Seversky P-35
Encyclopedia
The Seversky P-35 was a fighter aircraft
built in the United States by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane
and Messerschmitt Bf 109
, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in U.S. Army Air Corps to feature all-metal
construction, retractable landing gear
and an enclosed cockpit
.
three-seat amphibian, designed by Alexander Kartveli
, Seversky's chief designer and Seversky's first aircraft. The SEV-3 first flew in June 1933 and was developed into the Seversky BT-8 basic trainer, 30 of which were ordered by the United States Army Air Corps
(USAAC) in 1935. This proved grossly underpowered and was quickly replaced by the North American BT-9
.
The second prototype SEV-3 was completed as a two-seat fighter derivative, the SEV-2XP. It was powered by a 735 hp (548 kW) Wright R-1820
radial engine, had fixed landing gear in aerodynamic spats and was armed with one .50 in (12.7 mm) and one .30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing machine guns plus an additional .30 in (7.62 mm) gun for rear defence.
When the USAAC announced a competition for a new single-seat fighter in 1935, Seversky sent the SEV-2XP, confident it would win despite being a two-seater. However, the aircraft was damaged on 18 June 1935 during its transit to the fly-offs at Wright Field
. To compete with the Curtiss Model 75, a single-seat aircraft with retractable undercarriage, Seversky rebuilt the aircraft into the single seat SEV-1XP, replacing the SEV-2XP's fixed landing gear with a retractable undercarriage where the mainwheels retracted backwards into the wing, and a 850 hp (634 kW) R-1820-G5 replacing the -F3 of the SEV-2XP. The SEV-1XP was delivered to Wright Field
on 15 August for evaluation, which was generally successful, although the Cyclone failed to deliver its rated power and the SEV-1XP only reached 289 mph (465 km/h) rather that the 300 mph (483 km/h) predicted by Seversky.
Protests from Curtiss lead to the formal flyoff between the fighters to be delayed until April 1936. The delay was used by both Seversky and Curtiss to improve their aircraft, while allowing additional fighters from Vought
(the Vought V-141
) and Consolidated
with a single seat version of the PB-2
. The SEV-1XP was re-engined again, with a two-row Pratt & Whitney R-1830-9 "Twin Wasp" replacing the Cyclone and a modified vertical stabilizer
fitted, becoming the SEV-7.
The P&W also failed to deliver its rated power - it put out only 738 hp - and top speed was again well below 300 mph. While more expensive than the Curtiss and Vought designs, the Seversky was a clear winner of the Air Corps' competition, with an order for 77 P-35 fighters being placed on 16 June 1936. Modifications from SEV-1XP to production P-35 standard included partial instead of complete mainwheel fairings and seven degrees of dihedral to the outer wing panels.
The first production P-35 was delivered to the USAAC in May 1937, preceded by a company owned pre-production aircraft and demonstrator, the AP-1. Only 76 P-35s were built, delivery being completed in August 1938, with the 77th aircraft finished as the prototype XP-41
. When it wanted further fighters in 1937, the Air Corps, who were unhappy with both the slow delivery of the P-35, and sale of 2PA two-seat aircraft to the Japanese Navy, ordered 210 Curtiss P-36s.
Seversky continued to develop the design with the hope of selling more aircraft both to the Air Corps and to civil and export customers. It modified the prototype SEV-1XP as a single seat racer, the S-1 entering it into the 1937 Bendix Trophy
, where it finished in fourth place. The competition was won by the S-2 (registration number
NR70Y), a similar aircraft built for Frank Fuller of the Fuller Paint Company. S-2 also won the Bendix Trophy in 1939 and placed second in 1938. The aircraft was used to portray the "Drake Bullet" in the 1938 film Test Pilot
.
Another civil aircraft was the DS, (or Doolittle Special), a single seater for James Doolittle
, employed at the time by the Shell Oil Company
, while the AP-7 was another racer, powered by a 1,200 hp (895 kW) R-1830 engine and used by Jacqueline Cochran
to win the 1938 Bendix Trophy race and to set a women's air speed record. Seversky entered two aircraft based on the P-35 in a 1938 competition for a new fighter for the Air Corps. One was the XP-41 (which had the company designation AP-4D, which was a P-35 with a 1,200 hp (895 kW) R-1830-9 engine fitted with a two-stage supercharger
and the AP-4, which had a turbo-supercharger mounted in the belly of a deeper fuselage. The Air Corps preferred the AP-4D, which was ordered into production as the P-43 Lancer.
