Reuben H. Fleet
Aviation Pioneer. Visionary Engineer. Architect of America’s Airpower.
Before America ruled the skies, one man taught the nation how to fly.
Few names echo through the early skies of American aviation like Reuben Hollis Fleet.
From launching the first U.S. airmail service to founding Consolidated Aircraft, Fleet shaped the aircraft, the industry, and the wartime innovations that defined the 20th century.
This site honors his legacy — and the work of every pilot, engineer, factory worker, and crew member whose courage carried Consolidated aircraft into the history books.
A Life Written in the Sky
Reuben H. Fleet was more than a businessman or military officer.
He was a builder of possibilities.
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He flew America’s first official airmail route in 1918.
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He founded Consolidated Aircraft, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world.
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He led the development of iconic wartime aircraft, including the B-24 Liberator, PBY Catalina, and PB4Y-2 Privateer — machines that helped win World War II.
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He moved Consolidated to San Diego, transforming the city into a major aerospace center still known today as “The Air Capital of the West.”
Through courage, innovation, and relentless vision, he helped lift America into the age of flight.
This website preserves his story.
Hello — my name is Mark O’Bannon.
Reuben H. Fleet was my granddad.
I built this site to better understand his life and the world he helped shape, and to preserve the history of the aircraft, people, and ideas that surrounded his work. He was a complex man — visionary, demanding, generous, difficult — and one of the figures who helped define American aviation in the twentieth century. My granddad’s life was dedicated to advancing aviation by making flight safer than it had ever been before.
If you spend some time here, I hope you leave with a deeper sense of the people, machines, and moments that made this history real.
— Mark O’Bannon
P.S. The links at the top of the page lead to my other projects.
I hope you enjoy them. 🙂
THE SOUND OF THE 1940s
These were the songs that filled American homes, hangars,
and airfields during the years when aviation reshaped the world.
Explore the Legacy
➡ RHFleet
Discover the life, leadership, and engineering genius of Reuben H. Fleet — from early military training to airmail pioneer to head of one of the most important aircraft companies of World War II.
➡ Hangar
Walk through the full lineup of Consolidated aircraft:
training planes, patrol bombers, flying boats, transports, pursuit aircraft, and the legendary long-range bombers that turned the tide of war.
➡ WWII
Learn how Consolidated aircraft shaped the outcome of World War II through major battles, historic missions, personal accounts from pilots and crews, and the units that flew them.
A Family Record
This archive also honors the voices behind the history:
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Our Flight to Destiny by Dorothy Mitchell Fleet
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Reuben Fleet and the Story of Consolidated Aircraft by William Wagner
Together, these works offer an intimate, detailed portrait of a man whose innovations changed aviation forever.
My grandmother, Dorothy Mitchell Fleet
San Diego’s Aviation Heritage
Fleet’s impact reached far beyond the factories:
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The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (now “The Fleet”) stands in Balboa Park as a tribute to his commitment to science education and aerospace innovation.
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The San Diego Air & Space Museum preserves Consolidated aircraft, documents, photos, and exhibits dedicated to his work.
Through industry, education, and sustained innovation, Fleet helped define San Diego’s identity as an aerospace capital.
An Invitation to Remember
This site is dedicated to:
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Historians
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Aviation enthusiasts
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Veterans
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Families of B-24 and PBY crew members
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Researchers
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Students
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Anyone who loves the story of how flight transformed the world
Here, you can explore the machines, missions, and men who shaped aviation’s golden age.
Reuben H. Fleet believed that flight was the future of mankind.
This archive helps ensure that future generations remember the pioneers who first lifted us into the sky.
Contact & Contributions
If you have:
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stories
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photographs
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squadron patches
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logbooks
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letters
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historical materials
related to Consolidated aircraft, WWII aviation, or the Fleet family legacy,
we would be honored to include them.
Visit the Contact page to reach me.