Seversky P-35

The Seversky P-35 was a fighter aircraft built in the United States in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in U.S. Army Air Corps to feature all-metal construction, a retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. The origins of the P-35 trace back to the Seversky SEV-3 amphibian, which was developed into the Seversky BT-8 basic trainer. This proved grossly... more

The Seversky P-35 was a fighter aircraft built in the United States in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in U.S. Army Air Corps to feature all-metal construction, a retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. The origins of the P-35 trace back to the Seversky SEV-3 amphibian, which was developed into the Seversky BT-8 basic trainer. This proved grossly underpowered and was quickly replaced by the North American BT-9. Seversky's chief designer, Alexander Kartveli, also proposed a two-seat fighter derivative, the SEV-2XP. This, powered by a 735 hp (550 kW) Wright R-1670 radial engine, had fixed landing gear in aerodynamic spats and was armed with one .50 in (12.7 mm) and one .30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing machine guns plus an additional .30 in (7.62 mm) gun for rear defence. When the USAAC announced a competition for a new single-seat fighter in 1935, Seversky sent the SEV-2XP, confident it... less