Welch Aircraft Company
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founder | Orin Welch |
| Defunct | 1944 |
| Fate | Bankrupt |
| Headquarters | , United States |
History
[edit]The Orin Welch Aircraft Company was originally located in Charleston, West Virginia.[1] It purchased the holdings of the Muncie Aerial Company in 1928.[2] In 1929, it inaugurated a new airfield southwest of Anderson, Indiana.[3] Later that year, it would be purchased by the city.[4] Unfortunately, fire destroyed the plant in 1930.[5] As a result, it eventually moved to Bendix Municipal Airport in South Bend, Indiana in 1936.[6] By 1939, it had been renamed Welch Aircraft Industries.[7] It was then acquired by the Aircraft Corporation of La Porte, Indiana in 1940.[8] It was then moved to the Wyoming Valley Airport near Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.[9] By 1941, it was planned for a new factory to be located in Exeter, Pennsylvania.[10] Then, in 1943, a proposal was made to relocate to Scranton, Pennsylvania.[11] However, in 1944 the company went bankrupt.[12]
Aircraft
[edit]| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welch OW-1 | 1927 | 4 | Single engine biplane utility airplane |
| Welch OW-2 | 1928 | 2 | Single engine biplane utility airplane |
| Welch OW-3 | 1928 | 3 | Single engine biplane utility airplane |
| Welch OW-4 | 1929 | 1 | Single engine monoplane utility airplane |
| Welch OW-5 | 1931 | 38 | Single engine monoplane utility airplane |
| Welch OW-6 | 6[13] | Single engine monoplane utility airplane | |
| Welch OW-7 | 8 | Single engine monoplane utility airplane | |
| Welch OW-8 | 2 | Single engine monoplane utility airplane |
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "Indiana News in Brief". Indianapolis News. 18 July 1927. p. 19. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Greene, Richard A. (21 September 1928). "Muncie is Ideal Airport City". Muncie Evening Press. p. 22. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Mahoney, Claude A. (1 June 1929). "Anderson Aerial Festival Draws Birdmen". Indianapolis Star. pp. 1, 2, 12. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "City Will Own Airport". Indianapolis News. 13 November 1929. p. 21. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "7 Anderson Planes Destroyed by Fire". Seymour Daily Tribune. 10 November 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Aircraft Factory Moves to City: Welch Firm Locates at Bendix Port". South Bend Tribune. 22 May 1936. p. 1. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Welch Aircraft Opens School". South Bend Tribune. 11 June 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Welch Aircraft Assets Bought". Wilkes-Barre Record. 16 October 1940. p. 15. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "New Airplane Factory to Locate in Valley". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. 15 March 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Plan Authority to Get Industries for Area". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. 28 March 1941. p. 14. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Welch Aircraft Firm Will Locate in City". Scranton Tribune. 10 July 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Welch Aircraft Assets Sold". Wilkes-Barre Record. 7 September 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Eckland, K. O. (2 May 2009). "American Airplanes: Wa - We". Aerofiles. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- Abel, Drina Welch (1983). The Welch Airplane Story: Airplanes Designed and Manufactured by Orin Moore Welch. Terre Haute, Indiana: Sunshine House.
- Jackson, Stephen T. (6 July 2013). "An Airfield Named Welch". Herald Bulletin. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- Miley, Scott L. (8 May 2016). "Pioneering Flight in Anderson". Herald Bulletin. Retrieved 8 November 2021.