Aiming to increase sales, Alexander P. de Seversky personally took a demonstrator on a tour of Europe in early 1939. As a result of this demonstration, Sweden ordered 15 EP-106 fighters on 29 June 1939, a development of the P-35 powered by a 1,050 hp (783 kW) R-1830-45, which improved performance by over 25 mph (40 km/h) and armed with two 7.9 mm (.311 in) machine guns in the cowl
and two 13.2 mm (.52 in) machine guns in the wings. A second order for 45 EP-106s was placed on 11 October 1939, with a third order, for 60 aircraft, placed on 6 January 1940, although by this time Seversky had been thrown out of the company bearing his name by the board of directors, with the compant renaming itself Republic Aviation. The Swedish Air Force
designated them J 9.
Seversky also built a two-seater, the 2PA. Evolved in parallel with the P-35, the 2PA was a two-seat fighter and fighter-bomber with a fundamentally similar airframe and offered with either a similar undercarriage to that of the single-seater as the 2PA-L (Land) or with an amphibious float undercarriage as the 2PA-A (Amphibian). Dubbed "Convoy Fighter" by the manufacturer, the 2PA was powered by a Wright R-1820-G2 or G3 Cyclone nine-cylinder radial engine, the former rated at 1,000 hp for take-off and the latter at 875 hp. Armament comprised two wing-mounted 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm Browning guns, one 7.62 mm Browning on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit, plus two forward-firing fuselage-mounted 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm Browning guns. Provision was made for a bomb load of up to 227 kg (500 lb) on internal wing racks. One 2PA-A and one 2PA-L were procured by the Soviet Union in March 1938, together with a manufacturing licence, which, in the event, was not to be utilised. Two aircraft, one with conventional landing gear and one with floats, along with the manufacturing license were sold to the USSR
but it appears that the Soviets never put it into production. In what proved to be an unpopular move for Seversky, 20 2PA-B3s were sold to the Japanese Navy
, which briefly employed them in the Second Sino-Japanese War
as Navy Type S Two-Seat Fighter or A8V-1 (Allied codename "Dick"). The Japanese were unimpressed with the aircraft and eventually relegated two of them to the Asahi Shimbun
newspaper as "hacks." Sweden ordered 52 2PAs (Swedish designation B 6), able to carry 1,350 lb (612 kg) of bombs, but received only two prior to the U.S. embargo directed to combatants. The remaining 50 were appropriated by the USAAC, re-armed with 0.30 in and 0.50 in machine guns, and used as advanced trainers named AT-12 Guardsman.
Nonetheless despite its obsolescence as a fighter design, the P-35 design served as the inspiration for the promising Italian Reggiane Re.2000
Falco fighter which bears a superficial similarity in layout.
The first P-35s were delivered to the 1st Pursuit Group
stationed at Selfridge Field
in Michigan. The aircraft utilized a wet wing
to save weight and ground personnel quickly learned about the persistent fuel leaks. The P-35's performance was poor even by contemporary standards and, although USAAC flyers appreciated the aircraft's ruggedness, it was already obsolete by the time deliveries were finished in 1938.
On 18 June 1940, United States declared an embargo against exporting weapons to any nation other than the United Kingdom. Optimistically, Republic continued to manufacture EP-106s which, by the 24 October 1940 order, 60 were taken over by the USAAC as the P-35A. The aircraft were re-armed to American standards with a pair of 0.50 in machine guns that fired through the propeller, but retained the Swedish specification of a 0.30 in machine gun mounted in each wing. Flight instruments were metric, and both their labeling and flight manuals written in Swedish. Of these, three aircraft were kept in United States as instructional airframes for mechanics. Six P-35As were delivered to Ecuador to form the first combat unit, the Escuadrilla de Caza. The remainder were sent to the Far East Air Force in the Philippines
beginning in February 1941. Eventually all pilots of the three pursuit squadrons on Luzon transitioned to the P-35A from the P-26. About 10 of these were lost in accidents. The P-35s were used primarily as gunnery trainers by all three squadrons because of a critical shortage of .50-caliber ammunition in the Far East Air Force, placing a strain on the engines of all the aircraft since no replacement engines were available. In October 1941 the P-35s were ear-marked for transfer to the Philippine Army Air Corps after sufficient P-40s were received by the FEAF.
