ABSTRACT
This chapter now turns to the provision of an account of the very earliest attempts to create commercial enterprises in aviation manufacturing in the United States, starting with the Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur), who formed the Wright Company in 1909. These were followed by companies established by Glenn L. Martin, Allan Lockheed and Glenn H. Curtiss. After the Wright brothers left the industry, their Wright Company merged first with the Glenn L. Martin Company (1916) to form the Wright-Martin Company. Martin was unhappy with the results so formed a new Martin Company. The merged company went on to merge with the Curtiss Company in 1929 to form the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. The Lockheed and Martin companies continued to operate into the post-World War II period, later merging.
