Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a diversified American industrial manufacturer and services provider whose modern business is concentrated in aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial technology. The company was created on July 5, 1929, through the consolidation of Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Wright Aeronautical, and associated supplier companies. At its formation it was the largest aviation company in the United States, combining airframe, aircraft-engine, and propeller operations under one corporate structure. Its early history was defined by aircraft manufacturing and close relationships with the U.S. military. During the 1930s the company produced military, commercial, and private aircraft, including the P-36 fighter. During the Second World War it became one of the country’s largest defense manufacturers, producing more than 142,000 aircraft engines, approximately 146,000 electric propellers, and more than 29,000 aircraft. Its best-known wartime aircraft included the P-40 fighter, the C-46 Commando transport, and the SB2C Helldiver. The company’s wartime manufacturing footprint extended across Buffalo, Columbus, Louisville, St. Louis, and several engine and propeller facilities. After 1945, Curtiss-Wright struggled to maintain its position as aviation moved rapidly toward jet propulsion and more advanced airframe designs. The company’s aircraft division failed to secure important postwar programs, and the cancellation of the XF-87 Blackhawk contributed to the closure of its complete-aircraft business in 1948. Curtiss-Wright continued to experiment with propulsion, including production of the Wright J65 under license from Armstrong Siddeley, and briefly investigated Wankel rotary-engine technology. It also helped pioneer modern commercial flight simulation: United Airlines purchased four advanced Curtiss-Wright simulators in 1954, incorporating visual, sound, and motion systems. The company subsequently shifted from building complete aircraft to supplying specialized components and systems. It diversified into equipment for aircraft, nuclear submarines, industrial vehicles, energy facilities, oil and gas machinery, and industrial automation. Acquisitions became a central part of this transformation, bringing the company capabilities in sensors, data acquisition, rugged computing, electronic packaging, actuators, communications, control valves, shipboard systems, and surface treatment. Today Curtiss-Wright no longer manufactures complete aircraft. Its portfolio includes flight-control and actuation products, embedded computing and communications equipment, sensors and data systems, valves and fluid-control equipment, electronic subsystems, naval and nuclear-power equipment, and aerospace and industrial surface-treatment services. The company serves commercial aerospace, defense, naval nuclear and commercial nuclear power, energy, industrial automation, transportation, and other process industries. Its positioning is that of a specialist engineering and mission-critical component supplier: products are often embedded in larger platforms and infrastructure where reliability, environmental resistance, qualification, and long service life are important.

Curtiss-Wright was established on July 5, 1929, when twelve companies associated with Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and Wright Aeronautical were consolidated. Headquartered initially in Buffalo, New York, the corporation began with substantial capital and three principal operating areas: the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division, Wright Aeronautical Corporation for engines, and the Curtiss-Wright Propeller Division. Early acquisitions included Moth Aircraft Corporation and Travel Air Manufacturing Company. The aircraft business operated through the difficult economic conditions of the 1930s. Engine production and the company’s established military relationships helped support the corporation through the Depression. In 1935 Guy Vaughan became president, and in 1937 Curtiss-Wright developed the P-36 fighter, which received a major U.S. Army Air Corps order. The aircraft was also exported and saw early Second World War service under names including Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, and Warhawk. The Second World War brought an enormous expansion. Curtiss-Wright produced 142,840 aircraft engines, 146,468 electric propellers, and 29,269 aircraft, employing about 180,000 people. It ranked second among U.S. corporations by the value of wartime production contracts, behind General Motors. Major products included almost 14,000 P-40 fighters, more than 3,000 C-46 Commando transports, and over 7,000 SB2C Helldivers. The company expanded its production network with facilities in Buffalo, Columbus, Louisville, and St. Louis, while engine and propeller operations were located in several eastern and midwestern states. The wartime period also produced a major quality-control scandal. From 1941 to 1943, officials at the Lockland engine plant allegedly pressed for output levels that contributed to engines failing Army inspection standards. Investigations later concluded that company personnel, civilian advisers, and Army inspectors had cooperated in approving defective or substandard engines for military installation. Curtiss-Wright’s postwar decline reflected the industry’s technological transition. The corporation devoted comparatively limited resources to advanced airframe research during the war and failed to match competitors in jet aircraft and modern aerodynamic designs. Its P-60 remained a conventional development, while the XF-87 Blackhawk lost out to Northrop’s F-89 program. Following cancellation of the XF-87 in 1948, Curtiss-Wright closed the Aeroplane Division and sold its assets to North American Aviation. The corporation continued in propulsion for a time. It licensed Armstrong Siddeley’s Sapphire engine and manufactured it as the Wright J65, while also investigating Wankel rotary engines under a short-lived arrangement with NSU. Curtiss-Wright’s flight-research laboratory, founded near Buffalo Airport in 1943, was transferred with financial support to Cornell University during the airframe divestiture. It later became Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory and ultimately the independent Calspan Corporation. During the 1950s and 1960s Curtiss-Wright moved toward industrial diversification. A 1956 management agreement with Studebaker-Packard ended in 1959, while the corporation increasingly focused on aircraft components, nuclear-submarine equipment, and other engineered systems. Subsequent acquisitions built a portfolio in sensing, data systems, rugged computing, actuators, communications, valves, naval systems, and surface treatment. This strategy transformed Curtiss-Wright from a complete-aircraft manufacturer into a diversified supplier of specialized, highly qualified components and services. The company remains active in aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial markets, but its products are now primarily systems, subsystems, components, and technical services rather than complete aircraft.

