General Dynamics’ relationship with Convair began after World War II. In 1952, General Dynamics became a parent company to manage operations of Canadair and Electric Boat. From the profits of Canadair, General Dynamics was able to purchase Consolidated Vultee Aircraft (Convair) from the Atlas Corporation in 1954. The Convair division was responsible for manufacturing a variety of civilian and military aircraft, including the 440 passenger liner, the F-102 and F-106 fighters, Atlas and Centaur missiles, and the B-24, B-36, and B-58 bombers. Convair’s development of commercial jetliners came to a halt due to competition from Douglas and Boeing, as well as TWA’s postponement of introducing Convair’s 680 and 880 models into the jetliner market. Thus, General Dynamics had to write off the entire passenger program as a loss. However, General Dynamics was able to recover with the help of the Material Services Corporation and began production of surface ships. Then in the 1960s, the U.S. Defense Department contracted General Dynamics and Grumman to the F-111 project. Convair was tasked with developing the F-111 at the Fort Worth facility. However, the project was mismanaged and the aircraft’s role was misinterpreted, and was replaced by Grumman’s superior F-14 Tomcat. Convair was split into different divisions, one of the most successful being the Space Systems Division, which was sold to Martin-Marietta in 1985.

Today, General Dynamics focuses on shipbuilding, armored vehicles, and corporate jets. All remnants of Convair have been dismantled.

Link to the collection's Descriptive Finding Guide.