| Giuseppe Mario Bellanca | |
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Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (1886-1960) |
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| Born | March 19, 1886 Sciacca, Italy |
| Died | December 26, 1960 New York City |
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (March 19, 1886 – December 26, 1960) was an Italian-American airplane designer and builder who created the first enclosed cabin monoplane in the United States in 1922. This aircraft is now on display at the National Air & Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
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He was born on March 19, 1886 in Sciacca, Italy. He graduated with an engineering degree from Politecnico di Milano. He emigrated to Brooklyn in the United States in 1911.
In 1921 he moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and with Victor Roos, formed the Roos-Bellanca Aircraft Company. On July 4, 1927 he was featured on the cover of Time.[1]
In that year, he entered into a partnership with Charles A. Levine and formed the Columbia Aircraft Corp.[1]
On April 25, 1927 Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta set a new world's non-refueled endurance record in the WB-2.[1]
In 1941 Bellanca became the head of the aviation department at Higgins Industries, Inc., in New Orleans. He designed cargo aircraft during World War II. In 1954 he formed the Bellanca Development Company.[1]
He died from leukemia at Memorial Hospital in New York City on December 26, 1960.[2]
In 1993 his papers were archived at the National Air and Space Museum.[1]
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