A lot of car manufacturer did also produce airplanes in the pre-jet era: BMW, Mercedes, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, Piaggio, Saab, and probably more. Some of them later concentrated on one thing or split into two companies.
They were the ones who knew how to build engines, chassis and so on. If you think about it, a 1920s car is not that much different than a 1920s plane. Just wire the motor to a propeller and the steering wheel to the flaps instead of the wheels, weld a pair of wings to the sides and call it a day.
They started as a ship building company, most of japanense navy in ww2 was built by them. Today, they continue to build fighter jets, ships, tanks, and rockets.
Didn’t Mitsubishi make kamikaze fighters before pivoting to automobiles and air conditioning units and excavators?
Well, they were designed as fighters. The kamakazi part came later
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero
A lot of car manufacturer did also produce airplanes in the pre-jet era: BMW, Mercedes, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, Piaggio, Saab, and probably more. Some of them later concentrated on one thing or split into two companies.
They were the ones who knew how to build engines, chassis and so on. If you think about it, a 1920s car is not that much different than a 1920s plane. Just wire the motor to a propeller and the steering wheel to the flaps instead of the wheels, weld a pair of wings to the sides and call it a day.
They started as a ship building company, most of japanense navy in ww2 was built by them. Today, they continue to build fighter jets, ships, tanks, and rockets.