I did not see an entry for the brothers Albert and Arthur Heinrich, who were well known aviators and aircraft builders in the early 1900's in the northeastern US. They formed their company in 1912 with $15,000 capital in Baldwin, NY. Their notable accomplishments were:
- First American monoplane designed and built in the US
- Designed American pursuit aircraft during WWI, although not accepted by the War Department.
- Designed and flew the Henrich Battleplane during the war, also not accepted by the War Department.
From 1910 to 1915 Heinrich designated his aircraft Model A through E with the following variations:
Model A Type 1 - Single seat monoplane
Model A Type 2 - Two seat monoplane
Model B Type 1 - Military aircraft
Model B Type 2 - Military aircraft with Pontoons
Model C Type 1 - Identified as a special use aircraft - specific type unknown
Model D Type 1 - Two seat flight training aircraft designated for the Heinrich flight school
Model E Type 1 - Single seat Military Tractor Biplane designed to meet a 1915 military specification.
Model E Type 2 - Two seat Military Tractor Biplane
April 1915 Albert S. Heinrich establishes a second manufacturing shop, known as Plant 2, for the construction of aircraft, under a $200,000 contract for an undisclosed foreign country. Apparently the deal falls through as Albert leaves the company to join Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co., as chief designer of the Nutley, NJ Aeromarine plant in December 1915. At Aeromarine he is said to have designed two military tractor type aircraft. He forms the Atlantic Aircraft Company (AAC) with the help of Aeromarine's founders in 1916 and builds the twin-engine Battleplane. AAC dissolves circa January 1917. He appears to have joined Victor Aircraft Corporation after this.
I am not sure of the Heinrich Model C designation and the Heinrich designed Victor Aircraft built C-1 is the same aircraft. The Model C was designed before 1915, when the publication of Aeroplanes in Peace and War was produced. The Victor C-1 was ordered by the US Air Service in April of 1917 and delivered in December 1917. This Scout/Pursuit aircraft was relatively sophisticated for a design that is alluded to have preceded the Model D. The models B and D are similar in configuration and construction. I would imagine that the Model C would be of similar design, or at least on the same technological level. The C-1 has a streamlined fuselage and cowling, absent of landing skids, and single bay biplane construction, which is unlike even the Model E, which one would assume was designed after it. Who knows, maybe the Model C was on the designing boards and evolved into the C-1. Hopefully the origin of the Victor Airplane Corp design will emerge. At this time IDK.
From what I have been able to find, the Victor Aircraft Corporation, of Freeport, Long Island, was in existence during WWI and then was acquired by Heinrich's company, Albert S. Heinrich Corporation of Freeport, L.I., (according to Aviation and Aeronautical Engineering Vol 5, No 1.), and then he changed its name to Victor Aircraft Corporation as reported in the August 1918 publication. This may have been a move to continue the production of the Victor aircraft line, which included the C-1 Pursuit and Scout versions and the Victor D.8. The company then moved to Richmond, Indiana with Albert Heinrich as its president and eight men (War Dept., 1920) in October of 1918, according to the Richmond Palladium Newspaper article dated 24 Oct 1918. The move was requested earlier in the year by the Air Service so that Heinrich's company would be nearer McCook Field where testing of the four aircraft under contract to the service would be conducted. The company found support to operate under the Starr Piano Company, a very large company with many concerns, mostly in piano and phonograph sets. Their plans included the construction of an aerodrome near the Richmond plant. Interestingly, the article includes that Heinrich had spent four months prior to his arrival in Richmond, Ind. (i.e. since June-July 1918) in Dayton, OH, "connected with the airplane service department of the Italian Government."
Note: After the Armistice was signed the contract for the four Victor aircraft was cancelled. Heinrich filed a claim for money he said he would have received as part of the contract for the move from Freeport, LI to Richmond, IN. This move included 8 men and one car load of supplies. No machine shop equipment was transported. Heinrich lost his claim for reimbursement. Victor Aircraft Corp. continued on as a small aircraft manufacturer and lasted up to the end of 1929 in Mount Holly, NJ with the design and construction of a two place aircraft seen below. The company is said to fallen victim to the economic depression.
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