Bell Aircraft
Encyclopedia
The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer of the United States
, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft
for World War II
but most famous for the Bell X-1
, the first supersonic
aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopter
s. Bell also developed the Reaction Control System for the Mercury
Spacecraft and the Bell Rocket Belt
. The company was purchased in 1960 by Textron
, and lives on today as Bell Helicopter.
, followed by a stint as a manager for Consolidated Aircraft
in Buffalo, New York
. Consolidated Aircraft moved to 2050 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. When Consolidated Aircraft moved to San Diego in 1935, Bell stayed behind and established his own company, the Bell Aircraft Company, on 10 July 1935, headquartered in Buffalo.
Bell's first military contract followed in 1937 with the development of the ill-fated YFM-1 Airacuda, an unconventional bomber-destroyer powered by two Allison
-powered pusher
propeller
s. Only 13 Airacudas were be produced, and these were flown by the USAAF for just three years before being scrapped as useless.
Bell enjoyed some success the following year with the development of the single engine P-39. Putting their previous experience with Allison engines to good use, the P-39 placed the engine in the center of the aircraft, with the propeller driven by a long shaft through which a cannon was also mounted. This fired directly out through the propeller's spinner. Due to persistent problems, the original turbosupercharger was deleted from production models, instead using a single-stage, single-speed supercharger, as was standard on all other Allison-powered products, with the exception of the P-38. The P-39 performed poorly at high altitudes compared to other fighters of the time, though many P-39s were given to the Soviet Air Force
under the Lend Lease Act, where they proved themselves to be a good ground-attack aircraft. This was also demonstrated by a few U.S. Army Air Forces units that flew P-39s, such as the so-called Cactus Air Force
on Guadalcanal
in 1942 - 43.
A somewhat larger and more powerful version of the P-39 was produced shortly before the end of World War II
. Called the P-63 Kingcobra
, this warplane addressed many of the shortcomings of the P-39, though it was produced too late in the war to make any contribution. Also, by that time, the Army Air Forces already had the superior P-47 Thunderbolt
and P-38 Lightning
fighter-bomber
s.
The main productive activity that Bell Aircraft had during WW II was as a second or third producer of heavy bomber
s that had been designed and built by other aircraft companies. This happened at a government-built airplane factory that was constructed near Marietta, Georgia
, just northwest of Atlanta. This factory was completed in mid-1943, and Bell Aircraft won contracts to build hundreds of Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers at this factory. Then, in mid-1944, the production of the B-24 was consolidated from several different companies (including some in Texas, also) to two large factories: the Consolidated Aircraft Company in San Diego and the Ford Motor Company
's huge factory in Willow Run
, next to Detroit, Michigan
, which had been specially designed for producing B-24s. Hence, for the rest of WW II, Bell Aircraft concentrated on producing B-29s in Marietta, Ga. The production of the B-29 ended in the fall of 1945.
, which has used it for producing C-130 Hercules
, C-141 Starlifter
, and C-5 Galaxy
transport planes. Although Bell designed several more fighter plane designs during and after WW II, none of these ever entered mass-production. The twin-jet P-59 Airacomet
, really an experimental airplane, was the first American jet fighter to fly, though its performance turned out to be inferior to the propeller
-driven P-51 Mustang
fighters, which were flown by the thousands by the Army Air Forces in both the European Theater
and the Pacific Theater
.
The XP-77 was a small fighter using non-strategic materials; it was not successful. The XP-83
was a jet escort fighter similar in layout to the P-59 that was cancelled. The Bell XF-109 was a supersonic vertical takeoff supersonic fighter that was cancelled in 1961.
As well as manufacturing their own products Bell was a major contributor to the B-29 Superfortress
program, with a factory at Marietta, Ga., producing 668 of the four-engined heavy bomber
s.
Perhaps Bell Aircraft's most important contribution to the history of fixed-wing aircraft development would be the design and building of the experimental
Bell X-1
, rocket plane the first airplane to break the sound barrier
, and its follow-on, the Bell X-2
. Note that in a twist on the usual way of designating American aircraft, the following were not different models of the X-1, but rather they were the successive (mostly identical) units of the X-1 program: the X-1, X-1A, X-1B, X-1C, X-1D, and X-1E.
Bell went on to design and produce several different experimental aircraft
during the 1950s. These helped the U.S. Air Force and the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) explore the boundaries of aircraft design, and paving the way for the founding of NASA
and the exploration of outer space
.
