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Grumman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Grumman (disambiguation).
Grumman Corporation

Industry

Fate
Successor

Aircraft; aircraft parts and

equipment; data processing and
preparation; search and
navigation equipment; truck and
bus bodies; electrical equipment
and supplies
Merged with Northrop
Northrop Grumman

Founded

1929

Defunct

1994

Headquart
Bethpage, New York
ers

Products

Grumman F4F Wildcat;

Grumman F6F Hellcat; Grumman
TBF Avenger; Grumman A-6
Intruder; Grumman F-14 Tomcat;
Apollo Lunar Module

Number of
23,000 (1986)
employees
Grumman Aerospace Corp.;
Subsidiarie
Grumman Allied Industries, Inc.;
s
Grumman Data Systems Corp.

The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace

Corporation, was a leading 20th century U.S. producer of military and civilian aircraft.
Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and partners, its independent existence
ended in 1994 when it was acquired by Northrop Corporation to form Northrop Grumman.
Contents

1 History
o

1.1 Early history

1.2 Navy contracts

1.3 Manned spacecraft

1.4 Business and commercial aircraft

2 Long Island location

3 Products

3.1 Aircraft

3.2 Spacecraft

3.3 Other products

4 References
o

4.1 Notes

4.2 Bibliography

5 External links

History
Early history

Grumman Historical Marker

Leroy Grumman and others worked for the Loening Aircraft Engineering Corporation in the
1920s, but when it was bought by Keystone Aircraft Corporation and the operations moved
from New York City to Bristol, Pennsylvania, Grumman and his partners (Edmund Ward
Poor,[1] William Schwendler, Jake Swirbul, and Clint Towl) started their own company in an
old Cox-Klemin Aircraft Co. factory in Baldwin on Long Island, New York. All of the early
Grumman employees were former Loening employees.[2] The company was named for
Grumman because he was its largest investor.
The company filed as a business on December 5, 1929, and opened its doors on January 2,
1930. Keeping busy by welding aluminum tubing for truck frames, the company eagerly
pursued contracts with the US Navy.[2] Grumman designed the first practical floats with a
retractable landing gear for the Navy, and this launched Grumman into the aviation market.[2]
The first Grumman aircraft was also for the Navy, the Grumman FF-1, a biplane with
retractable landing gear.[2] This was followed by a number of other successful designs.[2]
Navy contracts

Grumman Corporation logo, ca. 1976

During World War II, Grumman became known for its "Cats", Navy fighter aircraft, F4F
Wildcat and F6F Hellcat, and the less well known Grumman F7F Tigercat and Grumman F8F
Bearcat (neither of which saw combat during World War II), and for its torpedo bomber TBF
Avenger. Grumman ranked 22nd among United States corporations in the value of wartime
production contracts.[3] Grumman's first jet aircraft was the F9F Panther; it was followed by
the upgraded F9F/F-9 Cougar, and the less well known F-11 Tiger in the 1950s. The
company's big postwar successes came in the 1960s with the A-6 Intruder and E-2 Hawkeye
and in the 1970s with the Grumman EA-6B Prowler and F-14 Tomcat. Grumman products
were prominent in the film Top Gun and numerous World War II naval and Marine Corps
aviation films. The U.S. Navy still employs the Hawkeye as part of Carrier Air Wings on
board aircraft carriers, and the U.S. Marine Corps still operates the Prowler as of 2016.
Manned spacecraft

Apollo Spacecraft: Apollo Lunar Module Diagram

Grumman was the chief contractor on the Apollo Lunar Module that landed men on the
moon. The firm received the contract on November 7, 1962, and built 13 lunar modules. As
the Apollo program neared its end, Grumman was one of the main competitors for the
contract to design and build the Space Shuttle, but lost to Rockwell International. The
company ended up involved in the shuttle program nonetheless, as a subcontractor to
Rockwell, providing the wings and vertical stabilizer sections.
In 1969 the company changed its name to Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and in 1978
it sold the Grumman-American Division to Gulfstream Aerospace. The company built the
Grumman Long Life Vehicle (LLV), a light transport mail truck designed for and used by the
United States Postal Service. The LLV entered service in 1986.
Business and commercial aircraft