1. 2022Keronite acquired and Safran arresting-system assets pursued

   Curtiss-Wright expanded surface treatment and military aircraft emergency-arresting-system capabilities.

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2. 2021901D acquired

   The transaction added naval electronic systems and shipboard enclosures.

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3. 2020Dyna-Flo and Pacific Star Communications acquired

   The acquisitions strengthened flow-control and military communications businesses.

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4. 2013Exlar and Parvus acquired

   These transactions expanded electric actuation, rugged computing, and communications-system capabilities.

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5. 2011Acra Control acquired

   The company added aerospace data acquisition, recording, networking, and telemetry systems.

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6. 2010Hybricon acquired

   Hybricon added electronic packaging and subsystem-integration capabilities.

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7. 2003Systran acquired

   Systran expanded specialized real-time data communications capabilities and returned Curtiss-Wright operations to Dayton, Ohio.

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8. 2002Penny & Giles acquired

   The acquisition added sensing and black-box-related capabilities.

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9. 1954Advanced commercial flight simulators supplied

   United Airlines purchased four Curtiss-Wright simulators incorporating visual, sound, and motion features.

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10. 1950Wright J65 production began

    Curtiss-Wright licensed and produced the Sapphire jet engine as the Wright J65 for several U.S. military aircraft.

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11. 1948Aircraft division closed

    The company ended its principal complete-aircraft manufacturing activity after the XF-87 cancellation and postwar competitive setbacks.

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12. 1941Wartime production expanded

    Curtiss-Wright became a major supplier of engines, propellers, fighters, transports, and dive bombers for the U.S. war effort.

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13. 1937P-36 fighter developed

    The P-36 became the subject of a major peacetime Army Air Corps order and was later exported to foreign operators.

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14. 1929Curtiss-Wright Corporation established

    Twelve companies associated with Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and Wright Aeronautical were consolidated on July 5, creating the largest U.S. aviation company at the time.

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Mission-critical engineering solutions provider for aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial markets.

• Aircraft and aircraft engineshistorical aviation products1929

  Curtiss-Wright historically produced complete aircraft, aircraft engines, and propellers. Important legacy programs included the P-36 and P-40 fighters, C-46 Commando transport, SB2C Helldiver, Wright piston engines, and Curtiss Electric propellers. The company no longer operates as a complete-aircraft manufacturer, but this heritage shaped its later specialization in aerospace controls, actuation, sensing, and other mission-critical components.

• Actuators and motion controlaerospace and industrial components2013

  Curtiss-Wright supplies engineered electric and other actuation technologies used to control movement in aerospace, defense, industrial, and military applications. The portfolio was strengthened through the acquisition of Exlar and supports applications where precise motion, durability, and operation in demanding environments are important.

• Embedded computing and rugged communicationsdefense electronics2003

  The company provides rugged computers, communications subsystems, electronic packaging, and related embedded technologies for aerospace, defense, homeland security, industrial automation, and other applications. These products are designed for integration into larger platforms and for operation under demanding environmental and reliability requirements.

• Sensors, data acquisition, and telemetrymeasurement and control2002

  Curtiss-Wright’s sensing and data systems include sensors, data-acquisition equipment, recorders, networks, and telemetry ground stations. They support aerospace testing and operation, defense platforms, industrial automation, and other real-time applications requiring measurement, recording, and transmission of operational data.

