Convairiety, Volume 2, Number 17, August 17, 1949 Page: 1 of 8
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Vol. 2, No. 17
Published Every Other Wednesday
Wednesday, August 17, 1949
Convair Builds Flying Missile
To Intercept Enemy Planes
First photographs of the Convair Lark, shipboard-
launched guided missile, were released early this week.
The “war bird” is built at the San Diego plant for the
Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. It is officially designated
as XSAM-N-4.
Powered by a high thrust,
liquid fuel rocket motor, the Lark
is designed to intercept and de-
stroy enemy aircraft before ship
or shore target can be attacked.
Added momentum for launching
is supplied by twin-rocket booster
assembly which separates early
in flight. Convair Lark made
successful initial flight tests as
early as December, 1947. It is
operated by remote automatic
control ^from land or shipboard
stations. Performance and guid-
ance features are secret.
OFF AND GONE—Convair Lark, guided missile built at SD for Navy, is shown at take-off (left) and at point in flight (upper photo)
when booster assembly separates after launching. Lower photo shows Lark up close with booster visible.
FW and SD Divisions Exchange
Key Executives in New Lineup
Convair at Ft. Worth and San Diego this week ex-
changed several key executives in a move to bring the
divisions into closer alignment. At the same time, Convair
adopted a more uniform organizational pattern to apply at
both plants.
Shortest Route
Longest' Pilots
Find on Flights
A straight line is still the
shortest distance between two
points—it’s not necessarily the
quickest way to get from Alaska
to Ft. Worth, two 3,500-mile
flights of Eighth Air Force B-36s
proved again on Aug. 4.
Fact is, the B-36 which covered
the greatest number of air-line
miles, and in addition flew many
miles off the air-line route to ob-
tain favorable winds, arrived in
Ft. Worth in two hours and 15
minutes less than the plane which
followed the shorter “Great Cir-
cle” route.
All this came to light when the
two Eighth Air Force planes
landed at Carswell Air Force
base. Maj. Gen. Roger M. Ra-
mey, Eighth Commander and
pilot of the plane, landed after
a 13 hour and 45 minute flight
from Anchorage, Alaska.
Maj. John D. Bartlett, 436th
squadron commander had landed
an hour and a half earlier—after
flying from Eielson air base, 200
miles farther north than Anchor-
age, to Ft. Worth in only 11%
hours.
Explanation was that the
Eighth wanted to find out the
advantage, if any, of flying the
(Continued on page 8)
Convair by a Nose!
Although accustomed to win-
ning with airplanes, Convair
last week won its first horse
race.
A two-year-old thoroughbred
named “Convair” ran first,
Aug. 9, at Washington Park,
Chicago, carrying 113 pounds
and paid $7.20. Name of the
owner and how the horse came
by its name was not available
at press time.
Ernest Wenigmann, formerly
division manager at San Diego,
has been shifted to Ft. Worth as
works manager, replacing K. F.
Leaman, who becomes works
manager at San Diego. LaMotte
T. Cohu, Convair president, takes
over as acting division manager
at San Diego as additional duties.
Coincident with the personnel
shifts, Cohu announced creation
of a new position, that of pro-
duction manager for both
plants, with responsibility for
Material, Traffic, Production
Control, Tooling and Plant
Engineering.
J. L. Fechter has been named
production manager for San
Diego. He formerly was chief
administrative engineer at SD
and is followed in this position
by Joe Schirtzinger, formerly
cost consultant.
At Ft. Worth the production
manager office will be held by
V. C. Gillon, former production
control chief.
P. I. Stevens, former works
manager at SD, has been trans-
ferred to Ft. Worth as chief of
Production Control; while Roy
Coykendall, former Tool Control
general supervisor FW, becomes
chief of Production Control at
SD.
Leaman, new SD works man-
ager, and Wenigmann, FW works
manager, both are old-timers in
manufacture. Leaman started as
a tool and die worker back in
1923 for the U. M. C. Co. of Du-
pont and went to Vought-Sikor-
sky in 1929, later as supervisor
of the tool and die room. Wen-
ingmann, meanwhile, was work-
ing in pioneer aviation firms,
first as a mechanic in 1924 for
Glenn L. Martin at Cleveland an<4
later for Fairchild and General
Aviation.
