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North American Aviation

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North American Aviation
Company typePublic (after 1948)
IndustryAerospace, Defense
PredecessorGeneral Aviation Manufacturing Corporation
FoundedDecember 6, 1928; 97 years ago (1928-12-06)
FounderClement Melville Keys
Defunct1967 (merged to form North American Rockwell)
FateMerged with Rockwell-Standard to form North American Rockwell; later became part of Rockwell International, then Boeing
SuccessorNorth American Rockwell
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger (President), Lee Atwood (CEO)
ProductsAircraft, spacecraft components, rocket engines (before spin-off)
OwnerGeneral Motors Corporation (from 1933 until 1948)
Number of employees
91,000 (peak during WWII) (1945)
ParentNone

North American Aviation (NAA) stood as a prominent American aerospace manufacturer recognized for its design and production of significant aircraft and spacecraft. Its portfolio included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, the XB-70 bomber, the B-1 Lancer, as well as key components of the Apollo spacecraft such as the command and service module and Saturn V’s second stage, in addition to the Space Shuttle orbiter.

Following a series of mergers and acquisitions, North American Aviation became part of North American Rockwell, which was later renamed Rockwell International, before eventually being absorbed into Boeing.

Early years

Established on December 6, 1928, by Clement Melville Keys, North American originally functioned as a holding company investing in various airlines and aviation enterprises. The passage of the Air Mail Act of 1934 required the dissolution of its holding company structure, prompting a transition into manufacturing under the guidance of James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger, who was recruited from Douglas Aircraft Company. Until 1938, NAA maintained ownership of Eastern Air Lines.

In 1933, control of NAA was acquired by General Motors Corporation, which merged it with General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation while preserving the North American brand.

Kindelberger moved operations from Dundalk, Maryland to Los Angeles, California to take advantage of year-round flying conditions and concentrated on producing training aircraft to avoid direct rivalry with established manufacturers. Early models included the GA-15 observation plane and GA-16 trainer, succeeded by the O-47 and BT-9 (also known as GA-16).

World War II

The 1937 BC-1 marked North American’s first combat aircraft design derived from the GA-16.[1] By 1940, to meet wartime demands, North American expanded manufacturing facilities to locations including Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and Kansas City, Kansas.[1] During this period, it ranked eleventh among U.S. companies in terms of wartime contract value.[2]

The company produced the extensively utilized T-6 Texan trainer with a production volume exceeding 17,000 units. Its twin-engine bomber, the B-25 Mitchell, gained fame during the Doolittle Raid and operated in every theater of war. Initially commissioned by Britain as an alternative to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, which North American had declined to produce under license, the P-51 Mustang became a pivotal fighter.[3][4] To sustain production amid uncertain fighter orders, the related A-36 Mustang served as a ground attack and dive bomber.

A significant development occurred when the RAF suggested replacing the P-51’s original Allison engine with a more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin, transforming it into one of the most effective American fighters during WWII.[1][5][6][7]

In 1941, labor tensions emerged at North American’s Inglewood facility due to competing political influences and union rivalries. The United Auto Workers (UAW) secured representation over the International Association of Machinists and demanded wage increases from 50 to 75 cents per hour for new employees along with raises for current workers. Despite a national no-strike commitment during wartime, a local wildcat strike in June 1941 halted operations at a plant responsible for producing roughly one-quarter of U.S. fighters.[8] Federal authorities intervened when President Roosevelt authorized deployment of the California National Guard to reopen the plant under threat that striking workers could be drafted into military service.

