Boeing P-26 Peashooter

The Boeing P-26 Peashooter was the first American production all-metal fighter and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Boeing funded the project, called the Model 248, from September 1931, and the first of three prototypes flew in 1932. It kept an open cockpit, fixed landing gear and externally braced wings, the last such fighter the Army bought, and its high landing speed caused accidents until flaps were fitted. Besides Army service, which lasted in the Philippines as late as 1941, it was sold to Spain and China. Two original aircraft survive, along with reproductions on display.