In November 1941, after the 3rd and 17th PS received new P-40E aircraft, most of their P-35As were passed to two newly-arrived squadrons attached to the group, the 21st and 34th PS, with the latter receiving most. The 21st PS received its P-40Es on the eve of war and transferred its few P-35s to the 34th Pursuit Squadron, which then had nearly a full squadron. It then fought them in the futile defense of the islands in December 1941, initially at Del Carmen Field. They were hopelessly outclassed by the Japanese fighters. Lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks made the aircraft extremely vulnerable and by 12 December 1941, only eight P-35As were still in flying condition. In January 1942, five surviving P-35As attempted to fly to Bataan from Lubao Airfield, but two were shot down as they attempted to land, and a third was destroyed in place when no volunteer could be found to fly it. The two remaining P-35s transported several unit personnel to Mindanao in their baggage compartments. On April 4 they returned briefly to Bataan to evacuate other personnel, and one was lost crashlanding on Cebu on April 10. The sole surviving P-35 was turned over to Capt. Ramon Zosa of the PAAC on April 30, and flew its last sortie out of Del Monte Airfield, accompanying a P-40 on a strafing attack of Japanese landings at Macajalar Bay on May 3.
received 60 J 9s in the spring-summer 1940. The aircraft were amongst other units assigned to the F 8 Air Force base
protecting Stockholm, replacing its obsolete Gloster Gladiator
s. Swedish J 9s served with Flygvapnet as a fighter until 1946. Later, 10 aircraft were equipped with cameras but retained their J 9 fighter designation and, in addition, a number of others were used for liaison and general flight training. The last seven J 9 aircraft remained in service until September 1952.
AP-2
AP-7
AP-9
BT-8
P-35
2PA
NF-1
SEV-1XP
SEV-2XP
SEV-DS
SEV-X-BT
SEV-7
United States
AT-12
J 9/P-35A
J 9/P-35A
P-35 (USAAC Serial no. 36-0404) displayed as a P-35A
Recently plans were announced for the manufacture of a new production, full scale replica J 9/P-35A from Vintage Component Specialties.http://www.P-35.com
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
built in the United States by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
and Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in U.S. Army Air Corps to feature all-metal
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
construction, retractable landing gear
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
and an enclosed cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
.
Design and development
The origins of the P-35 trace back to the Seversky SEV-3Seversky SEV-3
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "The end of the beginning...The Seversky P-35". Air Enthusiast, Ten, July–September 1979, pp. 8–21....
three-seat amphibian, designed by Alexander Kartveli
Alexander Kartveli
Alexander Kartveli 1896–1974, born Kartvelishvili) was a famous and influential aircraft engineer and a pioneer of American aviation history. Kartveli achieved important breakthroughs in military aviation in the time of turbojet fighters...
, Seversky's chief designer and Seversky's first aircraft. The SEV-3 first flew in June 1933 and was developed into the Seversky BT-8 basic trainer, 30 of which were ordered by the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
(USAAC) in 1935. This proved grossly underpowered and was quickly replaced by the North American BT-9
North American BT-9
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Davis, Larry. T-6 Texan in Action . Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1989. ISBN 0-89747-224-1....
.
The second prototype SEV-3 was completed as a two-seat fighter derivative, the SEV-2XP. It was powered by a 735 hp (548 kW) Wright R-1820
Wright R-1820
|-See also:-References:* Bridgman, L, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7* Eden, Paul & Soph Moeng, The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Amber Books Ltd. Bradley's Close, 74-77 White Lion Street, London, NI 9PF, 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1), 1152...
radial engine, had fixed landing gear in aerodynamic spats and was armed with one .50 in (12.7 mm) and one .30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing machine guns plus an additional .30 in (7.62 mm) gun for rear defence.
When the USAAC announced a competition for a new single-seat fighter in 1935, Seversky sent the SEV-2XP, confident it would win despite being a two-seater. However, the aircraft was damaged on 18 June 1935 during its transit to the fly-offs at Wright Field
Wright Field
Wright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....
