Noord-Amerikaanse luchtvaart

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Noord-Amerikaanse luchtvaart

North American Aviation, Inc. · NAA · General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation (merged 1933)

A Wall Street holding company that built nothing became, under a Douglas engineer, the maker of the Mustang, the Sabre, the X-15 and the Apollo spacecraft — then vanished into a 1967 merger.

1928Opgericht
Samengevoegd in Rockwell International in 1967Status
23Vliegtuigen geregistreerd
66Luchtmachteenheden die met dit type vliegtuigen vliegen
LandVerenigde StatenOpgericht1928-12-06OprichtersClement Melville KeysHoofdkwartierLos Angeles, CaliforniaStatusSamengevoegd in Rockwell International in 1967
Het verhaal

North American Aviation: the company and the aircraft that made its name

A company that built nothing

North American Aviation began life without a single aircraft to its name. On 6 December 1928 the financier Clement Melville Keys set it up as a holding company to buy and sell stakes in airlines and aviation firms. For five years it traded paper. In 1933 General Motors bought control and merged it with General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation, and a year later the Air Mail Act of 1934 forced holding companies of its kind to break up. What was left was a small aircraft factory at Dundalk, Maryland, with barely any orders. It needed someone who knew how to build aeroplanes — and it found him at Douglas.

Dutch heads west

James Howard Kindelberger, born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1895, was nicknamed Dutch for his German ancestry. At Douglas he had been chief engineer on the DC-1 and DC-2. In 1934 he left with a younger colleague, Lee Atwood, to become president and general manager of North American; Atwood became chief engineer. Kindelberger promptly moved the operation from Maryland to Los Angeles for its year-round flying weather. The first product of the new team was the NA-16 trainer, which flew on 1 April 1935 and grew into the T-6 Texan, the Harvard of the Commonwealth air forces. 15,495 were built, and they served in more than 60 air forces.

One hundred and two days

In 1940 a British Purchasing Commission arrived wanting North American to build Curtiss P-40s under licence. Kindelberger argued his company could design something better. The prototype NA-73X was rolled out just 102 days after the order was placed and first flew on 26 October 1940. With its Allison engine the Mustang was superb at low level and breathless above 15,000 feet. The cure came from a Rolls-Royce test pilot, Ronald Harker, who in 1942 suggested fitting a Merlin 61. The Merlin Mustang became the long-range escort that made its name with the Eighth Air Force. In all 15,686 were built, and in one month the company turned out 571.

Sixteen bombers off a carrier deck

Its bombers made headlines too. The B-25 Mitchell, named after the air-power prophet Billy Mitchell, first flew on 19 August 1940. On 18 April 1942 sixteen B-25Bs lifted off the deck of USS Hornet, launched ten hours early and some 650 nautical miles from Japan, for the Doolittle Raid on the Japanese home islands. Three years later, on 28 July 1945, a B-25 lost in fog struck the Empire State Building between the 79th and 80th floors. By the end of the war North American had built about 42,000 aircraft and employed as many as 91,000 people; in 1946 it was down to 5,000.

Sabre against MiG

It bounced back with swept wings. The F-86 Sabre first flew on 1 October 1947 — three months before the Soviet MiG-15 — and set a world speed record of 671 mph in 1948. Over Korea the two became the defining duel of the early jet age. American pilots claimed 792 MiGs for 78 Sabres, though a later RAND study put the real ratio nearer 1.8 to 1, and closer still against Soviet pilots. With 9,860 built including licence production in Canada, Australia, Italy and Japan, it was the West’s most-produced jet fighter. Its successor, the F-100 Super Sabre, became the first USAF fighter supersonic in level flight.

To the edge of space

From Inglewood and Downey the company reached for space. The rocket-powered X-15 first flew on 8 June 1959 and made 199 flights. In August 1963 Joe Walker took one to 108 kilometres, becoming the first person to fly into space twice by the international definition; on 3 October 1967 William Knight reached Mach 6.7, 4,520 mph. The XB-70 Valkyrie, a six-engined Mach 3 bomber, flew in 1964 but the second prototype was lost on 8 June 1966 when an F-104 drifted into its wing, killing Walker and co-pilot Carl Cross. Meanwhile Rocketdyne engines powered Atlas, Thor and Saturn rockets, and on 28 November 1961 NASA chose North American to build the Apollo command and service module.

