pilots lucky little bell

[Costa]

wasn't sure where to post this but, being from a pilot guess its ok here. marked 800 for silver and best yet has the chain.

[Allan H.]

Here is a photo of Kansas City native Sam Trave who served with the 347th Fighter Squadron. He wears one of these "little bell of San Michele" pieces on his A-2. The bells were sold by street merchants in and around the army rest center in Italy. They aren't necessarily a pilot thing as anyone who wanted a bell could buy one for a few lira. The long chain is an addition, presumably to allow the bell to be worn around someone's neck. These bells were sometimes found in silver, and also in brass. Some will also have images of airplanes on them. A person could collect a number of variations of these little bells.

 

These bells are featured in forum member John Conway and Jon Maguire's outstanding reference book- "The Art of the Flight Jacket, Airmen and Aircraft." I would assume that most of the information on Trave and the bell were lifted from this reference.

 

It is interesting to note that Sam Trave is frequently identified as flying with the 347th Fighter Group, but they were stationed in the Pacific, so it would have been a virtual impossibility for Trave to have gotten an Italian bell while flying out of New Caledonia. Same flew with the "Red Asses."

 

Allan

[doyler]

You will see them in a lot of 12th and 15th AF groups as well.The Bell of Capri....

 

http://www.warwingsart.com/12thAirForce/luckybell.html

[P-59A]

I recovered one of these from a B-24 crash site in the Mojave. The co-pilot had served in Itally and had this on him the day of the accident.

[72psb]

A very similar concept for bikers. A gremlin bell is given to a fellow rider to ward of gremlins.(think Twilight Zone movie) It is supposed to drive them crazy and leave your machine alone. I still sport one on my 1941 Harley-Davidson.

Makes me wonder if the idea was not brought back by the airmen and continued their need for speed and adrenaline. ie the Hells Angels and the early hot rod scene.

[Kropotkin]

I was lucky enough to pick up one of these at a local bric-a-brac shop for £2 not so long ago. It was in a jumble of random tat. Seek, and ye shall find!

[pfrost]

Someone once told me that these things were sold well after WWII as tourist items as well. They are kind of neat.

[Kropotkin]

Yep, I can imagine them being sold well into the '60s.

[mghcal]

These are really cool. I've been looking for one for awhile. Some are dated as well. Here's a link that explains some more about these and has a few photos of different ones. http://www.warwingsart.com/12thAirForce/luckybell.html

[pfrost]

Uh.... OK. I don't know.

[strikehold]

I just picked up a really cool Capri Bell. Its smaller than the average size and it has a miniature elephant attached to it. The one on the right is for size comparison and is the typical size you find.