Fairchild (aircraft manufacturer)

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1944 Fairchild Argus III

Fairchild was an aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York, Hagerstown, Maryland and San Antonio, Texas.

1 History
2 World War II
3 Postwar
4 Museum displays
5 External links

[edit] History

The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 1925 as Fairchild Aviation Corporation, based in Farmingdale, and East Farmingdale, New York. The company produced the first US aircraft to include a fully-enclosed cockpit and hydraulic landing gear, the Fairchild FC-1. At some point they were also known as the Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Fairchild moved to Hagerstown, Maryland in 1931.

[edit] World War II

Among its activities during World War II was producing a twin-engine trainer, the Fairchild AT-21 Gunner, at a former rayon mill in Burlington, North Carolina. Also large numbers of the Fairchild Type 24 (C-61)were produced for the military (principally the Fairchild Argus for the Royal Air Force) and postwar, the civilian market (see separate entry under Fairchild Argus).

[edit] Postwar

The A-10 Thunderbolt

In 1949, the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation (based in Hagerstown, Maryland) started work on the C-123 Provider, the transport officially entering service in 1955. In 1956, the company acquired rights to the Fokker Friendships, producing 206 of the aircraft as the Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH227.

In 1964, the company purchased Hiller Helicopter, changing their 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, before purchasing Swearingen and manufacturing the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner, a successful commuter aircraft (with US military designations C-26 Metroliner and UC-26 Metroliner). During 1971 and 1972, the company developed what would become the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, prevailing over a rival design by Northrop Grumman.

The company developed the T-46 jet trainer to replace the elderly T-37 trainer, but it was not accepted by the Air Force because of performance problems.

After the company's takeover of Dornier GmbH in 1996, the company was renamed Fairchild Dornier. The company commenced production of the Dornier 328 in 1998 under license from Daimler-Benz.

In 2002-2003, the company was taken over by M7 Aerospace.