Boeing P-26A Pea Shooter

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By Ron Peterka, NASA no. 869

Emerging from the biplane era as one of the first all metal monoplane designs built by Boeing and accepted by the U.S. Army, the P-26A was a finalized version of three XP-936 Boeing prototypes built in 1931 and 1932. The P-26A was accepted for production on March 20, 1932. Its nickname of "pea shooter" was a natural from the tubular gun sight mounted above the fuselage directly in front of the pilots windshield.

Boeing built some 151 P-26A’s between 1932 and 1936. Eleven export versions were sold to China and were flown in combat during China's resistance to Japan's invasion. For its time it was the fastest air-cooled fighter in the world. Standard armament consisted of two .30 caliber, or one .30 caliber and one .50 caliber machine guns mounted in the fuselage. One at each side of the pilots feet. The aircraft was equipped to drop two 122 pound bombs, or five 30 pound bombs from racks between the landing gear on the wing bottom surface.

Powered by a reliable Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engine the other vital statistics are--wing span, 27.9 feet, length 23.6 feet, gross weight, 3014 pounds. Currently, only two P-26 aircraft are known to exist. Fortunately for us, one of them is S/N 33-123 in flyable condition located at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino California. This airframe was recovered from Guatamala and required extensive rebuilding and restoration. It is on display and can be photographed for building details. The final airframe is located in the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio. The Air Force P-26 is painted in the olive drab and yellow trim of the 95th Attack Squadron of the 17th Pursuit Group, March Field, California.

Among aviation historians the P-26 is renowned for its colorful paint schemes. Various combinations of yellow, red, white, and blue were used for some of the most colorful aircraft of the period. As a modeler you should love the available designs. A 1/4 scale version would have an 84 inch span. A 1/5 scale would run 67 inches or so. With a stubby 4.44 span to chord ratio, the 1/5 wing would have a 15 inch chord! That works out to a little under 900 square inches considering the rounded tips. At 30 oz/sq/ft the plane would weigh in at around 11.5 pounds.

Fixed gear in large spats would allow a working landing strut arrangement. Later B versions had flaps to reduce landing speeds. These could be fitted. A 1/4 scale set of plans is available from Scale Plans & Photo Service, 3209 Madison Ave., Greensboro, NC 27403. Additional documentation photos of various color schemes and accurate 3-views are also available from the same source.

How about a profile fun-fly type .40 size?