| Lawrence Bell |
Article Index for Lawrence |
Website Links For Lawrence |
Information AboutLawrence Bell |
|
Bell was born in Mentone, Indiana and lived there until 1907 , when his family moved to Santa Monica, California . He joined his older brother Grover and stunt pilot Lincoln Beachey as a mechanic in 1912 . Grover Bell was killed in a plane crash the following year, and Bell vowed to quit aviation for good; however, he went to work for the Glenn L. Martin Company after friends convinced him to return to the industry. He became Martin's shop foreman at age 20, and later the company's general manager. He left Martin in 1928 to join Consolidated Aircraft in Buffalo, New York , eventually becoming vice president and general manager. When Consolidated relocated to San Diego , Bell stayed in Buffalo and founded his own company, Bell Aircraft Corporation, on July 10 , 1935 . Bell Aircraft built several types of Fighter Aircraft during World War II , notably the Bell X-1 , the first aircraft to break the Sound Barrier in level flight. The company began developing Helicopter s in 1941 , with the Bell 30 taking its maiden flight in 1943 . For his role in the X-1's first supersonic flight, he shared the 1947 Collier Trophy with pilot Chuck Yeager and John Stack , a research scientist with the National Advisory Committee For Aeronautics (now NASA ). He was awarded the Society Of Automotive Engineers ' Daniel Guggenheim Medal in 1944 , and was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall Of Fame ( 1977 ), the Army Aviation Hall Of Fame ( 1986 ), and the International Aerospace Hall Of Fame ( 2004 ). NAMESAKES
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|