United Aircraft
Encyclopedia
The United Aircraft Corporation was formed in 1934 at the break-up of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
. In 1975, the company became the United Technologies Corporation
.
of the early 1930s resulted in a rebuilt air mail system, under the Air Mail Act of 1934, in which carriers and their equipment manufacturers (e.g., of airframes and engines) could no longer be joined. The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
was broken up, with Boeing split off to renewed independence. The corporation's airline interests went on to become United Airlines
. Pratt & Whitney, Chance Vought, and Sikorsky remained together as the new United Aircraft Corporation.
The latter half of the 1930s saw military procurement buildups around the world as governments foresaw possible war on the horizon. United Aircraft sold to both the United States Army
and the United States Navy
, but the Navy's requirement
s for carrier-based aircraft
, with maximized power-to-weight ratio
s for minimized takeoff runway length, were always more in tune with the specialties of United's subsidiaries (Pratt & Whitney, Chance Vought, and Sikorsky).
United Aircraft became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
on March 4, 1939, when United Aircraft and AT&T
were added to replace Nash Motors
and International Business Machines. United Aircraft, subsequently known as United Technologies, has remained a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since that time.
was an exercise in how to attempt to meet limitless demand for production (as well as for R&D
). The U.S. government encouraged corporations to build up their physical plant, but the corporations knew that there would be a postwar glut of overcapacity if they did so. In many cases a compromise was reached in which the government paid partially or fully for the expansions in the form of tax breaks and accelerated depreciation.
At the close of the war, jet engine
s and helicopter
s were both big new things whose coming growth many companies hoped to get in on. United Aircraft entered both industries, via Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky, respectively.
, successfully developed the Pratt & Whitney J57, which, being the most powerful jet engine on the market for some years, brought Pratt & Whitney profitability in the jet field.
Vought was spun off
as an independent business in 1954.
. The competitions for the aircraft that would become the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and the Boeing 747
were some of the financially riskier episodes. Pratt & Whitney ended up building the engines for the 747, producing the Pratt & Whitney JT9D
, but the program was rocky. For several years Boeing and Pratt & Whitney struggled with an aircraft that was too heavy and underpowered. Eventually, after a lot of continued development work, the 747 redeemed itself.
On the military side of the business, the TFX joint-procurement program led to the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark powered by the Pratt & Whitney TF30.
to a greater extent than in previous decades. Leaving behind a tradition of mating airframes to particular engines (which linked the profitability of an airframe model to that of its exclusive engine supplier), the airframe builders began offering multiple brands of engines. Producers had to compete on service, warranties, and eventually even by buying entire aircraft and then leasing them to the airlines.
left Litton Industries
to become the CEO of United Aircraft. He pursued a strategy of growth and diversification, changing the parent corporation's name to United Technologies Corporation
(UTC) in 1975 to reflect the intent to diversify into numerous high tech
fields beyond aerospace.
The history of United Technologies Corporation
from 1975 forward is discussed at United Technologies Corporation > History.
United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of the Boeing firms teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, amalgamated firm, uniting business interests in all aspects of aviation—a combination of aircraft engine and airframe...
. In 1975, the company became the United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in the United Technologies Building in Hartford, Connecticut...
.
1930s
The Air Mail scandalAir Mail Scandal
The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a congressional investigation of a 1930 meeting , between Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown and the executives of the top airlines, and to the disastrous...
of the early 1930s resulted in a rebuilt air mail system, under the Air Mail Act of 1934, in which carriers and their equipment manufacturers (e.g., of airframes and engines) could no longer be joined. The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of the Boeing firms teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, amalgamated firm, uniting business interests in all aspects of aviation—a combination of aircraft engine and airframe...
was broken up, with Boeing split off to renewed independence. The corporation's airline interests went on to become United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
. Pratt & Whitney, Chance Vought, and Sikorsky remained together as the new United Aircraft Corporation.
The latter half of the 1930s saw military procurement buildups around the world as governments foresaw possible war on the horizon. United Aircraft sold to both the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, but the Navy's requirement
Requirement
In engineering, a requirement is a singular documented physical and functional need that a particular product or service must be or perform. It is most commonly used in a formal sense in systems engineering, software engineering, or enterprise engineering...
s for carrier-based aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft are military aircraft designed specifically for operations from aircraft carriers. The term is generally applied only to fixed-wing aircraft, as naval helicopters are able to operate from a wider variety of aviation-capable ships. Carrier-based aircraft must be relatively...
, with maximized power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine or power sources...
s for minimized takeoff runway length, were always more in tune with the specialties of United's subsidiaries (Pratt & Whitney, Chance Vought, and Sikorsky).
