L-W-F Model H Owl

The L.W.F Model H Owl was a single prototype of a biplane mail plane design built by the Lowe, Willard & Fowler Engineering Company, reorganized as the L-W-F (Laminated Wood Fuselage) Engineering Company in 1917, which first flew on 22 May 1920. It was not successful and won no orders.

LWF Owl 1923

Design

The L.W.F. Owl was a large biplane design with a three-place nacelle center fuselage flanked on either side by tubelike tail booms, all fabricated of laminated wood, and was reminiscent of the design of the Italian Caproni Ca.4 bombers of the Great War. It had triple tail fins and biplane stabilizers. Wingspan is listed as both 105 feet, or 106 feet, 8 inches. Length was 53 feet, 10 inches. A six-wheel undercarriage was later modified to four-wheel. It was powered by three 400-horsepower Liberty 12 engines. It had a payload of 7,600 pounds, and with full load it could become airborne in only 400 feet. Its range was over 1,000 miles.

Operational History

The Owl was first flown at Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, on 22 May 1920. Its performance was described as “adequate but not impressive.” Although built as a potential design for air mail service, the Post Office Department showed no interest in it.

The manufacturer then attempted to market it to the U. S. Army as a bomber during 1921 and 1922. It was allocated Army Air Corps serial number 64012. General Billy Mitchell had plans to test the design during the bombing tests to sink the USS New Jersey and the USS Virginia in September 1923, but it does not appear that this actually occurred. With no potential customers, the sole prototype was scrapped in 1923. Two prototypes of the Lowe-Willard-Fowler XNBS-2, a scaled-down variant of the Owl, were ordered in 1923, but production was cancelled before construction began. The L-W-F firm declared bankruptcy in 1924.