Bell Aircraft Corporation Photographs, 1942-1945

 

The Bell Aircraft Corporation plant in Marietta, also known as "The Bell Bomber plant," played a crucial role in the history of Cobb County and in the nation. As the United States' entry into WWII became evident by 1940, industries around the country expanded to prepare for wartime needs. One such industry was the Bell Aircraft Corporation located in Buffalo, NY. In early 1942, Marietta was chosen as the site for a new Bell plant. The Marietta plant would specialize in making the B-29 Superfortress Bomber planes. These planes could carry heavy bomb loads and fly farther and faster than any plane before it. The establishment of the Bell plant in Cobb ushered in a new chapter in economic growth for the county. During the 1930s, the Great Depression ravaged Cobb County’s agriculturally based economy; however, the Bell plant transformed Cobb into a truly industrial region. The Bell plant employed thousands of workers in Cobb, including women and African Americans. After the termination of the war in 1945, the Bell plant closed but reopened in 1951 as the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

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