. To compete with the Curtiss Model 75, a single-seat aircraft with retractable undercarriage, Seversky rebuilt the aircraft into the single seat SEV-1XP, replacing the SEV-2XP's fixed landing gear with a retractable undercarriage where the mainwheels retracted backwards into the wing, and a 850 hp (634 kW) R-1820-G5 replacing the -F3 of the SEV-2XP. The SEV-1XP was delivered to Wright Field
Wright Field
Wright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....
on 15 August for evaluation, which was generally successful, although the Cyclone failed to deliver its rated power and the SEV-1XP only reached 289 mph (465 km/h) rather that the 300 mph (483 km/h) predicted by Seversky.
Protests from Curtiss lead to the formal flyoff between the fighters to be delayed until April 1936. The delay was used by both Seversky and Curtiss to improve their aircraft, while allowing additional fighters from Vought
Vought
Vought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace , Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M...
(the Vought V-141
Vought V-141
-References:* Angelucci, Enzo and Peter M. Bowers. The American Fighter. Sparkford, UK: Haynes Publishing, 1987. ISBN 0-85429-635-2.*Francillon, R.J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War . London: Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0 370 00033 1....
) and Consolidated
Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...
with a single seat version of the PB-2
Consolidated P-30
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzo. and Peter M. Bowers, The American Fighter. New York: Orion Books, 1987. ISBN 0-517-56588-9....
. The SEV-1XP was re-engined again, with a two-row Pratt & Whitney R-1830-9 "Twin Wasp" replacing the Cyclone and a modified vertical stabilizer
Vertical stabilizer
The vertical stabilizers, vertical stabilisers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip. It is analogical to a skeg on boats and ships.On aircraft, vertical stabilizers generally point upwards...
fitted, becoming the SEV-7.
The P&W also failed to deliver its rated power - it put out only 738 hp - and top speed was again well below 300 mph. While more expensive than the Curtiss and Vought designs, the Seversky was a clear winner of the Air Corps' competition, with an order for 77 P-35 fighters being placed on 16 June 1936. Modifications from SEV-1XP to production P-35 standard included partial instead of complete mainwheel fairings and seven degrees of dihedral to the outer wing panels.
The first production P-35 was delivered to the USAAC in May 1937, preceded by a company owned pre-production aircraft and demonstrator, the AP-1. Only 76 P-35s were built, delivery being completed in August 1938, with the 77th aircraft finished as the prototype XP-41
Seversky XP-41
The Seversky XP-41 was a fighter aircraft built in the United States in 1939. A single prototype was modified from the last production Seversky P-35 by adding a new streamlined canopy, a Wright R-1830-19 engine with a two-speed supercharger, and revised landing gear. XP-41 first flew in March 1939...
. When it wanted further fighters in 1937, the Air Corps, who were unhappy with both the slow delivery of the P-35, and sale of 2PA two-seat aircraft to the Japanese Navy, ordered 210 Curtiss P-36s.
Seversky continued to develop the design with the hope of selling more aircraft both to the Air Corps and to civil and export customers. It modified the prototype SEV-1XP as a single seat racer, the S-1 entering it into the 1937 Bendix Trophy
Bendix trophy
The Bendix Trophy is a U.S. aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental, point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Air Races. Initial prize money for the winners was $15,000...
, where it finished in fourth place. The competition was won by the S-2 (registration number
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
NR70Y), a similar aircraft built for Frank Fuller of the Fuller Paint Company. S-2 also won the Bendix Trophy in 1939 and placed second in 1938. The aircraft was used to portray the "Drake Bullet" in the 1938 film Test Pilot
Test Pilot (film)
Test Pilot is a 1938 film directed by Victor Fleming and featuring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, and Lionel Barrymore. The movie tells the story of a daredevil test pilot , his wife , and his best friend...
.
Another civil aircraft was the DS, (or Doolittle Special), a single seater for James Doolittle
James Doolittle
James Doolittle may refer to:*James Rood Doolittle, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, 1857–1869*Jimmy Doolittle, U.S. Army general, aviator, and World War II hero...
, employed at the time by the Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...
, while the AP-7 was another racer, powered by a 1,200 hp (895 kW) R-1830 engine and used by Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...
to win the 1938 Bendix Trophy race and to set a women's air speed record. Seversky entered two aircraft based on the P-35 in a 1938 competition for a new fighter for the Air Corps. One was the XP-41 (which had the company designation AP-4D, which was a P-35 with a 1,200 hp (895 kW) R-1830-9 engine fitted with a two-stage supercharger
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
and the AP-4, which had a turbo-supercharger mounted in the belly of a deeper fuselage. The Air Corps preferred the AP-4D, which was ordered into production as the P-43 Lancer.
