Boeing P-26A

History & service

The P-26A marked a significant step in the evolution of fighter aircraft -- it became the U.S. Army Air Corps' first all-metal monoplane fighter in regular service. Affectionately nicknamed the "Peashooter" by its pilots, the P-26A could fly much faster in level flight than the Air Corps' older wood and fabric biplane fighters. The P-26A also had a higher landing speed. Although not initially delivered with wing flaps, P-26As were later fitted with them to reduce landing speeds.

Even with its monoplane design and all-metal construction, the Peashooter retained some traditional features, such as an open cockpit, fixed landing gear and external wing bracing. The P-26A became the last Air Corps fighter to have these obsolete characteristics.

The first of three prototype P-26s flew in March 1932. After purchasing these aircraft, the Air Corps ordered a total of 111 of the production version, the P-26A, and 25 of the later B and C models. Boeing delivered the first P-26As to the Air Corps in December 1933. The P-26 remained the Air Corps front-line fighter until 1938, when the Curtiss P-36A and the Seversky P-35 began to replace it.

The P-26 also flew in foreign air forces. In 1934 Boeing sold an export version to the Chinese, who flew it in combat against the Japanese. In December 1941, the Philippine government employed the then-obsolete P-26 against the Japanese in a futile effort.

This P-26A reproduction is painted to represent the commander's aircraft of the 19th Pursuit Squadron, 18th Pursuit Group, stationed at Wheeler Field, Hawaii, in 1938.

Details that tell the story

First all-metal production monoplane fighter for the Air Corps · First flew in 1932 · Open cockpit and fixed landing gear remained · Higher landing speed required operational adaptation

The aircraft in figures

Armament: Two .30-cal. or one .50-cal. and one .30-cal. machine guns; 200 lbs. of bombs · Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1340 "Wasp" radial of 500 hp · Maximum speed: 234 mph · Cruising speed: 199 mph · Range: 360 miles · Ceiling: 27,400 ft. · Span: 27 ft. 11.5 in. · Length: 23 ft. 10 in. · Height: 10 ft. 5 in. · Weight: 2,197 lbs. empty; 2,955 lbs. maximum

A new invention becomes a public world

Before airplanes became routine transport, public demonstrations helped establish what they could do. Exhibition flights, races, and crossings placed fragile machines before crowds, officials, and potential customers. The audience saw courage and spectacle. Behind the spectacle were less visible questions about reliable engines, controllable wings, suitable landing grounds, and how to recover when the weather changed.

Different configurations competed at the same time. Some designers placed the propeller behind the pilot; others put it at the front. Biplanes used bracing to make light structures sufficiently rigid. Monoplanes reduced some of that external framework but posed their own structural and handling problems. Balloons and dirigibles remained part of the same aviation world, offering capabilities that early airplanes could not simply replace.

The famous firsts matter, but so does the period immediately after them. Flight schools, licensed manufacture, military trials, mechanics, and spare parts carried an invention outward. An aircraft could influence aviation through the pilots trained on it or the designs adapted from it, even after its own performance became outdated. The machines in Washington and Dayton preserve different points along that process. Their differences show how quickly an experimental achievement became an international industry, and how many people had to turn a remarkable flight into a repeatable service.