Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company
The Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company was formed in May 1912 by William Thomas Thomas and brother Oliver Thomas, who had already developed their business based on an aircraft they built 1910 that William Thomas had demonstrated on the East Coast. In 1914, were joined by D. Douglas Thomas, no relation, who apparently had worked on the design side at Sopwith.
Having built an aircraft in 1910, apparently continued to improve and build that aircraft, incorporating the Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company and the Thomas School of Aviation at Bath, New York, in 1912. In this endeavor they were joined by Cummings M. Cox and Walter E. Johnson.
Frank H. Burnside trained at the school then became the company's chief pilot.
One assumes William ran the flying school while Oliver ran the factory. In December 1914 they moved to larger premises at Ithaca where they were joined by B. Douglas Thomas, who designed trainers that they built in low numbers for the U.S. Navy and Army Signal Corps and the British Royal Naval Air Service as well as other aircraft on what has been called the first real aircraft assembly line in North America. Needing more capacity, they asked neighboring Morse Chain Co. to take control and in January 1917 Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corp. was formed.
SD says Thomas Brothers Co. formed 1910 and incorporated 1913 as Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Co.; alliance in 1917 with Morse Chain Co. to form Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corp. is referred to by SD as a bailout. Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corp. built aircraft, mostly fighters and racers, until 1928 when the business was bought out by Consolidated Aircraft Corp., becoming a subsidiary of that company in 1929.
Sources
- G304
- Gunston, 2005, p457
- SD282 (Smithsonian Directory)
- Aircraft Year Book, 1919, p. 241–255
| Names | Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Co. |
|---|---|
| Country | US |
| City | Bath, NY; relocated to Ithaca, NY, 1914 |
| Affiliations | |
| Keywords | |
| Started aero | 1912 |
| Ended aero | reorganized, 1917 |
| Key people | William Thomas Thomas, Oliver Thomas, Cummings M. Cox, Walter E. Johnson, Frank H. Burnside, B. Douglas Thomas |
| Wikidata id |
