User:Kpescador/Consolidated Aircraft

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Lawrence D. Bell served as the Operating Head at Consolidated from 1929 to 1934. When the company relocated to San Diego, Bell decided to stay behind to start up his own company, the Bell Aircraft Corporation, in the former Consolidated plant.

In 1940, Consolidated bought Hall-Aluminum Aircraft Corporation and dissolved the company. Archibald M. Hall was President of the company at the time and later became an executive of Consolidated. Several other Hall-Aluminum engineers and technical people were added to the Consolidated staff to meet defense production needs.

In April 1942, General Hap Arnold decided to open a regular air transport service between the U.S. mainland and the Southwest Pacific to meet the needs of the military during World War II. The Ferry Command chose Consolidated as the operating agency, forming Consolidated Airways, Inc., which became known as Consairways. The airlines carried personnel, cargo and delivered aircraft to the Pacific Theatre. It was reported to have carried more than 101 million tons of cargo and had flown more than 299 million passenger miles when it closed in 1945.