30 September 1918. Original Caption: “Front view Thomas-Morse type SH-4 Naval Training Hydroplane furnished the United States Navy during 1916-1917. Fitted with Curtiss OX-5, 100 H.P. aeromotor; wing spread 43ft., high speed 68 M.P.H., climb 2400 ft. in 10 minutes. Manufactured by the Thomas Morse Aircraft Corporation. Ithaca, New York. U.S.A.”
Signa Corps 165-WW-185D-63. National Archives Identifier 31485301
As detailed by Swanborough:
The SH-4 was one of the first aircraft obtained by the Navy that had practical military experience behind its design, several predecessor models having been sold to Britain in 1915-1916 by the Thomas Aeroplane Co before its merger with the Morse Chain Company to form Thomas-Morse. Fourteeen SH-4s (A134-A136, A396-A406) powered by 100 hp engines were bought by the Navy as observation and trainer types in 1917.
Of note, Thomas-Morse also sold the Navy 14 improved (using 80hp Le Rhone engines) S-4B/Cs whose armament was “principally a camera gun,” another half-dozen olive-drab painted S-5s in 1917, and its masterpiece: more than 250 MB-3/3As that would continue use with the Army, Navy, and Marines through the 1920s.
By 1929, “Tommy Plane” had been taken over by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation.