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Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (Convair) publications

Creation: 1950-1954
 Collection
Accession: 2879

Abstract

Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (Convair) was an aircraft manufacturing company. It was formed in 1943 when the Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft corporations merged. Convair developed and produced military aircraft and guided missiles. This small collection consists of Convair publications primarily intended for internal purposes, such as employee handbooks, newsletters, or recruiting; there are a few items for a wider audience, such as information about specific company programs or company products.

Dates

  • Creation: 1950-1954

Creator

Extent

15 item(s)

Historical Note

Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (Convair) was an aircraft manufacturing company. It was formed in 1943 when the Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft corporations merged. Convair developed and produced military aircraft and guided missiles. It was the first company to install 2,000-horsepower engines in heavy aircraft. Two of these units powered the Model 31 flying boat.

With aircraft plants in San Diego and Fort Worth and a guided missile plant in Pomona, Convair was one of the largest U.S. aircraft manufacturers. It was the builder of the B-36 intercontinental bomber and the delta-wing F-102 for the Air Force; turboprop powered flying boats for the Navy; high-speed, water-based fighters; and 340 Convairliners used as commercial airlines.

General Dynamics purchased a majority interest in Convair in 1953 and continued to produce aircraft and components as the Convair Division. In the mid-1990s, General Dynamics began divesting itself of its aircraft and spacecraft divisions; Convair was dissolved by 1996.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Contents

This small collection consists of Convair publications primarily intended for internal purposes, such as employee handbooks, newsletters, or recruiting; there are a few items for a wider audience, such as information about specific company programs or company products.

There are five booklets. One titled "This Is Convair" provides detailed information about the company and is geared as a recruiting tool for new employees. A booklet titled "Your Job at Convair" gives new employees the particulars about the standard operations and policies of their new employer at the San Diego plant. The "Aircraft Assembly: Riveting, Drilling, Blueprints" booklet is a brief training guide for engineers. The remaining two booklets are about the Convair Model 48 Charger military airplane and the Scientific Research Program, which aims to work on fundamental, long-range problems.

Two newsletters (a few issues each), one for employees and one a trade newsletter with general information about the industry, date to the 1950s. One report from the Experimental Flying Group includes detailed results from a test flight for instruments on an XP5Y-1 airplane. Additionally, there are two different examples of blank letterhead.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Related Materials

Alfred M. Ney Personal Papers (Collection SDASM-SC-10231), San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

These materials have the name "Al Ney" inscribed on them, as they were his copies. Alfred M. Ney (1902-1991) was an engineer at the San Diego plant for Convair between 1946 and 1965. In 1922, Ney earned his engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale des Artes et Manufactures in Paris. He immigrated to the United States that same year and worked for numerous companies, such as Vincent Bendix and the Pratt & Whitney Division of United Aircraft.

The collection was purchased from a dealer. It is unknown how the dealer came to have these papers.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (Convair) publications
Author:
Laurie Sather
Date:
2025
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400