The saga began in 1929 when an oil field equipment firm, EMSCO, decided to build an airplane. The result was the EMSCO "Cirrus," and lest cynics scoff too hard at a link between oil equipment firms and aviation, let’s note that oil rigging and equipment were where Howard Hughes started.
EMSCO followed the "Cirrus" with a second design that was flown from a small airfield adjacent to the plant in 1930. EMSCO built a third model, the B-3, that made quite a name for itself in long distance flights of the time. A number of B-3s were sold to the Mexican Air Force. And the B-3 was eventually refitted into an airplane known as the "Challenger."
The Great Depression affected the air and oil industry as well as everything else, and EMSCO shut down in 1932, but its hangars, plant and small airfield remained.
Then came Jerry Vultee, a young engineer from Lockheed who wanted to build airplanes of his own independent design.
Vultee started in Glendale, but he sought a facility with more space and an airfield. He moved to Downey in 1936.
The first plane he built in Downey was the V-11, an attack bomber which later flew in China. The V1-A which was conceived in Glendale, was later built in Downey as well.
Vultee was killed in an air crash in Arizona in 1938, but his legacy was the Vultee plant in Downey.
Refinement of the V-11 eventually produced the T-6 Texan, which became famous as a trainer in World War II. And the advent of World War II set off a wild effort to upgrade military air production. In 1942 Vultee merged with Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego. The new company designed a combat plane based on the trainer. The new plane was the Model 72 "Vengeance."
The "Vengeance" was eventually developed into the A-31 and A-35 and saw service all over the world. The consolidated branch of the new company, Convair, built the famous "Liberator" bombers of World War II. It was the "Liberator" that smashed the Ploisti Oil fields, a series of raids on which the book "Catch 22" was based.
The Downey production lines turned out thousands of aircraft, and became famous for "Rosie the Riveter," an affectionate name given women who worked beside men to produce defense aircraft here.
After the war the military air contracts temporarily dried up and the big Downey plant closed in 1947. A few engineers from the old company used the production line to build prefabricated housing. But they later moved to a less costly production site in Cudahy.
North American Aviation still had military air contracts, and needed space to produce planes. North American reopened the old Downey plant in December of 1947. Historian Bob Thompson has carefully saved bits of history covering North American’s presence here. Among his treasures are old photos showing where original buildings were located, and where they were moved to make way for the huge structures there now.
North American built "Mustangs" in Downey, but the company was also on the cutting edge of the space age, which had kicked off in the U.S. with the Redstone Project.
North American developed into Rockwell. Progressive steps that followed included the Apollo capsules, moon landing and development of the Space Shuttle.