Fire, merger and a quiet ending

That contract brought the darkest day. On 27 January 1967 fire swept the Apollo 1 cabin during a launch rehearsal, killing Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. The press blamed North American, though a congressional hearing later ruled otherwise, and the review board found serious shortcomings in the Block I design. Eight months later, in September 1967, the company merged with the Pittsburgh industrial group Rockwell-Standard to become North American Rockwell, renamed Rockwell International in 1973. The name lived on in the Space Shuttle orbiter and B-1 bomber, until Boeing bought Rockwell’s aerospace and defence business in December 1996. Its heritage now sits with Boeing.

A Wall Street holding company that built nothing became, under a Douglas engineer, the maker of the Mustang, the Sabre, the X-15 and the Apollo spacecraft — then vanished into a 1967 merger.North American Aviation · verified 2026-10-03
In één oogopslag

North American Aviation in numbers

Het bedrijf

Kortom
Founded 1928

  • Set up on 6 December 1928 by Clement M. Keys as an aviation holding company
  • Controlled by General Motors 1933–1948
  • Run from 1934 by James H. Kindelberger and Lee Atwood, both from Douglas
  • Merged with Rockwell-Standard in September 1967

Productie

Het meest bekend om
P-51 Mustang

  • Famous types: T-6 Texan, P-51 Mustang, B-25 Mitchell, F-86 Sabre, F-100, X-15
  • About 42,000 aircraft built by the end of the Second World War
  • Apollo command and service module and the Saturn V S-II second stage

Vandaag

Nu
Part of Boeing

  • Became North American Rockwell in 1967 and Rockwell International in 1973
  • Aerospace and defence operations sold to Boeing in December 1996

Thousands of T-6s and hundreds of Mustangs still fly as civil warbirds.

De cijfers

Peak employment
91,000Tweede Wereldoorlog
Employment after the war
5,0001946
Aircraft built by end of WWII
about 42,0001945
Verkoop
more than 315 million US dollars1952
Rank among US firms by wartime production contracts
11th
P-51 single-month production record
571 aircraft
Columbus, Ohio workforce
1,600 in 1950 to 18,000 in 1952
Apollo command and service modules built
35, of which 19 flew in space
Het vliegtuig

Every notable North American Aviation aircraft

B-25 MitchellMedium bomber · first flight 1940 · 9,816 (B-25 article) to 9,890 (NAA article) builtP-51 MustangFighter · first flight 1940 · 15,686 builtF-86 SabreJet fighter · first flight 1947 · 9,860 including licence production (6,297 by NAA) builtT-28 TrojanTrainer and light attack · first flight 1949 · 1,948 builtF-86D SabreAll-weather interceptor · first flight 1949 · 2,847 builtF-100 Super SabreSupersonic fighter-bomber · first flight 1953 · 2,294 builtA-5 VigilanteCarrier bomber and reconnaissance · first flight 1958 · 167 builtXB-70 ValkyrieMach 3 bomber prototype · first flight 1964 · 2 builtOV-10 BroncoLight attack and observation · first flight 1965 · 360 built

Photos: Articseahorse · CC BY-SA 4.0; U.S. Air Force / Tech. Sgt. Ben Bloker · Public domain; USAF · Public domain; Pseudopanax · public domain; Alf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons (CC0); U.S. Navy · Public domain; NASA · Public domain; TSgt. Hans H. Deffner, USAF · Public domain

