Temco Aircraft
Encyclopedia
The Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO), also known as Temco Aircraft Corporation, was a U.S.
-based manufacturing company
located in the Dallas, TX area. It is best known for eventually forming part of the conglomerate
Ling-Temco-Vought
.
in Scotland
. McCulloch emigrated to the US in 1927 and worked for a small machining company before joining the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation. The company was "flipped" a number of times during the Great Depression
, first becoming Fokker Aircraft of America, then General Aviation, and finally North American Aviation
(NAA), where McCulloch rose to become Factory Manager in 1941. That year he took a position at Convair
as the General Manager of their factory in Nashville, Tennessee
, but he returned to NAA in 1943 and by the end of World War II
was the manager of their new plant in the Dallas area at Grand Prairie.
With the end of the war Convair closed their Dallas plant, McCulloch joined with another NAA executive, H. L "Bert" Howard, to form the Texas Engineering and Manufacturing Corporation, later shortened to TEMCO, and reorganized as the TEMCO Aircraft Corporation in 1952 . McCulloch was the President and General Manager, while Howard was Executive Vice President and Treasurer. Other members of the initial management team included: Al V. Graff, General Superintendent; Clyde Williams, Secretary & Assistant Treasurer; Joseph H. Baylis, Industrial Relations; Howard Jones, Plant Engineering, Ted H. Beck, Aircraft Engineering; Charles D. Collier, Purchasing; John A. Maxwell, Jr., Manufacturing Control; Robert Yonash, Production Engineering; J. D. McKelvain, Inspection; Otto Witbeck, Shop Superintendent; and O. A. Berthiaume, Shop Superintendent. All of the initial management team were former NAA employees.
Their idea was to keep the plant open and try to find contract work with other aviation firms on a "rental" basis. Bankers were unimpressed with the plan, but they eventually secured financing from several sources, notably Col. D. Harold Byrd who would later serve with the company.
This division also assembled a tractor for the Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO)
and P2V Neptune, the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet
, and many others. Additionally they started subcontracting production of the Globe Swift
four-seater general aviation
design, but were so successful in production that supply soon caught up with demand and Globe went out of business. TEMCO retained the rights to the design in 1947, producing it in small numbers for the next four years. Equipping the Swift with a much more powerful engine and tandem two-seat cockpit turned it into the T-35 Buckaroo
trainer aircraft, which competed and lost out to the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
. Ten T-35's were eventually sold to Saudi Arabia
. Another new-design was also produced as the Model 33 Plebe, which also failed to enter production.
Work soon flooded the original Grand Prairie site, and a new plant was set up at Majors Field in Greenville, primarily to offload US Air Force work and allow Grand Prairie to be used primarily for Navy work. TEMCO, meanwhile, turned increasingly to overhaul services at their new Greenville plants, and won a contract to overhaul C-54's returning from the Berlin Airlift. TEMCO also acquired the Luscombe Airplane Corporation, another Dallas-area company involved in similar work. In 1953 they became involved in a partnership with Riley Aircraft Sales to convert existing North American Navions to a twin-engine version, the Twin Navion, eventually buying the rights to the conversion and converting 138 aircraft over the next four years. However, by 1954 contracts were drying up, and the company was down to only 500 employees, laying off over 2,000 in a town of only 15,000.
TEMCO increasing turned to aviation electronics
and missile guidance
systems. In 1955 they won a contract to produce "quick reaction kits" for the Air Force's B-29 Superfortress
fleet, and employment started increasing again. In 1955 they won a similar contract for the B-50, and by the end of the next year were up to 1,700 employees. By 1958 electronics was providing half of the company's income, but they continued to win overhaul contracts, including the C-121 and C-97. They also designed a light attack aircraft based on the earlier Model 33, the new Model 58 but this failed to find any buyers. In 1952 they started work on what would become the Model 51 Pinto, competing with an Air Force contract that was eventually won by the Cessna T-37
. Fourteen were eventually taken on by the Navy in 1956, who flew them as the TT-1. Several of these eventually worked their way into civilian hands, where they were converted with the J85
engine and known as the Super Pinto. From 1957 to 1960, Temco developed the ASM-N-8 Corvus
anti-radiation missile
for the U.S. Navy
. The project was cancelled in 1960, when the program was taken over by the U.S. Air Force
.
