P35

Photos by: Bill Coffman

The following information comes from the Web Page of the National Museum of the United Stated Air Force- (Formerly known as the US Air Force Museum)

Seversky P-35A

The P-35, one of the forerunners of the Republic P-47, was the first single-seat, all-metal pursuit plane with retractable landing gear and enclosed cockpit to go into regular service with the U.S. Army Air Corps.
The Army accepted 76 P-35s in 1937-38 and assigned 75 to the 1st Pursuit Group Selfridge Field, Michigan.

The Japanese Navy ordered 20 of a two-seat version of the P-35 in 1938, the only American-built planes used operationally by a Japanese squadron during WW II. Sweden also purchased 60 improved single-seat EP-106s, but a second order for 60 was taken over by the U.S. Army in 1940 and designated P-35As. Most were assigned to the 17th and 20th Pursuit Squadrons in the Philippines; all were lost in action early in the war.

The aircraft on display, the only known surviving P-35A, served with the 94th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field. It was restored by maintenance personnel of the 133rd Tactical Airlift Wing, Minnesota ANG, Brig. Gen. John R. Dolny, Commander, with assistance from students of the Minneapolis Vocational Institute.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 36 ft.
Length: 25 ft. 4 in.
Height: 9 ft. 9 1/2 in.
Weight: 5,600 lbs. max.
Armament: One .50-cal. and one .30-cal. fuselage mounted machine gun plus
320 lbs. of bombs.
Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830 of 850 hp.
Crew: One
Cost: $22,500

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 280 mph.
Cruising speed: 260 mph.
Range: 625 miles
Service Ceiling: 30,600 ft.
 

 There are not very many Kits of the P-35, one of the few military aircraft that never had an appended name or nickname. Tn 1/48 there is the Hobbycraft Kit which has reappeared in Academy packaging. In 1/72 for a long time the only kit was the Rareplanes Vac-Form that was very well done. There was a single sprue effort from Meikraft with solid wings and cowlings that purported to be for the P-35 or P-35A versions, but it scarcely qualified to be used as the base for a replica. (Although it was one of the first kits to feature photo etched instrument panels. There was also a MPM 'short run' kit a few years back, but I have never seen a build report or seen one built up, which makes me suspicious bout the assembly. Not a popular subject, I'm
afraid.  Derek has reminded me that there was also a  1/32nd, Williams Bros kit of the P-35, which can be made into either the fighter or the racer.

 The Seversky P-35 found an export buyer in Sweden, but the order for the J-9 was not enough to save Seversky from going under, and the export aircraft were actually built by Republic Aviation. The last 60 of the Swedish order were diverted to the US Army Air Corps as P-35As and saw service in the Phillipines weher they were wiped out by the Japanese.  The Swedes as an alternative, bought the Italian Reggiane RE-2000 which looks suspiciously like a P-35. I have never seen this similarity fully explained, but by one account, an Italian Engineer had been working at Seversky, and returned to Italy to join Reggiane and was the designer of the RE-2000. He must have had a photographic memory for detail.

 
In 1937, Seversky recieved Air Corps permission for him to enter P-35s in the National Air Races. Frank Fuller won the cross country event with an average speed of 258.2 MPH flying from Burbank to Cleveland. Company test pilot Frank Sinclair was fourth. The next year, Fuller was second in the same event, while Jackie Cochran won the event in a modified P-35. In 1939, Fuller again won the Bendix event with an average speed of 282.1 MPH. Jackie Cochran failed to finish in her modified P-35 with inward retracting landing
gears and flush rivets. Hitler had invaded Poland on the previous day.

 Not wanting to have the Navy left out, Brad Wood has provided the photo of the navalized version of the P-35. The Navy considered the landing speed of this aircraft to be too high for carrier use.

Seversky Racers.

In 1937, Seversky recieved Air Corps permission for him to enter P-35s in the National Air Races. Frank Fuller won the cross country event with an average speed of 258.2 MPH flying from Burbank to Cleveland. Company test pilot Frank Sinclair was fourth. The next year, Fuller was second in the same event, while Jackie Cochran won the event in a modified P-35. In 1939, Fuller again won the Bendix event with an average speed of 282.1 MPH. Jackie Cochran failed to finish in her modified P-35 with inward retracting landing
gears. Hitler had invaded Poland on the previous day.

 Not wanting to have the Navy left out, Brad Wood has provided the photo of the navalized version of the P-35. The Navy considered the landing speed of this aircraft to be too high for carrier use.