Keystone Aircraft Corporation was an early American airplane manufacturer.

History

Headquartered in Bristol, Pennsylvania, the company was formed as "Ogdensburg Aeroway Corp" in 1920 by Thomas Huff and Elliot Daland, but its name was quickly changed to " Huff-Daland Aero Corp", then to "Huff-Daland Aero Company". The company made a name for itself in agricultural aircraft, and then in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

' early bomber aircraft. From 1924, James McDonnell was the chief designer. In 1926, Huff left the company, and it was soon purchased by Hayden, Stone & Co., who increased capital to $1 million (United States) and renamed it Keystone. In 1928, it merged with Loening and was known as Keystone–Loening. In 1929, it was taken over by

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

. Also in 1929, the Keystone–Loening plant on the East River in New York City was closed by Curtis-Wright and the operation was moved to the Bristol, Pennsylvania. Keystone plant. A small band of the top Loening management, design and shop workers (all New Yorkers) did not want to go to Bristol. They instead started their own aircraft company in a small rented shop in Baldwin, NY in Jan. 1930. The principal players were Leroy R. Grumman, Leon "Jake" Swirbul and William Schwendler.

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...

Aircraft went on to stellar heights with some of the best aircraft in US Navy history. Grumman also designed and built the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) that landed US astronauts on the moon. In 1932 the Army Air Corps issued a Circular design proposal for an advanced new heavy bomber which Ford, Martin, Boeing, Fokker, Douglas and Keystone submitted designs. The Keystone entry was for an all metal low winged monoplane bomber with retractable landing gear. The bomber would be powered by two Curtiss V-1570 geared Conqueror engines. With a crew of 5 it was armed with up to 3 x .30 caliber machine guns and could carry 2,000 lbs (907 kg) of bombs on external racks. A mock-up of the aircraft was inspected by the Air Corps in April and was withdrawn by Keystone after it was determined it could not meet the requirements. The contract was ultimately won by Martin for their Model 139, known as the B-10 Bomber. This was to be the last design submitted to the military by Keystone. Keystone itself became a manufacturing division of Curtiss-Wright and ceased production in 1932. The former Keystone plant was purchased by Fleetwings in 1934. Lieut. Comdr. Noel Davis and Lieut. Stanton H. Wooster were killed in their Keystone Pathfinder ''American Legion'' while conducting a test flight, just days before they were to attempt a trans-Atlantic flight for the

Orteig Prize The Orteig Prize was a reward offered to the first Allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa.Bak. Pages 28 and 29. Several famous aviators made unsuccessful attempts at the New York–Paris flight before the rel ...

Aircraft

References

External links

Aerofiles
{{Keystone aircraft Companies based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1932 American companies established in 1920 Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies established in 1920 1929 mergers and acquisitions 1920 establishments in Pennsylvania 1932 disestablishments in Pennsylvania