History
The Orin Welch Aircraft Company was originally located in
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...
. It purchased the holdings of the Muncie Aerial Company in 1928. In 1929, it inaugurated a new airfield southwest of
Anderson, Indiana
Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson is ...
. Later that year, it would be purchased by the city. Unfortunately, fire destroyed the plant in 1930. As a result, it eventually moved to
Bendix Municipal Airport in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
in 1936. By 1939, it had been renamed Welch Aircraft Industries. It was then acquired by the Aircraft Corporation of
La Porte, Indiana
La Porte (French for "The Door") is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, India ...
in 1940. It was then moved to the
Wyoming Valley Airport near
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. By 1941, it was planned for a new factory to be located in
Exeter, Pennsylvania. Then, in 1943, a proposal was made to relocate to Scranton, Pennsylvania. However, in 1944 the company went bankrupt.
Aircraft
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Orin Welch Aircraft Company – Javalina
{{Welch aircraft
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States