The Stratford Army Engine Plant (SAEP) was a U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command installation and manufacturing facility located in Stratford, Connecticut, where it was sited along the Housatonic River and Main Street, opposite Sikorsky Airport.
The plant was originally built in 1929 as Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporations's manufacturing facility.[1][2] The Sikorsky S-39, Sikorsky S-40 "Flying Forest", Sikorsky S-41, Sikorsky S-42 "Clipper" and Sikorsky S-43 "Baby Clipper" were built in this plant, which had a seaplane ramp for launching the aircraft into the Housatonic River.
When sales of amphibians fell in the late 1930s, due to the growing popularity of land-based aircraft, Sikorsky was merged with the Chance Vought Company by their parent United Aircraft in 1938[3]. The Vought-Sikorsky company then built the Vought-Sikorsky VS-44, Vought-Sikorsky OS2U Kingfisher, Vought-Sikorsky F4U Corsair and Vought-Sikorsky V-173 in the facility.[1]
After the combined company was broken into Vought Aircraft and Sikorsky Aircraft in January 1943,[4] Vought built the Vought TBY Sea Wolf, Vought XF5U, Vought F6U Pirate and prototype Vought F7U Cutlass in the facility.[5][6] Igor Sikorsky, given $250,000 for helicopter development by United Aircraft, also developed the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, Vought-Sikorsky VS-316 R-4, Vought-Sikorsky VS-327 R-5 and Vought-Sikorsky VS-316B R-6 in the plant. Sikorsky's production was moved to a plant in Bridgeport Connecticut in 1943[7] and Vought production was moved to an empty US government facility in Dallas Texas in 1949.[8] In 1954 Sikorsky moved the majority of their manufacturing to a new plant on the north side of Stratford, further up the Housatonic River.[9]
This move left the Stratford plant vacant, and soon afterward, flooding from the Housatonic River damaged much of the facility. The US Air Force purchased the facility in 1951 and renamed it Air Force Plant No. 43. Avco Corporation became the contractor operating the plant and they repaired the damaged buildings, and built dikes.[1] Avco moved a company they owned, Lycoming into the plant in the same year[10] and began manufacturing Wright R-1820 piston engines and General Electric J47 components there. In 1952 Lycoming had Anselm Franz set up a turbine engine development effort in the plant[6] and the Lycoming T53, Lycoming T55, Lycoming PLF1, Lycoming LTS101/LPT101, Lycoming ALF 502, Lycoming AGT1500 and Lycoming TF-40 turbine engines were all designed, developed and manufactured in this facility. By 1968, 10,000 people were employed in the plant.[6] In 1976, the plant was transferred from the Air Force to the Army and renamed the Stratford Army Engine Plant.[1] Production of the LTS-101 and LPT-101 turbine engines was moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania beginning in 1980.[6] In 1987 Avco was purchased by Textron to become Textron Lycoming and in 1995, Allied Signal acquired the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division in Stratford.[6] By this time, employment in the plant had fallen to 2,900 people.[6] In late 1995, Allied Signal announced that production would be shifted to its facility in Phoenix Arizona. In September 1998, Allied Signal concluded operations in the plant and returned it to the US Army.[6] AGT1500 production was shifted by the Army to the Anniston Army Depot (ANAD)in Anniston, Alabama.[11]
It occupied a 124-acre (50 ha) tract and included 49 industrial buildings and an earthen causeway that was built 800 feet (240 m) into the Housatonic River mudflats to provide for access by seaplanes.[12][13]
Because of the Base Realignment and Closure actions of the United States Department of Defense, closure of the plant was recommended in July 1995. The SAEP closed on 30 September 1998. For the next 11 years the Army was involved with "Team Stratford" to develop the property. The United States Army, which owns the 78-acre (320,000 m2) site, auctioned it off on 19 March 2008[14] with a winning bid of $9,612,000 which also includes the 1,720,000-square-foot (160,000 m2) facility of over 50 buildings. This bid failed to be paid off and is now being placed for rebid. Currently Robert Hartmann of Hartmann Development has a $1 billion plan to develop the former Army engine plant into a destination resort.[15]
The Connecticut Air and Space Center occupies part of the site.