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CONSOLIDATED VULTEE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION |
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| USA |
Amalgamation from March 17,1943 of Consolidated Aircraft Corporation and Vultee Aircraft Inc., whose wartime production programs are listed under these separate headings. By the end of Second World War Consolidated Vultee was largest aircraft manufacturing organization in the U.S.A., with factories at San Diego and Vultee Field, California; Fort Worth, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Wayne, Michigan; New Orleans, Louisiana; Miami, Florida; and Allentown, Pennsylvania; plus modification centers at Tucson, Arizona; Elizabeth City, North Carolina; and Louisville,
Late-war/early post-war programs included B-32 Dominator long-range bomber, L-13 liaison/observation aircraft and multi-engined B-36 intercontinental bomber. The company entered the commercial field with first flight, in summer 1946, of twin-engined Model 110, from which later stemmed well-known 240/340/440 Metropolitan series of medium-sized shorthaul airliners. Various noteworthy military prototypes included the XB-46 jet bomber, XP-81 single-seat mixed-power escort fighter, XF-92 rocket-powered interceptor, XA-41 close-support aircraft, and XF2Y Sea Dart hydro-ski fighter. A small number of R3Y Tradewind four-engined transport flying-boats Were built for the U.S. Navy. In the early 1950s Consolidated Vultee began calling its products "Convair" types, and on April 30,1954 it became the Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation, which was then the major shareholder.
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 All the World's Rotorcraft XP-81 |
