Boeing XP-15

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The Boeing XP-15 was a prototype monoplane fighter of the United States, the second to be designated a pursuit type, after the Boeing XP-9.

This aircraft was basically a monoplane version of the Boeing P-12, differing in having the lower wing omitted and in having all-metal construction.

Boeing numbered the craft as its Model 202; while the United States Army accepted it for testing and designated it as XP-15, they never actually purchased it, and it retained its civil registration of X-270V.

It first flew in January 1930, where it was discovered that the vertical stabilizer (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 Townsend cowling, it recorded 185 mph at 8,000 ft.

The prototype was lost on February 7, 1931 when a propeller blade failed and the engine tore loose from its mounts.

[edit] References

• Lloyd S. Jones, U.S. Fighters (Aero Publishers, Inc., 1975) pp. 48-49 ISBN 0-8168-9200-8
• National Museum of the USAF page, with photo