Boeing F4B / P-12 · P-26 Peashooter · P-29 — Airframe Engineering Drawings

Boeing Airplane Company — Interwar Fighter Series, 1928–1934

The Aircraft

The Boeing F4B/P-12, P-26 Peashooter, and P-29 represent one of the most consequential progressions in American military aviation history — the decade-long transition from fabric-covered biplanes to all-metal monoplanes that defined the modern fighter.

Boeing F4B / P-12 (1928–1934)

The F4B/P-12 was the U.S. military's premier front-line fighter of the early 1930s and Boeing's last biplane fighter design. Adopted simultaneously by the Navy as the F4B and the Army Air Corps as the P-12, it combined welded steel tubing structure, spruce and mahogany wings, and corrugated aluminum tail surfaces. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial engine producing 425 to 600 horsepower, it achieved top speeds near 189 mph. With 586 units produced, the F4B/P-12 cemented Boeing's dominance during the Great Depression era. Surviving examples are held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

Boeing P-26 Peashooter (1933)

Recognizing the obsolescence of the biplane, Boeing introduced the P-26 — the Army Air Corps' first all-metal, low-wing pursuit aircraft. Its semi-monocoque sheet aluminum fuselage and wire-braced wings retained the open cockpit and fixed landing gear of its predecessors, but its performance was a decisive step forward: top speed of approximately 234 mph. Delivered to operational squadrons between 1933 and 1934, the Peashooter served as the critical bridge to the modern monoplane fighter era.

Boeing P-29 (1934)

The P-29 was Boeing's experimental evolution beyond the Peashooter — a cantilever low-wing monoplane with enclosed landing gear and an updated wing structure, eliminating the wire bracing of the P-26. Despite offering measurable performance gains, it failed to secure production orders from either the Army or the Navy. Only four prototypes were built before the project was cancelled, making its engineering documentation exceptionally rare.

What This Collection Contains

This is a primary-source engineering archive drawn directly from Boeing Airplane Company's original manufacturing drawings, converted from microfilm to high-resolution electronic format.

• ~3,600 engineering drawing sheets across 4 microfilm reels
• Formats included: TIFF and Adobe PDF
• Index of drawing numbers included (14 index sheets total)
• Drawing sizes: A-size and B-size formats
• Coverage: Airframe engineering drawings (blueprints) for the following Boeing models:

F4B Series: F4B · F4B-1 · F4B-2 · F4B-3 · F4B-5 · XP-940

P-12 Series: Model 218 (XP-925) · XP-12A · P-12 · P-12B · P-12C · P-12D · P-12E · P-12F

P-26 Series: XP-26 · Y1P-26 · P-26B · P-26C

P-29 Series: Y1P-29 · YP-29 · P-29A · P-29B · P-29C

Microfilm Reel Index — Drawing Number Ranges

The 14-sheet drawing index covers the following series and ranges:

Active Drawings — A-Size

• 1-series (lower range): 1-6540 through 1-8240 — Complete Airplane structural and systems drawings
• 1-series (mid range): 1-10000 through 1-13546 — Complete Airplane structural and systems drawings
• 21-series: 21-2149 through 21-3694 (issued) · 21-3703 through 21-8926 (revised) · 41-1335 — Complete Airplane drawings

Active Drawings — B-Size

• SK / 1-series / 3-series: SK-1053 · 1-8016 · 3-1381 through 3-6887 — Complete Airplane drawings

Inactive Drawings — A-Size (Superseded / Retired)

• 1-series: 1-1597 through 1-6278 — Inactive microfilm archive, retained for historical provenance
• Higher 1-series: 1-13649 through 1-15831 — Additional inactive drawings

Parts Lists & Assembly Reports (Sheet 1 — Part Name Index)

• D-81 — Difference Check List, Boeing P-26B over P-26A Data (3 pages)
• D-82 / D-1163 — Numerical List-Report, P-12B/C/D/E/F Wing with Flotation Gear, Less Aileron (3 pages)
• D-83 / D-1163 — Group Assembly Parts List, P-12B/C/D/E/F Wing Flotation Gear, Less Aileron (15 pages)
• D-84 / D-1172 — Difference Check List, P-26C over P-26A & P-26B (2 pages)
• D-85 / D-1172 — Numerical List, P-26A (25 pages)
• D-86 / D-328 — Numerical List, P-12 (17 pages)
• D-87 / D-329 — Group Assembly Parts List, P-12 (103 pages)
• D-88 / D-450 — Numerical List, P-12B (17 pages)
• D-89 / D-451 — Assembly Parts List, P-12B (106 pages)
• D-90 / D-540 — Assembly Parts List, P-12C (142 pages)
• D-91 / D-539 — Numerical List, P-12C (20 pages)
• D-92 / D-721 — Numerical List, P-12E (22 pages)
• D-93 / D-749 — Assembly Parts List, P-12E / P-12D (156 pages)

Note: This set of drawings is not exhaustive of all documents ever produced for these aircraft. A full index of drawing numbers is included with the collection.

⚠️ Regulatory Notice: Under FAA 14 CFR § 43.13 and EASA Part-M, any mechanic performing maintenance on an active aircraft must use current, manufacturer-approved revision-controlled data. This archival document does not satisfy that requirement.

This is an archival, static-copy edition fixed at its original publication date. Intended for historical reference, flight simulation, museum restoration, and educational use only. Not approved for active airworthiness maintenance under FAA 14 CFR § 43.13, EASA Part-M, or equivalent international regulations. Operators of active aircraft must use current, revision-controlled publications from the Type Certificate holder or an authorized distributor.

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