Eastern Aircraft Division

The Eastern Aircraft Division was formed by the General Motors Corporation (GM) for the duration of the Second World War, to manufacture Grumman's Wildcat and Avenger carrier-based aircraft under license. The division comprised five plants on the East Coast of the United States, which, since the declaration of war in December 1941, had had to cease production of automobiles or car components.

Created in January 1942, the new organization soon became operational. The aim was to manufacture two Grumman aircraft, so that the manufacturer could concentrate on assembling its new F6F Hellcat fighter.

The Navyassigned Eastern Aircraft the code M, so the F4F Wildcat fighter became the FM, and the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber became the TBM.

Eastern produced its first Wildcat in September 1942 and its first Avenger in November of the same year. Production increased rapidly, and Grumman was able to cease production of both models before the end of 1943.

By the end of the war, Eastern Aircraft Division had built nearly three quarters of the total number of Wildcat and Avenger aircraft produced during the Second World War. This represented a quarter of the total US wartime production of carrier-based combat aircraft.