North American Aviation
7 types · 1 airframes
Pre-1950 Narrative
However, the Air Mail Act of 1934 forced the breakup of such holding companies. NAA did retain ownership of Eastern Air Lines until 1938. The BC-1 of 1937 was North American's first combat aircraft; it was based on the GA-16. In 1940, like other manufacturers, North American started gearing up for war, opening factories in Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and Kansas City, Kansas. A suggestion by the RAF that North American switch the P-51's powerplant from its original Allison engine to the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine may have been one of the most significant events in World War II aviation, as it transformed the P-51 into what many consider to be the best American fighter of the war. Labor troubles became a grave issue in 1941.
Aircraft Types
North American B-25 Mitchell
The B-25 Mitchell was a twin-engine medium bomber built by North American Aviation and named for General William "Billy" Mitchell, the air-power advocate. Ordered into production before a prototype had been tested, it served with the U.S. Army Air Forces, the U.S. Navy and five Allied nations in the Second World War, and won fame when sixteen Mitchells bombed Japan from the carrier Hornet in April 1942. North American built 9,817 before production ended in 1945. The last U.S. Air Force Mitchell retired in 1959, and restored examples still fly.
North American B-45 Tornado
The North American B-45 Tornado was the United States Air Force's first operational jet bomber: a straight-wing, four-jet aircraft that first flew on 17 March 1947 and entered service in 1948. North American built three XB-45 prototypes, 96 B-45A bombers, ten B-45Cs and 33 RB-45C reconnaissance aircraft. The bombers served mainly as a nuclear deterrent in Europe, while RB-45Cs flew reconnaissance over Korea and, in RAF markings with RAF crews, over the Soviet Union. The B-47 replaced it, the type left operational service by 1959, and three intact examples survive in American museums.
North American F-100 Super Sabre
North American Aviation's F-100 Super Sabre was the first operational fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. First flown on 25 May 1953 and developed from the F-86 Sabre, it entered service as a day fighter and matured into a fighter-bomber that flew more than 360,000 combat sorties in Vietnam, among them the first Wild Weasel radar-suppression missions. North American built 2,294; the type later served with the Air National Guard and allied air forces, and retired airframes went on to target-drone conversions and museum display.
North American F-107 Ultra Sabre
North American Aviation's F-107A, informally called the Ultra Sabre, was a Mach 2 tactical fighter-bomber developed from the F-100 Super Sabre for a U.S. Air Force competition. Its variable-area engine intake sat on top of the fuselage, leaving the belly free for a semi-recessed weapon. Only three prototypes were built; the Air Force chose Republic's F-105 instead, chiefly because it had a full internal bomb bay. The prototypes finished their careers as research aircraft with NACA and NASA, and two survive in museums.
North American F-82 Twin Mustang
The North American F-82 Twin Mustang was a twin-fuselage, long-range escort and night fighter built by North American Aviation, first flown in 1945 as the P-82. It was designed to escort B-29 bombers on very long missions against Japan, but arrived too late for that war; instead it served the young U.S. Air Force as a bomber escort and radar-equipped all-weather interceptor, and fought in the opening weeks of the Korean War. North American built 272 of them; the type was retired in 1953, five survive, and one flies again.
North American F-86 Sabre
North American Aviation's F-86 Sabre was the United States' first operational swept-wing jet fighter. First flown in 1947 and in service from 1949, it fought the Soviet-built MiG-15 over Korea, where Sabre pilots claimed a large victory margin that historians still contest. Production ended in 1956 after more than 8,000 aircraft, with further Sabres built under license abroad, and survivors remain fixtures of museums and air shows.
North American P-51 Mustang
The P-51 Mustang is an American single-seat, long-range fighter and fighter-bomber of the Second World War, also flown in the Korean War. North American Aviation designed it to a British order in 1940, and it became a different class of aircraft once the Rolls-Royce Merlin replaced its original Allison engine: with external tanks it could escort heavy bombers deep into Germany and back. Production across all variants is reported at 15,686, and the type went on to serve air forces around the world for decades after 1945.