Don R. Berlin

[4] With his introduction to aeronautics, conducting early wind tunnel tests for the U.S. Army Air Corps at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, Berlin subsequently worked for Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1926 as project engineer and chief draftsman.

[1] Curtiss-Wright President Ralph Damon hired Berlin, impressed with his experience working with metal construction at Northrop, a key factor in his rapid promotion to Chief Engineer.

[7] Berlin's first assignment was as project engineer on the company's new fighter aircraft design, bearing the nomenclature 'design number 75'.

[1] Berlin continued to develop the P-36, mating it with a more powerful water-cooled Allison V-12 engine, moving the cockpit aft, changing the location of the airscoop and making other modifications.

A number of experimental programs were begun during this period, including the revolutionary Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender that never achieved production status,[15] as well as the Curtiss SO3C Seamew, a floatplane that was adopted by the U.S. Navy, but had a troubled operational history.

Page Jr., Berlin oversaw the design of the Curtiss C-46 Commando, the company's foray into civil and military transport markets.

[18] He also supervised the development of the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, designed by Raymond C. Blaylock, the company's last major production aircraft series.

While at G.M., he designed the unsuccessful Fisher P-75 Eagle, first as an interceptor, later escort fighter, made up of components from a number of production aircraft.

[30] His time at the company was contentious, as he removed the founder and chairman of the board Frank Piasecki during a period ending in May 1956 that some called the "Berlin Hairlift".

[N 3] During his time at Vertol, Berlin's involvement with engineering led to the rescue of a floundering program, the Piasecki H-21 (U.S. Army CH-21 Shawnee), that eventually allowed the company to prosper.

[37] The Claire Lee Chennault Foundation of the Flying Tigers made Berlin an honorary member, recognizing his contribution to the design and excellent performance of the P-40, their primary aircraft.

An XP-40, 11 MD , which was used for test purposes by the Materiel Division of the U.S. Army Air Corps
Curtiss company executives, with their most famous design, represented by a P-40N that was firm's 15,000th fighter, November 1944.
The McDonnell XH-20 Little Henry was a 1940s American experimental lightweight helicopter designed and built by McDonnell Aircraft, a design that Berlin had championed. [ 29 ]