Detroit Aircraft Corporation
Encyclopedia
The Detroit Aircraft Corporation was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan
on July 10, 1922, as the Aircraft Development Corporation. The name was changed in 1929. The Detroit corporation owned the entire capital stock of the Ryan Aircraft Corp., Aircraft Development Corp., Aviation Tool Co., Groose Airport, Inc., Marine Aircraft Corp., Park's Air College and Affiliated Companies, Detroit Aircraft Export Co., Gliders, Inc., and Eastman Aircraft Corp. It also owned a 90% interest in the Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Company, practically all of the capital stock of the Lockheed Aircraft Company and a 40% interest in Winton Aviation Engine Co. During the Great Depression
the Detroit Aircraft holding company found that rising losses from other operations were draining the company coffers. On October 27, 1931, the Detroit Aircraft Corporation went into receivership
.
Aircraft Development Corporation: Incorporated on July 12, 1929, in Michigan to take over and continue development and construction of "metal-clad" airships for commercial, military and naval uses. Company held patents covering design and construction of "Metalclad" rigid airships and airship mooring towers. The first "Metalclad" airship, the ZMC-2
, was constructed for the U.S. Navy in 1929. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock. Edsel Ford
, William May and William Stout
, invested in the venture in an effort to make Detroit the manufacturing center of the dirigible industry. The Ford name was not closely associated with the ZMC-2 at the insistence of Henry and Edsel Ford, but Ford laboratories, on the property of the newly-completed Ford Airport
conducted tests on the ZMC-2 and paid $500,000 for the 225 feet (68.6 m) dirigible mooring at Ford's airport
Aviation Tool, Co. Incorporated in Michigan, June 11, 1929, to take over and continue the development of automatic riveting machines and their application to all types of aircraft. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Grosse Ile
Airport, Inc. Incorporated in Michigan, Nov. 15, 1926. Owned and operated an airport on Grosse Ile, an island in the Detroit River. The airport covered 403 acres (1.6 km²) of land and has water approaches on three sides. Contains a circular landing field. 3 foot (0.9144 m) in diameter, and an airship hangar. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Marine Aircraft Corp. Incorporated in Michigan, June 11, 1929, to specialise exclusively in all-metal amphibian and flying boat construction for commercial and naval uses. Manufactured an all-metal six-place cabin amphibian plane. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Eastman Aircraft Corp. Incorporated in Michigan. Nov. 26, 1928. Manufactured the Sea Rover and Sea Pirate
flying boat ranging In price from $7,500 to $10,000. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Blackburn Aircraft
Corp. Incorporated in Michigan, May 20, 1929. to acquire design and patent rights on entire line of metal aircraft of Blackburn Airplane & Motor Co., Ltd. of England. DAC controlled 90% with the UK company holding 10% of the stock.
Detroit Aircraft Export Co. Incorporated in December 1928 for the purpose of handling export sales in South and Central China. Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Gliders, Inc. Engaged exclusively in the manufacture of sailplanes. Factory located In Detroit, Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
The Lockheed Aircraft Company of Santa Barbara, California had been a going concern all throughout the 1920s. However, in 1929, the management of Lockheed voted to sell majority share ownership to the Detroit Aircraft Corporation. In July 1929, the Detroit Aircraft Corporation acquired 87 percent of the assets of Lockheed.Lockheed Aircraft Company
Park's Air College and Affiliated Companies, Inc. see Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on July 10, 1922, as the Aircraft Development Corporation. The name was changed in 1929. The Detroit corporation owned the entire capital stock of the Ryan Aircraft Corp., Aircraft Development Corp., Aviation Tool Co., Groose Airport, Inc., Marine Aircraft Corp., Park's Air College and Affiliated Companies, Detroit Aircraft Export Co., Gliders, Inc., and Eastman Aircraft Corp. It also owned a 90% interest in the Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Company, practically all of the capital stock of the Lockheed Aircraft Company and a 40% interest in Winton Aviation Engine Co. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
the Detroit Aircraft holding company found that rising losses from other operations were draining the company coffers. On October 27, 1931, the Detroit Aircraft Corporation went into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
.
