The Chase Aircraft Company, founded in 1943, was an American

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

, primarily constructing

assault glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were ...

s and

military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used to support military operations by airlifting troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to ma ...

. Lacking space for expansion, the company was purchased by

Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

in 1951. Plans to produce the

C-123 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Rese ...

transport for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

collapsed amid scandal, and the company closed in 1953. A successor company, Stroukoff Aircraft, continued experimental work for several years before closing in 1959.

Early products

Founded in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

, in 1943 with

Michael Stroukoff Michael Stroukoff was a Russian-born aircraft designer, who served in the White Army before emigrating to the United States. After spending some time as an architect, he joined the Chase Aircraft Company and designed a number of transport aircr ...

, a Russian

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...

, as president and chief designer,Gunston 1987, p.146. Chase's first aircraft design was the XCG-14

, produced for the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and first flying in January 1945.Jane 1951, p.214 Development of improved, enlarged versions of the aircraft continued over the next two years, with the company moving to

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.XG-18, an even larger and heavier aircraftMitchell 1992, p.164. that was the world's first all-metal transport glider.''World Aircraft Information Files, File 891 Sheet 26''. London: Bright Star Publishing. Chase YC-122C Avitruc

By 1949, the

had determined that the glider was no longer a viable weapon on the battlefield, and the XG-18 was modified, being fitted with a pair of

radial engines The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is cal ...

. Redesignated as the

YC-122 Avitruc The Chase XCG-18A and YC-122 Avitruc (known internally as the Chase MS.7) was a military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and produced in limited numbers in the United States in the late 1940s, initially as a glider, but definitively ...

, three prototype and one pre-production aircraft were produced, and despite favorable evaluations, the Air Force had reconsidered its requirement for small transports, and decided not to proceed with full production of the design. One YC-122, however, would later be modified into the

Hiller X-18 The Hiller X-18 was an experimental cargo transport aircraft designed to be the first testbed for tiltwing and V/STOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing) technology. Development Design work started in 1955 in aviation, 1955 by Stanley Hille ...

, an experimental

tiltwing A tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typical ...

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...

aircraft.

XG-20 and the first jet transport

Meanwhile, a third, still larger, assault glider had been designed by Stroukoff, the XG-20, the largest glider ever built in the United States and also the last combat glider to be constructed for the U.S. military.Sergievsky et al. 1998, p.128 By the time the XG-20 was ready for flight testing, gliders had been determined to be obsolete as weapons of war, and so the two aircraft were taken aside for modification. The first prototype XG-20 was fitted with twin radial engines of a larger, more powerful type than those fitted to the YC-122, and was redesignated the XC-123.Andrade 1979, p. 87. The second prototype XG-20, following public display in early 1950 at

Pope AFB Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

during

Exercise Swarmer Exercise SWARMER (also known as Operation SWARMER) was a large-scale military exercise conducted in the spring of 1950 by the United States Air Force, United States Army, and United States Navy in the area of Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the sout ...

, was taken aside for a more radical transformation, being fitted with two twin

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

engine pods containing

J47 The General Electric J47 turbojet (GE company designation TG-190) was developed by General Electric from its earlier J35. It first flew in May 1948. The J47 was the first axial-flow turbojet approved for commercial use in the United States. It ...

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

s, and flying in early 1951 as the XC-123A, the United States' first jet-powered transport aircraft.Pattillo 2000, pp.165-166.

Kaiser and the pricing scandal

While the XC-123A proved too uneconomical for production, the XC-123 had greatly impressed the Air Force, which issued an order for five pre-production aircraft, designated C-123B. The prospect of large follow-up orders, however, raised an issue of capacity, as Chase's factory lacked sufficient space to construct large numbers of aircraft. Therefore, in 1951, 49 percent of Chase was purchased by

Kaiser-Frazer The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation (1947–1953 as Kaiser-Frazer) was the result of a partnership between industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer. who received a contract for 300 C-123B aircraft to be constructed at Kaiser's

Willow Run Willow Run, also known as Air Force Plant 31, was a manufacturing complex in Michigan, United States, located between Ypsilanti Township and Belleville, built by the Ford Motor Company to manufacture aircraft, especially the B-24 Liberator heav ...

factory in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

. Chase became an engineering shop for the company, with Stroukoff remaining with the facility as its chief engineer. However, even as the first eight aircraft were under construction by Kaiser, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

was conducting a series of

hearings In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee. Description A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and ...

regarding the company, concerns having been raised over subcontracting work Kaiser-Frazer was performing for

Fairchild Aircraft Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 1 ...

.''Life'' July 6, 1953, p.22 Kaiser had been awarded an earlier contract as a second source for construction of Fairchild's

C-119 The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

, and the aircraft produced by Kaiser were proving to be significantly more expensive than those produced by Fairchild. The result of the hearings was the cancellation of Kaiser's contracts for both the C-119 and the C-123 in June 1953, despite the Air Force having already spent $30 million on preparation for production of the C-123, with another $40 million having been earmarked for use by Chase Aircraft directly for production of parts. The C-123 contract was put out for re-bid, with Fairchild proving to be the winning contractor; under Fairchild's name, the C-123 went on to see a large production run and extensive service in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Dissolution

Kaiser-Frazer, meanwhile, had bought out the remaining 51% of Chase Aircraft's shares, intending to operate the company as a wholly owned subsidiary of

Willys Motors Kaiser Jeep was the result of the 1953 merger of Kaiser Motors, an independent passenger car maker based in Willow Run, Michigan, with the Toledo, Ohio-based Willys-Overland Company. Willys-Overland had been at one point before World War II t ...

; the sale closed on September 2, 1953, after the cancellation of the Air Force's contracts. Without the C-123 contract, the new acquisition was no longer considered an asset by Kaiser-Frazer; and it announced that the company would be closed down on January 31, 1954.Kaiser To Close Chase Plant In New Jersey
. ''American Aviation'', Volume 17 (1953), p.15. Stroukoff, however, acquired the buildings and remaining assets of Chase, starting his own aircraft company, Stroukoff Aircraft, to conduct further work on experimental versions of the C-123.

References

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External links

{{Chase aircraft Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Defunct companies based in New York City United States military scandals American companies established in 1943 Manufacturing companies established in 1943 Companies based in Trenton, New Jersey American companies disestablished in 1954