Leaman joined Vultee in 1940
as machine shop foreman. Wen-
ingmann joined Convair (then
Consolidated) in 1942 and vir-
tually built the Louisville divi-
sion. When Weningmann left his
position as works manager there
in early 1943 he was succeeded
(Continued on page 8)
Massman to Talk
For Club Meeting
At FW Aug. 27
Speaker at the Aug. 27 meet-
ing of the Convair FW Manage-
ment Club in the plant cafeteria
will be Glen Massman of Dayton,
Ohio, according to Sam E. Keith,
Jr., club president.
“We were fortunate in obtain-
ing Mr. Massman,” stated Keith,
“because he is executive secre-
tary of the oldest and largest
club affiliated with the National
Association of Foremen. As
such, he has developed a keen
insight as to the desires of all
levels of management, and he
speaks from a varied industrial
and civic background.”
The meeting will get under
way at 6:30 p.m., but members
are invited to come early and en-
joy a half hour of refreshments
“on the house.”
EXCHANGE—These are four Convair key men involved in per-
sonnel shift between FW and SD divisions. Left to right: Ernest
Wenigmann, new works manager at FW; K. F. Leaman, new works
manager at SD; P. I. Stevens, new chief of Production Control at
FW; Roy Coykendall, new chief of Production Control at SD.
Prospects
Outlined
By Ryan
“Convair FW folks have a
big- and important job as a
part of the American avi-
ation production team in
building- and completing- a,
United Stages Air Force fleet
of 170 world-ranging Con-
vair B-36s.”
That was emphasized by Divi-
sion Manager Ray O. Ryan in a
special report to employees pre-
pared for CONVAIRIETY. Said
Ryan:
“Building of B-36s and other
top priority work now scheduled
provides us with a substantial
backlog.
“We all know that our pro-
duction schedules depend upon
many things which can change
the picture overnight. But I
want all of us to know where
we stand right now. If and
when the picture changes to
any important degree, you may
be sure that I’ll tell you about
it.
“Right now we’ve got enough
to keep us ‘humping’—and before
these jobs are finished, of course,
we hope our research and engi-
neering people will have develop-
ed newer and better designs
which will enable us to keep right
on producing without interrup-
tion.
“But let’s take a look at the
job before us right now.
“Our aim is to provide the U. S.
Air Force with a total of 170 of
the best long-range bombers in
the world—and each one of them
including the newest and latest
improvements developed by engi-
neering and research. What does
this involve ?
“It means that we must build
all the new B-36s needed to com-
plete the 170-ship fleet.
“It also means that we must
add the newest and latest im-
provements to all the B-36s
which we have already built and
delivered, to enable the B-36 to
execute its mission in the best
possible manner.
“Putting these new improve-
ments in ships already built com-
plicates our job, of course.
“And there is another thing
that complicates it, too.
“The U. S. Air Force has se-
lected its longest range bomber,
the B-36, to perform the com-
panion long-range reconnaissance
mission. So we’re in the process
of completing engineering which
will enable us to make reconnais-
sance airplanes out of a number
of B-36s which we have already
built, and a number which we are
yet to build.
“In addition to its long range,
of course, the B-36 also is excel-
lent for certain reconnaissance
missions because it will be able
to carry more and larger photo-
graphic equipment farther than
any other aircraft in the world.
So we have these things before
us now:
‘T. Production of B-36Ds
(which include the four jet en-
gines and all other latest im-
provements).
“2. Changing over a number
of the early B-36s to the later
B-36Ds.
“3. Production of RB-36D re-
connaissance bombers (same as
the B-36s above except equip-
ped for photographic missions).
(Continued on page 8)
Two Grandchildren
Arrive Same Week
If F. E. Rousse (Dept. 101 SD)
is going about popping his vest
buttons with pride, he has every
right to do so.
Last month Rousse became a
grandfather twice in the same
week! On July 9 his daughter,
Mrs. J. J. Kilcullen produced
Ruby Anne, 8 pounds, 10 ounces,
and on July 16 another daughter,
Mrs. H. T. Moore, presented her
family with Frances Louise, 7
pounds, 6 ounces.
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Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation. Convairiety, Volume 2, Number 17, August 17, 1949, periodical, August 17, 1949; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1117979/m1/1/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.