Helicopter development began in 1941, with the company's first, the Bell Model 30 seeing its maiden flight in 1943, and eventually became the most successful part of the company.
Lawrence Bell died in 1956, and for several years afterwards the company was in financial difficulty.
After the Textron purchase, the company was organized as a subsidiary Bell Aerospace Corporation with three divisions. See Bell Helicopter Textron for further history.
The BellAircraftCorporation 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 BellX-1, the first supersonicaircraft, and for many types of helicopters.
The company was founded by Lawrence Bell, who was an early employee and later general manager of the Glenn L. Martin Company, then a manager of the Consolidated AircraftCorporation.
Lawrence Bell died in 1956, and for several years afterwards the company was in financial difficulty.
Between 1942 and 1945 the BellAircraftCorporation transformed Marietta from the small seat of rural Cobb County to one of the main industrial centers of the Sunbelt.
The decision to place Bell Bomber in Marietta was the result of fortuitous circumstances and a generation of dynamic local leaders determined to bring their community out of the Great Depression.
Bell Bomber reached its peak employment of 28,158 workers in February 1945.