Keystone Aircraft

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Keystone Aircraft

Ogdensburg Aeroway Corp · Huff-Daland Aero Company · Keystone Aircraft Corporation

A crop-dusting pioneer became the US Army’s bomber maker of the late 1920s, and when Curtiss-Wright closed its New York plant the workers who refused to move founded Grumman.

1920Opgericht
Samengevoegd in Curtiss-Wright in 1932Status
13Vliegtuigen geregistreerd
Foto: USAF / Wikimedia Commons (Publiek domein)
LandVerenigde StatenOpgericht1920OprichtersThomas Huff, Elliot DalandHoofdkwartierBristol, PennsylvaniaStatusSamengevoegd in Curtiss-Wright in 1932
Het verhaal

Keystone Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name

Crop dusters to bombers

Thomas Huff and Elliot Daland founded Ogdensburg Aeroway in 1920, soon renaming it Huff-Daland. Based in Bristol, Pennsylvania, it made its name with agricultural aircraft and then with Army bombers. From 1924 its chief designer was a young James McDonnell. Huff left in 1926, the bankers Hayden, Stone and Co. bought in with a million dollars of capital, and the company became Keystone.

The last biplane bombers

Keystone’s twin-engined biplanes, the LB-5, LB-6 and B-3 to B-6, were the US Army’s standard bombers around 1930: about 200 of the family were built, and the B-3A served until 1940. They were the last biplane bombers the Army flew, made obsolete within a few years by all-metal monoplanes. A 1932 monoplane bomber proposal was withdrawn, and Martin’s B-10 took the contract. Tragedy struck in 1927, when the Keystone Pathfinder American Legion crashed days before an Orteig Prize transatlantic attempt, killing Noel Davis and Stanton Wooster.

The men who stayed behind

In 1928 Keystone merged with Loening, and in 1929 Curtiss-Wright took it over and closed the Loening plant on New York’s East River. Leroy Grumman, Jake Swirbul and William Schwendler would not move to Pennsylvania and founded Grumman instead. Keystone stopped production in 1932, and Fleetwings bought the plant in 1934.

A crop-dusting pioneer became the US Army’s bomber maker of the late 1920s, and when Curtiss-Wright closed its New York plant the workers who refused to move founded Grumman.Keystone Aircraft · verified 2026-10-03
In één oogopslag

Keystone Aircraft in numbers

Het bedrijf

Kortom
Opgericht in 1920

  • Founded as Ogdensburg Aeroway by Thomas Huff and Elliot Daland
  • Renamed Huff-Daland, then Keystone from 1926–1927
  • Merged with Loening 1928; Curtiss-Wright from 1929

Productie

Het meest bekend om
Keystone B-3, B-4

  • About 200 LB-5 to B-6 bombers
  • Trainers, flying boats and airliners
  • Chief designer James McDonnell from 1924

Vandaag

Nu
Merged into Curtiss-Wright

  • Production ended 1932; plant sold to Fleetwings 1934

De cijfers

Keystone bombers built (LB-5 to B-6)
about 194
Capital after 1926 buyout
1 million US dollars
Het vliegtuig

Every notable Keystone Aircraft aircraft

Vliegtuig Rol Eerste vlucht Gebouwd Status Opmerking
Huff-Daland TW-5 Trainer 26 Gepensioneerd
Huff-Daland XB-1 Bomber prototype 1927 1 Gepensioneerd
Keystone PK Patrol flying boat (licence) 18 Gepensioneerd Naval Aircraft Factory PN design
Keystone LB-5 Bommenwerper 1927 36 Gepensioneerd
Keystone LB-6 Bommenwerper 1927 18 Gepensioneerd
Keystone K-47 Pathfinder Driemotorige passagiersvliegtuig 1927 2 Gepensioneerd American Legion crashed in 1927
Keystone-Loening K-85 Air Yacht Vliegende boot 1928 4 Gepensioneerd
Keystone NK Naval trainer 1928 20 Gepensioneerd
Keystone K-78 Patrician Driemotorige passagiersvliegtuig 1929 3 Gepensioneerd
Keystone B-3A Bommenwerper 1930 36 Gepensioneerd Last family of US Army biplane bombers
Keystone B-4 Bommenwerper 30 Gepensioneerd
Keystone B-5A Bommenwerper 27–30 Gepensioneerd Sources differ: 27 (B-3 article) or 30
Keystone B-6 Bommenwerper 44 Gepensioneerd
Plaatsen, mensen, archieven

Where Keystone Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved

Fabrieken

  • Bristol works · Bristol, Pennsylvania — Sold to Fleetwings in 1934
  • Keystone-Loening East River plant · New York City — Closed by Curtiss-Wright in 1929

Mensen

  • Thomas Huff · co-founder — Left in 1926
  • James McDonnell · chief designer from 1924
  • Leroy Grumman · Loening manager — Left rather than move to Bristol; founded Grumman in 1930
Tijdlijn

Keystone Aircraft, year by year

1920

Ogdensburg Aeroway founded, soon renamed Huff-Daland

1924

James McDonnell becomes chief designer

1926

Huff leaves; Hayden, Stone buys in; renamed Keystone

1927

Pathfinder American Legion crash kills Davis and Wooster

1928

Merger with Loening

1929

Taken over by Curtiss-Wright; East River plant closed

1930

First B-3A delivered

1932

Productie eindigt

1934

Plant bought by Fleetwings

1940

Last B-3As retired

De stamboom

Before and after Keystone Aircraft

Kwam eerderLoeningMerged into Keystone-Loening in 1928Read the Loening pageKwam daarnaCurtiss-WrightTook over Keystone in 1929; production ended 1932Read the Curtiss-Wright page
Vragen en antwoorden

Everything people ask about Keystone Aircraft

What did Keystone Aircraft build?
Mainly twin-engined biplane bombers for the US Army, such as the B-3, B-4 and B-6.
Who founded Keystone Aircraft?
Thomas Huff and Elliot Daland, as Ogdensburg Aeroway (later Huff-Daland) in 1920.
How is Keystone linked to Grumman?
Former Loening staff who refused to move to Keystone’s Pennsylvania plant in 1929 founded Grumman.
When did Keystone close?
Production ended in 1932 under Curtiss-Wright.

Vervolg de rondleiding

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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.