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.




Contents






  • 1 History


  • 2 Aircraft


  • 3 References


    • 3.1 Notes


    • 3.2 Bibliography




  • 4 External links





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] At the Livingston County Picnic in 1912 The Thomas Brothers Hydro-aeroplane was scheduled to fly the first Hydro-aeroplane in Livingston County but later reported the winds prevented the flight.[3] During 1913, the company operated the affiliated Thomas Brothers School of Aviation at Conesus Lake, McPherson Point in Livingston County, New York state[2][4](taking a page from Glenn Curtiss, who did much the same at Keuka Lake). In 1913, the name became Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company and based in Ithaca, New York.[2] December 7, 1914 the company moved to Ithaca.


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.[5] and (fitted with floats in place of wheels)[6] to the United States Navy as the SH-4. They received an order for 24 T-2's from the British, for use in the European war. Because the Curtiss OX engines weren't available they founded an engine subsidiary the Thomas Aeromotor Company which would stress their finances.[7] In 1916, the company won a contract from the United States Army Signal Corps for two aircraft for evaluation, the D-5.[6]


In January 1917, financial difficulties led to the company merge with Morse Chain Company (headed by Frank L. Morse), who was backed financially by H T Westinghouse,[7] 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



  • Thomas Brothers D-2

  • Thomas Brothers D-5

  • Thomas Brothers HS

  • Thomas Brothers T-2

  • Thomas Brothers S-4

  • Thomas Brothers SH-4

  • Thomas-Morse MB-1

  • Thomas-Morse MB-2

  • Thomas-Morse MB-3

  • Thomas-Morse MB-4

  • Thomas-Morse MB-6

  • Thomas-Morse MB-7

  • Thomas-Morse MB-9

  • Thomas-Morse MB-10

  • Thomas-Morse R-5

  • Thomas-Morse TM-24

  • Thomas-Morse O-19

  • Thomas-Morse XP-13 Viper



References



Notes





  1. ^ ab http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/Aircraft/Thomas-Morse.html


  2. ^ abcdef Aerofiles:Thomas, retrieved 8/4/2008


  3. ^ Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Aug 7,1912


  4. ^ 1913 Aero and Hydro vol 6 pg 249


  5. ^ Donald, David, ed. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft (Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1997), p.875, "Thomas Brothers and Thomas-Morse aircraft".


  6. ^ ab Donald, p.875.


  7. ^ ab Flying Magazine. August 1960. pp. 54–. ISSN 0015-4806..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}




Bibliography



  • Donald, David, ed. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, p. 854, "Standard aircraft". Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1997.


  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing, 1985, p. 3000.



External links


Media related to Thomas-Morse aircraft at Wikimedia Commons









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