P-26A-34

P-26A-34

P-26A-34

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

Show in game

MARKET

This page is about the aircraft P-26A-34. For other uses, see P-26 (Family).

Description

The P-26A-34 Peashooter is a gift Rank I American fighter with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was available only twice in War Thunder history, once in November 2014 Thanksgiving sale as a reward for buying two discounted packs, the second in the 2015 Independence Day event as a prize in a tournament.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 2,286 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
367	357	8500	18.6	19.6	9.2	9.2	170
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 2,286 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
384	377	8500	17.7	18.0	16	12	170

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	X	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
508	508	N/A	~25	~11

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 280	< 340	< 340	> 150

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,828 m	570 hp	621 hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour
• Fuel tanks in fuselage and wing roots

Armaments

Offensive armament

The P-26A-34 is armed with:

• 2 x 7.62 mm Browning machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Suspended armament

The P-26A-34 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• Without load
• 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (200 lb total)

Usage in battles

Generally, to do well in the P-26 never, ever turn fight, as it has a huge turning radius compared to other reserves.  Ideally practice "Boom & Zoom" tactics, that is climb above, dive in, attack, climb up again for a new attack. Also, use the "Stealth" ammunition belt, it is the hardest hitting belt for this aircraft and targets will not see where you are, giving you another second or two advantage.  Yes, stealth is harder to use, but it's worth it.  While a mediocre at best reserve fighter, it is a very good ground attacker carrying 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs with 24.5 kg of TNT each, which is effective against even some Rank 3 tanks and Rank 2 ships.  

Qualify the crew to "Expert", it is very cheap (1,000 SL), and put CrewXP to Pilot Vitality (resist injury) and Weapon Maintenace, good to take and give damage.

Study your opponents, this is critical on how to counter them as there is no single way to counter all targets. The Japanese Ki-10 and Soviet I-15 are this aircraft's greatest threats, if they get on your six evade like crazy and hope they overshoot (never turn); teammates are also very helpful. Bombs with 0.5 delay could work. Others like the German He 51 you could outrun them, but do not turn. With higher BR units you may be just able to outmanoeuvre, bust the best is constantly scan the sky for threats.  Other rank 1 aircraft vary in threat level. Besides fighters, attacking bombers is a viable option, however, be mindful of defensive turrets as there are a few 12.7 mm machine guns and 20 mm cannons out there.

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		Mk.41
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 7mm MGs
IV			Cover
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Best 7.7 mm machine gun type for reserve planes
• Snappy roll rate, better than any of the reserve biplanes from the other nations
• Decent turn rate, though not competitive to reserve biplanes
• Smaller target much like the Russian I-16

Cons:

• Performance scales poorly. Should generally be replaced as soon as more advanced planes become available
• Slow compared to contemporary fighters, but faster than reserve biplanes
• Engine and fuel fires are next to impossible to extinguish due to wooden/canvas construction and lack of self-sealing fuel tanks
• Fragile, especially to high-explosive rounds from enemy autocannons
• Slower machine gun fire rate compared to Russian aircraft

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.

In-game description

"Many problems were revealed when the P-26's operation began. Due to its narrow landing gear tread and a landing speed too fast for its time, the aircraft was prone to nose over. When this happened, the pilots often lost their lives, although the planes themselves were not seriously damaged. As a result, the fuselage spine fairing was redesigned. Its height was increased by 20 cm, and the reinforced structure could endure a load of more than 12 tons if hit. The 29th production P-26А was the first to obtain this enlarged fuselage spine fairing, and the planes already produced were modified directly on the front lines.

New wing flaps allowed the aircraft's landing speed to be reduced. The plane was also equipped, in the event of an emergency landing on water, with two inflatable sacks occupying the containers in the wing roots. Beginning at the 26th production aircraft, this equipment became standard for the P-26А, but it was not installed on the aircraft already produced. There is no documented evidence that this system was ever used for its intended purpose, but one aircraft crashed after the raft kit opened spontaneously during flight.

P-26Аs produced later had reinforced armament: one synchronous 7.62 mm Browning M1 machine gun to the left of the fuselage and one synchronous large-calibre 12.7 mm Browning M2.5 machine gun to the right. The magazine capacity of the large-calibre machine gun was 200 rounds. A combined total of 111 machines of the P-26A variant were produced. The 20th Fighter Group was the first in the USAAC to be armed with Peashooters. It was followed by two more: the 1st Fighter Group based in Selfridge, Michigan, and the 17th Fighter Group at March Air Force Base, California. At various times, P-26s were operated in 22 USAAC fighter squadrons.

Peashooters were flown by many pilots who later occupied high positions in the USAAF and then in the USAF, including Henry Harley ""Hap"" Arnold, future Commander-in-Chief of the USAF."

Media

Videos

Realistic Battles - P-26A-34 Peashooter - The Digital Time Traveller

See also

Related development

• P-26 (Family)

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Dewoitine D.500
• Mitsubishi A5M4
• Polikarpov I-16
• Heinkel He 112

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.