraft Companies: Curtis-Wright
Figure 1.-- The United States entered World War II with largely obsolete fighter aircraft. This may be because the Army Air Corps's focus was on strategic bombing. Curtis was one of the major American aircraft comapnies, but failed to produce an effective fighter. This is the Curtiss P-36 Hawk. The British called it the Mowhawk. It was a contemporary of both the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt ME-109, but lacked their performance. It was one of a new generation of fighter aircraft, sleek monoplanes. Like the ME-109, it was largely of metal construction. Unlike the Hurricane and ME-109, the Hawk was powered by a radial engine which is why it looks like a Gruman F4F Wildcat. It was introduced in 1938, but was obsolete by the time Hitler launced World War II. It is basically important only as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. Large numbers were exported.
While some American aircraft manufacturers specialized, others had a more varied output. Curtiss-Wright was founded as a result of a merger of 12 companies associated with Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company of Buffalo, New York, and Wright Aeronautical of Dayton, Ohio (1929). The combined company was headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It thus became the largest aviation company in the United States. It thus became important in the war effort, if somewhat disappointing in the quality of its aircraft. There was also a scandal involving defective parts. Unlike most other important American aviation companies, Curtis-Wright was a verically integrated. The company had three principal divisions: the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division (air frames), the Wright Aeronautical Corporation (aeronautical engines), and the Curtiss-Wright Propeller Division (propellers). The company adopted the convention of naming their engines Wrights and the using the Curtiss name for the aircraft. Curtiss-Wright designed and built aircraft for military, commercial, and private markets. The Awll Stree crash only months after the company was formed and the ensing Depression treatened he company's very existence. It was the Wright engine division and its well-established relation with the military that would keep the company going during the Depression. The rise of Hitler in Europe and the Japanse agressivenss in Asia eventually led to large defense contracts. The Curtis P-36 Hawk fighter brought what was at the time the largest peacetime aircraft order ever awarded by the Army Air Corps (USAAF)(1937). The Curtis Hawk was a contemporary of both the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt ME-109, but lacked their performance (figure 1). It was one of a new generation of fighter aircraft, sleek monoplanes. Like the ME-109, it was largely of metal construction. Unlike the Hurricane and ME-109, the Hawk was powered by a radial engine which is why it looks like a Gruman F4F Wildcat. It was introduced in 1938, but was obsolete by the time Hitler launced World War II. It is basically important only as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. There were also P-36 sales abroad and the plane saw action at the beginning of the War in Europe. The P-40 was the USAAF main line fighter, but it did not have the performance of either the ME-109 or Mitsumishi Zero. American pilots developed air tactics to compensate, but suffered heavily by the lack of an effective fighter in the first year of the War after Pearl Harbor.
Curtis Wright's major contribution to the American war effort was producing aircraft engines, most of which powered planes built by other companies. Curtiss-Wright manufactured 142,840 aircraft engines as well as 146,468 electric propellers. In addition they produced 29,269 airplanes. Curtis-Wright during the War became the second largest industrial concern in America, employing 180,000 workers, only exceedd in size by General Motor. Rvenue exceeded $1 billion, a substantil sum in the 1940s. About half the company's production was the P-40 Warhawk (also known as the Tomahawk or Kittyhawk), some 14,000 planes. It became the main-line fighter of the Army Air Corps. It was not up to the standards of the more nimbel Japane Zero and German ME-109, although innovative commanders like Claire Chennault's improvised effective tactics for his Flying Tigers in China. They also produced over 3,000 C-46 Commando transport aircraft, comparble to the better known Douflass C-47. The C-46 had two powerful radial engines, and could carry more cargo at higher altitudes than the C-47 and thus was extensively used in the China-Burma-India Theater flying the Hump. Curtiss' most successful plane in terms of performance was the SB2C Helldivers dive bombers. Over 7,000 of these carrier planes were delivere to the Navy (1943-45) and replaced the Dauntless SBD that played a key role in the first two yers of the Pacific War. The SB2C had a troubled history, but was faster than the Douglas SBD and eventually was adopted for carrier use. The main production facility in Buffalo, New York. Along with the Buffalo plant, major aircraft production was at Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky. Engine and propeller production was at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
