Lawson L-2

L-2
Lawson C.2 or T-2
Role	Biplane airliner
Manufacturer	Lawson Air Line Company
Designer	Alfred Lawson[1]
First flight	1920
Primary user	Lawson Air Line Company
Number built	1

The Lawson L-2 was a 1920s American biplane airliner, designed and built by the Lawson Air Line Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Design and development

Lawson Aerial Transport C.1 or L-1

The Lawson Air Line Company designed and built a series of large biplane airliners for use on its planned airline routes. The initial Lawson "Aerial Transport" Lawson C1 or T-1 was built early in 1919 to demonstrate that a large commercial passenger plane could be built. The L-1 was a single pilot, 10 passenger biplane with twin Liberty 400 hp pusher motors. It was followed by the Lawson C.2 or L-2. The L-2 was a tractor biplane also with 400 hp motors, capable of carrying 26 passengers, and piloted by two pilots with differential controls.^[2] Mr. Lawson took it on a 2000-mile multi-city tour to advocate commercial air travel.^[3]

After he completed his 2000-mile flight, Mr. Lawson built the Lawson Midnight Liner for use on the night service between Chicago and New York. The Midnight Liner was larger with three 400 hp Liberty engine - one on each wing and another in the nose. The airliner sported sleeping berths and a shower. It was his objective to produce large number of these aircraft to outfit his airline, but the 1920 Fall recession deprived Lawson of the investment funds to meet payroll and other development expenses. The first and only Lawson “Midnight Liner” was completed on December 9, 1920. Bad weather, however, delayed its maiden flight. As Lawson’s the financial situation worsened, Lawson decided to fly his new airliner from a space near the factory, rather than make a costly ground transport move to Hamilton Field (now Gen. Mitchell Field). The prepared strip was only about 300 feet long. Lawson finally gave the order to attempt flight on May 8. The aircraft did not clear an elm tree and crashed on takeoff. The pilots were unhurt but the airliner was never repaired.^[4][5]

Lawson had a 100 passenger, a double decked version, on the drafting board, but the Lawson "Midnight Liner" was the last. The company folded in 1922, and the assets were auctioned off. The two Lawson Air Liners are renowned due to their size (for the time) and the ambition of their flamboyant promoter, Alfred Lawson.

Operators

 United States

• Lawson Airline Company

Specifications (L-2)

General characteristics

• Capacity: 10
• Wingspan: 91 ft 0 in (27.74 m)
• Gross weight: 13,000 lb (5897 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Liberty L-12 piston engine, 400 hp (298 kW) each each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 100 mph (161 km/h)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• L-4

References

1. http://dev.eaa838.org/museum.asp
2. Air Progress: 16. November 1978. Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. The Royal Aero Club of the UK (Sep 11, 1919). "The Lawson Aerial Transport". Flight- the Aircraft Engineer & Airship weekly. 37. XI (559): 1220–1222.
4. "LAWSON "AIR LINER"". ASME Milwaukee Chapter. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
5. "Milwaukee-Made Lawson Air Liner Pioneers Transportation Delux". The Milwaukee Journal. Dec 26, 1920.

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.

External links

• "The "Lawson" Aerial Transport" (PDF). Flight. XI (37): 1220–1222. September 11, 1919. No. 559. Retrieved January 12, 2011. Contemporary technical description of the Lawson C-1 and C-2 (early versions of the L-2) with scale drawings of the C-1 and photographs of the C-2.