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Lowe, Willard & Fowler Engineering Company

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Lowe, Willard and Fowler Engineering Company[note 1]
IndustryAerospace
Founded1915
FoundersEdward Lowe Jr.
Charles F. Willard
Robert G. Fowler
Defunct1924
FateBankruptcy
HeadquartersLong Island City (1915 - 1916)
College Point (1916 - 1924)
Key people
J. M. Fitzgerland (Pres./director)
A. H. Flint (VP/General Manager)
R. J. Hoffman (Engineer)
Glenn D. Mitchell (Engineer)
ProductsAircraft
LWF model F (a modified model V) which made the first flight with a Liberty engine

The Lowe, Willard & Fowler Engineering Company was a College Point, New York City based manufacturer of airplanes founded in December 1915 named for its founders, Edward Lowe Jr., Charles F. Willard, and Robert G. Fowler,[1]

Willard had been previously employed by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and Aeromarine and had developed a technique for molding laminated wood to form a monocoque fuselage while Fowler had been the first person to fly west-to-east across the United States.[2] Lowe arranged the majority of the financing, while Fowler recruited Willard.

Fowler and Willard departed the company shortly afterwards in 1916 and Lowe renamed the firm the L-W-F Engineering Company."[3] After their departure from the company, the companies initials were repurposed to refer either to either Laminated Wood Fuselage or Linen, Wire and Fabric. The company was reorganized after Lowe was forced out by company backers in 1917.[2]

Aside from its own designs, of which only the model V and its derivatives, and the J-2 (a US Dehavilland DH-4 modified into a twin engine aircraft) saw series production, LWF built the Curtiss HS-2L, Martin NBS-1 and Douglas DT-2 under licence, and they modified 63 US Dehavilland DH-4As into DH-4Bs.

Following the reduction or cancellation of orders following the end of World War I and the failure of its post-war designs to win orders, the company declared bankruptcy in 1924.[4]

Aircraft

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Aircraft Year Number built
LWF Designs
Model V 1916 136
Model F 1917 1
Reconnaissance 1917 1
Model G 1918 1
Model H Owl 1920 1
Model J-2 Twin DH 1919 20
Model L Butterfly 1920 1
XT-3 1923 1
MO-1 unk. 1
XNBS-2 n/a 0
Total built: 163
Licence-built/modified
Curtiss HS-2L 1917 249[note 2]
US Dehavilland DH-4B (modified) ? 63
Douglas DT-2/SDW-1 1922 20
Martin NBS-1 1921 35
Total built/modified: 367

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lowe, Willard & Fowler Engineering Company.

Notes

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  1. ^ Later reorganized as the L-W-F Engineering Company
  2. ^ Order for 299, but 50 cancelled

Citations

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  1. ^ Woodhouse, January 1920, p.992
  2. ^ a b Pearce, William. "LWF Model H Owl Mail Plane / Bomber". oldmachinepress.com. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  3. ^ Pattillo, 1998, p.26
  4. ^ Eckland, K.O. (2 September 2008). "American airplanes: Lo - Lu". aerofiles.com. Retrieved 12 February 2020.

Bibliography

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  • Faurote, Fay L. (1921). Aircraft Year Book 1919 (PDF). Boston: Small, Maynard. pp. 169–181. ASIN B0033HSKZ4.
  • Pattillo, Donald M. (1998). Pushing the Envelope: The American Aircraft Industry. University of Michigan Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-472-08671-5. LCCN 97-45390.
  • Woodhouse, Henry (January 1920). The First Aerial Derby Around the World. Vol. VIII issue 12. p. 992. {{cite book}}: |magazine= ignored (help)
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