Bell Aircraft Corp. — Kenmore
An official archived DII Trust Exhibit A row gives us a specific place-and-time anchor. The useful next step is to connect that anchor to the person's actual employer, trade, department, tasks and remembered equipment.
What the archived Exhibit A row records
Site
Bell Aircraft Corp.
Location
Kenmore, New York
Trust-specific listing
HAL · 1951-01-01 through 1982-12-31
Bell Aircraft in Western New York — identify the exact plant
Bell Aircraft was founded in Buffalo in 1935 and rapidly expanded during the aviation boom of World War II. Bell's own history highlights the P-39 Airacobra, later helicopter development and the Bell 47. Western New York historical sources also document major Bell production at the Wheatfield/Niagara Falls plant.
The archived trust row on this page labels the site “Kenmore,” so the first task is disambiguation. A person who remembers Bell may have worked at a Buffalo-area office, a Kenmore-associated location, the major Wheatfield production plant or another Bell operation. We should not collapse those places into one site.
Bell Aircraft — memory anchors
1935
Lawrence Bell founded Bell Aircraft Corporation in Buffalo.
Late 1930s
Bell developed the P-39 Airacobra as military aircraft production expanded.
World War II
Bell's Western New York operations grew dramatically; the Wheatfield plant became a major aircraft-production complex.
1943–1946
Bell developed early helicopter prototypes, leading to the Bell 47, certified commercially in 1946.
Postwar era
Aircraft, helicopter and experimental programs continued as Bell's Western New York footprint evolved.
Bell — company aviation history → Buffalo architecture/history archive — Bell timeline →
What do you remember?
Primary source and next paths
Archived DII Exhibit A site list ↗ Current DII documents ↗
Western New York research → New York DII site archive → Exposure Atlas →