After Germany invaded the USSR later that month, union activists aligned with Communist factions shifted toward strong support for war production efforts and worked to prevent additional unauthorized strikes.[9][10][11]

Post-war years

Following the conclusion of World War II, North American's workforce dramatically contracted from 91,000 employees to merely 5,000 by 1946. On V-J Day, the firm held U.S. government contracts for 8,000 aircraft, which rapidly diminished to only 24. In 1948, General Motors separated North American Aviation (NAA) into an independent publicly traded company. Nevertheless, NAA persisted in advancing its product line with innovative aircraft such as the T-28 Trojan trainer and attack plane, the F-82 Twin Mustang fighter, the B-45 Tornado jet bomber, the FJ Fury fighter, the AJ Savage, the Mach-3 capable XB-70 Valkyrie strategic bomber, the Shrike Commander, and the T-39 Sabreliner business jet.

The Columbus, Ohio facility spearheaded development of several notable aircraft including the A-5 Vigilante high-speed attack plane extensively deployed during the Vietnam War, the OV-10 Bronco designed for forward air control and counterinsurgency operations, and the T-2 Buckeye naval trainer. The Buckeye served as a primary training aircraft for nearly all U.S. Naval Aviators and Flight Officers over four decades until its retirement in 2008. Its designation honored both Ohio’s state tree and Ohio State University’s mascot.

The F-86 Sabre—a redesign of the Fury—earned distinction during the Korean War by successfully engaging MiG fighters; production surpassed 9,000 units. Its successor model, the F-100 Super Sabre, also achieved extensive operational use. To accommodate Sabre manufacturing demands, NAA expanded operations into former Curtiss-Wright and Consolidated-Vultee facilities located in Columbus and Downey, California, while constructing a new plant in Downey in 1948. By 1952, sales had topped $315 million with Columbus employment swelling from 1,600 to 18,000 workers.

Nonetheless, program cancellations in the late 1950s—including the F-107 and XF-108 fighters and the Navaho intercontinental cruise missile—dealt a significant setback to North American’s expansion.

Nuclear development

Atomics International, which originated as North American Aviation’s Atomic Energy Research Department based in Downey (established in 1948), concentrated on nuclear technologies for both commercial applications and government projects. Renamed in 1955, this division achieved several pioneering accomplishments: California’s first nuclear reactor (an aqueous homogeneous reactor located at Downey), the first nuclear reactor in the United States to supply electricity to a commercial power grid (the Sodium Reactor Experiment at Santa Susana Field Laboratory), and the first U.S. nuclear reactor launched into space (SNAP-10A).

As interest in nuclear power declined, Atomics International transitioned toward alternative energy initiatives such as coal gasification before ultimately merging with Rocketdyne in 1978.

Navigation and guidance, radar, and data systems

Autonetics was established in 1945 within North American's Technical Research Laboratory situated in Downey, California. The development efforts for the Navaho missile program led to Autonetics becoming a separate division by 1955; it subsequently relocated to Anaheim, California in 1963. This division specialized in producing guidance systems used for the Minuteman ballistic missile.

Space program

In 1955, North American spun off its rocket engine division as Rocketdyne, which supplied propulsion systems for missiles including Redstone, Jupiter, Thor, Delta, and Atlas, along with NASA’s Saturn launch vehicles.

North American was responsible for designing and manufacturing the airframe of the rocket-powered X-15, which had its maiden flight in 1959. That same year saw production of the initial Little Joe boosters used to test Project Mercury’s launch escape system.

Under CEO Lee Atwood starting in 1960, North American concentrated on supporting the Space Race, serving as prime contractor for the Apollo command and service module, developing the larger Little Joe II rocket utilized for Apollo’s launch escape system tests, and producing the S-II second stage of NASA’s Saturn V.

Merger and acquisition

After the 1967 Apollo 1 tragedy—initially blamed on North American but later exonerated—the company combined with Rockwell-Standard in September, creating North American Rockwell. This newly formed organization continued to manufacture the Command and Service modules for all eleven Apollo missions. By 1972, it had won the contract to construct the orbiter, thereby expanding its participation in NASA's initiatives.

In 1973, the company underwent a name change to Rockwell International, designating its aircraft division as North American Aircraft Operations.

