Lawrence Dale Bell

Who was Lawrence Dale Bell?

Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell was an American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation.

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 Lawrence 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 the P-39 "Airacobra" and P-63 "Kingcobra" fighter aircraft during World War II. Their P-59 "Airacomet" fighter was America's first jet-powered aircraft. Postwar, the company produced the Bell X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight.