| S-4 | |
|---|---|
| S-4C Scout | |
| Role | advanced trainer |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Thomas-Morse Aircraft |
| Designer | Benjamin D. Thomas |
| First flight | June 1917[1] |
The Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout was an American biplane advanced trainer, operated by the Army and Navy. Dubbed the "Tommy" by pilots who flew it, the aircraft became the favorite single-seat training airplane produced in the U.S. during World War I, having a long and varied career beginning with the S4B, which first appeared in the summer of 1917.[2]
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Built by Thomas-Morse Aircraft in Bath, New York in 1917, it was a compact single-seat open-cockpit biplane of equal span and a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome rotary.[3]
Designed by Englishman Benjamin D. Thomas (no relation),[4] formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company,[5] the S-4 made her maiden flight in June 1917 in the hands of Paul D. Wilson.[4] Twelve went to the Navy.[4]
The S-4B, with a 110 hp Gnome, span of 27’ (8.22 m), and length 20’3” (6.17 m)[4] proved more successful, with three prototypes followed by an order of 97 for the Army and ten for the Navy,[4][6] while six more were completed with two main and one tail floats as the Navy S-5.[3][7] The S4B was used by practically every pursuit flying school in the U.S. during 1918.[2]
It was supplemented in 1918 by the S-4C, at a cost of US$5400 each.[4] Six prototypes were built,[4] and the 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome B-9 was replaced by the "more reliable" 80 hp (60 kW) Le Rhône C-9 with the fifty-second aircraft.[3][4] Four S-4Cs with floats went to the Navy, and 461 for the Army.[4]
After World War I many "Tommys" were sold as surplus to civilian flying schools, sportsman pilots, and ex-Army fliers. Many were still being used in the mid-1930s for World War I aviation movies, and several continue to exist in flying condition today.[2]
A single aircraft was fitted with new tail and 110 hp (82 kW) Le Rhône, becoming the S-4E aerobatic trainer.[3] It was not adopted, and (fitted with a 135 hp (101 kW) Aeromarine V8 engine) became Basil Rowe‘s racer Space-Eater.[4]
About sixty surplus aircraft survived in civil service, most fitted with the Curtiss OX-5s.[4]
Data from Aerofiles, United States Navy Aircraft since 1911,[4][6]
General characteristics
Performance
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