Boeing F4B / P-12

History of Boeing F4B / P-12

In the second half of the 1920s, Boeing went on another private adventure with the Type 83, creating a pursuit-oriented military fighter. This model is intended as a direct successor to the original Boeing F2B and F3B Pursuit series, both adopted by the US Navy in 1928. The new model was a revision of the classic design, with an open-air cockpit, retaining the fixed landing gear and biplane wing layout common on aircraft of the time. As a naval aircraft, the fuselage was suitably reinforced and equipped with a tail hook for carrier deck landings. The performance was good and the handling was good, leading to the model being listed in the US Navy inventory as "F4B".

The original model name was F4B-1. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) followed, in a similar form to the "P-12" (without the USN-designated modifications). The Boeing Type 89 was designed as a base for the U.S. Army, including support for 1 x 500 lb bombs. During the Great Depression, sales of the F4B/P-12 aircraft were critical to Boeing, and a prototype flew for the first time on June 25, 1928.

The Boeing plane was the last "wood-wing" fighter biplane accepted by the U.S. military. Production spanned from 1929 to 1932, with the first fuselage received by the US Army Air Corps on February 26, 1929.

The US Marine Corps also used the F4B platform through twenty-two examples of the "F4B-4". At least 92 of the -4 brands have been built, making up a significant portion of the 187 F4Bs available. Boeing produced a total of 586 copies.

Externally, the F4B/P-12 used the widely accepted biplane configuration of the time. The fuselage is nicely streamlined, with an open-air cockpit and a raised fuselage spine. The wings are nearly equal in span and employ parallel struts with supporting V structures. The upper wing assemblies are supported above the fuselage in a similar strut arrangement. The engine is mounted in the forward compartment and drives a two-bladed metal propeller assembly.

The landing gear is connected by a network of struts with a pair of support wheels. The rear wing consists of a short, rounded vertical fin and low horizontal plane. Dimensionally, the aircraft has a wingspan of 30 feet and a length of 20 feet.

Powered by 1 x Pratt & Whitney R-1340B Wasp stock 450hp engine. This gives the plane a top speed of 178 mph, a cruising speed of 150 mph, a range of up to 675 miles, and a service ceiling of nearly 26,200 feet. Gross weight is 2,630 lbs.

The F4B-4 is equipped with a 550 hp P&W R-1340-16 series engine.

Armament consists of 2 x .30 Browning M1919 medium machine guns mounted on forward mounts fastened along the upper front of the hull. This could be replaced with a combined arrangement of 1 x .30 caliber machine gun and 1 x .50 caliber Browning machine gun.

Arrangement of variants carrying bombs is carried out through external systems, which may vary by model and customer requirements.

This Boeing aircraft was built under various well-known variant names. The XP-12 became a USAAC evaluation version of the F4B-1 with the 450 hp R-1340-7 engine, nine of which were produced. The P-12B is an example with a special hood and a 525 hp R-1340-9 engine.

96 prototypes of the P-12C appeared, featuring a ring-top canopy design and improved "boom" landing gear. Thirty-five examples of the P-12D were subsequently equipped with R-1340-17 series engines with 525 horsepower. The P-12E featured a semi-monocoque fuselage structure and an all-new vertical tail, and 110 were produced (some had tail wheels instead of the original skids).

A total of 25 P-12Fs were built, equipped with the 600 hp R-1340-19 engine. The P-12J is a one-off aircraft converted from the P-12E production line, equipped with an R-1340-23 engine producing 575 horsepower.

Regarding the F4B designation, 27 F4B-1 variants were produced for the US Navy and were equipped with a bottom bomb carrier. The F4B-2 used an extended-rod landing gear arrangement with a tail wheel, and 46 were completed. The F4B-3 was the F4B-2, but with a semi-monocoque construction, and 21 were produced.

The F4B-4 is the F4B-3 with a new tail design, a 550 hp R-1340-16 engine and 2 x 116 lb bombs. Some of these also provide storage space for life rafts on board.

Brazil (Type 256/267) became an export customer of F4B fighter jets, as did China (Type 218), Philippines, Spain and Thailand (Type 100E). More than two dozen were produced for export.

American aviation pioneer Howard Hughes was the proud owner of this special two-seat commercial variant of the Boeing design (Type 100A), although this airframe was later converted back to its original single-seat form.

Given the advances in aviation technology in the 1930s and 1940s, the F4B/P-12 maintained a relatively long service life. It was the primary pursuit mount in the United States until it was replaced by the newcomer P-26 Peashooter in the mid-1930s, but continued in a training role until 1941.

The last F4B was decommissioned from the Brazilian Air Force in 1949, and there are many more on display in the museum.

Specification

Basic

Production

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Dimensions

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes