As finalized the aircraft was given a biplane arrangement of equal span with a two-bay approach. The wing elements sat ahead of the crew positions which included the pilot in the front cockpit and the observer in a rear cockpit - both open-air. The Liberty 12 series engine of 400 horsepower was fitted appropriately at front and drove a two-bladed propeller. The undercarriage was wheeled at the main legs (mounted under the main mass of the aircraft) with a tail skid brining up the rear section. Performance specifications included a maximum speed of 136 miles per hour, a cruising speed of 118 miles per hour and a ceiling up to 20,200 feet. Armament consisted of 2 x 0.30 caliber Marlin machine guns in the forward fuselage (operated by the pilot and synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades) and 2 x 0.30 caliber Lewis machine guns paired on a trainable mounting (Scarff Ring) in the observer's cockpit.
Despite this gaining momentum, the war in Europe was drawing to a close until it officially concluded with the Armistice of November 1918. This left only seven completed LUSAC 11 aircraft available by the time the fighting ended and further manufacturing brought the total to twenty-eight before the Army contract for thousands was cancelled. The service did take on a limited stock of this aircraft and operated them for a while into the 1920s with some serving in testing (strafing platforms, triplanes, etc...) and others going on to set altitude records (one modified LUSAC 11 was fitted with a turbosupercharger and managed an altitude of 39,700 feet). A pair of LUSAC-11 aircraft were evaluated in France before the end of the war by the U.S. Army but were found wanting as combat aircraft. At least one was also evaluated by the French though not adopted. The Waterman 3-L-400 was a further development of the LUSAC-11.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.