Grumman was responsible for a successful line of business aircraft including the Gulfstream I
turboprop (Grumman model G-159) and Gulfstream II business jet (Grumman model G1159) which were operated by a number of companies and private individuals as well as by
government agencies including various military entities and NASA. In addition, the
Gulfstream I propjet was operated by several commuter/regional airlines in scheduled
passenger services and included a stretched version, being the Gulfstream I-C (Grumman
model G-159C) which could transport 37 passengers. Gulfstream business jets continue to be
currently manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace which is a wholly owned subsidiary of
General Dynamics.
Long Island location

F-14 Tomcat at Grumman Memorial Park, Calverton, New York

For much of the Cold War period Grumman was the largest corporate employer on Long
Island.[citation needed] Grumman's products were considered so reliable and ruggedly built that the
company was often referred to as the "Grumman Iron Works".[4]
As the company grew, it moved to Valley Stream, New York, then Farmingdale, New York,
finally to Bethpage, New York, with the testing and final assembly at the 6,000-acre (24 km2)
Naval Weapons Station in Calverton, New York, all located on Long Island. At its peak in
1986 it employed 23,000 people on Long Island[5] and occupied 6,000,000 square feet
(560,000 m2) in structures on 105 acres (0.42 km2) it leased from the U.S. Navy in Bethpage.
[6]

The end of the Cold War at the beginning of the 1990s reduced defense spending and led to a
wave of mergers as aerospace companies shrank in number; in 1994 Northrop bought
Grumman for $2.1 billion to form Northrop Grumman,[6] after Northrop topped a $1.9 billion
offer from Martin Marietta.[7]
The new company closed almost all of its facilities on Long Island and converted the
Bethpage plant to a residential and office complex with its headquarters at 1111 Stewart
Avenue becoming the corporate headquarters for Cablevision and the Calverton plant being
turned into an airport developed by Riverhead, New York.[citation needed] A portion of the airport
property has been used for the Grumman Memorial Park. Northrop Grumman's remaining
business at the Bethpage campus is the "Battle Management and Engagement Systems
Division", which employs around 2,000 people.[when?][citation needed]
Products

An F-14A Tomcat of VF-84 Jolly Rogers, in the old color scheme from the
beginning of its service

An A-6E Intruder flying over Spain during Exercise Matador

TBF Avenger

Navy Grumman US-2C Tracker

E-2C Hawkeye
Aircraft

The "Cats"
o

Grumman F4F Wildcat

Grumman F6F Hellcat

Grumman F7F Tigercat

Grumman F8F Bearcat

Grumman F9F Panther

Grumman F9F, F-9 Cougar

Grumman XF10F Jaguar

Grumman F-11 Tiger

Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger

Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Other fighter aircraft

o

Grumman FF1[2]

Grumman F2F[8]

Grumman F3F[9]

Grumman XF5F Skyrocket

Grumman XP-50

General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B

Grumman G-118

Amphibious
o

Columbia XJL

Grumman JF Duck[8]

Grumman J2F Duck[8]

Grumman G-21 Goose some modified as Super or Turbo Goose

Grumman G-44 Widgeon

Grumman G-73 Mallard

Grumman HU-16 Albatross (Coast Guard UF-1/UF-2, Navy U-16,

Civilian G-111)

Attack
o

Grumman A-6 Intruder

Bomber
o

Grumman XSBF

Grumman TBF Avenger

Grumman XTB2F

Grumman XTSF

Electronic warfare aircraft

o

Grumman EA-6B Prowler

General Dynamics/Grumman EF-111A Raven

Other aircraft
o

Grumman AF Guardian

Grumman C-1 Trader

Grumman E-1 Tracer

Grumman S-2 Tracker

Grumman E-2 Hawkeye

Grumman C-2 Greyhound

Grumman OV-1 Mohawk

Grumman X-29

Civilian
o

Grumman Gulfstream I

Grumman Gulfstream II

Grumman American AA-1 (197176)

Grumman American AA-1B Trainer (197176)

Grumman American AA-5 Traveler (197275)

Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah (197679)

Grumman American AA-5B Tiger (197579)

Grumman American Cougar

Grumman Ag Cat

Grumman Kitten

Grumman G-65 Tadpole

Spacecraft

Space

Apollo Lunar Module

Other products

Grumman Olson built aluminum truck bodies, known as stepvans. Under

the Grumman Olson brand it made the P-600 and P-6800 step vans for
UPS.

Grumman manufactured fire engines under the name Firecat and aerial
tower trucks under the Aerialcat name. The company entered the fire
apparatus business in 1976 with its purchase of Howe Fire Apparatus and
ended operations in 1992.

