Curtiss-Wright Corporation

On June 26, 1929, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company merged with the Wright Aeronautical Corporation to form the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. After this merger, the former Wright organization took over all of the engine and propeller manufacturing, while Curtiss concentrated on airplanes. This merger was completed by organizing two major divisions under their original names, but under the direction of a corporate headquarters located in New York City. However, the election of former Wright personnel to key corporate positions soon led to Wright becoming the dominant division. At the height of the 1920s to 1930s airplane boom, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation was made up of the following organizations: The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company; the Curtiss Caproni Corporation; the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company; the Keystone Aircraft Corporation; the Moth Aircraft Corporation; the Travel Air Manufacturing Company; the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, Curtiss-Wright Flying Service; the Curtiss-Wright Sales Corporation; and the Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation. Curtiss-Wright was quickly becoming the 'General Motors of the Air' until the great depression in October 1929. Sales dropped and Curtiss-Wright was forced to close certain satellite plants and transfer some of their product lines to the St. Louis facility. It appeared that that even the Buffalo plants would also have to close when Curtiss-Wright received an order from Columbia, South America for Curtiss Hawks and Falcons. This order saved the company keeping production lines open until new military and civil markets began to open up as the depression waned and the build-up for World War II began. During the U.S. military build-up prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, all existing Curtiss-Wright plants were expanded and new aircraft factories were built at Columbus, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky.

After the war, all major U.S. airplane builders, including Curtiss-Wright, were hit by massive contract cancellations. In 1946, Curtiss-Wright had only two experimental military models at hand for postwar delivery and no assurance of production orders. Curtiss-Wright also failed to make the transition from reciprocating engines to the design and production of jet engines and aircraft. During the war the company did not invest as much of its resources in research and development as other companies, having to spend much of its resources on keeping up with wartime production orders. After the war, aviation technology advanced rapidly. The final blow to the airplane division of the company came when the Northrop F-89 Scorpion was chosen over the Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk. After the F-87 was cancelled in October 1948, Curtiss-Wright shut down the entire Aeroplane Division and sold the assets to North American Aviation. A second blow came when the Government gave the development of the Whittle jet engine to General Electric Corporation. From then on the company concentrated on reciprocating engines and propeller production for military transport and civilian airliners. However, the shift of civilian and military aircraft to jets left the company with little of the old business. As a result, during the 1960s the company shifted production to components for aircraft and other types of equipment, such as nuclear submarines. The company still exists today as Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems, Inc.

From the guide to the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical Engine Drawing Collection, 1920-1969, (Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives)