Fairchild was an American aircraft and
aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in
Farmingdale, New York;
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...
; and
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
.
History
Early aircraft

The company was founded by
Sherman Fairchild in 1924 as Fairchild Aviation Corporation, based in Farmingdale, and East Farmingdale, New York. It was established as the parent company for Fairchild's many aviation interests. The company produced the first
US aircraft to include a fully enclosed cockpit and hydraulic landing gear, the
Fairchild FC-1. At some point, it was also known as the Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Company. The
Fairchild Aircraft Ltd.
Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. was an aircraft manufacturer active at Longueuil, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada in the period 1920–50. It served as a subsidiary of the Fairchild Aircraft company of the United States.
History Origin
Fairchild Aircraft ...
of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada was an aircraft manufacturer during the period of 1920 to 1950, which served as a subsidiary of the Fairchild company of the United States. The Fairchild Engine Company was formed with the purchase of the Caminez Engine Company in 1925. In 1929, Sherman Fairchild purchased a majority stock interest in
Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company of Hagerstown, Maryland. The company moved to Hagerstown in 1931.
[Kaske, Kristine L]
"Fairchild Industries, Inc. Collection."
''National Air and Space Archives,'' 2003.
A series of related designs beginning with the
Fairchild FC-1 and continuing to the
Fairchild 71 were designed for aerial photography as a result of dissatisfaction towards available aircraft which were incapable of flying steadily enough at a sufficient altitude. In 1935, Fairchild was hired by the US government to do aerial photograph surveys of the United States to track soil erosion and its effects.
A
Fairchild FC-2 was used by
Richard E. Byrd during his Antarctic Expedition.
World War II

During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Fairchild produced
PT-19/PT-23/PT-26 (Cornell) and
AT-21 Gunner trainers,
C-82 Packet
The C-82 Packet is a twin-engine, Twin-boom aircraft, twin-boom cargo aircraft designed and built by Fairchild Aircraft. It was used briefly by the United States Army Air Forces and the successor United States Air Force following World War II.
...
transports and
drones. The Fairchild AT-21 Gunner, a twin-engine trainer, was manufactured at a former rayon mill in
Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which en ...
. Also large numbers of the
Fairchild 24
The Fairchild Model 24, also called the Fairchild Model 24 Argus and UC-61 Forwarder, is a four-seat, single-engine monoplane light transport aircraft designed by the Fairchild Aviation Corporation in the 1930s. It was adopted by the United Sta ...
(C-61/Argus) were produced for the military (principally as the Argus for the Royal Air Force), and continued production after the war for the civilian market. Fairchild ranked 73rd among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.
Postwar