Aiming to increase sales, Alexander P. de Seversky personally took a demonstrator on a tour of Europe in early 1939. As a result of this demonstration, Sweden ordered 15 EP-106 fighters on 29 June 1939, a development of the P-35 powered by a 1,050 hp (783 kW) R-1830-45, which improved performance by over 25 mph (40 km/h) and armed with two 7.9 mm (.311 in) machine guns in the cowl
Cowling
A cowling is the covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles and aircraft.A cowling may be used:* for drag reduction* for engine cooling by directing airflow* as an air intake for jet engines* for decorative purposes...
and two 13.2 mm (.52 in) machine guns in the wings. A second order for 45 EP-106s was placed on 11 October 1939, with a third order, for 60 aircraft, placed on 6 January 1940, although by this time Seversky had been thrown out of the company bearing his name by the board of directors, with the compant renaming itself Republic Aviation. The Swedish Air Force
Swedish Air Force
The Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.-History:The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded...
designated them J 9.
Seversky also built a two-seater, the 2PA. Evolved in parallel with the P-35, the 2PA was a two-seat fighter and fighter-bomber with a fundamentally similar airframe and offered with either a similar undercarriage to that of the single-seater as the 2PA-L (Land) or with an amphibious float undercarriage as the 2PA-A (Amphibian). Dubbed "Convoy Fighter" by the manufacturer, the 2PA was powered by a Wright R-1820-G2 or G3 Cyclone nine-cylinder radial engine, the former rated at 1,000 hp for take-off and the latter at 875 hp. Armament comprised two wing-mounted 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm Browning guns, one 7.62 mm Browning on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit, plus two forward-firing fuselage-mounted 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm Browning guns. Provision was made for a bomb load of up to 227 kg (500 lb) on internal wing racks. One 2PA-A and one 2PA-L were procured by the Soviet Union in March 1938, together with a manufacturing licence, which, in the event, was not to be utilised. Two aircraft, one with conventional landing gear and one with floats, along with the manufacturing license were sold to the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
but it appears that the Soviets never put it into production. In what proved to be an unpopular move for Seversky, 20 2PA-B3s were sold to the Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
, which briefly employed them in the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
as Navy Type S Two-Seat Fighter or A8V-1 (Allied codename "Dick"). The Japanese were unimpressed with the aircraft and eventually relegated two of them to the Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
newspaper as "hacks." Sweden ordered 52 2PAs (Swedish designation B 6), able to carry 1,350 lb (612 kg) of bombs, but received only two prior to the U.S. embargo directed to combatants. The remaining 50 were appropriated by the USAAC, re-armed with 0.30 in and 0.50 in machine guns, and used as advanced trainers named AT-12 Guardsman.
Nonetheless despite its obsolescence as a fighter design, the P-35 design served as the inspiration for the promising Italian Reggiane Re.2000
Reggiane Re.2000
The Caproni-Reggiane Re.2000 Falco I was an Italian all metal, low-wing, monoplane with a Curtiss-style retractable undercarriage, used in the first part of World War II. This lightly built and highly manoeuvrable interceptor/fighter, similar to the Seversky P-35, flew for the first time in 1939...
Falco fighter which bears a superficial similarity in layout.
Operational history
1st Operations Group
The 1st Operations Group is the flying component of the 1st Fighter Wing, assigned to the USAF Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The 1st Operations Group is the oldest major air combat unit in the United States Air Force, being a successor organization...
stationed at Selfridge Field
Selfridge Field
Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens.-Units and organizations:...
in Michigan. The aircraft utilized a wet wing
Wet wing
A wet wing is an aerospace engineering technique where an aircraft's wing structure is sealed and used as a fuel tank. By eliminating the need for fuel bladders, aircraft can weigh less and the wing root bending moment caused by the lift generated by the wings in flight is decreased...
to save weight and ground personnel quickly learned about the persistent fuel leaks. The P-35's performance was poor even by contemporary standards and, although USAAC flyers appreciated the aircraft's ruggedness, it was already obsolete by the time deliveries were finished in 1938.