, who had moved to the area in 1948, to become Ling-Temco-Vought
, or LTV. McCulloch served as Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive Officer
. He remained as Chairman of the Board and later Chairman of the Executive Committee until his retirement in April, 1970.
, and today is a part of L-3 Communications
known as the Integrated Systems division.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based manufacturing company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
located in the Dallas, TX area. It is best known for eventually forming part of the conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
Ling-Temco-Vought
Ling-Temco-Vought
Ling-Temco-Vought was a large U.S. conglomerate which existed from 1969 to 2000. At its peak, its component parts were involved in the aerospace industry, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, the airline industry, meat packing, car rentals and pharmaceuticals, among other...
.
Company Formation
Temco was the brainchild of Robert McCulloch, who began his career in aircraft with the Aircraft Division of the William Beardmore and CompanyWilliam Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. McCulloch emigrated to the US in 1927 and worked for a small machining company before joining the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation. The company was "flipped" a number of times during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, first becoming Fokker Aircraft of America, then General Aviation, and finally North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
(NAA), where McCulloch rose to become Factory Manager in 1941. That year he took a position at Convair
Convair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
as the General Manager of their factory in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, but he returned to NAA in 1943 and by the end of World War II
World 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 the manager of their new plant in the Dallas area at Grand Prairie.
With the end of the war Convair closed their Dallas plant, McCulloch joined with another NAA executive, H. L "Bert" Howard, to form the Texas Engineering and Manufacturing Corporation, later shortened to TEMCO, and reorganized as the TEMCO Aircraft Corporation in 1952 . McCulloch was the President and General Manager, while Howard was Executive Vice President and Treasurer. Other members of the initial management team included: Al V. Graff, General Superintendent; Clyde Williams, Secretary & Assistant Treasurer; Joseph H. Baylis, Industrial Relations; Howard Jones, Plant Engineering, Ted H. Beck, Aircraft Engineering; Charles D. Collier, Purchasing; John A. Maxwell, Jr., Manufacturing Control; Robert Yonash, Production Engineering; J. D. McKelvain, Inspection; Otto Witbeck, Shop Superintendent; and O. A. Berthiaume, Shop Superintendent. All of the initial management team were former NAA employees.
Their idea was to keep the plant open and try to find contract work with other aviation firms on a "rental" basis. Bankers were unimpressed with the plan, but they eventually secured financing from several sources, notably Col. D. Harold Byrd who would later serve with the company.
General Products Division
In addition to aircraft manufacturing, described below, TEMCO also produced many other products, mostly under contract to other companies. These included:- Coin-operated "serve yourself" popcorn vending machine for the T. & C. Company
- Venetian blind clips
- Mailboxes
This division also assembled a tractor for the Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO)
Aircraft Manufacturing
The company secured contracts for various parts for major aircraft designs, including the C-82, Fairchild F-28, Lockheed F-104 StarfighterF-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
and P2V Neptune, the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
F-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...
, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
, and many others. Additionally they started subcontracting production of the Globe Swift
Globe Swift
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Davisson, Budd. "Swiftly, Swiftly: An Appreciation of one of General Aviation's Classic Aircraft." Air Progress, Vol. 45, No. 8, August 1983....
four-seater general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
design, but were so successful in production that supply soon caught up with demand and Globe went out of business. TEMCO retained the rights to the design in 1947, producing it in small numbers for the next four years. Equipping the Swift with a much more powerful engine and tandem two-seat cockpit turned it into the T-35 Buckaroo
T-35 Buckaroo
Not to be confused with the ENAER T-35 Pillán. For other uses see: T35 Not to be confused with the ENAER T-35 Pillán. For other uses see: T35 ...
trainer aircraft, which competed and lost out to the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
T-34 Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston-engined. These were eventually succeeded by the upgraded T-34C...