Officers
- Chairman: Edward S. Evans
- President: C. B. Fritsche
- Vice-Pres.: E. T. Gushee
- Treasurer: C. A. Parcells
- Directors: F. W. Blair, William Benson Mayo, E. T. Gushee, C. A. Parcells, C. W. Harrah, E. W. Lewis, C. S. Mott, Ransom Eli Olds, Ralph Hazlett Upson, R. D. Chapin, P. Ball, H. H. Knight, H. M. Bixby, T. N. Dysart, J. S. Elliott, F. E. Keeler, and B. S. Hunter
Subsidiaries
Ryan Aircraft Corporation: Incorporated into Detroit Aircraft on July 5, 1929., Ryan Aircraft acquired the assets and business of the Mahoney-Ryan Aircraft Corporation, the successor to Ryan Air Lines. Ryan Aircraft manufactured four and six-place cabin monoplanes at their St. Louis facility, adjacent to the municipal airport. The Detroit Aircraft Corporation owned Ryan Aircraft's entire capital stock.ZMC-2
The ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinned airship ever built. Constructed at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile by The Aircraft Development Corporation of Detroit, the ZMC-2 was operated by the U.S. Navy at Lakehurst, New Jersey from 1929 until its scrapping in 1941...
, was constructed for the U.S. Navy in 1929. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock. Edsel Ford
Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
, William May and William Stout
William Bushnell Stout
William Bushnell Stout was an inventor, designer whose work in automotive and aviation fields was notable. Stout designed an aircraft that eventually became the Ford Trimotor and was an executive at the Ford Motor Company.-Early years:William Bushnell Stout was born March 16, 1880 in Quincy,...
, invested in the venture in an effort to make Detroit the manufacturing center of the dirigible industry. The Ford name was not closely associated with the ZMC-2 at the insistence of Henry and Edsel Ford, but Ford laboratories, on the property of the newly-completed Ford Airport
Ford Airport (Dearborn)
Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan was one of the first modern airports in the world. The airport operated from 1924 to 1947, and the site is now part of Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Proving Ground. The airport is about 360 acres in size....
conducted tests on the ZMC-2 and paid $500,000 for the 225 feet (68.6 m) dirigible mooring at Ford's airport
Aviation Tool, Co. Incorporated in Michigan, June 11, 1929, to take over and continue the development of automatic riveting machines and their application to all types of aircraft. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Grosse Ile
Grosse Ile
Grosse Ile may refer to:* Grosse Ile Township, Michigan*Grosse Ile , the largest island in the township* Grosse Ile, Quebec, an island where many Irish Immigrants to Canada were housed and the site of the Grosse Isle Disaster...
Airport, Inc. Incorporated in Michigan, Nov. 15, 1926. Owned and operated an airport on Grosse Ile, an island in the Detroit River. The airport covered 403 acres (1.6 km²) of land and has water approaches on three sides. Contains a circular landing field. 3 foot (0.9144 m) in diameter, and an airship hangar. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Marine Aircraft Corp. Incorporated in Michigan, June 11, 1929, to specialise exclusively in all-metal amphibian and flying boat construction for commercial and naval uses. Manufactured an all-metal six-place cabin amphibian plane. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Eastman Aircraft Corp. Incorporated in Michigan. Nov. 26, 1928. Manufactured the Sea Rover and Sea Pirate
Eastman E-2 Sea Rover
-External links:*...
flying boat ranging In price from $7,500 to $10,000. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Blackburn Aircraft
Blackburn Aircraft
Blackburn Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that concentrated mainly on naval and maritime aircraft during the first part of the 20th century.-History:...
Corp. Incorporated in Michigan, May 20, 1929. to acquire design and patent rights on entire line of metal aircraft of Blackburn Airplane & Motor Co., Ltd. of England. DAC controlled 90% with the UK company holding 10% of the stock.
Detroit Aircraft Export Co. Incorporated in December 1928 for the purpose of handling export sales in South and Central China. Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Gliders, Inc. Engaged exclusively in the manufacture of sailplanes. Factory located In Detroit, Detroit Aircraft Corp. owned entire capital stock.
Park's Air College and Affiliated Companies, Inc. see Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology
Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology
Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology is a college within Saint Louis University.-History:right|thumb|[[de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver]] restored by Parks students in 1991...
Aircraft Manufactured
- Dirigibles
- DAC-2C Glider
- G-1 Gull Glider
- TE-1
- Lockheed-Detroit YP-24 (1931)
- SiriusLockheed SiriusThe Lockheed Model 8 Sirius was single engine, propeller-driven monoplane designed and built by Jack Northrop and Gerard Vultee while they were engineers at Lockheed in 1929, at the request of Charles Lindbergh...
- AltairLockheed Altair-See also:-References:* Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London:Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30329-6.* Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1987....
- Orion
- ZMC-2ZMC-2The ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinned airship ever built. Constructed at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile by The Aircraft Development Corporation of Detroit, the ZMC-2 was operated by the U.S. Navy at Lakehurst, New Jersey from 1929 until its scrapping in 1941...