The defense and space sectors of Rockwell International—including Autonetics and Rocketdyne—were divested to Boeing in December 1996, integrating these units into Boeing's Defense division. Subsequently, Rocketdyne was sold to UTC Pratt & Whitney in 2005, which later transferred ownership to Aerojet (GenCorp) in 2013.

Aircraft

Crewed spacecraft

Missiles and rockets

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Projects

  • North American NA-116 (project for a four-engine long-range bomber)
  • North American NA-148 (commercial transport design)
  • North American NA-237 (fighter-bomber development)
  • North American NA-323 (VFX F-14 program initiative)
  • North American NA-365 (carrier onboard delivery concept)
  • North American NA-400 (naval strike attack proposal for the US Navy)
  • North American NA-420 (V/STOL support aircraft concept for the US Navy)
  • North American NAC-60
  • North American XF-108 Rapier

See also

  • Norris J. Nelson, Los Angeles City Council member who commented on the 1941 North American strike

Bibliography

  • Borth, Christy. Masters of Mass Production. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1945.
  • Fletcher, David and Doug MacPhail. Harvard! The North American Trainers in Canada. Dundas, Ontario: DCF Flying Books, 1990.
  • Fredrickson, John, and James Kindelberger. Warbird Factory: North American Aviation in World War II (Zenith Press, 2015)
  • Hagedorn, Dan. North American NA-16/AT-6/SNJ. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 1997.
  • Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II. New York: Random House, 2012.
  • Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II. Cypress, California: Dana T. Parker Books, 2013.
  • Pattillo, Donald M. Pushing the Envelope: The American Aircraft Industry. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1998.
  • Peck, Merton J. and Frederic M. Scherer. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis. Boston: Harvard Business School, 1962.


Further reading

  • Gray, Mike. Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon. Penguin Books, 1992.
  • Manufacturing Facilities of North American Aviation, Aero Digest, August 1936.
  • North American Aviation, Inc.: Its Historical Development, Scope of Activities and Executive Personnel, Aero Digest, February 1934.

External links

Model name First flight Number built Type
North American NA-16 1935 1,935 Single-engine piston trainer
North American O-47 1935 239 Single piston-engine observation aircraft
North American BT-9 1936 149 Single-engine piston trainer
North American XB-21 1936 1 Prototype twin piston-engine medium bomber
North American BC-1 1937 270 Single piston-engine trainer
North American Harvard 1938 1,463 Single piston-engine trainer
North American BT-14 1939 251 Single piston-engine trainer
North American T-6 Texan 1939 15,495 Single piston-engine trainer
North American SNJ 1939 3,867 align=left: Single piston-engine trainer
North American P-64 1939/1940 13 Single piston-engine fighter
North American NA-64 Yale 1940 230 Single piston-engine trainer
North American A-27 1940 10 Single piston-engine attack aircraft
North American B-25 Mitchell 1940 9,890 Twin piston-engine medium bomber
North American P-51 Mustang 1940 Over 15,000 Single piston-engine fighter
North American XB-28 1942 2 Prototype twin piston-engine medium bomber
North American A-36 1942 align = center:500
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named USCoFC
  2. ↑ Peck and Scherer 1962, p. 619.
  3. ↑ Herman 2012, p. 88.
  4. ↑ Parker 2013, pp. 77, 90–92.
  5. ↑ Herman 2012, pp. 88, 203.
  6. ↑ Parker 2013, pp. 77–92.
  7. ↑ Borth 1945, p. 244.
  8. ↑ "HUGE PLANE PLANT HALTED BY STRIKE..." New York Times 06 June 1941 p:15.
  9. ↑ Fredrickson & Kindelberger, Warbird Factory (2015) pp. 92–104.
  10. ↑ Barnard, American Vanguard (2004) pp. 173–176.
  11. ↑ Kampelman, The Communist Party vs. the CIO (1957) pp. 25–27.
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