Vliegtuig Rol Eerste vlucht Gebouwd Status Opmerking
NA-16 / T-6 Texan (Harvard, SNJ) Gevorderde trainer 1935 15,495 Gepensioneerd Served in more than 60 air forces; last military user South Africa, 1995
O-47 Observatievliegtuig 1935 239 Gepensioneerd
B-25 Mitchell Middelzware bommenwerper 1940 9,816 (B-25 article) to 9,890 (NAA article) Gepensioneerd Flew the Doolittle Raid of 18 April 1942
P-51 Mustang Vechter 1940 15,686 Gepensioneerd NA-73X prototype rolled out 102 days after the British order; transformed by the Rolls-Royce Merlin
A-36 Apache Duikbommenwerper 1942 500 Gepensioneerd Ground-attack Mustang
F-82 Twin Mustang Long-range escort and night fighter 1945 272 Gepensioneerd
FJ-1 Fury Vliegdekschip straaljager 1946 33 Gepensioneerd
Navion Light civil aircraft 1946 1,109 Design sold to Ryan in 1947, which built 1,240 more
B-45 Tornado Jet bomber 1947 143 Gepensioneerd First operational jet bomber of the USAF
F-86 Sabre Straaljager 1947 9,860 including licence production (6,297 by NAA) Gepensioneerd Fought the MiG-15 over Korea
AJ Savage Carrier attack bomber 1948 143 Gepensioneerd
T-28 Trojan Trainer en lichte aanval 1949 1,948 Gepensioneerd
F-86D Sabre Onderscheppingsvoertuig voor alle weersomstandigheden 1949 2,847 Gepensioneerd
FJ-2/FJ-3/FJ-4 Fury Vliegdekschip straaljager 1951 203 FJ-2, 538 FJ-3, 374 FJ-4 Gepensioneerd Navalised Sabre family
F-100 Super Sabre Supersonische jachtbommenwerper 1953 2,294 Gepensioneerd First USAF fighter supersonic in level flight; 242 lost in Vietnam
F-107 Fighter-bomber prototype 1956 3 Gepensioneerd
A-5 Vigilante Carrier bomber and reconnaissance 1958 167 Gepensioneerd 137 built as or converted to RA-5C; first flown at Columbus
T-2 Buckeye Straaltrainer 1958 529
Sabreliner (T-39) Business jet and trainer 1958 800+ About 200 were military T-39s
X-15 Rocket-powered research aircraft 1959 3 Gepensioneerd 199 flights; reached Mach 6.7 and 108 km
XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber prototype 1964 2 Gepensioneerd Second prototype lost in a mid-air collision on 8 June 1966
OV-10 Bronco Light attack and observation 1965 360 In dienst Built at Columbus; still flown in small numbers, including by CAL FIRE
Apollo command and service module Crewed spacecraft 35 Gepensioneerd Contract won 28 November 1961; 19 flew in space
Wie vliegt ermee?

North American Aviation aircraft in the world’s air forces

66 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew North American Aviation types. Twee ervan hebben er nog één in gebruik.

