#0225
Thomas-Morse S-4
🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1917· advanced trainer
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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Thomas-Morse S4C Scout BelowL light Early Years NMUSAF 25Sep09 (14413222320): Valder137· CC BY 2.0
- 2. Thomas Morse S-4c Scout: San Diego Air & Space Museum· Public domain
- 3. 'Time-capsule' workshop display with Thomas-Morse Scout S-4C being repaired: Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia· Public domain
- 4. 'Time-capsule' workshop display with Thomas-Morse Scout S-4C wing being repaired: Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia· Public domain
- 5. 111-SC-3326 - Rear view of Thomas S-4 Aeroplane. Taken at Aviation Experiment Station, Hampton, Va. - NARA - 55168050: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 6. 111-SC-3327 - View of Stagger of Thomas S-4 Aeroplane. Taken at Aviation Experiment Station, Hampton, Va. - NARA - 55168052: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 7. Airplanes - Manufacturing Plants - Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation Factory, Ithaca, New York. Assembling fuselages of Thomas-Morse S-4C single seater advanced training machines. Rec'd from D.M.A - NARA - 17340514: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 8. Airplanes - Manufacturing Plants - Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation Factory, Ithaca, New York. Assembly room of plant No. 2, fuselages of Thomas-Morse Type S-4C, Gnome engined, single seater scout machines in co(...) - NARA - 17340496: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 9. Airplanes - Types - Aviation Experiment Station, Hampton, VA. Thomas plane landing - NARA - 17341773: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 10. Airplanes - Types - Aviation Experiment Station, Hampton, Virginia. Thomas S-4 (front view) - NARA - 17341767: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
what is it?
The Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout is an American biplane advanced trainer, operated by the United States Army and the United States 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. It had a long and varied career beginning with the S-4B, which first appeared in the summer of 1917.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 8.1 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 109 years ago, in 1917.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1917-06
- number built
- —
- role
- advanced trainer
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Thomas-Morse Aircraft
- engines
- 1× Le Rhône 9C
- crew
- 1
- length
- 6.1 m
- wingspan
- 8.1 m
- height
- 2.5 m
- max take-off weight
- 603 kg
- top speed
- 156 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 4,572 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2421869, Wikipedia: Thomas-Morse S-4 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.