The Boeing XP-15 was an American prototype

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

fighter.

Design and development

This aircraft was essentially a monoplane version of the

Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...

, differing in having the lower wing omitted and in having all-metal construction as well as altered ailerons. The XP-15 had a split-axle undercarriage and a tail wheel. Boeing numbered the craft as its ''Model 202''; while the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

accepted it for testing and designated it as XP-15, they never actually purchased it, and it retained its civil registration of X-270V.

Operational history

The XP-15 first flew in January 1930, when it was discovered that the

vertical stabilizer A vertical stabilizer or tail fin is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, s ...

(a P-12C type) needed to be larger in order to compensate for the single wing. Initial testing showed a top speed to 178 mph, but with enlarged tail surfaces and a Townend cowling, it recorded 190 mph at 8,000 ft. The aircraft performed poorly, with a poor

rate of climb In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed ...

and a high landing speed. The USAAC did not order the aircraft for production and on 7 February 1931, the prototype was destroyed when a propeller blade failed and the engine tore loose from its mounts. The Navy was offered the similar ''Model 205''. It first flew in February 1930. One was bought by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as the XF5B-1, but by the time flight testing was complete in 1932, other aircraft were ordered instead.

Variants

;XP-15: 1 built ;XF5B-1: 1 built

Operators

; *

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Specifications (XP-15)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Angelucci, Enzo. ''The American Fighter from 1917 to the present''. New York: Orion Books, 1987. * Jones, Lloyd S. ''U.S. Fighters, Army-Air Force: 1925 to 1980s.'' Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers Incorporated, 1975, pp. 48–49. .

External links

XF5B-1
{{USN fighters P-15 1930s United States fighter aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft category:Carrier-based aircraft