Tom Towle (1887–1983) was an American aircraft designer in charge of developing the

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American Trimotor, three-engined transport plane, transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, afte ...

Early life

Towle was raised in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1920. Towle become an aeronautical engineer for many starting aviation companies. *1921-1922

Dayton-Wright Company The Dayton-Wright Company was formed in 1917, on the declaration of war between the United States and Germany, by a group of Ohio investors that included Charles F. Kettering and Edward A. Deeds of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company ( DELCO ...

*1922-1923

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

*1923-1924

Aeromarine The Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company was an early American aircraft manufacturer founded by Inglis M. Upperçu which operated from 1914 to 1930. From 1928 to 1930 it was known as the Aeromarine-Klemm Corporation. History The beginnings of the ...

*1924-1925 Stout Metal Airplane Co *1925-1927

Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout as the Stout Metal Airplane Co. in 1922. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1924 and later produced th ...

After disappointing results from the

Stout 3-AT The Stout 3-AT List of trimotor aircraft, trimotor was the first all-metal trimotor built in America. The poorly performing tri-motor led to an updated design which became the popular Ford Tri-Motor. Development As a friend of the Ford family, R ...

, Ford places Towle in charge of the Ford Tri-motor development. *1927 Towle Marine Aircraft - Formed company to build the Towle WC. *1928 Eastman Aircraft Corporation of Detroit - Designed the

Eastman E-2 Sea Rover The Eastman E-2 Sea Rover, also called the Beasley-Eastman E-2 Sea Rover, was a light seaplane built in the late 1920s for business and shuttle use. Development The E-2 was designed by former Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Com ...

. *1928-1932 Towle Aircraft Company - Reorganized to produce the Towle TA-2 and

Towle TA-3 The Towle TA-3 was an amphibious aircraft based on the Towle TA-2. Development Thomas Towle was an engineer that had been involved with many early aircraft designs. Having just co-designed the Eastman E-2 Sea Rover. The TA-3 was a six-seat fol ...

amphibians. *1933 Monocoupe Aircraft Corporation *1933-1935 Lambert Aircraft Towle replaced

Clayton Folkerts Clayton Folkerts (1897–1964) was an American aircraft designer. Early life Self-taught in aircraft design, Clayton built five aircraft at his family farm between 1916 and 1926, including a Henderson powered high-wing. Folkerts worked ...

as chief engineer. Designer of Charles Lindbergh's plane, 1934 Model D-127 Monocoupe, which hangs in Terminal 1 at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. *1939

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 19 ...

*1941 Hudson Car Company aircraft division - Hired as chief engineer. *1951 Worked for the

Church & Dwight Church & Dwight Co., Inc. is an American consumer goods company focusing on personal care, household products, and specialty products. The company was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. It is the parent company of well-kno ...

company, known for baking soda products.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Towle, Tom American aerospace engineers 1887 births 1983 deaths People from Dayton, Ohio Yale University alumni Engineers from Ohio