Goodyear Aerospace
| Company type | Division (formerly) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace, Defense |
| Predecessor | Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, Goodyear Aircraft Company |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Fate | Sold to Loral Corporation in 1987; defense assets acquired by Lockheed Martin in 1993 |
| Headquarters | Akron, Ohio (original); Phoenix, Arizona (plant) , United States |
| Products | Airships, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, missiles, radar equipment, aircraft canopies, bullet-resistant glass, spacecraft parts |
| Parent | Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (until 1987) |
Goodyear Aerospace Corporation (GAC) functioned as the aerospace and defense division of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Originally established as the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation through a partnership with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, it specialized in developing rigid airships within the United States. Due to worsening diplomatic relations between the US and Germany prior to World War II, the entity was restructured into Goodyear Aircraft Company in 1939. In 1941, a new manufacturing plant was inaugurated in Arizona, focusing on subassembly production, subcontracted airframe fabrication, and aircraft design projects such as the Goodyear F2G Corsair and Goodyear Duck.
Following the war, the company broadened its scope to include technologies like synthetic aperture radar. It adopted the name Goodyear Aerospace in 1963, with principal offerings encompassing radar equipment, aircraft canopies, bullet-resistant glass, spacecraft parts, and the distinctive Goodyear Inflatoplane. After a hostile takeover bid against its parent company by James Goldsmith in 1986, Goodyear Aerospace was sold to Loral in 1987. Subsequently, Loral divested its non-satellite businesses, with defense-related assets being acquired by Lockheed Martin in 1993.
Early years
The origins of Goodyear’s aerospace activities trace back to its Aeronautics Department within Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Following World War I and restrictions on German airship production imposed as part of war reparations, Goodyear entered a joint venture in 1924 with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, holding a majority two-thirds stake. The Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation capitalized on Zeppelin patents alongside German technical expertise; chief engineer Karl Arnstein assumed the role of Vice-President of Engineering. The company constructed both rigid (zeppelins) and non-rigid (blimps) airships for US military use. To accommodate these projects, the renowned massive hangar was built for assembling Navy airships such as the USS Akron and USS Macon.
Wartime aircraft manufacturing
During the Great Depression, Goodyear applied its aeronautical knowledge to design the streamlined Comet train operating between Boston and Providence. On December 5, 1939, following a contract from Glenn L. Martin Company to produce empennages for the B-26 Marauder, it was renamed Goodyear Aircraft Corporation. With substantial Army contracts and available manufacturing capacity at its Akron Airship Dock, Goodyear concentrated on military production amid rising international tensions. The German-American collaboration ceased in 1941, transferring all military and commercial airship responsibilities to Goodyear Aircraft Corporation.
By 1941, operations were running at full throttle, prompting expansion to a new facility west of Phoenix, Arizona—where Goodyear had existing agricultural interests. This plant manufactured over three million pounds of airframe components throughout World War II. The Akron facility producing FG-1 aircraft was later handed over to the U.S. Navy, leading to the establishment of Naval Air Station Akron in 1948.
In 1951, Carl Wiley, an employee at Goodyear Aircraft, invented Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), earning the first patent for SAR technology and advancing sophisticated digital SAR processors utilized in reconnaissance, aerial combat, and mapping applications.
Diversification
The Arizona facility broadened its manufacturing scope to include defense-related products such as jet aircraft canopies, bullet-resistant glass, armored vehicles, military-grade shelters, and missile transport carriers.
During the 1950s, engineer Darrell C. Romick worked alongside Wernher von Braun at Goodyear Aircraft to create the Goodyear Meteor Junior, a reusable three-stage rocket concept intended for manned missions to a space station—anticipating future space shuttle innovations. This project was developed between 1954 and 1958, with a target launch year set for 1962.
To better represent its diverse range of products, the company adopted the name Goodyear Aerospace Corporation in 1963. In 1987, after a significant corporate restructuring prompted by a hostile takeover bid from James Goldsmith and Hanson Trust, Goodyear Aerospace was acquired by Loral Corporation for $640 million. The Goodyear brand was discontinued as it became part of Loral’s defense systems division.
Demise
In 1993, Loral purchased Goodyear's defense systems division, which included the intellectual property rights for the discontinued Goodyear Blimp models (GZ-20 and GZ-22). Despite holding these designs, Lockheed Martin does not produce airships.
Airships
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-class blimp | 1918 | 10 | Patrol airship |
| D-class blimp | 1920 | 6 | Patrol airship |
| E-class blimp | 1 | Training airship | |
| F-class blimp | 1919 | 1 | Testbed airship |
| G-class blimp | 10 | Training airship | |
| H-class blimp | 2 | Observation airship | |
| J-class blimp | 1922 | 3-4 | Patrol airship |
| K-class blimp | 1938 | 134 | Patrol airship |
| K-1 (airship) | 1 | Experimental blimp | |
| L-class blimp | 22 | Training airship | |
| M-class blimp | 1944 | 4 | Patrol airship |
| N-class blimp | 18 | Patrol airship | |
| Goodyear RS-1 | 1926 | 1 | Military airship |
| Goodyear GZ-19 | 1959 | 3 | Commercial airship |
| Goodyear GZ-20 | 1969 | 3-5 | Commercial airship |
| Loral GZ-22 | 1989 | 1 | Commercial airship |
| Goodyear ZWG | N/A | 0 | Unbuilt airborne early warning airship |
| Goodyear Type AD | 1925 | Sporting airship | |
| Akron-class airship (Akron-class) | 1931 | 2 | align=left Patrol rigid airship |
Fixed-wing aircraft
Goodyear FG Corsair 1943 4,017 Carrier-based single-engine fighter Goodyear Duck 1944 19 Light single-engine flying boat Goodyear F2G Corsair 1945 10 Carrier-based single-engine fighter Goodyear Inflatoplane 1956 12 Single-engine inflatable airplaneHelicopters
Missiles
See also
- Goodyear Massively Parallel Processor – supercomputer created by Goodyear Aerospace
- ASARS-1