Berliner-Joyce Aircraft was an American aircraft manufacturer.

History

The company was founded on the February 4, 1929, when Henry Berliner and his 1922 company, Berliner Aircraft Company of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, joined with Maryland Aviation Commission leader Captain Temple Nach Joyce. Berliner-Joyce hired William H. Miller as chief designer, and opened a 58,000 square foot factory in

Dundalk, Maryland Dundalk ( or ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 67,796 at the 2020 census. In 1960 and 1970, Dundalk was the largest uni ...

, near Logan Field. The facility operated one of the largest private

Wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

operations of the time. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

ended the civil aircraft production market, so Berliner-Joyce concentrated on designing aircraft for the

USAAC The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

and

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. In May 1929 the company received its first order, for the

Berliner-Joyce XFJ The Berliner-Joyce XFJ was a United States prototype biplane fighter aircraft that first flew in May 1930. Designed by Berliner-Joyce Aircraft for the United States Navy, its lower wing, placed below the fuselage and just two feet above the groun ...

. Other projects, the P-16 and OJ-2, also received orders. A merger between the

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated a ...

and Berliner Joyce was proposed in early 1930, but fell through. Later that same year,

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the ...

bought the company. Later, in 1933, the since renamed B-J Corporation became a subsidiary of a subsidiary when

was purchased by

General Motors Corporation The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...

. In January 1934 Joyce left the company to join

Bellanca Aircraft AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983, it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, although it was preceded by ...

, and soon after Berliner left for Engineering and Research Corporation. The company was then moved from Maryland to

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

Aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Berliner-Joyce aircraft Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1929 North American Aviation Aviation in Maryland 1929 establishments in Maryland Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1933 1933 disestablishments in Maryland