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Leroy Grumman and others worked for the Loening Aircraft Engineering Corporation in the 1920s, but when it was bought by Keystone Aircraft and the operations moved from New York City to Pennsylvania, Grumman and his partners ( Ed Poor , William Schwendler , Jake Swirbul , and Clint Towl ) started their own company in a garage in the town of Baldwin on Long Island.
The company filed as a business on 5 December 1929, and opened its doors 2 January 1930. Their first product was floats for US Navy seaplaneDeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery A seaplane is an aircraft designed to take off and land on water. Types of Seaplanes There are two types of seaplane the float plane and the flying boat. A float plane has slender pontoons mounteds. The first Grumman aircraft was also for the Navy, the Grumman FF-1 , a biplaneA biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings of similar spans, normally one mounted above, and the other level with, the underside of the fuselage. The upper wing normally overlaps the lower wing, and vertical or slightly raked slender struts ar with retractable landing gear. This was followed by a number of other successful designs. As the company grew, it moved to Valley StreamValley Stream is a village located in Nassau County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 36,368. Geography Valley Stream is located at 40°39'53" North, 73°42'12" West (40. 664780, -73. According to the United States Cens, then FarmingdaleFarmingdale is a village located in Nassau County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 8,399. Geography Farmingdale is located at 40°44'0" North, 73°26'42" West (40. 733471, -73. According to the United States Census Bur, finally ending up at BethpageBethpage is a census-designated place located in Nassau County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 16,543. Geography Bethpage is located at 40°44'48" North, 73°29'4" West (40. 746699, -73. According to the United States Cen.
In World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough, Grumman became famous for its Navy fighter aircraft, F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat, and for its torpedo bomber TBF Avenger. Grumman's first jet plane, the F9F Panther, became operational in 1949, but the company's big post-war successes came in the 1960s with the A-6 Intruder and in the 1970s with the F-14 Tomcat.
Grumman were also the chief contractor on the Apollo Lunar Module that landed men on the moon. They received the contract on 7 November 1962 and in the end built 13 lunar modules (LMs). As the Apollo program neared its end, Grumman was one of the chief competitors for the contract to design and build the Space Shuttle, but lost to Rockwell.
Meanwhile, in 1969, the company changed its name to Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and in 1978 it sold the Grumman-American Division to Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation . The end of the Cold War ca. 1991 and the ensuing reduced need for defense spending led to a wave of mergers as aerospace companies shrank; in 1994 Grumman merged with Northrop to be Northrop Grumman.