Luchtmacht In dienst Voorheen gevlogen
Canadese staatsluchtvaartdiensten Noord-Amerikaanse Harvard Mk IV
Ecuadoraanse luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse Sabreliner Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan, Ryan PT-22, Curtiss-Wright CW-22, Fairchild PT-19A and North American AT-6A
Luchtmacht van de Democratische Republiek Congo Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan, North American T-6 Texan/Harvard
Luchtbewakingsdienst North American P-51D Mustang
Argentijnse luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre
Argentijnse marine luchtvaart North American AT-6 / SNJ-5C Texan, Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan
Oostenrijkse luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse LT-6G Texaan
Belgische luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse Harvard
Bolivariaanse militaire luchtvaart van Venezuela North American F-86F Sabre, North American F-86K Sabre, North American B-25J Mitchell, North American T-2D Buckeye
Braziliaanse luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse T-6 Texaan
Braziliaanse marine luchtvaart Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan
Canadese marine- en landmachtluchtvaart North American Harvard, North American Harvard, army pilot training
Chileense luchtmacht North American AT-6 en Beech C-45
Colombiaanse lucht- en ruimtevaartmacht Noord-Amerikaanse AT-6 Texaan
Cubaanse Revolutionaire Lucht- en Luchtverdedigingsmacht North American P-51D Mustang, Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan, North American T-6 Texan
Dominicaanse luchtmacht North American P-51D / F-51D Mustang, North American AT-6 / T-6 Texan, North American T-28S Fennec
Ethiopische luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre, Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan
Franse lucht- en ruimtevaartmacht North American F-100D/F Super Sabre, North American P-51D Mustang
Duitse luchtmacht North American F-86K Sabre Dog
Guatemalteekse luchtmacht North American T-6 Texan (armed), North American F-51D Mustang
Luchtmacht van Guinee-Bissau Noord-Amerikaanse T-6G Texaan
Haïtiaans Luchtvaartkorps North American T-28 Trojan (ex-French), North American F-51D Mustang, North American AT-6 Texan
Griekse luchtmacht North American T-2E Buckeye, North American / Canadair F-86E en F-86D Sabre
Hondurese luchtmacht North American NA-16, North American T-6 Texan, North American T-28A/B Trojan, North American F-86K Sabre
Indonesische luchtmacht North American P-51D Mustang, North American B-25 Mitchell
Luchtmacht van de Islamitische Republiek Iran North American F-86F Sabre
Israëlische luchtmacht North American P-51D Mustang
Italiaanse luchtmacht North American F-86K Sabre, North American P-51D Mustang, North American T-6 Texan
Japanse luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse / Mitsubishi F-86F Sabre (en RF-86F), North American T-6 Texan
Luchtmacht van het Laotiaanse Volksbevrijdingsleger Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan (T-28D, AT-28), North American AT-6 Texan
Libanese luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse Harvard T.2B
Mexicaanse luchtmacht North American T-28A Trojan
Nicaraguaanse luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan, North American P-51D Mustang
Pakistaanse luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre en Canadair Sabre Mk 6, Noord-Amerikaans Harvard
Paraguayaanse luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse T-6 Texaan
Luchtmacht van het Volksbevrijdingsleger North American P-51 Mustang, PT-19 en de Havilland Mosquito (gevangen)
Peruaanse luchtmacht North American NA-50 Torito, North American F-86F Sabre
Filipijnse luchtmacht North American F-86F/D Sabre, Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan, North American P-51D Mustang
Poolse luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse Mustang III, North American Mitchell
Portugese luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre, North American T-6 / AT-6 Texan and Harvard
Luchtmacht van de Republiek China North American F-100A/F en RF-100A Super Sabre, North American F-86F, RF-86F en F-86D Sabre, North American P-51/F-51D Mustang, Noord-Amerikaanse T-28 Trojan
Luchtmacht van de Republiek Korea North American F-86F en RF-86F Sabre, North American F-86D Sabre, North American F-51D Mustang
Luchtvaart van de marine van de Republiek Korea (Marine Luchtcommando) Noord-Amerikaanse T-6 Texan (Haechwiho)
Koninklijke Luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse Mustang III/IV, Noord-Amerikaanse Mitchell
Koninklijke Australische Luchtmacht North American B-25 Mitchell
Koninklijke Cambodjaanse Luchtmacht North American T-28D Trojan, North American T-6G Texan
Koninklijke Canadese Luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse Mustang Mk.IV, Noord-Amerikaanse Mitchell, Noord-Amerikaans Harvard
Koninklijke Deense Luchtmacht North American F-100D/F en TF-100F Super Sabre, North American F-86D Sabre, Noord-Amerikaans Harvard
Koninklijke Marokkaanse Luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse T-6 Texaan
Koninklijke Nederlandse Lucht- en Ruimtevaartmacht North American F-86K Sabre, Noord-Amerikaanse P-51D Mustang (ML-KNIL), North American B-25 Mitchell
Koninklijke Nieuw-Zeelandse Luchtmacht North American P-51D Mustang, Noord-Amerikaans Harvard
Koninklijke Noorse Luchtmacht North American F-86F en F-86K Sabre
Koninklijke Saoedische Luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre, North American T-28A Trojan, North American T-6A Texan
Koninklijke Thaise luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre, North American T-28D Trojan
Salvadoraanse luchtmacht North American P-51D en Cavalier F-51D Mustang, North American AT-6 / SNJ-4 / SNJ-5 Texan
Servische luchtmacht en luchtverdediging North American F-86E en Canadair CL-13 Sabre
Somalische luchtmacht North American P-51D Mustang, Beech C-45, North American T-6H Texan and Stinson L-5
Zuid-Afrikaanse luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre (Korea), North American F-51D Mustang (Korea) and Mustang III/IV, North American Harvard and T-6G Texan
Spaanse lucht- en ruimtevaartmacht North American F-86F Sabre (C.5), North American T-6 Texan
Zweedse luchtmacht North American P-51D Mustang (J 26), North American Harvard and T-6 (Sk 16)
Zwitserse luchtmacht North American AT-16 Harvard IIB, North American P-51D Mustang, F-6D/K, TP-51D
Syrische luchtmacht Noord-Amerikaanse T-6 Harvard
Tunesische luchtmacht North American F-86F Sabre
Turkse luchtmacht North American F-100C/D/F Super Sabre
Luchtmacht van de Verenigde Staten North American P-51 Mustang, North American F-86 Sabre, North American F-100 Super Sabre, Noord-Amerikaanse XB-70 Valkyrie
Uruguayaanse luchtmacht North American F-51D Mustang, North American B-25J Mitchell, North American T-6 Texan
Plaatsen, mensen, archieven

Where North American Aviation built, who led it, what it achieved

Fabrieken

  • Dundalk works · Dundalk, Maryland — Original factory before the move west in the mid-1930s
  • Inglewood plant · Los Angeles (Inglewood), California — Main fighter plant; P-51, F-86, F-100
  • Dallas plant · Dallas, Texas — Wartime expansion plant
  • Kansas City plant · Kansas City, Kansas — Wartime expansion plant
  • Columbus plant · Columbus, Ohio — Grew from 1,600 staff in 1950 to 18,000 in 1952; A-5 and OV-10
  • Downey plant · Downey, California — Former Consolidated-Vultee site; built the Apollo command and service modules

