Goodyear Aircraft Company
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bought by Loral Corporation for $640 million in 1987 |
| Predecessor | Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation |
| Founded | USA (1963) |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Akron, Ohio, USA |
| Parent | Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company |
Goodyear Aerospace Corporation was the aerospace and defense subsidiary of Goodyear. The company was originally operated as a division within Goodyear as part of a joint project with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, leading to the famous Goodyear Blimps. As part of the failing relationship between the US and Germany in the pre-war era, the division was spun off as Goodyear Aircraft Company 1939. In 1941 they opened a new factory in Arizona where they produced subassemblies, including subcontracted airframe construction and the design of the Goodyear F2G Corsair and Goodyear Duck.
In the post-war era, the division began to diversify and made major contributions to the development of synthetic aperture radar. In 1963 they became Goodyear Aerospace, with major product lines in radar, aircraft canopies, bulletproof glass, a number of spacecraft related products, and the unique Goodyear Inflatoplane. A 1986 hostile takeover attempt of the parent company by James Goldsmith led to a massive restructuring to build capital to buy Goldsmith out. Goodyear Aerospace was sold to Loral in 1987, which in turn sold their non-satellite operations with the defense products purchased by Lockheed Martin in 1993.
Goodyear's aerospace operations began with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Aeronautics Department. As part of the settling of war reparations with Germany after World War I, the German airship industry was reduced and Zeppelin operations forbidden. In 1924, Goodyear formed a joint interest company with the German Luftschiffbau Zeppelin company, of which Goodyear held 2/3 and the Zeppelin company 1/3 interest. This Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation was able to use Zeppelin's patents, and a number of German engineers and technical staff moved to the US. The chief engineer of the Zeppelin company became the "Vice-President of Engineering" The company subsequently constructed dirigibles for the US military. Goodyear's giant hangar was constructed where airships for the US Navy, including the USS Akron (ZRS-4), were constructed.
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