The P-26 started life as a company project in 1932. The Army was impressed
by the little fighter and ordered over 110 as the
P-26A, which first flew in 1934. Aside from a more powerful fuel-injected
engine used in the -B and -C models, the only changes (both initiated early
in the plane’s life) were a raised headrest (one plane flipped over on
landing, with minor damage to the plane, but the pilot was killed with
a broken neck) and the addition of landing flaps to lower the landing speed
from a rather high (compared to biplane fighters) 84 mph. The P-26 was
the last Army fighter to use external bracing wires. Like most US fighters
of the time, it carried a rather ineffective pair of one .50-cal and one
.30-cal MG in the engine cowling. It could carry five 30-lb practice bombs,
two 100-lb standard bombs, or two 43-gallon drop tanks if required.
Most had been pulled from front-line service by December 1941, but one squadron stationed in the Philippines saw action against Japanese bombers.
The P-26C uses 20 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage.
P-26C Peashooter
Subassemblies: Light Fighter chassis +2, Light Fighter
Wings +2, three fixed strut wheels +0.
Powertrain: 410-kW aerial HP gasoline engine with 410-kW
prop and 89-gallon self-sealing fuel tank [Body].
Occupancy: 1 XCS Cargo: 6.5 Body,
3.5 Wings.
Armor
Body: 2/2
Wings: 2/2
Weaponry
Very Long Aircraft HMG/M-1921 [Body:F] (300)
Aircraft LMG/M-2 [Body:F] (500)
Equipment
Body: Medium radio receiver and transmitter, navigation instruments,
autopilot.
Statistics
| Size: 24'x28'x11' | Payload: 0.5 tons | Lwt: 1.47 tons |
| Volume: 144 vsp | Maint.: 96 hours | Price: $9,600 |
HT: 8
HP: 50 [body], 70 [each wing], 5 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 234 | aAccel: 8 | aDecel: 34 | aMR: 8.5 | aSR: 1 | Stall: 73 |
Design Notes
The historical stall speed has been used, as well as the actual wing
area (150 square feet). Loaded weight was reduced 13%.
Variants
The two P-26B’s used a 448-kW fuel injected engine.
The 23 P-26C’s were initially very similar to the P-26A’s, but after the success of the P-26B, all the -C’s were upgraded with the more powerful engine.
Some planes replaced the .50-cal M-1921 with another .30-cal M-2.