. Ten T-35's were eventually sold to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Another new-design was also produced as the Model 33 Plebe, which also failed to enter production.
Work soon flooded the original Grand Prairie site, and a new plant was set up at Majors Field in Greenville, primarily to offload US Air Force work and allow Grand Prairie to be used primarily for Navy work. TEMCO, meanwhile, turned increasingly to overhaul services at their new Greenville plants, and won a contract to overhaul C-54's returning from the Berlin Airlift. TEMCO also acquired the Luscombe Airplane Corporation, another Dallas-area company involved in similar work. In 1953 they became involved in a partnership with Riley Aircraft Sales to convert existing North American Navions to a twin-engine version, the Twin Navion, eventually buying the rights to the conversion and converting 138 aircraft over the next four years. However, by 1954 contracts were drying up, and the company was down to only 500 employees, laying off over 2,000 in a town of only 15,000.
TEMCO increasing turned to aviation electronics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
and missile guidance
Missile guidance
Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness...
systems. In 1955 they won a contract to produce "quick reaction kits" for the Air Force's B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
fleet, and employment started increasing again. In 1955 they won a similar contract for the B-50, and by the end of the next year were up to 1,700 employees. By 1958 electronics was providing half of the company's income, but they continued to win overhaul contracts, including the C-121 and C-97. They also designed a light attack aircraft based on the earlier Model 33, the new Model 58 but this failed to find any buyers. In 1952 they started work on what would become the Model 51 Pinto, competing with an Air Force contract that was eventually won by the Cessna T-37
Cessna T-37
The Cessna T-37 Tweet is a small, economical twin-engine jet trainer-attack type aircraft which flew for decades as a primary trainer for the United States Air Force and in the air forces of several other nations...
. Fourteen were eventually taken on by the Navy in 1956, who flew them as the TT-1. Several of these eventually worked their way into civilian hands, where they were converted with the J85
General Electric J85
-External links:**...
engine and known as the Super Pinto. From 1957 to 1960, Temco developed the ASM-N-8 Corvus
ASM-N-8 Corvus
The ASM-N-8 Corvus was an anti-radiation missile developed by Temco Aircraft for the United States Navy.-History:In April 1955, the U.S. Navy planned the acquisition of a a long-range air-to-surface missile armed with a nuclear warhead. This weapon should be carried by the carrier-based North...
anti-radiation missile
Anti-radiation missile
An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...
for the U.S. 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...
. The project was cancelled in 1960, when the program was taken over by the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
Formation of Ling-Temco-Vought
By 1960 electronics was their major product, and the company merged with another Dallas-area electronics firm, Ling-Altec, itself recently formed in a merger of Ling Electronics and Altec. Together the two firms raised capital from various sources, and in 1961 formed a merger with Chance VoughtChance Vought
Chance Vought may refer to:*Vought, aircraft company*Chance M. Vought, founder of Vought company...
, who had moved to the area in 1948, to become Ling-Temco-Vought
Ling-Temco-Vought
Ling-Temco-Vought was a large U.S. conglomerate which existed from 1969 to 2000. At its peak, its component parts were involved in the aerospace industry, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, the airline industry, meat packing, car rentals and pharmaceuticals, among other...
, or LTV. McCulloch served as Chairman of the Board
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
. He remained as Chairman of the Board and later Chairman of the Executive Committee until his retirement in April, 1970.
Subsequent Companies
Through the 1970s LTV started divesting itself of its aviation holdings. The former Temco Aircraft electronics plant at Greenville, by then known as LTV Electrosystems, became E-Systems, eventually being purchased by RaytheonRaytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
, and today is a part of L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. is a company that supplies command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space, and navigation products. Its customers include...
known as the Integrated Systems division.
External links
- TEMCO/Majors Field History - a five-part series on the Greenville works.
- Robert McCulloch - Vought Heritage's article on McCulloch, likely from a third source.