Granville Brothers Aircraft


Granville Brothers Aircraft was an aircraft manufacturer from 1929 until its bankruptcy in 1934 that was located at the Springfield Airport in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Granville Brothers, Zantford, Thomas, Robert, Mark and Edward, are best known for the three Gee Bee Super Sportster racers, the Models Z, R-1 and R-2. Prior to building aircraft, Zantford ran a mobile aircraft repair service.

Aircraft

Data from:Aerofiles
The Granville Brothers completed 25 aircraft of which only two original aircraft are known to still exist.
Model nameEngineDateNo.Notes
Model A various19299Survivor at New England Air Museum
Model X SportsterCirrus inline19301Entered Cirrus Derby
Model B SportsterCirrus inline19301Possibly to Spain for Spanish Civil War
Model C SportsterMenasco B-4 inline19301
Model D SportsterMenasco C-4 inline19311
Model E SportsterScarab radial19314Wing at the EAA AirVenture Museum
Granville Gee Bee Model Y Senior Sportster|Warner Scarab radial19311
Model YL Senior SportsterLycoming R-680 radial19311Lycoming test bed, later fitted with Whirlwind
Model Z Super SportsterWasp radial193111931 Thompson Trophy winner
Model Q AscenderAeronca twin19311Canard
Model R-1 Super SportsterWasp Sr./Hornet radials193111932 Thompson Trophy winner
Set world speed record, Shell Speed Dash winner
Model R-2 Super SportsterWasp Sr. radial19311Withdrew from 1933 Bendix
Tiger/Mickey MouseGenet radial19321Designed by Ed Granville
Dismantled after a few flights
Model R-3 Super SportsterWasp Sr. radial19331R-1/R-2 Hybrid rebuilt from wreck
Named "Intestinal Fortitude"
AeromobileMenasco Pirate inline0Roadable airplane
Model C-4 FoursterWasp Jr. radial04-seat airliner
Model C-6 Sixsterunk.06-seat airliner
Model C-8 EightsterHornet radial08-seat airliner
Model R-5Hornet radial0Basis for R-6
Model R-6CCurtiss Conqueror V-120Completed as R-6H
Model R-6HHornet radial19341"Q.E.D." built for MacRobertson Race
Set speed record as "Conquistador del Cielo"
Survivor in Mexican museum

Replica and reproduction Gee Bee aircraft

A Model E replica was flown and wrecked before being donated to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
Another Model E replica was being built in Australia.
A replica of Florence Klingensmith's Model YL was completed in 1984 powered by a Lycoming R-680.
A Model Z replica first flown in 1978 was used by the Walt Disney Company in the film The Rocketeer, which is now on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight. A second Gee Bee Z replica was sold to Fantasy of Flight.
The New England Air Museum and the San Diego Air & Space Museum have each completed replica R-1s with help from the Granville's under the agreement that the aircraft will never be flown.
The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio also has an R-1 replica on display as of June 2018.
The Springfield, Massachusetts Museum of Springfield History has a full size static fiberglass replica of the R-1 hanging in the atrium.
A Gee Bee R-2 Super Sportster replica flown extensively since 1991 is now at Fantasy of Flight.
A highly modified replica of the Gee Bee R-6 powered by a Wright R-1820 Cyclone was first flown on 26 September 2013.