The Boeing XP-8 (Boeing Model 66) was a prototype American biplane fighter of the 1920s, notable for its unusual design incorporating the engine radiator into the lower wing.Jones 1975, p. 34–35.

Design and development

Boeing developed the prototype in 1926 as a private venture, with the goal of winning the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

competition announced in 1925. Designated by Boeing as its Model 66, the airframe was basically a PW-9 with an experimental 600 hp Packard 2A-1500 engine. In order to streamline around the engine, the radiator was moved back so that the opening coincided with the front edge of the lower wing, resulting in an unusually narrow profile around the engine.

Testing

Army testing of the aircraft began in January 1928, and it handled well, but performance was lacking, achieving only a maximum speed of 173.2 mph. Even so, the prototype continued in Air Corps service until June 1929, after which it was scrapped. The airframe design lived on in the Navy's

Boeing F2B The Boeing F2B was a biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Navy in the 1920s, familiar to aviation enthusiasts of the era as the craft of the Three Sea Hawks aerobatic flying team, famous for its tied-together formation flying.Swanborou ...

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 ...

Specifications (XP-8)

Boeing_XP-8_3-view_L'Aéronautique_October,1927

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Boeing Company. ''Pedigree of Champions: Boeing Since 1916, Third Edition''. Seattle, Washington: The Boeing Company, 1969. * Dorr, Robert F. and Donald, David. ''Fighters of the United States Air Force''. London: Temple, 1990. . * Jones, Lloyd S. ''U.S. Fighters: Army-Air Force 1925 to 1980s''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1975. .

External links

Boeing XP-8
{{Boeing model numbers Boeing P-08 P-08 Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1928