Boeing F2B

The Boeing F2B was an biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Navy of the 1920s, familiar to aviation fans of the era as the craft of the Three Sea Hawks aerobatic flying team.

Initially the Boeing Model 69, it was inspired by the results of tests on the FB-6, which was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1340B Wasp radial engine. Boeing set out to use this engine in a fighter designed specifically for carrier operations, using the same welded-tubing fuselage and wooden-frame wings as for the Model 15, and adding a large spinner to reduce air drag around the engine (this was dropped in production). Armament was either two .30 cal. machine guns, or one .30 cal. and one .50 cal.; the lower wing had attachments for up to four 25-pound bombs, plus a fifth could be hung from the fuselage.

First flight was November 3, 1926. The Navy acquired the prototype as XF2B-1, which was capable of reaching speeds of 154 mph, and was sufficiently impressed to order 32 F2B-1s. In addition to omission of the spinner, the production versions also had a balanced rudder. Delivery began January 20, 1928, with some assigned to fighter squadron VF-1B and others to bomber squadron VF-2B, both operating from USS Saratoga (CV-3).

Although the Navy did not order any more F2Bs, Boeing built two more, as Model 69Bs, exporting one to Brazil and the other to Japan.

References

• Lloyd S. Jones, U.S. Naval Fighters (Fallbrook CA: Aero Publishers, 1977, ISBN 0-8168-9254-7), pp. 47-49