During
World War I, Kindelberger was a member of the
US Army Air Service. He was a pilot instructor based at Park Field in
Memphis, Tennessee. After the war, Kindelberger looked for work in aviation. In 1920, became chief draftsman and assistant chief engineer with the
Glenn L. Martin Company in
Cleveland, Ohio. Kindelberger formed a lifelong working association with
J. L. "Lee" Atwood when they met as young engineers at
Douglas Aircraft Company in 1930, working on the
DC-1 and
DC-2 transports. Kindelberger worked as chief engineer and remained with Douglas for nine years. The two left Douglas Aircraft in
1934, moving to
North American Aviation. Atwood assumed the title of Chief Engineer, and Kindelberger was named president and General Manager. When they started at NAA, the company had orders for one passenger aircraft. Kindelberger managed to get a $1 million order for a military trainer, the
North American BT-9.
World War II In the summer of 1941, while
United States was still not a participant in
World War II, the British
Air Ministry asked
North American Aviation to build
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters for the
Royal Air Force, since the total output of the
Curtiss factory was earmarked for USA military use. Kindelberger told his UK contacts that North American could create a better design, and completed the prototype of the
P-51 Mustang in four months. In all, 42,000 aircraft were built by the company by the end of the war.
Post war '' (June 29, 1953) After World War II Atwood expected there would be a need for improved rocket engines based on those developed by the Germans for the
V-2. The two decided in
1946 to invest $1 million in a rocket engine test facility in
Santa Susana, California, and a
supersonic wind tunnel at
Los Angeles International Airport. This paid off when North American landed the contract to develop the
Navaho, a rocket-boosted intercontinental cruise missile. Kindelberger was promoted to chairman and
chief executive officer in 1948, with Atwood replacing him as president. The Navaho project allowed North American to develop expertise in rocket engines,
inertial navigation systems, and supersonic aerodynamics. This in turn led to securing contracts for many advanced aerospace vehicles in the late 1950s – the
X-15 crewed hypersonic spaceplane, the
Hound Dog missile, and the
XB-70 Valkyrie triple-sonic bomber. The XB-70 required the company to develop new materials, welding, and manufacturing processes. ==Later life==