12/31/2024. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "English-born Alfred William Lawson (March 24, 1869 – November 29, 1954), who became an American citizen at the age of three, entered the aviation scene in 1908. After founding and editing two pioneer aviation magazines, Fly (1908, Detroit, Michigan) and Aircraft (1910, New York, New |York), Lawson founded a number of aviation companies.

Established in 1917, The Lawson Aircraft Corporation of Green Bay, Wisconsin, built two military trainer prototypes. The Lawson Airplane Company of Milwaukee (1918) built two airliners, the Lawson Airline Transportation Company (1919) was formed as a separate company. Lawson Aircraft Company of Plainfield, New Jersey (1926) began construction of an airliner, which was not completed. This led Lawson to turn to economics, philosophy, and organization.

When the Aviation Section of the US Army Signal Corps issued its first Aeronautical Specification No. 1000 in 1916, for a 90-hp primary trainer, Lawsen designed and built the MT-1. This was a tandem two-seat two-bay sesquiplane, powered with an 100 hp Hall-Scott A-7a four-cylinder inline engine. Span of the upper wing was 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m), that of the lower wing was 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m), length was 27 ft 0 in (8.23 m).

The aircraft first flew in 1917 and presented to the USASC, but was rejected due to unsatisfying performance."