Consolidated’s Move to San Diego

1935–1936
How a strategic relocation transformed a company, built a city, and prepared America for the aviation demands of World War II.

Consolidated’s Move to San Diego

1935–1936

A Decision That Reshaped American Aviation

By the mid-1930s, Consolidated Aircraft was outgrowing its facilities in Buffalo. Production demands were rising, the Navy needed more advanced flying boats, and Reuben H. Fleet envisioned an industrial base capable of supporting large-scale operations.

He wanted a site with:

• year-round flying weather

• deep-water access for flying boats

• room for major expansion

• proximity to naval operations

• a labor force ready for large-scale manufacturing

San Diego, then a relatively quiet coastal city, offered all of it.

Negotiations and a New Beginning

Fleet met with city officials, toured the area, inspected the harbor, and saw immediately that this was the environment where Consolidated could flourish. The city welcomed the opportunity, knowing a major aviation manufacturer could transform the region’s economy.

By late 1935, arrangements were finalized. Consolidated Aircraft would relocate from Buffalo to San Diego, bringing its people, equipment, engineering teams, and ambitious design programs with it.

Human Moment — Dorothy Fleet’s Recollections

In Our Flight to Destiny, Dorothy Fleet described how monumental the move felt. San Diego was not merely a new factory site; it was a new chapter for the Fleet family. She recalled the excitement—and the uncertainty—of uprooting everything to follow Reuben’s vision for a larger future.

She wrote of the day he stood looking out over the water, watching a flying boat taxi across the bay, and said quietly, “This is where we belong.”

Building a West Coast Aviation Powerhouse

Construction began quickly. The first San Diego factory buildings rose near Lindbergh Field, and soon aircraft rolled out of the new facilities at a pace unimaginable back in Buffalo.

The Navy partnership deepened. Flying boat production accelerated. Engineers gained a coastal testing environment ideal for maritime aircraft. The foundation for future successes—especially the PBY Catalina—was now firmly in place.

The Workforce Explosion

By the early years of World War II, Consolidated had grown into the largest aircraft manufacturer in America. San Diego’s population surged as thousands of workers arrived from across the country.

At its wartime peak:

• over 40,000 people worked for Reuben H. Fleet in San Diego alone

• production ran day and night in massive shifts

• new buildings, shops, and housing filled the region

• the complexity and scale of operations rivaled those of major shipyards

The move did not merely expand Consolidated—it transformed San Diego into an aviation capital.

Strategic Impact

Relocating Consolidated to San Diego enabled:

• rapid expansion of flying boat production

• vast wartime manufacturing capacity

• centralized access to Pacific operations

• a workforce capable of supporting B-24 mass production

• the birth of an aviation/defense ecosystem still present in the region today

The decision to move west laid the foundation for Consolidated to design, build, and deliver the aircraft that would shape World War II.

A Lasting Legacy

San Diego’s identity as a hub of aerospace innovation began with this relocation. The partnership between the city, the Navy, and Reuben H. Fleet’s company created an industrial powerhouse whose impact is still felt today—from military aviation to the very existence of the Fleet Science Center.

Consolidated’s move to San Diego was more than a business decision.
It was a moment that changed the city, the company, and American aviation history.