Browse Bell Helicopter Textron Inc (CAGE Code 0A4U6, 3M841, 97499) NSN Parts Catalog

Bell

Bell’s History

Bell is cemented in the history of the aerospace industry with their innovations, products, and achievements. They were the first to obtain a certification for a commercial helicopter, invented the tiltrotor aircraft, have delivered over 35,000 aircraft throughout their history, were the first to break the sound barrier, and were aboard NASA’s first lunar mission.

Bell has a long-held history with the U.S. military. They started off by specializing in fighter aircraft; some examples are the P-59 Airacomet, the first American jet fighter, and the P-63. Although they started by producing fighter aircraft, they quickly became a leader in vertical-lift aircraft. In 1941, Larry Bell was inspired by an inventor that had a small rotary-lift model. Within the next six months, Bell and his team designed their first helicopter and sparked Bell’s history in advanced helicopters. One of their great inventions was the tiltrotor aircraft, and they are now one of two companies to sell these aircraft to the military; the second being Boeing.

Textron purchased Bell near the end of 1960, and it has been renamed “Textron Bell Aerospace”, which includes Bell Helicopter. The military used many Bell helicopters during the Vietnam war; the HueyCobras were a prominent selection. Bell Helicopter began focusing on more markets in the decades following the end of WWII, and by 1975 their sales were divided equally among the commercial and military markets. Textron’s purchase of Cessna in the 1990s and further balanced out Textron’s commercial and military sales. Today, Cessna, Hawker, and Beechcraft are all under Textron Aviation, while Bell is its own segment.

Bell is headquartered in Texas, but has many plants around the world, including Europe, Canada, and Singapore.

*Bell operates under other Textron subsidiaries; however, this section is focused on providing a list of Bell subsidiaries.

Parent: Textron Inc.

• Bell Helicopter KK Japan
• Bell Helicopter GK
• Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
• Aeronautical Accessories LLC
• Bell Helicopter Miami Inc.
• Bell Helicopter Rhode Island Inc.
• Bell Helicopter Services Inc.
• Bell Helicopter Asia (Pte) Ltd.
• Bell Helicopter India Inc.
• Bell Helicopter Korea Inc.
• Bell Technical Services Inc.
• B/K Navigational Equipment sro
• Bell Helicopter Prague, a.s. (67%; 33% - Bell Helicopter Services Inc.)
• Aviation Service servis letal, doo, Ljubljana
• McTurbine Inc.