Mensen

  • Clement Melville Keys · founder, financier — Created NAA as an aviation holding company in 1928
  • James H. “Dutch” Kindelberger · president, then chairman and CEO — Ex-Douglas chief engineer; ran NAA from 1934; chairman until his death in 1962
  • John Leland “Lee” Atwood · chief engineer, president, CEO — Joined 1934; president 1948, CEO 1960; led the 1967 Rockwell merger; retired 1970
  • George Welch · test pilot — Flew the F-86 on its first flight, 1 October 1947
  • Scott Crossfield · test pilot — Flew the first X-15 flight, 8 June 1959
  • Ronald Harker · Rolls-Royce test pilot — Proposed fitting the Merlin 61 to the Mustang in 1942

Records en primeurs

  • World speed record of 671 mph by Maj. Richard L. Johnson in an F-86, 15 September 1948 (n10)
  • F-100 prototype world speed record of about 755 mph, 29 October 1953 (n11)
  • A3J Vigilante world altitude record with payload, 91,450.8 ft, 13 December 1960 (n17)
  • X-15 reached 108 km with Joe Walker on 22 August 1963, his second flight above 100 km (n13)
  • X-15 fastest crewed winged flight, Mach 6.7 (4,520 mph) by William J. Knight, 3 October 1967 (n12)
  • XB-70 exceeded Mach 3 (Mach 3.02) on 14 October 1965 (n14)
  • B-45: first operational USAF jet bomber and first multi-engine jet bomber refuelled in flight (n19)
  • F-100: first USAF fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight (n11)
Tijdlijn

North American Aviation, year by year

1928

Clement Keys founds North American Aviation as a holding company

1933

General Motors takes control and merges in General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation

1934

Air Mail Act forces the break-up; Kindelberger and Atwood arrive from Douglas

1935

NA-16, ancestor of the T-6 Texan, first flight

1940

B-25 Mitchell first flight

1940

NA-73X Mustang prototype first flight, 102 days after the order

1942

Sixteen B-25Bs fly the Doolittle Raid from USS Hornet

1945

A B-25 crashes into the Empire State Building in fog

1947

F-86 Sabre first flight

1948

General Motors divests NAA; Atwood becomes president

1953

F-100 Super Sabre first flight

1959

X-15 first flight

1961

NASA awards NAA the Apollo command and service module contract

1962

Dutch Kindelberger dies

1964

XB-70 Valkyrie first flight

1966

XB-70 No. 2 lost in a mid-air collision

1967

Apollo 1 fire kills three astronauts

1967

Merger with Rockwell-Standard creates North American Rockwell

1996

Boeing buys Rockwell’s aerospace and defence business

De stamboom

Before and after North American Aviation

Kwam daarnaRockwell InternationalMerged with Rockwell-Standard in September 1967 as North American Rockwell; Rockwell International from 1973Lees de pagina van Rockwell InternationalKwam daarnaBoeingBought Rockwell’s aerospace and defence business, including the former NAA operations, in December 1996Lees de Boeing-pagina
Vragen en antwoorden

Everything people ask about North American Aviation

Who founded North American Aviation?
Financier Clement Melville Keys founded North American Aviation on 6 December 1928 as a holding company for airline and aviation interests. It became a true aircraft manufacturer after 1934, when James H. “Dutch” Kindelberger arrived from Douglas to run it.
How fast was the P-51 Mustang designed?
The NA-73X prototype was rolled out 102 days after the British order was placed and first flew on 26 October 1940. A total of 15,686 Mustangs were built.
What happened to North American Aviation?
In September 1967 it merged with Rockwell-Standard to form North American Rockwell, renamed Rockwell International in 1973. Boeing bought Rockwell’s aerospace and defence business, including the former North American operations, in December 1996.
Did North American Aviation build the Apollo spacecraft?
Yes. NASA chose North American on 28 November 1961 to build the Apollo command and service module; 35 were built at Downey and 19 flew in space. Its Rocketdyne division built the Saturn engines and the company built the Saturn V S-II stage.
Was General Motors the owner of North American Aviation?
Yes. General Motors bought a controlling interest in 1933 and merged it with General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation, then divested NAA as a public company in 1948.
How many aircraft did North American Aviation build in the Second World War?
About 42,000 by the end of the war, led by the T-6 trainer, the P-51 Mustang and the B-25 Mitchell. Employment peaked at about 91,000.

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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.