Boeing Model 15

infobox Aircraft
name = PW-9/FB-1 to FB-7
type = Pursuit fighter (PW-9)
Carrier Fighter (FB series)
manufacturer = Boeing



caption = Naval variant, Boeing FB-5
designer =
first flight =
introduced = 1923
introduction=
retired =
status =
primary user = U.S. Army Air Service
more users = U.S Navy
U.S. Marine Corps
number built = 155
unit cost =
developed from = Fokker D.VII
variants with their own articles =

The Boeing Model 15 was a United States open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the 1920s, manufactured by the Boeing company. The Model 15 saw service with the United States Army Air Service (as the PW-9 series) and with the United States Navy as a carrier-based fighter (as the FB series).

Design and development

The design of the Model 15 was based on studies of the Fokker D.VII, 142 of which were brought back to the United States for evaluation as part of the Armistice Agreement ending World War I. Boeing built the Model 15 in 1923 as part of a competition with the Curtiss Model 33 for contracts for a pursuit aircraft to replace the Thomas-Morse MB-3A in the U.S. Army Air Service, the first prototype flying on 2 June 1923.liquid-cooled Curtiss D-12, cooled by a radiator located in a "tunnel" under the engine.

Ultimately both models were accepted, with the Curtiss aircraft designated PW-8 and the Model 15 designated PW-9. (The "PW" designation stood for "Pursuit, Water-cooled engine".) The Air Service preferred the PW-9, which outperformed the PW-8 in all performance aspects except speed, and was built on a more rugged and easier to maintain design, ordering 113 aircraft (only 25 PW-8s were procured). A naval version was also developed, designated FB, and 42 aircraft produced.

Operational history

Deliveries of the first 25 PW-9s began in October 1925. Boeing delivered a total of 113 PW-9s of all variants including prototypes to the United States Army Air Corps between 1925 and February 1931. Virtually all PW-9s served with overseas units, in Hawaii with the 5th Composite Group at Luke Field and later the 18th Pursuit Group at Wheeler Field, and in the Philippines with the 4th Composite Group at Clark Field, Luzon. PW-9s equipped the 3rd, 6th, and 19th Pursuit Squadrons between 1925 and 1931.

The FB-1, of which the Navy ordered ten in December 1924, was not modified for naval operations (for instance, no arresting hook), and was assigned to Marine Corps squadrons VF-1M, VF-2M, and VF-3M, being deployed to China in support of the Marine Expeditionary Force. Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p.55.] Two additional planes, designated FB-2, were altered to operate on USS "Langley" (CV-1) with the addition of arresting gear and a straight-across axle for the landing gear. These went into service with VF-2 in December 1925. Generally satisfactory results led to an order for 27 FB-5s, which became the Navy's first fighters intended specifically for carrier operation. They were upgraded to 525 hp Packard 2A-1500 engines, and sported a row of hooks on the bottom of the axle, used to guide the plane via cables on the deck. The FB-5 first flew October 7, 1926 and was delivered to the Navy beginning in the following January, carried on barges in Puget Sound from Boeing's factory to the "Langley" anchored in Seattle's harbor. Hoisted aboard, their first official flights were from the carrier's deck. Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p.56]

Variants

;XPW-9:Three prototypes built for Air Service evaluation.

;PW-9:30 produced 1925-26, first production variant, D-12 engine.

;PW-9A:24 produced 1926-27, D-12C engine.

;PW-9B:One modified PW-9A, delivered as PW-9B in 1927.

;PW-9C:40 produced 1927-28, D-12D engine.

;PW-9D:16 produced 1928-34, final production variant.

;XP-4:Designation of one PW-9 (ser no. 25-324) re-engined with 510 hp Packard 1A-1500 engine. Boeing Model 58.

;AT-3:Designation of one PW-9A (ser no. 26-374) converted to single-seat trainer with Wright-Hispano engine.

;FB-1:10 built, initial Navy delivery, shore-based only.

;FB-2:Two FB-1s modified for carrier operation, Packard 1A engine. Boeing designation Model 53.

;FB-3:Three built to evaluate Packard 1A engine, float-plane model.Boeing Model 55.

;FB-4:One built, experimental model with a 450 hp Wright P-1 radial engine. Boeing designation Model 54.

;FB-5:27 built, production version. Powered by 520 hp (388 kW) Packard 2A-1500 engine. Boeing Model 67.

;FB-6:One built, experimental model with a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-B Wasp engine.

;FB-7:Proposed version, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, not built.

Operators

;flag|United States|1912

*United States Army Air Corps

*United States Navy

*United States Marine Corps

pecifications (PW-9)

aircraft specification

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Boeing Aircraft since 1916 Bowers 1989, p.84-85.]
crew=One
length main=23 ft 5 in
length alt=7.1 m
span main=32 ft 0 in
span alt=9.7 m
height main=8 ft 2 in
height alt=2.40 m
area main=260 ft²
area alt=24.1 m²
airfoil=Göttingen 436 Bowers 1989, p.81.]
empty weight main=1,936 lb
empty weight alt=878 kg
loaded weight main=3,120 lb
loaded weight alt=1,414 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
engine (prop)=Curtiss D-12
type of prop= water cooled V-12
number of props=1
power main=435 hp
power alt=315 kW
max speed main=159 mph
max speed alt=257 km/h, 138 knots
cruise speed main=142 mph
cruise speed more=229 km/h, 123 knots
range main=390 mi
range alt=628 km, 339 NM
ceiling main=18,925 ft
ceiling alt=5,768 m
climb rate main=1,630 ft/min
climb rate alt=8.27 m/s
loading main=12.0 lb/ft²
loading alt=58.7 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.14 hp/lb
power/mass alt=0.22 kW/kg
guns=2x 7.62 mm machine guns
bombs=one 244-lb bomb

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bowers, Peter M. "Boeing Aircraft since 1916". London: Putnam, Second edition 1989. ISBN 0-85177-804-6.
* Lloyd S. Jones, "U.S. Naval Fighters" Fallbrook CA: Aero Publishers, 1977, pp. 35-38. ISBN 0-8168-9254-7.
* Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. "United States Navy Aircraft since 1911". London: Putnam. Second edition 1976. ISBN 0 370 10054 9.

ee also

aircontent

related=
*Boeing XP-8
*Boeing F2B

similar aircraft=
*Curtiss P-1
*Fokker PW-7

External links

* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/pw9.html Joseph Baugher "PW-9" page with sources]