Keystone Aircraft
Keystone Aircraft Corporation was an early American airplane manufacturer. Headquartered in Bristol, Pennsylvania, it was formed as "Ogdensburg Aeroway Corp" in 1920 by Thomas Huff and Elliot Daland, but its name was quickly changed to "Huff-Daland Aero Corp", then to "Huff-Daland Aero Company". The company made a name for itself in agricultural aircraft, and then in the United States Army Air Corps' early bomber aircraft. From 1924, James McDonnell was the chief designer.
.jpg) The first Keystone B-3A bomber built, serial number 30-281 | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged into Curtiss-Wright in 1929 |
| Predecessor | Huff-Daland Aero Corporation |
| Successor | Curtiss-Wright |
| Defunct | 1929 |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | James McDonnell |
In 1926, Huff left the company, and it was soon purchased by Hayden, Stone & Co., who increased capital to $1 million (United States) and renamed it Keystone.[1] In 1928, it merged with Loening and was known as Keystone-Loening. In 1929, it was taken over by Curtiss-Wright. Also in 1929, the Keystone-Loening plant on the East River in New York City was closed by Curtis-Wright and the operation was moved to the Bristol, Pennsylvania. Keystone plant. A small band of the top Loening management, design and shop workers (all New Yorkers) did not want to go to Bristol. They instead started their own aircraft company in a small rented shop in Baldwin, NY in Jan. 1930. The principal players were Leroy R. Grumman, Leon "Jake" Swirbul and William Schwendler. Grumman Aircraft went on to stellar heights with some of the best aircraft in US Navy history. Grumman also designed and built the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) that landed US astronauts on the moon. Keystone itself became a manufacturing division of Curtiss-Wright and ceased production in 1932.[2]
Lieut. Comdr. Noel Davis and Lieut. Stanton H. Wooster were killed in their Keystone Pathfinder American Legion while conducting a test flight, just days before they were to attempt a trans-Atlantic flight for the Orteig Prize.
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huff-Daland TW-5 | 26 | Single engine biplane trainer | |
| Huff-Daland XB-1 | 1927 | 1 | Prototype twin engine biplane bomber |
| Keystone PK | 18 | License built version of Naval Aircraft Factory PN | |
| Keystone XLB-3 | 1 | Prototype twin engine biplane bomber | |
| Keystone LB-5 | 1927 | 36 | Twin engine biplane bomber |
| Keystone LB-6 | 1927 | 18 | Twin engine biplane bomber |
| Keystone B-3 | 36 | Twin engine biplane bomber | |
| Keystone B-4 | 30 | Twin engine biplane bomber | |
| Keystone B-5 | 30 | Twin engine biplane bomber | |
| Keystone B-6 | 44 | Twin engine biplane bomber | |
| Keystone K-47 Pathfinder | 1927 | 2 | Trimotor biplane airliner |
| Keystone K-55 Pronto | 1927 | Single engine biplane mail plane | |
| Keystone-Loening K-85 Air Yacht | 1928 | 4 | Single engine biplane flying boat |
| Keystone NK | 1928 | 20 | Single engine biplane trainer |
| Keystone K-78 Patrician | 1929 | 3 | Trimotor monoplane airliner |
| Keystone-Loening K-84 Commuter | 1929 | Single engine biplane flying boat | |
| Keystone XO-15 | 1930 | 1 | Prototype single engine observation biplane |
| Keystone XOK | 1931 | 1 | Single engine biplane floatplane |
| Keystone-Loening XS2L | 1933 | 1 | Single engine biplane flying boat |
References
- Geoff Jones. Delta Air Lines: 75 Years of Airline Excellence. p. 10.
- "Subseries VIII: Keystone Aircraft Corporation". National Air and Space Museum. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