On 18 June 1940, United States declared an embargo against exporting weapons to any nation other than the United Kingdom. Optimistically, Republic continued to manufacture EP-106s which, by the 24 October 1940 order, 60 were taken over by the USAAC as the P-35A. The aircraft were re-armed to American standards with a pair of 0.50 in machine guns that fired through the propeller, but retained the Swedish specification of a 0.30 in machine gun mounted in each wing. Flight instruments were metric, and both their labeling and flight manuals written in Swedish. Of these, three aircraft were kept in United States as instructional airframes for mechanics. Six P-35As were delivered to Ecuador to form the first combat unit, the Escuadrilla de Caza. The remainder were sent to the Far East Air Force in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
beginning in February 1941. Eventually all pilots of the three pursuit squadrons on Luzon transitioned to the P-35A from the P-26. About 10 of these were lost in accidents. The P-35s were used primarily as gunnery trainers by all three squadrons because of a critical shortage of .50-caliber ammunition in the Far East Air Force, placing a strain on the engines of all the aircraft since no replacement engines were available. In October 1941 the P-35s were ear-marked for transfer to the Philippine Army Air Corps after sufficient P-40s were received by the FEAF.
In November 1941, after the 3rd and 17th PS received new P-40E aircraft, most of their P-35As were passed to two newly-arrived squadrons attached to the group, the 21st and 34th PS, with the latter receiving most. The 21st PS received its P-40Es on the eve of war and transferred its few P-35s to the 34th Pursuit Squadron, which then had nearly a full squadron. It then fought them in the futile defense of the islands in December 1941, initially at Del Carmen Field. They were hopelessly outclassed by the Japanese fighters. Lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks made the aircraft extremely vulnerable and by 12 December 1941, only eight P-35As were still in flying condition. In January 1942, five surviving P-35As attempted to fly to Bataan from Lubao Airfield, but two were shot down as they attempted to land, and a third was destroyed in place when no volunteer could be found to fly it. The two remaining P-35s transported several unit personnel to Mindanao in their baggage compartments. On April 4 they returned briefly to Bataan to evacuate other personnel, and one was lost crashlanding on Cebu on April 10. The sole surviving P-35 was turned over to Capt. Ramon Zosa of the PAAC on April 30, and flew its last sortie out of Del Monte Airfield, accompanying a P-40 on a strafing attack of Japanese landings at Macajalar Bay on May 3.
Swedish service
The Swedish Air ForceSwedish Air Force
The Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.-History:The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded...
received 60 J 9s in the spring-summer 1940. The aircraft were amongst other units assigned to the F 8 Air Force base
F 8 Barkarby
F 8 Barkarby, Kungliga Svea Flygflottilj, Royal Svealand Air Force Wing, or simply "F 8", is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in Barkarby just north of the capital Stockholm on the east coast....
protecting Stockholm, replacing its obsolete Gloster Gladiator
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it...
s. Swedish J 9s served with Flygvapnet as a fighter until 1946. Later, 10 aircraft were equipped with cameras but retained their J 9 fighter designation and, in addition, a number of others were used for liaison and general flight training. The last seven J 9 aircraft remained in service until September 1952.
Variants
AP-1- A P-35 fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R1830 engine.
AP-2
- From SEV-1-XP
AP-7
- Racer for Jaqueline Cochrane
AP-9
- Fighter trials aircraft developed in parallel to the AP-7
BT-8
- 30 production basic trainers for the USAAC
P-35
- First production version, Pratt & Whitney R-1830-9 engine with 850 hp (634 kW).
- EP-1 - Export version of the P-35.
- P-35A - AAF designation for appropriated EP-106 originally contracted to Sweden, Pratt & Whitney R-1830-45 radial piston engine with 1,050 hp (783 kW) and increased armament.
- EP-106 - Single-seat fighter version for Sweden.
- J 9 - Swedish designation of the EP-1/P-35A.
2PA
- Two-seat version with rear gunner.
- 2PA-202 - European demonstrator
- 2PA-A - for USSR (Spain)
- 2PA-B - European demonstrator
- 2PA-BX - European demonstrator
- 2PA-B3 - 20 production aircraft for Imperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceImperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceThe Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...
as Seversky A8V1. - 2PA-L - to USSR (Spain)
- A8V-1 "Dick" - Two-seat 2PA used by the Japanese Navy.
