Established in 1893, the Sanderson Machine Corporation began as a tool manufacturer, and expanded into precision machining over the decades that followed. By the 1920s, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company’s concerns ranged from oil derricks to small arms and automobile parts. In 1924, now-defunct North American Aviation contracted Sanderson to manufacture wings for its Gossamer courier aircraft, and later for the Dragonfly cargo transport.

The Crash and subsequent dissolution of the USA placed Sanderson Machine Corp. in a difficult position. North American Aviation went bankrupt, its factories sold off to the highest bidder. Sanderson’s aircraft division found itself with expertise and machinery but no work, until Matthew Sanderson, grandson of company founder Ewan Sanderson, decided it was time to cut out the middleman and produce aircraft. After poaching staff from troubled Douglas, also based in Tulsa, Sanderson set about producing its first plane: the C-10 transport, better known as the Charger.

The company followed up with its first military craft, the FB14 heavy fighter, in 1934. Though both Sanderson aircraft are infamous for frequent technical difficulties and high maintenance requirements, the company has ensured sales with a favorable pricing policy and its willingness to sell to anyone with the requisite funds. So far the Texas Rangers remain Sanderson’s biggest single customer, but the company makes the bulk of its sales to private buyers.