Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
 |
The Grumman logo |
The
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later
Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading producer of military and civilian
aircraft of the
20th century. Founded in
1929 by
Leroy Grumman with
Jake Swirbul, its independent existence ended in a
1994 merger with the
Northrop Corporation to form
Northrop Grumman.
Leroy Grumman and others worked for the
Loening Aircraft Engineering Corporation in the
1920s, but when it was bought by
Keystone Aircraft Corporation and the operations moved from
New York City to
Pennsylvania, Grumman and his partners (Edmund Ward Poor, William Schwendler,
Jake Swirbul, and Clint Towl) started their own company in an old Cox-Klemin Aircraft Co. factory in
Baldwin on
Long Island, NY.
The company filed as a business on
5 December 1929, and opened its doors
2 January 1930. Keeping busy by welding aluminum tubing for truck frames, the company eagerly pursued contracts with the
US Navy. Grumman designed the first practical floats with a retractable landing gear for the Navy, and this launched Grumman into the aviation market. The first Grumman aircraft was also for the Navy, the
Grumman FF-1, a
biplane with retractable
landing gear. This was followed by a number of other successful designs. As the company grew, it moved to
Valley Stream, New York, then
Farmingdale, New York, finally ending up at
Bethpage, New York, all located on Long Island as well. For much of the Cold War period Grumman was the largest single corporate employer on Long Island. Grumman's products were considered so reliable and ruggedly built that the company was often referred to as the "
Grumman Iron Works."
During
World War II, Grumman became famous for its Navy
fighter aircraft,
F4F Wildcat and
F6F Hellcat, and for its
torpedo bomber TBF Avenger. Grumman's first
jet plane, the
F9F Panther, became operational in
1949, but the company's big postwar successes came in the
1960s with the
A-6 Intruder and in the
1970s with the
F-14 Tomcat.
Grumman were also the chief contractor on the
Apollo Lunar Module that landed men on the moon. They received the contract on
7 November,
1962, and ultimately built 13 lunar modules (LMs). As the Apollo program neared its end, Grumman was one of the chief competitors for the contract to design and build the
Space Shuttle, but lost to
Rockwell.
Meanwhile, in
1969, the company changed its name to
Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and in
1978 it sold the Grumman-American Division to
Gulfstream Aerospace. The end of the
Cold War at the beginning of the 1990s and the ensuing reduced need for defense spending led to a wave of mergers as aerospace companies shrank; in
1994 Grumman merged with Northrop to form
Northrop Grumman.
* Fighter aircraft
**
Grumman FF**
Grumman F2F**
Grumman F3F**
F4F Wildcat**
XF5F Skyrocket**
F6F Hellcat**
F7F Tigercat**
F8F Bearcat**
F9F Panther**
F9F Cougar**
XF10F Jaguar**
F11F Tiger**
F-14 Tomcat* Attack
**
AF Guardian**
A-6 Intruder* Bomber
**
TBF Avenger* Amphibious
**
JF Duck**
J2F Duck**
Grumman G-21 "Goose" some modified as Super or Turbo Goose
**
Grumman G-44 "Widgeon"
**
Grumman HU-16 (Coast Guard UF-1/UF-2, Navy U-16, Civilian G-111) "Albatross"
**
Grumman G-73 "Mallard"
* Other
**
C-1 Trader**
E-1 Tracer**
S-2 Tracker**
E-2 Hawkeye**
C-2 Greyhound**
OV-1 Mohawk**
EA-6B Prowler**
Grumman X-29A* Space
**
Apollo Lunar Module* Civilian
**
Grumman Gulfstream I & 2
**
Grumman American AA-1 (1971-76)
**
Grumman American AA-1B Trainer (1971-76)
**
Grumman American AA-5 Traveler (1972-75)
**
Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah (1976-79)
**
Grumman American AA-5B Tiger (1975-79)
*
Aerofiles
