THE TOMMY SCOUT
WHEN THE UNITED STATES DECLARED WAR ON GERMANY IN APRIL 1917, AMERICA LACKED A PRACTICAL SCOUT PLANE TO SPAN THE GAP BETWEEN PRIMARY TRAINERS SUCH AS THE CURTISS JN-4 AND SOPWITHS, SPADS AND OTHER FRONTLINE FIGHTERS.
That deficiency and the desire for a practical American-made fighter served as the primary motivation for the development and fast-tracked production of the Thomas-Morse Scout. The “Tommy,” as it was nicknamed, became the first modern American fighter, despite the fact it was designed by an Englishman, Benjamin Douglas Thomas of JN-4 “Jenny” fame (see “Genesis of the Jenny,” July 2017).
William T. Thomas and his brother Oliver W. Thomas (no relation to B.D.) were British subjects born in Argentina. William worked for Curtiss as an engineer from 1908 to 1909, then left
