Litton logo at time of Northrop-Grumman merger in 2001.

Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.

Litton started in 1953 as an electronics company building navigation, communications and electronic warfare equipment. They diversified and became a much bigger business, with major shipyards, etc., and even manufacturing microwave ovens.

In the early 1990s, Litton Industries split into separate military and commercial companies. The US$2 billion commercial business, which included Litton's oilfield services, business and automated assembly line operations, was named Western Atlas, Inc.

The early "li" was designed by Robert Miles Runyan, but was modified in 1986 by designer Gregory Thomas after a worldwide comprehensive study and analysis of the corporate identity. For much of the early 1980s and 90s, "li SWEDA" and "li COLE" were commonly found on product goods but it was modified to bring emphasis to the parent company, whose name was little known.

[edit] Divisions

• Litton Guidance and Control Systems
• Litton Aero Products
• Litton Electron Devices -> now L-3 Communications, Electron Devices: San Carlos CA & Williamsport PA
• Litton Data Systems
• Litton Space Systems
• Litton Integrated Systems
• Litton Ship Systems
  • Avondale Shipyards
  • Ingalls Shipyards
• 

  

  Litton Marine Systems logo
  Litton Marine Systems
  • Sperry Marine
  • C.Plath
  • Decca Radar (formerly a division of Racal)
    • Decca Navigator, a historical VLF navigation system
• Litton Systems Canada
• Litton Italia
• Litton Network Access Systems
• LITEF
• TELDIX
• Litton Kester
• Litton Advanced Systems (formerly Litton Amecom)
• Litton Datalog (formerly the New York Times Facsimile Company and the printer part of Monroe Calculator; merged into Amecom 1982)
• Litton Westrex (Formerly Western Electric, provider to the film industry of magnetic and photographic sound recording systems. Credits on nearly every Columbia, Fox, M-G-M, Paramount and Universal features, and several independents, including Quinn Martin. Developer of the 45-45 system of stereo phonograph recording, StereoDisk.)

Consumer and office products:

• Litton Cole (filing cabinets and office furniture)
• Litton Moffat (major appliances)
• Litton Sweda (cash registers)
• Litton Monroe (adding machines/calculators)
• Litton Royal (typewriters)
• Litton Adler (typewriters)

[edit] See also

• Cruise missile protest

[edit] References

• Robert Sobel The Money Manias: The Eras of Great Speculation in America, 1770–1970 (1973) reprinted (2000).

[edit] External links

• Northrop Grumman Website
• LITTON Alumni - Litton Alumni Group on LinkedIn