Goodyear Aerospace
Encyclopedia
Goodyear Aerospace Corporation was the aerospace and defense subsidiary of Goodyear
.
was constructed.
to design and build the empennage section for its new plane, the B-26 Marauder
. The army had placed a large order and Goodyear had available manufacturing space at its huge Airship Dock
, near Akron, Ohio
. Due to ongoing problems in Europe, Goodyear created Goodyear Aircraft Corporation to handle US military contracts in 1939. The German-US joint venture ended in 1941 and airship operations were moved over to Goodyear Aircraft Corporation.
By 1941, manufacturing facilities in Akron were running at full capacity and ground was broken on July 15, 1941 at an additional location just west of Phoenix, Arizona. Goodyear was familiar with the area, and had been operating a large cotton ranch there for decades. Arizona produced more than three million pounds of airframes during World War II.
Goodyear Aircraft Company in Goodyear, Arizona, in 1951, the Arizona employees past and present played a long and storied role in numerous SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar
) firsts. These include the original SAR patent, the first demonstration SAR and flight test, the first operational SAR system, the first operational SAR data link, the first 5-foot resolution operational SAR system, the first 1-foot resolution SAR system, and the first large scale SAR digital processor. The company has installed and flown over five hundred SAR systems on more than thirty different types of aircraft for numerous countries throughout the world. The company designed and produced all of the evolving high performance SAR systems for the U. S. Air Force SR-71 "Blackbird" spy plane throughout its entire operational history, spanning some twenty-nine years.
Darrell C. Romick, former Chief Engineer of Taylorcraft Airplane Company was a close associate of Werner von Braun. Romick's worked for Goodyear Aircraft in the 1950s produced a rocket and spacecraft design called the Goodyear Meteor Junior
concept. The 3-stage rocket had similarities to the much later Space Shuttle
in that it was manned, had reusable stages, and its topmost stage was designed to ferry personnel and cargo to a large space station orbiting the earth. The concept was designed in 1954 to 1958, with a launch date of 1962.
The company became Goodyear Aerospace Corporation in 1963 to reflect the diverse range of products. In 1987 it was sold to Loral Corporation
for $640 million following a massive restructuring of Goodyear prompted by the hostile takeover attempt by James Goldsmith
and the Hanson Trust
. The Goodyear name disappeared and became the defence systems unit of Loral.
designs (GZ-20 and GZ-22) were sold to Lockheed Martin
, which purchase defence systems unit in 1993. While owning the designs, Lockheed Martin does not manufacture any airship products.
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
.
Early Years
The company began as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Aeronautics Department and renamed in 1917 as the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation set up to construct dirigibles for the US military. A giant dirigible hanger was constructed in Akron where airships for the US Navy, including the USS Akron (ZRS-4)USS Akron (ZRS-4)
USS Akron was a helium-filled rigid airship of the United States Navy that was lost in a weather-related accident off the New Jersey coast early on April 4, 1933, killing 73 of the 76 crew and passengers on board...
was constructed.
Wartime Aircraft Manufacturing
Also due to the lack of business during the depression, the company used its advance aerospace knowledge to design and build the high speed Comet commuter trains for the route between Boston and Providence. It became Goodyear Aircraft Corporation on December 5, 1939 in response to a contract from the Glenn L. Martin CompanyGlenn L. Martin Company
The Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
to design and build the empennage section for its new plane, the B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
. The army had placed a large order and Goodyear had available manufacturing space at its huge Airship Dock
Goodyear Airdock
The Goodyear Airdock is an airship storage and construction hangar in Akron, Ohio.-History:Built and previously owned by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, later Goodyear Aerospace, it was constructed from April 20, 1929 to November 25, 1929, at a cost of $2.2 million...
, near Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. Due to ongoing problems in Europe, Goodyear created Goodyear Aircraft Corporation to handle US military contracts in 1939. The German-US joint venture ended in 1941 and airship operations were moved over to Goodyear Aircraft Corporation.
By 1941, manufacturing facilities in Akron were running at full capacity and ground was broken on July 15, 1941 at an additional location just west of Phoenix, Arizona. Goodyear was familiar with the area, and had been operating a large cotton ranch there for decades. Arizona produced more than three million pounds of airframes during World War II.
Goodyear Aircraft Company in Goodyear, Arizona, in 1951, the Arizona employees past and present played a long and storied role in numerous SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar
Synthetic aperture radar
Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...
) firsts. These include the original SAR patent, the first demonstration SAR and flight test, the first operational SAR system, the first operational SAR data link, the first 5-foot resolution operational SAR system, the first 1-foot resolution SAR system, and the first large scale SAR digital processor. The company has installed and flown over five hundred SAR systems on more than thirty different types of aircraft for numerous countries throughout the world. The company designed and produced all of the evolving high performance SAR systems for the U. S. Air Force SR-71 "Blackbird" spy plane throughout its entire operational history, spanning some twenty-nine years.
Diversification
The Arizona plant produced a range of defense products in later years, including jet aircraft canopies, bulletproof glass and vehicular armor products, military shelters and missile transporters.Darrell C. Romick, former Chief Engineer of Taylorcraft Airplane Company was a close associate of Werner von Braun. Romick's worked for Goodyear Aircraft in the 1950s produced a rocket and spacecraft design called the Goodyear Meteor Junior
Goodyear Meteor Junior
The Goodyear Meteor Junior was a 1954 concept for a reusable spacecraft designed by Darrell C. Romick and two of his colleagues employed by Goodyear Aerospace, a subsidiary of the American Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company...
concept. The 3-stage rocket had similarities to the much later Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
in that it was manned, had reusable stages, and its topmost stage was designed to ferry personnel and cargo to a large space station orbiting the earth. The concept was designed in 1954 to 1958, with a launch date of 1962.
The company became Goodyear Aerospace Corporation in 1963 to reflect the diverse range of products. In 1987 it was sold to Loral Corporation
Loral Corporation
Loral Corporation was a defense contractor founded in 1948 in New York by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation. The company's name was taken from the first letters of each founder's surname....
for $640 million following a massive restructuring of Goodyear prompted by the hostile takeover attempt by James Goldsmith
James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael "Jimmy" Goldsmith was an Anglo-French billionaire financier and tycoon. Towards the end of his life, he became a magazine publisher and a politician. In 1994, he was elected to represent France as a Member of the European Parliament and he subsequently founded the short-lived...
and the Hanson Trust
Hanson plc
Hanson plc is a British based international building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index for many years, the company was acquired by a division of German rival Heidelberg Cement in August 2007.-History:Hanson...
. The Goodyear name disappeared and became the defence systems unit of Loral.
Demise
Loral's rights to the Goodyear BlimpGoodyear Blimp
The Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
designs (GZ-20 and GZ-22) were sold to Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
, which purchase defence systems unit in 1993. While owning the designs, Lockheed Martin does not manufacture any airship products.