"The Silver Bullet" -- "V-E DAY" -- ( GVII ), P-39 Airacobra Brooch, July 1945, the "First Step" toward the sound barrier.

In July of 1941, Test Pilot and Eastern Airlines Pilot, Andrew Charles McDonough, at the request of Bell Aircraft Company, test-flew a P-39 Airacobra 107 miles per hour faster than the speed of a .45 caliber automatic bullet. Starting from an altitude of 27,000 feet, test pilot McDonough sent the P-39 Airacobra into a controlled free drive, in which the plane was unassisted by engine or propeller forces, plunging toward the earth at a record-breaking speed of 620 miles per hour, a mere 141.2 miles per hour short of the speed of sound! The pilot was unharmed, and there was no damage to the plane. At this point in aviation history, McDonough had flown the aircraft faster than any man on Earth! The test flight led to the crafting of a new nickname for the P-39 Airacobra: the “Silver Bullet.”

At this point in aviation history, the goal of the Bell Aircraft Corporation was to support and uphold the “War Effort.” Due to the secrecy surrounding all elements of war, and the further development of the P-39 Airacobra, the true historical significance of this aviation feat was not publicly disclosed or realized. However, Larry Bell and the engineers of the Bell Aircraft Corporation had constructed an aircraft that would and did approach the speed of sound. After World War II, the BELL AIRCRAFT CORPORATION went on to build the X-1, X-1A, X-1B aircraft, and so on, shaping aviation as we know it today. The P-39-Airacobra, the "Little Silver Bullet", was the first step in the development of these sophisticated, faster than the speed of sound, aircraft.

During World War II, the main customers of the Bell Aircraft Corporation included the United States Air Force, (P-39), under the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, (P-400), under the direction of King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and of course, Winston Churchill. The picture above showcases the one and only P-39 Airacobra solid silver brooch -- "VICTORY IN EUROPE" -- "V-E DAY" -- ( GVII ), left behind by Lucille M. Bell, wife of Lawrence “Larry” Dale Bell, founder of the Bell Aircraft Corporation. ( Displaying the USAF Roundel 1942 -1943, Star-in-Circle, identification markings, North Africa Assigment ). ---- On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered, -- On May 8, 1945, during a nation-wide radio broadcast, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced "VICTORY IN EUROPE" -- "V-E DAY" -- This marked the end of World War Two, in Europe. ---- King Peter II presented the "V-E DAY" silver and platinum brooch, ( GVII ), to Lawrence Dale " Larry" Bell during a visit to the Wheatfield Plant of The Bell Aircraft Company, in July 1945 ---- On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered, marking the end of World War Two, world wide.

This brooch was "secretly presented" to Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell by King Peter II, the Godson of King George VI and, his wife, Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, Great Britian, on his royal visit to the Wheatfield Plant, of Bell Aircraft Company, ( July, 1945 ). This brooch is made with watchmaker precision, and has unique precious metal aspects, which have not been made public. ( held in a "Trust" along with other artifacts by -- SECURITY FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA --, later transported, at the request of Lucille M. Bell, wife of Lawrence "Larry" Dale Bell, founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation, to another bank in Palm Beach, Florida ). As a historically significant artifact of early aviation, the "SILVER BULLET BROOCH" -- also known as the -- "V-E DAY" brooch -- is an "in flight at a high speed" representation of the p-39 Airacobra with the wings in a "bowed upward position" as if it was flying, with full weight load, at a very high rate of speed. Research is ongoing. ( This and other items were left behind by Lucille M. Bell, of 6 Lagomar Road, Palm Beach, Florida, who was the wife of Lawrence Dale Bell, (Larry Bell, founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation ). --- ( See Part 2, Part 5 , and Part 6, P-39 Airacobra Brooches of Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell -- for a more detailed, educational and historical accounting. ) -----

for Any inquiries of a historical or educational nature, please contact -- Wayne Hugh Long, (whlong2715@gmail.com).