Army and the Dutch government. Less than a year later, he became frustrated with the slow moving bureaucracy in Washington and returned to work for Martin, who had relocated to Cleveland. While there, Douglas directed the development of Martin's unnamed twin-engine bomber. Neither he nor Martin was willing to compromise or shorten the period of time needed for the development of their airplane.
For that reason the "Martin" bomber, arrived too late to see action in World War I. When Martin moved to Baltimore in , Douglas left the company to start his own aircraft company in California.
Martin continued to impress the military with his aircraft demonstrations even after the war. Continued interest from the War Department led Martin's company to develop its next generation of airplanes, culminating with the B bomber. The B was a durable bomber, able to carry heavy payloads and cruise miles per hour faster than conventional bombers of the day.
Martin's work on the B bomber earned him the Collier Trophy in Although Martin continued to manufacture bombers throughout the s, he also began to branch out into commercial passenger aircraft. The clipper weighed 26 tons, carried up to 32 passengers and was capable of flying the entire 2, miles between San Francisco and Honolulu. But Martin's consistent development of military aircraft through the decade prepared it well for the start of World War II. The company produced thousands of airplanes for the Allied war effort, including the A Baltimore, the B and B bombers, the PBM Mariner flying boat, and the ton amphibious Mars air freighter.
Martin invited some criticism in when he suggested that the United States could dispense with its costly two-ocean navy and defense of the Panama Canal if it had enough airplanes like the Mars.
After the war ended Martin continued to manufacture what few airplanes the Army and Navy were still ordering. In the company re-entered the highly competitive commercial airliner market with a model called the M The development of later aircraft, the M which was never built and the M, was a severe drain on company finances.
Despite loans from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh, and a number of other sources, the Martin Company was unable to generate an operating profit.
In July Chester C. Pearson was hired as president and general manager of the company. Glenn Martin, at the age of 63, was moved up to the position of chairman. Despite the new management and an increase in orders as a result of the Korean War, the Martin Company was still losing money. There were two reasons: first, production of the was interrupted which, in turn, halted delivery and therefore payment for the aircraft.
Second, the company hired hundreds of new but unskilled workers, which lowered productivity. By the end of George M. Bunker and J. Bradford Wharton, Jr. As part of a refinancing plan Glenn Martin was given the title of honorary chairman and his , shares in the company were placed in a voting trust. Glenn Martin resigned his position in the company in May of , but remained as a company director until his death. George Bunker succeeded Martin as president and chairman and directed the company for the next 20 years.
Pearson, who was demoted to vice-president, later resigned. Bunker and Wharton were successful in arresting the company's losses and by the end of declared the company out of debt. Martin, who never married, died of a stroke in at the age of Known as the M, the bomber was given the Air Force designation B Martin built a number of scout and patrol planes, including the P5-M and P6-M flying boats, and expanded its interest in the development of rockets and missiles.
One of Martin's first projects in this area was the Viking high-altitude research rocket, followed by the Vanguard missile. By the s the company was a leader in the manufacture of second generation rockets like the Titan II. Despite the company's return to profitability after the Korean War, the larger airplane manufacturers such as Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed had the advantage of size, which allowed them to compete more effectively with smaller companies like Martin, Vought and Grumman.
These smaller companies, however, retained very different kinds of engineering teams which allowed them to continue developing unique aeronautic equipment and weapons systems. The company was largely unsuccessful in achieving diversification in anything but its number of government customers.
Martin aircraft was subject to the whims of the Department of Defense with its unstable pattern of purchases. By December of Martin's last airplane, a Navy P5M-2 antisubmarine patrol plane, rolled off the production line. From this point forward the company produced only missiles, including the Bullpup, Matador, Titan and Pershing among them.
The Martin Company diversified through a merger with the American-Marietta Corporation, a manufacturer of chemical products, paints, inks, household products and construction materials, in After convincing the government that the merger would not reduce competition in any of either company's industries, the two companies formed Martin Marietta.
The diversification continued in with the purchase of Harvey Aluminum. The name of the subsidiary was changed to Martin Marietta Aluminum in Martin Marietta became known for its space projects, but remained a major producer of aluminum and construction materials, during the late s and early s.
In the company's aerospace unit was selected to lead construction of the two Viking capsules which landed on Mars in In the company was awarded a contract to build the external fuel tank for NASA's space shuttles. Thomas G. Pownall advanced to the presidency of Martin Marietta in and chief executive officer in , succeeding J.
Donald Rauth. The same year Martin Marietta faced the most significant challenge to its existence in its history--a hostile takeover bid from the Bendix Corporation. Martin Marietta responded with a surprising turnabout. Pownall and Gray agreed to divide Bendix among them in the event that either Martin Marietta or United Technologies was successful in taking over Bendix. Themes View all Themes. Register for free. Marketplace View all Datasets Advanced Search.
Request additional information. Search our premium data. Sign up for free access to premium data. Every month we will be sharing datasets which will help you make smarter and faster decisions. You will have access to the entire universe of content when you buy one of our premium products.
0コメント