The Thomas-Morse O-19 was an American observation biplane built by the
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 ...
Company for the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
.
Development
The O-19 was based on the earlier
Thomas-Morse O-6 biplane. It was a conventional two-seat biplane of metal construction with fabric-covered wings and tail surfaces. The design was evaluated with a number of different engine installations and the type was ordered into production as the O-19B with a Pratt & Whitney R-1340-7 Wasp radial engine.
Variants
;XO-19
:Improved version of the XO-6 with a
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-3 engine, one built.
;YO-20
:Similar to the XO-19 with a
Pratt & Whitney R-1690-1 engine, one built.
;XO-21
:Similar to the XO-19 with a
Curtiss H-1640-1 engine, one built, later re-engined as the XO-21A.
;XO-21A
:The XO-21 fitted with a
Wright R-1750-1 engine.
;O-19
:Service evaluation aircraft with a
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-9, two built.
;O-19A
:O-19 without the 88 US Gallon main fuel tank, one built.
;O-19B
:Production version with a
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-7
The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp series ...
engine, two machine-guns and modified cockpit, 70 built.
;O-19C
:O-19B with tailwheel, ring cowl and minor changes, 71 built.
;O-19D
:One O-19C converted as a VIP staff transport with dual controls.
;O-19E
:O-19C with extended upper-span wing and a
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-15 engine, 30 built.
;O-21
:O-19 with
Curtiss H-1640 Chieftain engine, one built, one converted.
;YO-23
:XO-19 with a
Curtiss V-1570-1 Conqueror
The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a 12-cylinder vee liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46.
Design and deve ...
engine, one built.
;Y1O-33
:One O-19B re-engined with a
Curtiss V-1570-11
The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a 12-cylinder vee liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46.
Design and deve ...
engine and revised tail surfaces, one converted.
;Y1O-41
:A sesqui-plane conversion of the Y1O-33 with a
Curtiss V-1570-79
The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a 12-cylinder vee liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46.
Design and deve ...
engine, one converted. Later modified by
Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 in aviation, 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet in Buffalo, New York, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the ...
as their Model 23 and exported to Mexico.
;Y1O-42
:High-wing monoplane version of the Y1O-41, static test airframe only.
[http://airplane.designation-systems.net/O.xls ]
Operators
;
*
Philippine Army Air Corps
;
*
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
Specifications (O-19B)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* John Andrade, U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909, Midland Counties Publications, 1979, (Page 137 and 138)
* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 3000
{{Wright Field project numbers
1920s United States military reconnaissance aircraft
O-19
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1929