The SEV-1XP was the winner of the competition which also produced the Curtiss P-36. Unfortunately for Seversky, the engine never developed it’s rated horsepower, falling some 15% short, which meant that the required 300+ mph speed could not be reached. A new, more reliable, engine was installed and the plane was ordered as the P-35.
Seversky also exported an improved version of the plane as the EP-106, of which 120 were ordered by Sweden. Half had been delivered by June 1940 (designated J 9 in Swedish service and serving until 1951, mostly in the photo-recon role) before American exports to Sweden were blocked. The rest of the order was requisitioned by the USAAF and designated P-35A. Twenty EP-1’s (the export version of the original P-35) were ordered by the Japanese Navy and delivered in 1938.
A total of 77 P-35’s and 60 P-35A’s were used by the U.S. Forty-eight of the P-35A’s were stationed in the Philippines at the time of the Japanese invasion; forty were lost in the first two days. This was the only American use of the P-35 in combat. The remaining 12 P-35A’s were later transferred to Ecuador. Despite all of this, the P-35 is still noteworthy as being the first American fighter to enter service with all-metal construction, an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear.
The P-35A uses 35 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Medium Fighter chassis +2, Medium Fighter Wings
+2, three retractable wheels +0.
P&P: 783-kW aerial HP gasoline engine with 783-kW prop and
200-gallon self-sealing fuel tank [Body].
Occ: 1 CS Cargo: 2.8 Body
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| All | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 |
| Cockpit | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/+30 | 0/0 | 0/+30 |
Weaponry
2¥Very Long Aircraft HMG/M-2 [Body:F] (200 each)
2¥Aircraft LMG/M-2 [Wings:F] (500 each)
250-lb bomb [Body:U] .
2¥50-lb bomb [Wings:U]
Equipment
Body: Medium radio receiver and transmitter, navigation instruments,
autopilot.
Statistics
| Size: 25'x36'x12' | Payload: 0.85 tons | Lwt: 3.35 tons |
| Volume: 200 vsp | Maint.: 49 hours | Price: $16,600 |
HT: 9
HP: 120 [body], 120 [each wing], 12 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 305 | aAccel: 7 | aDecel: 30 | aMR: 7.5 | aSR: 2 | |
| Stall: 78 mph |
Design Notes
The historical wing area (220 square feet) has been used. Loaded weight
was increased 7%.
Listed bomb load was 350-lbs. Distribution above is a best-guess.
Variants
The P-35 (1937) was similar, except due to U.S. Army doctrine it carried
only one .30-cal M-2 and one .50-cal M-2, both in the nose. The 708-kW
engine provided a top speed of 280 mph. Bomb load was ten 30-lb bombs.
The XP-41 (1937) was the last of the 77 P-35’s, modified to use a turbo-supercharger, which increased engine output to 895-kW and aSpeed to 323 mph, apart from other changes below the resolution of the MVDS. It was otherwise the same as the P-35.