A brief history of Cunningham-Hall

Unsold, NC444 sat around until 1941, when it was bought by Lon Brennan Air Service for $7,000 and flown to Fairbanks, Alaska. It remained with Brennan and its successor Byers Airways until 1950. Two of the venerable Cunningham-Hall biplanes survive today. Following a succession of owners in Alaska and Idaho, N444 was acquired by Greg Herrick. The other, NC92W, followed NC444 to Alaska and is now in the Alaska Historical and Transportation Museum at Palmer, near Anchorage.

And what about the car and airplane companies? The Depression also killed the market for Cunningham's type of car, but in addition to industrial products, it continued to build custom bodies for other manufacturers' chassis and power trains. The firm also survived the Depression by building industrial products in the same factory. Both profited from WW II by building various items of military equipment such as gun mounts and aircraft subassemblies.

The car company actually expanded during the War, reaching a peak of more than 800 employees, and it won an Army/Navy "E" award for its excellent work. After the War, it ceased manufacturing, and in 1948, the Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corp. was dissolved.

I thank Bob Byers of Byers Airways, Lea Kemp of the Rochester Museum and Science Center and aviation historian Vincent Berinati for their assistance in preparing the Cunningham-Hall story.

--Peter M. Bowers

Copyright Air Age Publishing Aug 2000
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