DAN SHUMAKER COLLECTION
No. 12097. Thomas-Morse TM-24
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Thomas-Morse TM-24

09/30/2013. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "The first design that could be termed successful in the series of Thomas-Morse experiments with all-metal construction was the TM-24, a two-seat observation biplane design of 1924. It had a corrugated-skin fuselage and was fitted with a 440 hp Curtiss D-12 twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. The two wings were of different size and shape, and they were braced with a single large, faired N-strut and inverted V-strut on each side. In addition to the normal tail plane, there were auxiliary surfaces mounted at the top of the fin.

The company-owned prototype was flown extensively at Ithaca, New York, USA, then delivered by air to McCook Field, Ohio, in February 1925. There it was given the Project Number "P-380" and received generally favorable test reports. But the air flow over the rudder was almost completely diverted when the gunner stood up in the rear cockpit. As lengthening the fuselage would have caused additional problems, the project was abandoned and the prototype was still in storage at McCook in 1925." Additional photo (site files)

Created September 30, 2013