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.
History Early history
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 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.
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.
Grumman designed the first practical floats with a retractable landing gear for the Navy,
and this launched Grumman into the aviation market.
The first Grumman aircraft was also for the Navy, the Grumman FF-1, a biplane with retractable
landing gear.
This was followed by a number of other successful designs.
Navy contracts
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, and for its torpedo bomber TBF Avenger.
Grumman ranked 22nd among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.
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 Prowler and the Hawkeye as part of Carrier Air Wings on
board aircraft carriers as of 2012.
Manned spacecraft
Grumman was the chief contractor on the Apollo Lunar Module that landed men on the moon.
They 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, a light transport mail truck designed for
and used by the United States Postal Service.
The LLV entered service in 1986.
Business & commercial aircraft Grumman was responsible for a successful line
of business aircraft including the Gulfstream I turboprop and Gulfstream II business jet
which were operated by a number of companies as well as by government agencies including
various military entities and NASA, and also by private individuals.
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 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
For much of the Cold War period Grumman was the largest corporate employer on Long Island.
Grumman's products were considered so reliable and ruggedly built that the company was often
referred to as the "Grumman Iron Works".
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 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 and occupied 6,000,000 square
feet in structures on 105 acres it leased from the U.S. Navy in Bethpage.
The end of the Cold War, at the beginning of the 1990s, the reduced need for defense
spending 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, after Northrop topped a $1.9 billion
offer from Martin Marietta.
The new company closed almost all of its facilities on Long Island with the Bethpage plant being
converted to a residential and office complex and the Calverton plant being turned into
an airport that is being developed by Riverhead, New York.
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.
Products
Aircraft The "Cats"
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
Grumman G-118
Other fighter aircraft Grumman FF1
Grumman F2F Grumman F3F
Grumman XF5F Skyrocket Grumman XP-50
General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B
Amphibious Columbia XJL
Grumman JF Duck Grumman J2F Duck
Grumman G-21 Goose some modified as Super or Turbo Goose
Grumman G-44 Widgeon Grumman G-73 Mallard
Grumman HU-16 Albatross
Attack Grumman A-6 Intruder
Bomber Grumman XSBF
Grumman TBF Avenger Grumman XTB2F
Grumman XTSF
Electronic warfare aircraft Grumman EA-6B Prowler
General Dynamics/Grumman EF-111A Raven
Other aircraft 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 Grumman Gulfstream I
Grumman Gulfstream II Grumman American AA-1
Grumman American AA-1B Trainer Grumman American AA-5 Traveler
Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah Grumman American AA-5B Tiger
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 also manufactured fire engines under the name Firecat and aerial tower trucks under
the Aerialcat name.
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.
The Grumman canoes with its logo are used in the film Deliverance.
Grumman sport boat Grumman-Flxible 870 transit buses
Ben Franklin, a science submarine Grumman LLV postal vehicle widely used by
the United States Postal Service and Canada Post
References Notes
Bibliography
External links International Directory of Company Histories,
Vol. 11.
St. James Press, 1995 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