Aero Spacelines - History

History

Aero Spacelines was formed with only one customer in mind. NASA required a way to transport their out-sized cargo from their manufacturing plants to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Their freight shipments were too large to be safely transported by rail or truck. Shipping by sea was time consuming, expensive, and fraught with the danger of damaging the shipments if on turbulent seas. The only viable means of transporting NASA's cargo was by air. However, due to the immense diameter of the componets, no existing aircraft was capable of accomplishing the task.

John M. Conroy, aka Jack, an ex-United States Air Force pilot, and Lee Mansdorf, an aircraft salesman and entrepreneur, formulated the Guppy concept one evening over dinner. It was decided a company needed to be established to manufacture outsized aircraft. Conroy was successful in hiring Robert W. Lillibridge for the position of Vice President Manufacturing and Engineering, and assembled a team of talented workers for the new project. Financing for the organization was provided by venture capitalist William Ballon, a WWII combat veteran from the Army Air Corps. Once the company was established at Van Nuys Airport, California, Aero Spacelines began engineering the transformation of the B377 Stratocruiser into the Pregnant Guppy.

Wernher Von Braun toured the Van Nuys manufacturing facility during the construction of the Pregnant Guppy. He stated he was amazed by the immense size of the airplane. Von Braun said he was thoroughly convinced the aircraft would be able to transport the largest of NASA's cargo.

Among the earliest of NASA'S shipments utilizing the Pregnant Guppy were the first and second stages of the Gemini Program's Titan II GVL from the Martin Co. in Baltimore, Maryland, to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Subsequent versions of the Guppy series transported the S-IVB, the third stage of the Saturn booster from California to Florida.

In 1967, Aero Spacelines encountered financial difficulties and was acquired by Unexcelled Inc. That corporation sold to Tracor Aviation. Jack Conroy organized a new company, Conroy Aircraft, which built more airplanes for transporting oversized cargo. By November 1968, NASA had paid Aero Spacelines $11,591,633 in contracts.