United Aircraft became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
on March 4, 1939, when United Aircraft and AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
were added to replace Nash Motors
Nash Motors
Also see: Kelvinator and American Motors CorporationNash Motors was an automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the United States from 1916 to 1938. From 1938 to 1954, Nash was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation...
and International Business Machines. United Aircraft, subsequently known as United Technologies, has remained a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since that time.
1940s
For the subsidiaries of United Aircraft, and for countless other manufacturing firms, World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was an exercise in how to attempt to meet limitless demand for production (as well as for R&D
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
). The U.S. government encouraged corporations to build up their physical plant, but the corporations knew that there would be a postwar glut of overcapacity if they did so. In many cases a compromise was reached in which the government paid partially or fully for the expansions in the form of tax breaks and accelerated depreciation.
At the close of the war, jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s and helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s were both big new things whose coming growth many companies hoped to get in on. United Aircraft entered both industries, via Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky, respectively.
1950s
Pratt & Whitney feared the head start that Rolls Royce and General Electric would have in jets, based on their jet programs during the war and the late 1940s. But its jet team, led by Leonard S. HobbsLeonard S. Hobbs
Leonard S. Hobbs was an aeronautical engineer who started in 1920 with the Army Air Service at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio and later worked for Stromberg Motor Devices Corporation. He developed the first float-type carburetor for aircraft engines that was capable of providing normal operation...
, successfully developed the Pratt & Whitney J57, which, being the most powerful jet engine on the market for some years, brought Pratt & Whitney profitability in the jet field.
Vought was spun off
Spin out
A spin-out, also known as a spin-off or a starburst, refers to a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" sections of itself as a separate business....
as an independent business in 1954.
1960s
The 1960s brought new challenges, from more complex technology and bigger, more expensive aircraft to more mature markets with stiffer competition from GE, Rolls Royce, and SNECMASnecma
Snecma is a major French manufacturer of engines for commercial and military aircraft, and for space vehicles. The name is an acronym for Société Nationale d'Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation .In 2005, the Snecma group, which included Snecma ,...
. The competitions for the aircraft that would become the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and the Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
were some of the financially riskier episodes. Pratt & Whitney ended up building the engines for the 747, producing the Pratt & Whitney JT9D
Pratt & Whitney JT9D
-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:*...
, but the program was rocky. For several years Boeing and Pratt & Whitney struggled with an aircraft that was too heavy and underpowered. Eventually, after a lot of continued development work, the 747 redeemed itself.
On the military side of the business, the TFX joint-procurement program led to the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark powered by the Pratt & Whitney TF30.
Early 1970s
In the 1970s the jet engine manufacturers found that their products for the commercial (airline) market had been commoditizedCommoditization
Commoditization is the process by which goods that have economic value and are distinguishable in terms of attributes end up becoming simple commodities in the eyes of the market or consumers. It is the movement of a market from differentiated to undifferentiated price competition and from...
to a greater extent than in previous decades. Leaving behind a tradition of mating airframes to particular engines (which linked the profitability of an airframe model to that of its exclusive engine supplier), the airframe builders began offering multiple brands of engines. Producers had to compete on service, warranties, and eventually even by buying entire aircraft and then leasing them to the airlines.
Diversification and M&A
In 1974, Harry GrayHarry Gray (business)
Harry Jack Gray was an American business manager and philanthropist, best known as CEO and chairman of United Technologies. He was born Harry Jack Grusin in Milledgeville Crossroads, Georgia. His mother, Bertha Grusin, died of cancer when he was six years old. He went to live with his older...
left Litton Industries
Litton Industries
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.-History:...
to become the CEO of United Aircraft. He pursued a strategy of growth and diversification, changing the parent corporation's name to United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in the United Technologies Building in Hartford, Connecticut...
(UTC) in 1975 to reflect the intent to diversify into numerous high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
fields beyond aerospace.
The history of United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in the United Technologies Building in Hartford, Connecticut...
from 1975 forward is discussed at United Technologies Corporation > History.
Business units
- Pratt & WhitneyPratt & WhitneyPratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
- Canadian Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company/United Aircraft of CanadaPratt & Whitney CanadaPratt & Whitney Canada is a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney , itself a business unit of United Technologies...
- Sikorsky AircraftSikorsky AircraftThe Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...
- Chance VoughtVoughtVought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace , Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M...
—from 1928 to 1954 - Hamilton StandardHamilton StandardHamilton Standard, an aircraft propeller parts supplier, was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller Corporation. Other members of the corporation included Boeing,...