Thomas-Morse Aircraft

Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company factory floor in Ithaca, New York in 1915
Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company in Ithaca, New York in 1915

The Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, until it was taken over by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1929.

History

Founded in 1910 by English expatriates William T. Thomas and his brother Oliver W. Thomas[1] as Thomas Brothers Company in Hammondsport, New York,[2] the company moved to Hornell, New York, and moved again to Bath, New York the same year.[2] During 1912 and 1913, the company operated the affiliated Thomas School of Aviation at Conesus Lake, McPherson Point in New York state[2] (taking a page from Glenn Curtiss, who did much the same). In 1913, the name became Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company and based in Ithaca, New York.[2] In 1915, Thomas Aeromotor Company was added.

In 1915, Thomas Brothers built T-2 tractor biplanes (designed by Benjamin D. Thomas, no relation to the brothers and also an Englishman, formerly of Vickers, Sopwith, and Curtiss,[1] and later the company's chief designer) for the Royal Naval Air Service.[3] and (fitted with floats in place of wheels)[4] to the United States Navy as the SH-4. In 1916, the company won a contract from the United States Army Signal Corps for two aircraft for evaluation, the D-5.[4]

In January 1917, the company merged with Morse Chain Company (headed by Frank L. Morse), and recapitalized, becoming Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation, still based in Ithaca.[2] The company then made an attempt at selling training biplanes to the United States Army and was successful with the S-4 trainer (which included a handful of S-5 floatplanes and a single S-4E) and MB series of fighters. The last company design was the O-19 observation biplane. In 1929 the company was taken over by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, becoming the Thomas-Morse Division, and ceased business in 1934.[2]

Aircraft

D-2
HS
MB-3

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/Aircraft/Thomas-Morse.html
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aerofiles:Thomas, retrieved 8/4/2008
  3. ↑ Donald, David, ed. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft (Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1997), p.875, "Thomas Brothers and Thomas-Morse aircraft".
  4. 1 2 Donald, p.875.

Bibliography

Media related to Thomas-Morse aircraft at Wikimedia Commons


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