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,Woodhouse, January 1920, p.992
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. 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."Pattillo, 1998, p.26 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.
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.
Aircraft AircraftYearNumber builtLWF DesignsModel V1916136Model F19171Reconnaissance19171Model G19181Model H Owl19201Model J-2 Twin DH191920Model L Butterfly19201XT-319231MO-1unk.1XNBS-2n/a0Total built:163Licence-built/modifiedCurtiss HS-2L1917249Order for 299, but 50 cancelledUS Dehavilland DH-4B (modified)?63Douglas DT-2/SDW-1192220Martin NBS-1192135Total built/modified:367
See also List of aircraft manufacturers
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