- B 6 - Swedish designation of the 2PA.
- AT-12 Guardsman - Two-seat advanced trainer.
NF-1
- Version of the P-35 for United States Navy evaluation - company designation.
SEV-1XP
- Single-seat fighter prototype, a.k.a. SEV-S1
SEV-2XP
- Two-seat fighter prototype
SEV-DS
- for Shell Oil Company / James DoolittleJimmy DoolittleGeneral James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
SEV-X-BT
- Two-seat basic trainer
SEV-7
- Single-seat fighter prototype, fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-9 Twin Wasp radial piston engine. The aircraft was later redesignated AP-1.
Operators
- Colombian Air ForceColombian Air ForceThe Colombian Air Force or FAC is the Air Force of the Republic of Colombia.The Colombian Air Force is one of the three institutions of the Armed Forces of Colombia, charge according to the 1991 Constitution of the work to exercise and maintain control of Colombia's airspace to defend the...
operated 3 Seversky P-35-2-PA-L.(SEV-3M-WW)
- Ecuadorian Air ForceEcuadorian Air ForceThe Ecuadorian Air Force is the Air arm of the Military of Ecuador and responsible for the protection of the Ecuadorian airspace.-Mission:To develop the military air wing, in order to execute institutional objectives which guarantee sovereignty and contribute towards the nation's security and...
- Imperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceImperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceThe Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...
- Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air ForceThe Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
- Swedish Air ForceSwedish Air ForceThe Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.-History:The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded...
United States
- United States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air CorpsThe United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
Survivors
No Ecuadorian aircraft survived as part the lend lease agreement with the U.S. which exchanged the Ecuadorian P-35s for P-47s. The P-35s were to be sold as scrap and the Ecuadorian government took the agreement literally. Within a few days of the delivery of the P-47s, ground crews with blow torches cut the P-35s apart and they were sold as scrap.AT-12
- One of those who didn't make it to Sweden, recently restored back to flying condition at the Planes of FamePlanes of FamePlanes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum located in Chino, California, and Valle, Arizona. The museum has many flying and static aircraft, along with multiple rare examples under restoration.-History:...
in ChinoChino, CaliforniaChino is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located in the western end of the Riverside-San Bernardino Area and it is easily accessible via the Chino Valley and Pomona freeways....
Airport, Los Angeles.
J 9/P-35A
- Exhibited in the Swedish Air Force MuseumSwedish Air Force MuseumThe Swedish Air Force Museum is located at Malmen Airbase in Malmslätt, just outside of Linköping, Sweden. Malmen is where Baron Carl Cederström, nicknamed the "Flyer Baron" founded his flying school in 1912. Malmen Airbase is home to the Royal Swedish Airschool operating SAAB 105 jettrainers...
J 9/P-35A
- Exhibited in the Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of FlightFantasy of FlightFantasy of Flight is an aviation-related attraction in Polk City, Florida, USA that takes visitors back to the pioneering days of early flight, World War I, World War II and beyond. The attraction opened in November of 1995, and houses the world's largest private aircraft collection on display...
in Florida, presently undergoing restoration to flying condition.
P-35 (USAAC Serial no. 36-0404) displayed as a P-35A
- On display at the National Museum of the United States Air ForceNational Museum of the United States Air ForceThe National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
. This aircraft served with the 94th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge FieldSelfridge FieldSelfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens.-Units and organizations:...
in MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It was obtained by the Museum from Charles P. Doyle of Rosemount, MinnesotaRosemount, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 14,619 people, 4,742 households, and 3,931 families residing in the city. The population density was 434.2 people per square mile . There were 4,845 housing units at an average density of 143.9 per square mile...
and was restored by maintenance personnel of the 133rd Tactical Airlift Wing of the Minnesota Air National GuardMinnesota Air National GuardThe Minnesota Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is, along with the Minnesota Army National Guard, an element of the Minnesota National Guard.-Mission:...
under the supervision of its commander, Brig. General John R. Dolny, with assistance from students of the Minneapolis Vocational Institute. It is marked as the P-35A flown by the 17th Pursuit Squadron commander, 1 Lt. Buzz Wagner, in the Philippines in early 1941.
Recently plans were announced for the manufacture of a new production, full scale replica J 9/P-35A from Vintage Component Specialties.http://www.P-35.com