• Valves and flow-control equipmentindustrial equipment2020

  Curtiss-Wright supplies control valves and related flow-management products for industrial, energy, oil and gas, and nuclear applications. These products regulate fluids in systems where reliability, control performance, and qualification for demanding operating conditions are important.

• Naval and nuclear systemsdefense and energy systems1960

  The company provides components, electronic systems, subsystems, valves, and shipboard enclosures for naval vessels, including nuclear and non-nuclear platforms, as well as equipment for commercial and naval nuclear-power systems. Much of this business is supplied as embedded equipment within larger government or energy programs.

• Surface-treatment servicesindustrial services2022

  Curtiss-Wright provides aerospace and industrial surface-treatment services intended to improve the durability, corrosion resistance, wear performance, and service life of engineered parts. The acquisition of Keronite expanded its plasma electrolytic oxidation capabilities.

• 2022Expand surface treatment and aircraft arresting systemsM&A

  The company pursued adjacent capabilities serving military aerospace and industrial customers.

  What changed. Curtiss-Wright acquired Keronite and agreed to acquire assets from Safran Aerosystems Arresting Company, subject to transaction conditions described in the reference material.

  Aftermath. The moves added plasma electrolytic oxidation services and strengthened the military aircraft emergency-arresting-systems offering.

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• 2013Expansion into actuation and rugged computingM&A

  Curtiss-Wright sought to deepen its supply of specialized components for aerospace, defense, and industrial customers.

  What changed. It acquired Exlar and Parvus, adding electric actuators, rugged computers, and communications subsystems.

  Aftermath. The transactions broadened the Motion Control and defense-electronics portfolios.

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• 1950Licensed Wright J65 jet engineProduct launch

  The company needed a postwar propulsion direction as large piston engines lost ground to jets.

  What changed. Curtiss-Wright licensed Armstrong Siddeley’s Sapphire engine and manufactured it in the United States as the Wright J65.

  Aftermath. The engine powered the Martin B-57 and several U.S. fighter aircraft, although later derivatives did not secure substantial markets.

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• 1948Exit from complete-aircraft manufacturingStrategy

  Curtiss-Wright had fallen behind competitors in jet aircraft and advanced airframe development, and the cancellation of the XF-87 removed a major remaining aircraft opportunity.

  What changed. The company closed its Aeroplane Division and sold its assets to North American Aviation.

  Aftermath. Curtiss-Wright gradually repositioned itself around aircraft components, propulsion-related technologies, naval systems, and diversified industrial products.

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• 1943Defective engines approved for military useControversy

  An investigation into the Lockland, Ohio, engine plant found that company officials, civilian technical advisers, and Army inspection personnel had approved substandard or defective engines during wartime production. The episode exposed serious quality-control and inspection failures in a critical defense-supply program.

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• 2022Curtiss-Wright agreed to acquire Safran aircraft arresting-system assets

  The planned transaction expanded the company’s military aircraft emergency-arresting systems business.

  M&A
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• 2022Curtiss-Wright acquired Keronite Group

  Keronite added plasma electrolytic oxidation surface-treatment capabilities to the Aerospace & Industrial business.

  M&A
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• 2021Curtiss-Wright acquired 901D

  901D added electronic systems, subsystems, and shipboard enclosures serving U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs.

  M&A
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• 2020Curtiss-Wright expanded military communications through Pacific Star Communications

  The transaction broadened Curtiss-Wright’s defense communications capabilities.

  M&A
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• 2020Curtiss-Wright acquired Dyna-Flo Control Valve Services

  Dyna-Flo strengthened the company’s control-valve business and industrial flow-control offering.

  M&A
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• 2013Curtiss-Wright acquired Exlar

  The acquisition added engineered electric actuators and strengthened the company’s motion-control portfolio.

  M&A
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• 2013Curtiss-Wright acquired Parvus

  Parvus added rugged small-form-factor computers and communications subsystems for aerospace, defense, homeland security, and industrial customers.

  M&A
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• 1948Curtiss-Wright closed its complete-aircraft division

  After losing postwar aircraft competitions and the cancellation of the XF-87, the company ended its main aircraft-manufacturing activity and sold the division’s assets.

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• 1929Curtiss-Wright formed through consolidation of Curtiss and Wright aviation companies

  The new corporation combined major airframe, engine, propeller, and supplier operations and became the largest U.S. aviation company at formation.

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1. Curtiss-Wright
2. Curtiss-Wright Corporation official website