Grumman canoes were developed in 1944 as World War II was winding

down. Company executive William Hoffman used the company's aircraft
aluminum to replace the traditional wood design. The canoes had a
reputation for being sturdier, lighter and stronger than their wood
counterparts and had a considerable market share. Grumman moved its
boat making division to Marathon, New York in 1952.
Outboard Marine Corp. bought the division in 1990 and produced the last
Grumman-brand canoe in 1996. Shortly thereafter former Grumman
executives formed the Marathon Boat Group to produce the canoes. In
2000 the Group worked out an agreement with Northrop Grumman to sell
the canoes using Grumman name and logo.[10][11] The Grumman canoes
with its logo are used in the film Deliverance.

After Grumman took over Howe Fire Apparatus, the fire trucks were
rebranded Grumman.

Grumman sport boat

Grumman-Flxible 870 transit buses (19781982)

Ben Franklin (PX-15), a science submarine

Grumman LLV postal vehicle widely used by the United States Postal
Service and Canada Post

In 1984 Grumman leased the first superconducting MRI in Manhattan to

East River Medical Imaging then known as S-K Magnetic Resonance
Imaging, P.C.

United States Postal Service Grumman LLV

1988 Grumman Firecat, Santiago de Chile FD, 2004

Grumman Olson UPS truck

Grumman Kabmaster Hostess Delivery truck

References
Notes
1.
"Air Warfare". An International Encyclopedia, Volume Two, M-Z, Volume 1, pp.
270271.
Jordan, Corey C. "Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter One." Planes and Pilots
Of World War 2, 2000. Retrieved: July 22, 2011.
Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process:
An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p.619
Skrula and Gregory 2004
"Long Islanders Shocked by Grumman's Merger." The New York Times,
March 8, 1994.
"Commercial Property/Selling Off Northrop Grumman's Surplus;
Cablevision Takes Last of the Grumman Buildings." The New York Times,
December 28, 1997.

 "Northrop Bests Martin Marietta to Buy Grumman." The New York Times,
April 5, 1994.
Jordan, Corey C. "Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Two." Planes and Pilots
Of World War 2, 2000. Retrieved: July 22, 2011.
Jordan, Corey C. "Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Three." Planes and
Pilots Of World War 2, 2000. Retrieved: July 22, 2011.
"Paddling a Canoe to Success." Newsday. Retrieved: May 15, 2009.
1.

"Marathon BoatGroup: About Us." Marathonboat.com. Retrieved:

May 15, 2009.

Bibliography

Ferguson, Robert G. "One Thousand Planes a Day: Ford, Grumman, General

Motors and the Arsenal of Democracy." History and Technology, Volume
21, Issue 2, 2005.

Fetherston, Drew. "Pioneers on the Runway: Raising Grumman." LI

History.com, Grumman Park. Retrieved: March 18, 2009.

Kessler, Pamela. "Leroy Grumman, Sky King." The Washington Post

(Weekend), October 11, 1985.

O'Leary, Michael, ed. "Leroy Grumman." Air Classics, Volume 19, no. 2,
February 1983, pp. 2729.

Skurla, George M. and William H. Gregory. Inside the Iron Works: How
Grumman's Glory Days Faded. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press,
2004. ISBN 978-1-55750-329-9.

Tillman, Barrett. Hellcat: The F6F in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland:
Naval Institute Press, 2001. ISBN 0-87021-265-6.

Thruelsen, Richard. The Grumman Story. New York: Praeger Publishers,

Inc., 1976. ISBN 0-275-54260-2.

Treadwell, Terry. Ironworks: Grumman's Fighting Aeroplanes. Shrewsbury,

UK: Airlife Publishers, 1990. ISBN 1-85310-070-6.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grumman Aerospace
Corporation.

International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 11. St. James Press,

1995 (via fundinguniverse.com)

Grumman profile on Aerofiles.com

Grumman Memorial Park History Center

WW2DB: Grumman aircraft of WW2

1994 Aerial photograph of Bethpage Headquarters, including intact

runways

Grumman Firecat on multimedia gallery

Archived 2007 Newsday article on decline of Grumman

[show]

Grumman and Northrop Grumman aircraft

[show]

American Aviation light aircraft

[show]

Automotive industry in the United States

Categories:

Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States

Defunct technology companies of the United States

Manufacturing companies based in New York

Companies based in Nassau County, New York

Manufacturing companies established in 1929

Technology companies established in 1929

Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1929

Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1994

Technology companies disestablished in 1994

Airports on Long Island

Defunct companies based in New York

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