Lawson Pursuit Project of 1918

[hesham]

Hi,

the Lawson Aircraft Corporation designed a single seat pursuit fighter biplane project
of 1918,powered by one 180 hp Hispano engine,the wings were to be of equal span,
32ft 10in (10m) and the overall length of the plane 19ft (5.79m),I have no drawing
to it.

 

[cluttonfred]

Per Aerofiles.com...

Pursuit 1918 - 1pOB fighter design with 180hp Hisso; never produced. Lawson's projections for Army consideration was to accompany this plane with a series of floating landing fields across the Atlantic. The idea was rejected as too fanciful.

Source: http://aerofiles.com/_la.html

 

[hesham]

Thank you my dear Cluttonfred,

and of course I know this site,but has anyone a drawing for it ?.

 

[cluttonfred]

A search for "Lawson Pursuit 1918" turns up a little page on the aircraft in the Polish-language Wikipedia with this source listed:

Enzo Angellucci, Peter Bowers: American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft from 1917 to the Present. Haynes Publishing Group, 1979

Perhaps there's an image there?

 

[Arjen]

No image.
Text:

This was yet another of the numerous designs which appeared during the course of 1918, as countless aeronautical engineers attempted to provide the United States with its own, American-built fighter. The Lawson Aircraft Corporation of Wisconsin had designed a single-seat two-bay biplane powered by a 180hp Hispano engine. The wings were to be of equal span, 32ft 10in (10m) and the overall length of the plane 19ft (5.79m). The project never progressed to the construction stage, however, and its inclusion here serves only to emphasize how many projects were formulated by American companies all over the country to produce an effective fighter plane, at a time when European fighters had evolved far more rapidly and had already seen a great deal of action.

 

[Apophenia]

Does anyone know if this Lawson pursuit is the same design as the unbuilt 1918 Lawson Armored Battler?

I am curious to know if the Lawson Armored Battler's "steel fuselage" consisted of a steel 'box' (akin to the Sopwith TF.2 Salamander) or was it to have armour plates attached to conventional framing?

BTW: That "series of floating landing fields across the Atlantic" were to be converted 'flat top' merchant ships ... allowing Alfred Lawson to later claim to have invented the aircraft carrier (along with coining the term 'airliner')

 

[hesham]

My dear Apophenia,

I think it was anther design,but I will wait the experts ?.

 

[Apophenia]

Thanks Hesham. I suspect that you're right ... especially if Aero Files was correct about that "180hp Hisso". The power output suggests a Wright-Hisso E-3 (or French-built Hispano-Suiza 8Ab/HS-34) ... an upright V-8 engine.

Going by the sideview drawing, the Lawson Armored Battler was powered by a V-12 (presumably a Liberty). This aircraft was to be a 2-seat fighter armed with six machine guns. Lawson Armored Battler sideview: http://images.wisconsinhistory.org/700003070013/0307000226-l.jpg

According to The Airliner and Its Inventor, Lawson conceived of two trench fighters of differing concepts in 1917. The first was nick-named the "Ground Hog". I can find no details for that machine but, indulging in wild speculation, it's just possible that this "Ground Hog" was Lawson's Hisso-powered pursuit.

Both concepts were rejected by the War Department based upon their belief no "steel armored plane could be built that could rise from the ground." In 1918, after the Sopwith T.F.1 had been flown, the War Department asked for more details on Lawson's second concept - the Armored Battler. Armour was to protect "the Pilot's or Gunner's Stations, engine beds, gas or water tanks, radiators, control centers, etc."

____________________

The Airliner and Its Inventor: Alfred W. Lawson, Cy Q. Faunce, Rockcastel Publishing Co., Columbus, Ohio, 1921, pp.33-34.

 

[hesham]

Amazing Info my dear Apophenia,many thanks,

and we can put it here.

 

[hesham]

We can say about Lawson aircraft,they designed,

- C-1
- C-2
- L-4
- MT-1
- MT-2
- Pursuit
- 12-engined transport
- Type-IX specification

 

[Apophenia]

I'm wondering if this thread should be renamed as Lawson Aircraft Projects or some such?

Anyway, good call putting these here, hesham. It seems like the Lawson Airplane Company was settling on an 'L' series before it failed but Lawson designations, generally, are all over the place and most designs just had descriptive names applied.

FWIW, here's my Lawson list ...

