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Гудьир

Боевой порядок · авиапроизводители · Соединенные Штаты

Гудьир

Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation · Goodyear Aircraft Corporation · Goodyear Aerospace Corporation

A tyre company built the biggest helium airships ever flown, 134 wartime anti-submarine blimps, 4,007 Corsairs and an inflatable aeroplane, then sold its aerospace arm to fend off a corporate raider.

1898Основан
АктивныйСтатус
7Зарегистрированные самолеты
2Военно-воздушные силы, эксплуатирующие свои типы самолетов.
Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
СтранаСоединенные ШтатыОснован1898Штаб-квартираAkron, OhioСтатусАктивный
История

Goodyear: the company and the aircraft that made its name

Zeppelins in Ohio

After the First World War Germany was forbidden to build Zeppelins, so in 1924 the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company formed the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, two-thirds Goodyear and one-third Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. German engineers led by Karl Arnstein moved to Akron, and inside a vast new airdock they built the Navy’s USS Akron and USS Macon. At 785 ft, Akron was the world’s first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier, and the pair remain the largest helium-filled airships ever built.

Corsairs and K-ships

As relations with Germany collapsed the airship arm became Goodyear Aircraft Corporation on 5 December 1939, starting with tails for the Martin B-26. In the war it built 134 K-class blimps for anti-submarine patrols and licence-built 4,007 FG-1 Corsairs, 857 of them for the Royal Navy. Its own F2G Super Corsair, with a 28-cylinder engine, climbed at 7,000 ft a minute; ten were built before the order was cancelled.

From inflatable planes to radar

Post-war, Goodyear tried the GA-2 Duck amphibian and the Inflatoplane, a rubber aircraft meant to be dropped behind enemy lines; 12 were built. Its engineer Carl Wiley invented synthetic aperture radar in 1951. Goodyear Aerospace, as it became in 1963, was sold to Loral for $640 million in 1987 after James Goldsmith’s takeover bid. The blimps still fly, but since 2014 they have been Zeppelin NTs, built in Germany.

A tyre company built the biggest helium airships ever flown, 134 wartime anti-submarine blimps, 4,007 Corsairs and an inflatable aeroplane, then sold its aerospace arm to fend off a corporate raider.Goodyear · verified 2026-10-03
Вкратце

Goodyear in numbers

Компания

Суммируя
Founded 1898

  • Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio
  • Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation formed 1924
  • Goodyear Aircraft Corporation 1939, Goodyear Aerospace 1963
  • Aerospace arm sold to Loral, 1987

Производство

Наиболее известен благодаря
Дирижабли и корсары

  • USS Akron and USS Macon rigid airships
  • 134 K-class blimps
  • 4,007 FG-1 Corsairs under licence
  • F2G Super Corsair, GA-2 Duck, Inflatoplane

Сегодня

Сейчас
Blimps, but not built in-house

  • Fleet of Zeppelin NT airships since 2014
  • Last Goodyear-built blimp retired 2017
  • Goodyear Aerospace designs passed to Lockheed Martin in 1993

Цифры

FG-1 Corsairs delivered
4,007
K-class blimps built
134
Sale price of Goodyear Aerospace to Loral
$640 million1987
Airframes produced in Arizona in WWII
more than three million pounds
Самолёт

Every notable Goodyear aircraft

Самолёт Роль Первый рейс Построен Статус Примечание
USS Akron (ZRS-4) Rigid airship, flying aircraft carrier 1931 2 Ушедший на пенсию With sister ship Macon; 785 ft long; Akron lost April 1933
Goodyear K-class blimp Anti-submarine patrol airship 1938 134 Ушедший на пенсию Atlantic and Pacific convoy patrols
Goodyear FG-1 Corsair Carrier fighter (licence-built F4U) 1943 4,007 Ушедший на пенсию 857 to the Royal Navy as Corsair Mk IV, 60 to the RNZAF
Goodyear F2G Super Corsair Low-altitude interceptor 10 Ушедший на пенсию R-4360 engine; 428 ordered, cancelled
Goodyear GA-2 Duck Light amphibian 1944 19 Ушедший на пенсию Used only for testing and demonstration
Goodyear Inflatoplane Inflatable rescue aircraft 1956 12 Ушедший на пенсию Tested until the early 1970s; never ordered
Goodyear GZ-20 Advertising blimp Ушедший на пенсию Last Goodyear-built blimp, Spirit of Innovation, retired March 2017
Кто их перевозит?

Goodyear aircraft in the world’s air forces

2 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Goodyear types. Ни у одной из них до сих пор нет ни одного в эксплуатации.

военно-воздушные силы В эксплуатации Ранее летал
Королевские военно-воздушные силы Новой Зеландии Vought F4U-1 и Goodyear FG-1D Corsair
ВВС Сальвадора Goodyear FG-1D Corsair (и Vought F4U-5 в качестве запасных частей)
Места, люди, записи

Where Goodyear built, who led it, what it achieved

Заводы

  • Goodyear Airdock · Akron, Ohio — Built Akron and Macon; FG-1 plant later NAS Akron
  • Arizona plant · west of Phoenix, Arizona — Ground broken 15 July 1941; canopies and armour after the war
  • Wingfoot Lake · Suffield, Ohio — Airship hangar and base

Люди

  • Karl Arnstein · vice-president of engineering — Former Zeppelin chief engineer; designed Akron and Macon
  • Carl Wiley · engineer — Invented synthetic aperture radar, 1951

Рекорды и первые достижения

  • USS Akron and USS Macon: largest helium-filled airships ever built
  • USS Akron: first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier
  • F2G climb rate of 7,000 ft/min, double a standard Corsair
Хронология

Goodyear, year by year

1924

Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation formed

1925

Pilgrim, the first Goodyear commercial blimp

1931

USS Akron maiden flight

1938

K-2 prototype blimp flies

1939

Goodyear Aircraft Corporation formed

1943

First Goodyear FG-1 Corsair flies

1951

Carl Wiley invents synthetic aperture radar

1956

Inflatoplane built

1963

Renamed Goodyear Aerospace

1987

Goodyear Aerospace sold to Loral

1993

Loral defence unit acquired by Lockheed Martin

2014

Wingfoot One, a Zeppelin NT, christened

2017

Last Goodyear-built blimp retired

Генеалогическое древо

Before and after Goodyear

Это было раньшеLuftschiffbau Zeppelinone-third partner in Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, 1924–1941Read the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin pageПришло послеЛокхид Мартинacquired Loral’s defence unit, 1993Прочитайте страницу компании Lockheed Martin.
Вопросы и ответы

Everything people ask about Goodyear

Did Goodyear build aircraft?
Yes. Goodyear Aircraft built airships, 4,007 FG-1 Corsairs in the Second World War, the F2G Super Corsair, the GA-2 Duck and the Inflatoplane.
Who builds the Goodyear Blimp today?
Since 2014 Goodyear’s airships have been Zeppelin NTs built by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin in Germany; the last Goodyear-built blimp retired in 2017.
What was the Goodyear Inflatoplane?
An experimental inflatable aircraft meant to be dropped to downed airmen in a container. Twelve were built between 1956 and 1959.
What happened to Goodyear Aerospace?
It was sold to Loral for $640 million in 1987; Loral’s defence business went to Lockheed Martin in 1993.
Who invented synthetic aperture radar?
Carl Wiley, an engineer at Goodyear Aircraft, in 1951.

Продолжить тур

Around Goodyear

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Источники и дополнительная литература

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Подтверждено 03.10.2026.