Helicopter development began at Bell Aircraft in 1941 with the company's first one, the Bell Model 30 first flying in 1943. Bell Helicopters became the only part of Bell Aircraft still producing aircraft when Bell was purchased by the Textron Corporation. That part of Textron is now known today as Bell Helicopter Textron
. After a series of successful helicopter designs, the UH-1 Iroquois
became the most noted helicopter of the War in Vietnam, and Bell Helicopters still designs and manufactures helicopters today.
Lawrence Bell died in 1956, and for several years afterwards the company was in financial difficulty.
Textron purchased the Bell Aerospace part of the corporation on 5 July 1960. Bell Aerospace was composed of three divisions of Bell Aircraft, including its helicopter division, which had become its only aircraft-producing division.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
but most famous for the Bell X-1
Bell X-1
The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...
, the first supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s. Bell also developed the Reaction Control System for the Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
Spacecraft and the Bell Rocket Belt
Bell Rocket Belt
The Bell Rocket Belt is a low-power rocket propulsion device that allows an individual to safely travel or leap over small distances. It is a type of rocket pack.-Overview:...
. The company was purchased in 1960 by Textron
Textron
Textron is a conglomerate that includes Bell Helicopter, E-Z-GO, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Greenlee, among others. It was founded by Royal Little in 1923 as the Special Yarns Company, and is headquartered at the Textron Tower in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.With total revenues of...
, and lives on today as Bell Helicopter.
History
Larry Bell had been an early employee and then later, general manager of the Glenn L. Martin CompanyGlenn L. Martin Company
The Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
, followed by a stint as a manager for Consolidated Aircraft
Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Consolidated Aircraft moved to 2050 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. When Consolidated Aircraft moved to San Diego in 1935, Bell stayed behind and established his own company, the Bell Aircraft Company, on 10 July 1935, headquartered in Buffalo.
Bell's first military contract followed in 1937 with the development of the ill-fated YFM-1 Airacuda, an unconventional bomber-destroyer powered by two Allison
Allison
Allison is a family name of English and Scottish origin.When used as a given name it is traditionally masculine, as opposed to the feminine name Alison....
-powered pusher
Pusher configuration
In a craft with a pusher configuration the propeller are mounted behind their respective engine. According to Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind engine so that drive shaft is in compression...
propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
s. Only 13 Airacudas were be produced, and these were flown by the USAAF for just three years before being scrapped as useless.
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
under the Lend Lease Act, where they proved themselves to be a good ground-attack aircraft. This was also demonstrated by a few U.S. Army Air Forces units that flew P-39s, such as the so-called Cactus Air Force
Cactus Air Force
Cactus Air Force refers to the ensemble of Allied air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal from August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field...
on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
in 1942 - 43.
A somewhat larger and more powerful version of the P-39 was produced shortly before the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Called the P-63 Kingcobra
P-63 Kingcobra
The Bell P-63 Kingcobra was a United States fighter aircraft developed in World War II from the Bell P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies...
, this warplane addressed many of the shortcomings of the P-39, though it was produced too late in the war to make any contribution. Also, by that time, the Army Air Forces already had the superior P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
and P-38 Lightning
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
fighter-bomber
Fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
s.
The main productive activity that Bell Aircraft had during WW II was as a second or third producer of heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s that had been designed and built by other aircraft companies. This happened at a government-built airplane factory that was constructed near Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
, just northwest of Atlanta. This factory was completed in mid-1943, and Bell Aircraft won contracts to build hundreds of Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers at this factory. Then, in mid-1944, the production of the B-24 was consolidated from several different companies (including some in Texas, also) to two large factories: the Consolidated Aircraft Company in San Diego and the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
's huge factory in Willow Run
Willow Run
The Willow Run manufacturing plant, located between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Michigan, was constructed during World War II by Ford Motor Company for the mass production of the B-24 Liberator military aircraft....
, next to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, which had been specially designed for producing B-24s. Hence, for the rest of WW II, Bell Aircraft concentrated on producing B-29s in Marietta, Ga. The production of the B-29 ended in the fall of 1945.
After World War II
The aircraft factory in Marietta later became the property of the Lockheed CorporationLockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
, which has used it for producing C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
, C-141 Starlifter
C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
, and C-5 Galaxy
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
transport planes. Although Bell designed several more fighter plane designs during and after WW II, none of these ever entered mass-production. The twin-jet P-59 Airacomet
P-59 Airacomet
The Bell P-59 Airacomet was the first American jet fighter aircraft, designed and built during World War II. The United States Army Air Forces was not impressed by its performance and cancelled the contract when fewer than half of the aircraft ordered had been produced. Although no P-59s went...
