Bell Aircraft Corporation
The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer in the United States, in July 1935 by Larry Bell in Buffalo , New York was founded. The company initially specialized in the development and production of a number of fighter aircraft ( XFM-1 Airacuda , P-39 Airacobra , P-59 Airacomet , P-63 Kingcobra ) and later shifted the business focus to helicopter production.
history
On September 3, 1941, Arthur Young introduced the company owner, Larry Bell, to a helicopter drive with a stabilizing rod, after which Bell's company began developing helicopters. The first Bell helicopter, the Bell Model 30 Ship 1, made its maiden flight on December 29, 1942 .
After the Second World War, the Bell Aircraft Corporation shifted its business focus to the development and production of helicopters. On March 8, 1946, the Bell 47 was the first civil helicopter to be certified to fly in the USA, and from 1955 onwards, the Bell UH-1 ("Huey") and its variants were the "standard helicopter " for the US armed forces for many years. The company also made innovative contributions to armaments, aerospace. These include the Bell X-1 , the first supersonic aircraft, and the reaction control system of the Mercury capsule .
In 1959 Walter Dornberger , who was involved in the development of the V2 rocket during the Nazi era as general of the Army Armed Forces Office , became a member of the management team. The company was bought by Textron in 1960 and the Bell Helicopter and Bell Aerosystems Company subsidiaries were founded.
literature
- Yves Le Bec: The True Story of the Helicopter: from 1486 - 2005 . Publishing house Jean Duvret, Chavannes-près-Renens 2005, ISBN 2-8399-0100-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ bellhelicopter.com Company History ( Memento from June 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (Eng.)
- ↑ The true story of the helicopter: from 1486–2005 , p. 12.
- ↑ textronsystems.com History Textron ( Memento from July 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (Eng.)