My favorite Single-Seater....

[cowboy40]

My favorite single-seater from World War I era...

Thomas-Morse S-4C "Scout"

US Navy operated Thomas-Morse "Scout" (1:48 scale)

This aircraft was just as good as any European aircraft when designed and introduced in early 1917. If the US would have been involved in the action in the air, this machine would have given the Germans a good surprise.

It was fast, and it was agile. It achieved its agility because of its light weight and large control surfaces. Its Le Rhône 9C rotory engine, delivering 80 hp, gave it a maximum speed of around 97 mph, but there were, plans according to some sources, to fit the aircraft with Le Rhône 9J engine: it has been estimated that this 110 hp power plant would raise the top speed to around 110 mph. Due to the changing tactics and speed of other aircraft entering service, in early 1918, it was decided not to continue with this development.

Though if they had continued, I believe it would have remained competitive in a dog fight.

I have to point out that the "faster" scouts were heavy and less agile; they were the true beginnings of the "Zoom and Boom" power fighters, and these machines like the Sopwith Snipe and S.P.A.D XIII had trouble turning with the slower fighters like the Fokker Dr.1 and Fokker D.VII.

[starcruiser]

Yes - a sad what-if... The T-M Scout ended being used as a trainer over here, rather than as a fighter over there. It would definitely have needed more horsepower to be competitive by the time we got involved in the war but otherwise, it's a nice agile machine.