, really an experimental airplane, was the first American jet fighter to fly, though its performance turned out to be inferior to the propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
-driven P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
fighters, which were flown by the thousands by the Army Air Forces in both the European Theater
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
and the Pacific Theater
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
.
The XP-77 was a small fighter using non-strategic materials; it was not successful. The XP-83
Bell XP-83
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Carpenter, David M. Flame Powered: The Bell XP-59A Airacomet and the General Electric I-A Engine. Boston: Jet Pioneers of America, 1982. ISBN 0-9633387-0-6....
was a jet escort fighter similar in layout to the P-59 that was cancelled. The Bell XF-109 was a supersonic vertical takeoff supersonic fighter that was cancelled in 1961.
As well as manufacturing their own products Bell was a major contributor to the B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
program, with a factory at Marietta, Ga., producing 668 of the four-engined heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s.
Perhaps Bell Aircraft's most important contribution to the history of fixed-wing aircraft development would be the design and building of the experimental
Experimental aircraft
An experimental aircraft is an aircraft that has not yet been fully proven in flight. Often, this implies that new aerospace technologies are being tested on the aircraft, though the label is more broad....
Bell X-1
Bell X-1
The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...
, rocket plane the first airplane to break the sound barrier
Sound barrier
The sound barrier, in aerodynamics, is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. The term, which occasionally has other meanings, came into use during World War II, when a number of aircraft started to encounter the effects of compressibility, a collection of several...
, and its follow-on, the Bell X-2
Bell X-2
-Popular culture:* The 1956 film Toward the Unknown starred the X-2, William Holden, Lloyd Nolan and Virginia Leith. A brainwashed former POW tries to return to test flying; co-starring the Martin XB-51 and the Edwards AFB flight line....
. Note that in a twist on the usual way of designating American aircraft, the following were not different models of the X-1, but rather they were the successive (mostly identical) units of the X-1 program: the X-1, X-1A, X-1B, X-1C, X-1D, and X-1E.
Bell went on to design and produce several different experimental aircraft
Experimental aircraft
An experimental aircraft is an aircraft that has not yet been fully proven in flight. Often, this implies that new aerospace technologies are being tested on the aircraft, though the label is more broad....
during the 1950s. These helped the U.S. Air Force and the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) explore the boundaries of aircraft design, and paving the way for the founding of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and the exploration of outer space
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
.
Helicopter development began at Bell Aircraft in 1941 with the company's first one, the Bell Model 30 first flying in 1943. Bell Helicopters became the only part of Bell Aircraft still producing aircraft when Bell was purchased by the Textron Corporation. That part of Textron is now known today as Bell Helicopter Textron
Bell Helicopter Textron
Bell Helicopter is an American rotorcraft manufacturer headquartered in Hurst, Texas, near Fort Worth. A division of Textron, Bell manufactures military helicopter and tiltrotor products in and around Fort Worth, as well as in Amarillo, Texas, and commercial rotorcraft products in Mirabel, Quebec,...
. After a series of successful helicopter designs, the UH-1 Iroquois
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
became the most noted helicopter of the War in Vietnam, and Bell Helicopters still designs and manufactures helicopters today.
Lawrence Bell died in 1956, and for several years afterwards the company was in financial difficulty.
Textron purchased the Bell Aerospace part of the corporation on 5 July 1960. Bell Aerospace was composed of three divisions of Bell Aircraft, including its helicopter division, which had become its only aircraft-producing division.
Product list
Fixed-wing aircraft, in order of development:- YFM-1 Airacuda
- P-39 Airacobra
- P-63 Kingcobra
- P-59 Airacomet
- XP-77
- XP-83Bell XP-83|-See also:-Bibliography:* Carpenter, David M. Flame Powered: The Bell XP-59A Airacomet and the General Electric I-A Engine. Boston: Jet Pioneers of America, 1982. ISBN 0-9633387-0-6....
- X-1Bell X-1The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...
- X-2Bell X-2-Popular culture:* The 1956 film Toward the Unknown starred the X-2, William Holden, Lloyd Nolan and Virginia Leith. A brainwashed former POW tries to return to test flying; co-starring the Martin XB-51 and the Edwards AFB flight line....
- X-5Bell X-5-See also:-Bibliography:* Hallion, Richard P. On The Frontier: Flight Research At Dryden 1946-1981 . Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1984 . ISBN 1-58834-134-8....
- XF-109
- Consolidated B-24 Liberator
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress