The P-26 Peashooter is a family of American monoplane fighters developed by Boeing during the interwar period. In War Thunder, it serves as an introduction to the USA’s aviation tech tree, where it stands out for being a monoplane fighter, rather than a biplane, contrary to what other nations have at its tier. That being said, its flight performance and armament is not too dissimilar from those biplanes, albeit with some minor differences.
| Pros | Cons |
| High wing rip speed (around 650 km/h) | Mediocre roll rate |
| Faster than most biplanes | Poor turn rate compared to biplanes |
| Generous amount of ammunition | No armour protection |
Survivability
The P-26 features no armour at all, which, at first glance, may make it seem quite fragile. However, the fuselage is able to absorb some damage from low-calibre guns, which just so happen to be most of the common weapons that you will be facing at this tier. The Peashooter also has self-sealing fuel tanks, allowing it to put out fires that could otherwise be fatal for other aircraft of its time.
The vital components of the P-26 include the pilot and the engine. The pilot sits in an open cockpit, meaning that he is prone to pilot-sniping, while the engine is similarly unprotected and generally performs quite poorly when taking battle damage. With a damaged engine, the P-26 will noticeably struggle to stay in the air, so it is recommended to quickly head to the nearest airfield whenever possible.
Flight Performance
Despite its monoplane design, the P-26 isn’t that much faster than some of its biplane peers. In fact, certain biplanes, like the Ki-10, possess a higher maximum top speed. The P-26 is also completely outclassed when it comes to turn time, as it takes much longer to turn than most of the opponents it faces. Its rate of climb is nothing to write home about either, which may lead you to believe the P-26 is just an inferior aircraft to the many, many other biplanes you could be flying instead of it.
However, the Peashooter does have a trick up its sleeve: a noticeably high wing rip speed. Thanks to this, the P-26 excels in the Boom and Zoom playstyle, something many US aircraft also excel in later down the line, which allows it to attack unsuspecting opponents in brief, swift attack runs before quickly disengaging to reposition yourself for another attack run.
Players should be wary when flying the P-26, in particular when rolling, as the plane’s roll rate is rather mediocre and can cause the engine to temporarily die due to float carburetor failure when negative Gs are applied to the engine. Pointing the aircraft’s nose down too quickly can also cause this issue.
Armament
All members of the P-26 family feature the same armament, consisting of two 7.62 millimetre machine guns with 1000 rounds of ammunition in total. The only exception is the P-26A-34 M2, which has 500 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition alongside an extra 200 rounds for a single 12.7 millimetre machine gun. While the calibre of the machine guns may seem rather disappointing, they are more than enough to deal with the enemies that the P-26 commonly faces.
Peashooters can also carry two 100 lb bombs to attack ground or naval targets. However, due to their small size, and as a result low explosive yield, they require quite precise hits in order to destroy armoured targets with any kind of consistency. In air battles, it is not recommended to equip bombs, as they negatively affect your flight performance for very limited gains in return.
Usage in Battles
Unlike biplane fighters, which share its tier and can jump into action right away, the Peashooter requires a more methodical approach to air combat. With its speed advantage not being significant enough to capitalize on, and its turn time a notable weak point compared to biplanes, it shouldn’t engage in large dogfights and should instead pick on lone targets. The aforementioned Boom and Zoom strategy works well for this — simply position yourself higher than the enemy, dive, and engage the enemy when you think they're distracted or if you think you can make a successful run. Regardless of if that pass results in a kill or a missed opportunity, you can then use the speed you just gained in that dive to coast back up to altitude, where you can repeat the process all over again.
The P-26 can also face more advanced monoplanes such as the Bf 109 B-1 or the C.R.714. These aircraft are much faster than the Peashooter, and thus require a different approach when engaging them. While the P-26 struggles to outturn biplanes, it can do so against faster monoplanes. If you are successful in baiting them into a turning engagement, the P-26 is able to outmaneuver these aircraft due to its tighter turning circle.
In mixed battles, the Peashooter is better used for combat air patrol and shooting down enemy aircraft, rather than engaging ground targets. In this case, equipping the two 100 lb bombs can be worth it, as they allow the pilot to destroy at least two ground targets with accurate hits. It may be wise to engage open-top vehicles with your bombs first, as even near misses will tend to be more lethal towards them, but when engaging enemy anti-aircraft vehicles your lack of armor, armament and speed can make you an easy kill, so be careful!
Perhaps a good way to summarize the P-26's playstyle is to fight on your own terms. The P-26 cannot really out-maneuver a biplane, so it can be frustrating to engage enemies even with a speed advantage only for you to end up being caught in a protracted engagement and outmaneuvered a few minutes later. However, if you force enemies to engage you on your own terms, where your advantages shine, you can inversely turn the tables on your opponents and force them to take an engagement they really don't want to take. This can be in many shapes and forms, such as diving rapidly from altitude if a biplane manages to sneak up on you, as your higher speed tolerance makes it easier to dive without ripping your wings, or using the aforementioned Boom and Zoom strategy and only engaging when you have the energy advantage, never committing to a dogfight because this isn't your strong suit. Just as much as you want the enemy to be oblivious to you stalking them from above, your enemy will want you to engage them in a dogfight, where they will usually hold a definitive advantage — so don't give them that chance, and fight to your strengths!