Lawson MT-1 - 1917 tandem 2-seat 2-bay sequiplane trainer; x 1
- MT-1 : aka MT1; Military Tractor 1; to US Army spec. No. 1,000
- MT-1 : 1 x 100 hp Hall-Scott A-7a 4-cyl. inline;* span 13.56 m
- MT-1 : Rejected by US Army which demanded more performance
-- * Aerofiles claimed "80hp Hall-Scott" which suggests an A-7

Lawson MT-2 - 1918 tandem 2-seat 2-bay biplane trainer; x 1
- MT-2 : aka MT2; Military Tractor 2; completely revised MT-1
- MT-2 : 1 x 100 hp Hall-Scott A-7a 4-cyl. inline; span 11.88 m
- MT-2 : 12 mph faster than MT-1; War Dept. ordered x 100*
-- * Order cancelled with Armistice; prototype surv. until 1931
-- NB: Aerofiles '100hp Hall-Scott A4' V8 engine clearly in error

Lawson 'Pursuit' - (Project) 1918 single-seat fighter biplane
- 'Pursuit' : Twin-bay, equal-span biplane; no const. details
- 'Pursuit' : 1 x 180 hp Wright-Hisso V8; wingspan (10.00) m
- 'Pursuit' : Prob. related to 'Ground Hog' attack a/c

Lawson 'Ground Hog' - (Project) 1918 armoured attack a/c
- 'Ground Hog': Single-seat biplane 'trench-fighter' type
- 'Ground Hog': 1 x 180 hp Wright-Hisso V8;* span 10.00 m*
- 'Ground Hog': Speculative; trench-fighter deriv. of 'Pursuit'
-- * Speculative (based on "Pursuit 1918"); see reply #8 for more

Lawson (??) - (Project) 1918 reconnaissance aircraft; no details
- (??) : Possibly related to 2-seat Lawson 'Armored Battler' (?)

Lawson 'Armored Battler' - (Project) 1918 armoured attack
- 'Armored Battler': Tandem 2-seat biplane 'trench-fighter'
- 'Armored Battler': 1 x 400 hp Liberty 12; span 10.00 m
- 'Armored Battler': 6 x mgs; aka 'Lawson Battler'

Lawson C1 = 1919 Lawson Aerial Transport passenger a/c
- C1 : aka T-1; commercial a/c proof-of-concept; no details
- C1 : 2 x 400 hp Liberty 12 V12 engines; span ~24.38 m
- C1 : Is this Aerial Transport PoC & L-1 the same (?)

Lawson C2 = 1919 Lawson Air-Line transport aircraft; x 1
- C2 : Same as Lawson L-2 Air-Line (qv)

Lawson L-1 = 1919 Lawson Aerial Transport aircraft; x 1
- L-1: Single-pilot; 10 passenger cabin airliner; 2-bay biplane
- L-1: 2 x 400 hp Liberty 12 V12 pusher props; span 24.53 m
-- L-1 is likely the same aircraft as the Lawson C1 (aka T-1)

Lawson L-2 = 1919 Lawson Air-Line transport aircraft; x 1
- L-2: Single-pilot; 18 passenger cabin airliner; 2-bay biplane
- L-2: 2 x 400 hp Liberty 12 V12 tractor props; span 28.95 m
- L-2: aka Lawson L-2 Air-Line

Lawson L-4 = 1920 Midnight Liner transport aircraft; x 1
- L-4: Trimotor evolution from the 1919 Air-Line design
- L-4: 3 x 420 hp Liberty 12 V12 engines; span 33.96 m
- L-4: 26-pax Midnight Liner sleeper transport; Chicago-NYC
-- 08 May 1921 prototype flight attempt; crashed on takeoff

Lawson Type VIII - (Project) 1921 Night Observation aircraft
- Lawson Type VIII: Sesquiplane; twin-boomed; pusher prop
- Lawson Type VIII: 1 x 300 hp Hispano-Suiza pusher; span (??)
- Lawson Type VIII: To US Army Air Service's Type VIII spec.
-- Prelim. design by Benson Russell Shaw; no contract awarded
-- https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...-system-types-i-to-xvi-etc.20516/#post-675493

Lawson Type IX - (Project) 1921 Coast Artillery Observation a/c
- Lawson Type IX: 2-seater (pilot & observer); shoulder-winged
- Lawson Type IX: 1 x 700 hp Engineering Division W-1 W-18; span (??)
- Lawson Type IX: To US Army Air Service's Type IX specification
-- Prelim. design by Benson Russell Shaw; no contract awarded
-- https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...-system-types-i-to-xvi-etc.20516/#post-675037

Lawson (??) = (Project) 1926 56-seat, two-tier super airliner
- (??) : 6 x (??) engines; span (??) m

Lawson (??) = (Project) 1928 100 passenger* super airliner
- (??) : Double-tiered passenger accommodations
- (??) : 12 x (??) hp (??) push-pull engines; span (??) m
-- * Unclear if Lawson's 125-seat airline is the same design
-- https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/lawson-12-engined-100-passenger-airliner.6261/

Anyone else got more? Can anyone fill in some of the gaps in the above?

 

[hesham]

Amazing work as usual my dear Apophenia,

and from old encyclopedia,there is a big possibility to call C-1 as L-1.