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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

LITTON WAS ONCE A MAJOR ECONOMIC FORCE IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY                2013


Tex Thornton (Charles Bates Thornton) was an officer in the office of statistical control in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. He won a reputation in the service as a genuine expert in “analytical management”, just the kind of guy Henry Ford Jr. was looking for to get the Ford Motor Company back into good financial shape after the war. 


Litton Industries - 1965 edition of the Industrial Association of the San Fernando Valley's promotional brochure - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Gary Fredburg 2013.  (click on image to enlarge it.)

After a short stay with Ford, Tex left to work for Hughes Aircraft. In 1953 Tex Thornton acquired a vacuum tube company and the corporate name of Litton.  He and his partners used the company to produce a variety of products (including microwave ovens) and other acquisitions. It was based in the west San Fernando Valley. 
In 1995 many Valley workers lost their jobs at Litton when it was acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation.

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