Founded in 1917 by the student of the Wright brothers Chance Milton
Vought and by Birdsey B. Lewis as Lewis & Vought Corporation. Since 1920, the
company specialized only in military aircraft. In 1929, the company joined United
Aircraft Corporation. In 1939, it united with Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation to form
Vought-Sikorsky. January 1943 Vought-Sikorsky split into its two original
components. Vought remaining in the Stratford plant to concentrate on military
airplanes and Sikorsky moved to a plant in Bridgeport to continue helicopter
development and production. In 1954, the
company changed its name to Chance-Vought Aircraft Corporation. Later, the name was changed to Ling-Temco-Vought,
and finally to Vought.
