I replied to a question from Doug Keister, photographer of the "Ready To Roll"
book which came out in September, about the Curtis (or Curtiss) Wright
trailers, referring him to several trailer ads on my site which referred to
Curtis Wright Industries.
I also note the following quote from the VAC Fredericksburg 2000 rally program
which reads:
"During World War II, Wally Byam the founder of Airstream was forced to close
up shop and take a job with Curtiss-Wright. As the war wound down, he went to
top management and convinced them that he and they together should build
trailers after the war. Thus as the war closed in 1945, Engineers were
assigned to designing this trailer under the guidance of Wally. The first
examples were sold as Curtiss-Wrights in 1946. Within months Wally tired of
the arrangement and negotiated a new contract under which Curtiss-Wright could
sell the trailer, but Wally could too, only he called his an Airstream. They
were identical. C-W never found it very profitable and in June of 1949 sold
their interests to partners which called their trailer the Silver Streak."
The question Doug is now raising is whether these trailers were Curtis
Wrights, or were they Curtiss Wrights? Clouding the issue is that while there
was a Glen Curtiss, who is the Curtiss of Curtiss Wright which does get
referred to as single "s" Curtis Wright all over the place, there is also a
separate unrelated individual by the name of Curtis Wright, who was involved
in aircraft development in the mid-forties, and who also apparently built some
trailers. (http://www.aerofiles.com/_cu.html).
The ad that I referred Doug to was the trailer ad at:
http://www.tompatterson.com/Silverstreak/Ads2.html. It has only the single
"S" in the name. The Curtiss Wright Corporation does however have two "S's".
A copy of the share certificate can be found at:
http://us.st3.yimg.com/store5.yimg.com/I/scripophily_1763_207933445.
Is there anyone who can definitively settle the issue? Anyone with maybe a
Curtis(s?) Wright trailer with a nameplate which gives the name one way or the
other?
Doug is looking for information to settle this issue, as he is coming out with
another book....... "Silver Palaces", which will be out next year, and he
needs to be in to the printer by the end of this year.
-Tom