The Thomas-Morse R-5 also known as the TM-22 was an American single-engined

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunburn, sunlight. The term ''umbr ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

racing aircraft of the 1920s. Two were built for the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

in 1922, but after competing in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy Race the type was abandoned.

Design and development

In early 1922, the

placed orders with a number of American manufacturers for Racing aircraft to compete in the prestigious Pulitzer Trophy Race. Amongst the companies who received orders was

Thomas-Morse Aircraft The Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, until it was taken over by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1929. History Founded in 1910 by English immigrants William T. Thomas and his brother Oliver W. T ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

, whose chief designer, B Douglas Thomas, designed a single-seat, single-engined

parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, the Thomas Morse TM-22, with two being ordered by the Army as the Thomas-Morse R-5.Wegg 1990, p. 27.Angelucci and Bowers 1987, pp. 423–424. The TM-22, which was based on Thomas's unsuccessful MB-9 fighter and MB-10 training aircraft, which had both flown in 1921 but had been quickly abandoned. It was of all-metal construction, with corrugated duralumin skinning over a duralumin structure, while its wing featured a distinct hump in the centre above the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

.''Flight'' 19 October 1922, p. 605. The two prototypes had different wings, with the first prototype having a

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

of 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m) and a wing area of 174 sq ft (16.2 m²), while the second had a span of 25 ft (7.62 m) and an area of 150 sq dt (13.9 m²). It was powered by a single 600 hp (447 kW) Packard 1A-2025

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The f ...

with its radiator and oil tank in a tubular container beneath the fuselage. The aircraft had a fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

Operational history

THOMAS-MORSE R-5 RACER and Clayton Bissell USAF

The two aircraft were delivered to

Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in September 1922, with the first prototype making its maiden flight there on 29 September. The aircraft suffered cooling problems and had poor handling, while struggling to reach the speed of 190 mph expected by the Air Service. Despite these problems, the two R-5s, flown by Captain Frank O'Driscoll Hunter and

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Clayton L. Bissell Major General Clayton Lawrence Bissell (July 29, 1893 – December 24, 1972) was an air officer in the United States Army and United States Army Air Forces during World War I and World War II. World War I service Bissell graduated from Valpara ...

were amongst the starters for the Pulitzer Race on 14 October. Bissell finished tenth at an average speed of 155.5 mph (250.4 km/h), while Hunter finish eleventh, at a speed of 149.3 mph (240.4 km/h), the last two aircraft to complete the race. Both aircraft were sent to

McCook Field McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named f ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

for further testing in 1923, and were destroyed during static structural testing.

Specifications

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Angelucci, Enzo and Peter Bowers. ''The American Fighter''. Yeovil, UK:Haynes Publishing, 1987. .
"The 1922 Pulitzer Trophy Race"
''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 19 October 1922. pp. 603–605. *Wegg, John. ''General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors''. London:Putnam, 1990. . {{USAAS racing aircraft 1920s United States sport aircraft R-5 Parasol-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1922

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications

See also

References