This Day in Aviation History
January 20th, 1934
First flight of the Boeing P-29 (XF7B-1).
 
The Boeing P-29 and XF7B-1 were an attempt to produce a more advanced version of the highly successful P-26. Although slight gains were made in performance, the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Navy did not order the aircraft.
 
The Boeing YP-29 originated as the Model 264, developed as a private venture under a bailment contract negotiated with the U.S. Army. Development of three prototypes was initiated in the interval between the testing of the XP-936 (P-26 prototype, company Model 248) and the delivery of the first P-26A (Model 266) to the U.S. Army.
 
The Model 264 was an updated and modernized P-26, differing in having fully cantilever wings, wing flaps, enclosed “greenhouse” canopy, and retractable undercarriage. The landing gear was similar to the Boeing Monomail, the main wheels retracting backwards about halfway into the wings. The fuselage and the tail were basically the same as those of the P-26. The 264 retained the proven 550 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-31 Wasp air-cooled radial, used in the P-26. The armament of one 0.30-cal and one 0.50 cal machine guns mounted in the fuselage sides and firing between the cylinder heads of the radial engine was the same as the P-26A.
 
The first Model 264 featured a long, narrow, sliding canopy, essentially a transparent continuation of the P-26’s protective headrest, extending all the way to the windshield frame. The Wasp radial was enclosed in a full NACA cowling rather than the narrow Townend ring of the P-26….
 
Source:
Wikipedia, Boeing P-29: http://gstv.us/1OEvXVk
 
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