P-26A-33

P-26A-33

P-26A-34 M2

P-26B-35

P-26A-33

P-26A-34 M2

P-26B-35

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Fighter

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Show in game

Description

The P-26A-33 Peashooter is a Rank I American fighter with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

The P-26A-33 Peashooter is a reserve monoplane for the US Faction in War Thunder. The P-26 series are the only reserve monoplanes available to new players. The difference between the P-26A and P-26B variants are negligible however, one changes included the B variant receiving a fuel-injected engine.

General info

Flight Performance

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
366	350	8,500	18.8	19.4	9.4	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
391	377	8,500	17.4	18.0	14.8	12.0	170

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	X	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
508	508	???	~25	~11

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 280	< 280	< 340	> 150

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,828 m	570 hp	621 hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour plating
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The P-26A-33 is armed with:

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

Suspended armament

The P-26A-33 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

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

Usage in the battles

Like most US Fighters the P-26A-33 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 starting fighter. In most regards the P-26A-33 will be outmatched by enemy fighters; for example, the Japanese Ki-10s will not only turn circles around the P-26A-33, but will out-climb it and out-run it too. However, the slow German He 51 makes an easy target for a P-26A. P-26 pilots should instead focus on attacking and harassing enemy bombers.

Unlike the P-26A-34 M2, the P-26A-33 does not have a 12.7 mm (.50 cal) machine gun. Because both fighters are available at the same time and identical in all other regards, this makes the P-26A-34 M2 the clearly superior choice. The P-26A-33 should be reserved for Arcade Battles as a backup.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	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

• On this early tier of aircraft any upgrade is valuable and easy to come by. In general "Engine" and "Compressor" are good upgrades, likewise for the "Offensive 7.62 mm belts" and "New 7.62 mm MGs" unlocks.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fairly good speed, for a reserve plane
• Stable turning

Cons:

• Slower than some late 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 P-26s air worthy remained on Christmas 1941, a single squadron defending the Panama Canal Zone, which were removed from service shortly after.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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