P-26 Peashooter
The
Boeing P-26, nicknamed the "
Peashooter", was the first all-metal production
fighter aircraft and the first pursuit
monoplane used by the
United States Army Air Corps. The prototype first flew in
1932, and were used as late as
1941 in the
Philippines.
The
Boeing-funded project to produce the
Boeing Model 248 began in September
1931, with the Army Air Corps supplying engines and instruments. The design included an open cockpit, fixed landing gear, and externally-braced wings. The Army Air Corps contracted for three prototypes, designated
XP-936, with the first flight on
20 March 1932.
The Boeing XP-936 had a landing problem. Sometimes when landing it would flip foreward and becase of the short nose it would roll onto its back.this hurt many pilots until the unarmored back canopy was replaced with an armored headrest.
Boeing then received an order for 111 of the production version (
Model 266), officially designated
P-26A, which included an improved wing structure and a radio. The first production P-26A flew on
10 January 1934, and the last of the production run was delivered in June.
An additional 25 aircraft were completed as
P-26B with
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-33 Wasp engines, and 23
P-26C had minor changes to carburation and the fuel system.
Eleven more P-26s,
Model 281, were built for
China, and one for
Spain.
The P-26 was the last Boeing fighter to enter service until the
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in
2002. Between those aircraft, Boeing did produce the experimental
XF8B in
1944 as well as the prototype
YF-22 in
1991.
Two original P-26 are known to exist. One is in the collection of the
National Air and Space Museum, while the other has been owned for many years by the
Planes of Fame Museum located in
Chino, California. Once flown regularly, the museum's P-26 was placed on static display in the mid 1980's to protect it. In 2004 the decision was made to again fly the P-26, and a restoration was begun to return the plane to flying condition. This was completed in the spring of 2006, with the aircraft having made its first appearances at the museum's May 2006 airshow. A replica P-26 is also on display at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force in
Dayton, Ohio.
* China
* Guatemala
* Panama
* Philippines
* Spain
*
United States Army Air Corps{{aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane | ref=Aviation-history.com[{{cite web]| url=http://www.aviation-history.com/boeing/p26.html | title=Boeing P-26 Peashooter | last= | first= | date=©2002 | accessdate=2006-07-31 | work=The Aviation History On-Line Museum | publisher=The Aviation Internet Group
| crew=1 | capacity= | length main=23 ft 7 in | length alt=7.18 m | span main=27 ft 12 in | span alt=8.50 m | height main=10 ft 0 in | height alt=3.04 m | area main= ft² | area alt= m² | airfoil= | empty weight main=2,196 lb | empty weight alt=996 kg | loaded weight main=3,360 lb | loaded weight alt=1,524 kg | useful load main= | useful load alt= | max takeoff weight main= | max takeoff weight alt= | engine (prop)=Pratt & Whitney R-1340-7 "Wasp" | type of prop=radial engine | number of props=1 | power main=600 hp | power alt=440 kW | max speed main=234 mph | max speed alt=203 knots, 377 km/h | max speed more=at 6,000 ft (1,800 m) | cruise speed main= | cruise speed alt= | never exceed speed main= | never exceed speed alt= | stall speed main= | stall speed alt= | combat radius main=360 mi | combat radius alt=310 nm, 580 km | ferry range main=635 mi | ferry range alt=550 nm, 1,020 km | ceiling main=27,400 | ceiling alt=8,350 m | climb rate main= | climb rate alt= | loading main= | loading alt= | power/mass main= | guns=2× .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns | avionics=
{{aircontent|sequence=
* Military: XP-23 - P-24 - Y1P-25 - P-26 - YP-27 - YP-28 - YP-29
* Boeing: 202 - 221 - 247 - 248 - 264 - 266 - 281 - 294 - 299 - 307|related=|similar aircraft=
* Mitsubishi A5M
* Polikarpov I-16
* F2A Buffalo|lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States|see also=
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