Description
When Orville Wright made the first successful flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, no one could have envisioned the impact that the historic occasion would have on Hagerstown, Maryland, and the tri-state area of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. When Sherman M. Fairchild bought controlling interest in Hagerstown's Kreider-Reisner Aircraft in 1929, the
stage was set for the newly formed Fairchild Aircraft to become a major contributor to the country's World War II efforts. In 1939, the company
was awarded a contract to build 270 PT-19 trainers for the U.S. Army Air Corps. By the spring of 1944, Fairchild had manufactured more than 5,000 of the primary trainers, which became synonymous with the city of Hagerstown. When asked by the military to "put wings on a railroad boxcar," Fairchild responded with various cargo aircraft including the
C-82, the C-119, and the C-123. Fairchild's contribution to the world of aviation unofficially ended in March 1984 with the delivery of the last of the A-10s contracted by the U.S. Air Force. Over the course of its history in Hagerstown, Fairchild employed more than 50,000 men and women in the manufacture of military and civilian aircraft.
Author: Frank Woodring, Suanne Woodring
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions
Published: 07/18/2007
Pages: 130
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 9.61h x 6.69w x 0.38d
ISBN13: 9781531627157
ISBN10: 1531627153
BISAC Categories:
- Transportation | Aviation | History
- History | Military | Aviation
- History | United States | State & Local | Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD,
stage was set for the newly formed Fairchild Aircraft to become a major contributor to the country's World War II efforts. In 1939, the company
was awarded a contract to build 270 PT-19 trainers for the U.S. Army Air Corps. By the spring of 1944, Fairchild had manufactured more than 5,000 of the primary trainers, which became synonymous with the city of Hagerstown. When asked by the military to "put wings on a railroad boxcar," Fairchild responded with various cargo aircraft including the
C-82, the C-119, and the C-123. Fairchild's contribution to the world of aviation unofficially ended in March 1984 with the delivery of the last of the A-10s contracted by the U.S. Air Force. Over the course of its history in Hagerstown, Fairchild employed more than 50,000 men and women in the manufacture of military and civilian aircraft.
Author: Frank Woodring, Suanne Woodring
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions
Published: 07/18/2007
Pages: 130
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 9.61h x 6.69w x 0.38d
ISBN13: 9781531627157
ISBN10: 1531627153
BISAC Categories:
- Transportation | Aviation | History
- History | Military | Aviation
- History | United States | State & Local | Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD,
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