The C-82 Packet led to the
C-119 Flying Boxcar, another U.S. military transport aircraft. The C-119 could carry cargo, personnel, stretcher patients and mechanized equipment with the ability to make "paradrops" of cargo and troops. The first C-119 made its initial flight in November 1947, and by the time production ceased in 1955, more than 1,100 C-119s had been built for use in the USAF, the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
and others. Many were converted into waterbombers after being retired from military service.
In 1949, the
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...
, Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation developed the
Chase XCG-20 glider into the
C-123 Provider transport which entered service in 1955. In 1954 Fairchild purchased the American Helicopter Company, incorporating it and the
XH-26 Jet Jeep as a division. In 1956, the company acquired rights to the
Fokker Friendship
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
, producing 206 of the aircraft as the
Fairchild F-27
The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 are versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined, turboprop, passenger aircraft formerly manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to ...
and
Fairchild Hiller FH-227. During the 1950s, Fairchild was a large subcontractor to Boeing for
B-52 fuselage sections and wing panels. Later, the company built
McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by ...
tail sections,
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...
tails, and
Space Shuttle orbiter
The Space Shuttle orbiter is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle, a partially reusable launch system, reusable orbital spaceflight, orbital spacecraft system that was part of the discontinued Space Shuttle program. Operated from 1981 ...
stabilizers.
In 1964, the company purchased
Hiller Aircraft, changing its name to Fairchild Hiller and producing the
FH-1100, until 1973 when the helicopter division was sold back to Stanley Hiller. In 1965, the company acquired the
Republic Aviation Company.
Following the death of its founder, Fairchild changed its name to Fairchild Industries in 1971. This was a merger of Fairchild-Hiller Corporation, division and subsidiaries: Fairchild Aircraft Marketing Company, Fairchild Aircraft Services Division, Fairchild Republic Division, Fairchild Space and Electronics Division, Fairchild Stratos Division, Burns Aero Seat Company, Inc., Fairchild Arms International, Ltd., Fairchild Aviation (Asia) Ltd., Fairchild Aviation (Holland) N.V., Fairchild-Germantown Development Company, Inc. and S.J. Industries, Inc. Before 1971, Fairchild Industries was a term used to include many of the companies of its founder
Sherman Mills Fairchild.
After the name change, the company purchased Swearingen and manufactured the
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, Cabin pressurization, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, Swearingen ...
, a successful commuter aircraft that gained orders from the U.S. military as the
C-26 Metroliner. In 1971, the company began developing the
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 19 ...
in
Germantown, Maryland
Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 91,249 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous community in Maryland, after Baltimore and Columbia, Maryland, Col ...
, which prevailed over the rival
Northrop YA-9 in the A-X competition for an eventual production run of 716 aircraft.
The company developed the
T-46 jet trainer to replace the elderly
Cessna T-37 Tweet trainer, but it was not accepted by the Air Force because of performance problems.
Their association with Boeing continued into the 1980s as they built wing control surfaces for 747s and 757s.
Aircraft production was ended in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1984.
After the company took over
Dornier's civil assets in 1996, the company was renamed Fairchild Dornier. The company commenced production of the
Dornier 328 in 1998 under license from
Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA).
In December 1999, Fairchild Aerospace Corporation was acquired by German insurer
Allianz
Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management.
Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...
A.G. and the United States investment group
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. for $1.2 billion.
In 2003, the assets of Fairchild were purchased by
M7 Aerospace
M7 Aerospace LP is an aerospace company with its headquarters on the property of San Antonio International Airport in Uptown San Antonio, Texas, United States.
M7 is the successor organization to Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Dornier Aviation, h ...
and the new company was moved to San Antonio.
On December 15, 2010, M7 was purchased by the United States subsidiary of the Israeli defense contractor
Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international military technology company and defense contractor. Founded in 1966 by Elron, Elbit Systems is the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipment and unmanned aerial v ...
.
M7 Aerospace does not manufacture aircraft, but focuses on aerospace parts and support services.
Products
Aircraft
Missiles
*
AUM-N-2 Petrel
*
SAM-N-2 Lark
*
XSM-73 Goose
*
SD-5 Osprey
Spacecraft
*
International Cometary Explorer
*
Pegasus
Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
*
ATS-6
See also
*
Fairchild Industries
*
Fairchild Corporation
*
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. was an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1957 as a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument by the " traitorous eight" who defected from Shockley Semi ...
*
Fairchild Camera and Instrument
*
Ranger/Fairchild Engines
*
List of aircraft engines
This is an alphabetical list of aircraft engines by manufacturer.
0–9 2si
*2si 215
*2si 230
*Cuyuna 430, 2si 430
*2si 460
*2si 500
*2si 540
*2si 690
3W
''Source: RMV''
*3W 106iB2
*3W-110
*3W-112
*3W-170
*3W-210
*3W-220
A
Aba ...
References
Sources
* Donald, David, ed. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft.'' New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997. .
External links
Referenceforbusiness.com: History of Fairchild Aircraft, Inc. and associated companiesFairchild Industries Collection, National Air and Space Archives PDF
Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...
—'' includes corporate history and chronology''.
Fairchild Controls Corporation company websiteM7 Aerospace company website*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070929194742/http://www.planesandchoppers.com/list.asp?field=manufacturers&crit=27 Planesandchoppers.com: Photos of Fairchild aircraftHagerstown Aviation Museum website— ''in Hagerstown (Maryland), headquarters of Fairchild Aircraft from 1931-1984, and "Home of the Flying Boxcar." ''
The Fairchild CorporationFairchild Semiconductor History
{{Authority control
Fairchild Corporation
Aerospace companies of the United States
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States
American companies established in 1925
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1925
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2003
1925 establishments in New York (state)
1931 establishments in Maryland
2003 disestablishments in Texas
Companies based in Nassau County, New York
Manufacturing companies based in San Antonio
Washington County, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
2003 mergers and acquisitions
Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York (state)
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Texas
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Maryland
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange