P-26B-35

P-26B-35

P-26A-33

P-26B-35

P-26A-33

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Fighter

Research:2 000

Purchase:2 100

This page is about the American fighter P-26B-35. For other versions, see P-26 (Family).

Description

The P-26B-35 Peashooter is a rank I American fighter with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. The difference between the P-26A and P-26B variants are negligible (the B variant received a fuel-injector engine).

General info

Flight performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 2,286 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
369	355	8500	18.6	19.7	9.3	9.3	170
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 2,286 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
385	377	8500	17.6	18.0	16.1	12	170

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		500	~11	~8

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 260	< 180	< 340	> 190

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,829 m	600 hp	N/A

Survivability and armour

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The P-26B-35 is armed with:

• 2 x 7.62 mm Browning machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Suspended armament

The P-26B-35 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (200 lb total)

Usage in battles

Like most US fighters, the P-26B-35 Peashooter is a decent Energy Fighter even though its high lift creates unstable diving characteristics. Despite being a monoplane, the P-26 is not the fastest reserve fighter. In most regards the P-26B will be outmatched by enemy fighters; for example, the Japanese Ki-10s will not only turn circles around the P-26B, but will out-climb it and out-run it too. However, the slow German He 51 makes an easy target for a P-26B.

Unlike the P-26A-34 M2, the P-26B-35 does not have a 12.7 mm M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun. Because both fighters are available at the same time and identical in all other regards.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Auto control available	Not controllable Auto control available	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		Mk.41
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 7 mm MGs
IV			Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fairly fast for a reserve
• Stable turning

Cons:

• Still gets outrun by some biplanes
• No armour
• Poor dive characteristics
• Poor energy retention

History

The Boeing P-26 Peashooter was a plane both ahead of its time and quickly made obsolete. First flown in 1932, the P-26 is the oldest plane in the game. It was one of the first all-metal monoplanes adopted into military service in 1933 (in comparison, the He 51 and Ki-10 entered service in 1935), making it one of the fastest fighters in the world at the time, but it suffered from poor flight performance and dangerous landing characteristics. However, as newer fighters entered service around the world, the P-26s advantages diminished and its disadvantages became vulnerabilities. By the time of World War Two, the P-26 was hopelessly obsolete.

The P-26 saw the most of its combat serving in the Chinese Nationalist Air Force during the Second Sino-Japanese War, against Japanese Ki-10s, and notably A5Ms in some of the first all-metal monoplane dogfights. Although it performed admirably in the pursuit role (bomber interception), in air-to-air combat with Japanese fighters, the deficiencies of the model showed.

In US service, the P-26 had a similar record. During the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the P-26s scored only a handful of air-to-air kills against Japanese attackers. On December 24, 1941, their crews burnt the remaining planes to prevent their capture. Of the one hundred and fifty-one built, only nine airworthy P-26s remained by Christmas 1941, a single squadron defending the Panama Canal Zone, which was removed from service shortly after.

In-game description

In addition to the P-26Аs they had already received, the USAAC ordered 25 more fighters. Two of them were designated P-26В (Model 266A). These aircraft were equipped with 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-33 nine-cylinder, air-cooled, fuel-injected engines.

At first, landing flaps were mounted on the aircraft. Externally, these machines differed from the Р-26А in the absence of a carburettor air scoop and in the modified design of their exhaust pipes and the tail wheel. But in other respects, P-26B fighters were identical to the late variants of the P-26A. Both planes were test-flown in June 1935 and then handed over to the USAAC.

It was planned that all 25 aircraft would be built as P-26Вs, but Pratt & Whitney Company was not able to supply R-1340-33 fuel-injected engines. So, 23 machines of the P-26C variant were produced and equipped with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-27 engines, with minor modifications to the fuel system and the carburettor. The first P-26Сs were delivered to the troops in early 1936.

After a year in service, the P-26С planes were equipped with R-1340-33 fuel-injected engines and brought up to the P-26В's standard. They then obtained the update designation.

The P-26 became the first monoplane – and the first all-metal fighter – accepted for service with the USAAC. At the same time, it was the last American fighter with external wing braces, an open cockpit and a non-retractable landing gear system. The Peashooter became the last fighter built on a full-scale basis by Boeing Company.

The P-26 was not in service with the USAAC for very long. After the new P-35 and P-36 fighters were accepted into service, P-26 aircraft were withdrawn from the front lines. At the beginning of the Pacific War, P-26 fighters remained at US military bases on the Hawaiian Islands and in the area around the Panama Canal. 12 planes were handed over to the Philippine Air Force, which was in the process of forming. It was these aircraft that participated in combat operations in December 1941, and they were completely destroyed by the Japanese. The P-26 was officially withdrawn from service in early 1942.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• P-26 (Family)
• D.500 - comparable French early monoplane

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.