Boeing P-34C

[comrade harps]

Boeing P-34C
17th Pursuit Squadron, Clark Field, Philippines
Personal mount of 2nd Lt Lamar Gillett
25 December, 1941



The story of Boeing's P-34 is both convoluted and widely misunderstood. Due to its appearance being similar to several contemporary Seversky planes and those designs being evolved into the famous P-47 Thunderbolt, the P-34 is popularly seen as a copy of the Seversky's P-35. The truth is more intriguing.

The key to unlocking the connection between the P-34 and the P-35 is Michael Gregor. It was Gregor who had deigned the 1932 Bird biplane with an elliptical wing trailing edge and whom, in 1932, was employed by Seversky and introduced that wing planform to the company. However, Gregor left Seversky in 1933 after designing the Seversky SEV-3, which established the general layout that was to evolve through the P-47.

Gregor joined the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation. Jimmy Wedell, the company's co-founder, was a famous racing pilot and aviation designer in his own right, but the company was trying to expand into the military market and Gregor's job was to bring their failing XP-34 fighter to fruition. The original XP-34 had been designed in 1932 and gained a contract from the USAAC, but by mid-1933 it had become obvious that the design's racer origins were holding it back from gaining a construction order. Starting again, Gregor brought his own design talents to the job and the revised XP-34A was accepted the USAAC, who ordered 1 XP-34A and 12 YP-34A service test aircraft. Rather than being a copy of the P-35, the XP-34A flew over a year before Seversky's XP-35. By the time that the aircraft entered squadron service as the P-34C, various engine and armament options were trailed, resulting in the P-34A, XP-34B, YP-34B and XP-34C  being built in limited numbers. A total of 177 aircraft in the P-34 series were built for the USAAC.



However, the story of the P-34 becomes murkier due to its corporate history. On June 24, 1934, Jimmy Wedell was killed in an aviation accident and the company soon sold to Boeing. By now, Boeing was concentrating on large aircraft, it's own attempts to produce a follow-up to the P-26 Peashooter having failed. By buying Wedell-Williams, they hoped to re-gain a foothold in the fighter market by riding on the back of the work already done on the P-34. Further work, though, was subcontracted to Stearman, a Boeing subsidiary that specialised in light aviation. Gregor and his team completed the XP-34A and all subsequent P-34 aircraft at Stearman facilities, but officially the plane was a Boeing product.

When Japan and America went to war in December, 1941, the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Del Carmen in the Philippine's was still equipped with the P-34C. Most were destroyed on the ground during Japanese air attacks on the 8th and in subsequent actions the few that survived were found wanting compared to the Japanese Zeros encountered. Only one air-to-air kill was recorded by a pilot flying a P-34C, a Zero downed on Christmas Eve by 2nd Lt Lamont Gillett. The next day, as a Christmas present, the plane was adorned with a Japanese flag.

[NARSES2]

Great stuff mate - I love these late 30's designs 

[PR19_Kit]

Is that really a backstory in our meaning of the word or is the real truth? It sounds so damned plausible that I'm about to Google the thing...........  

[Later] Well it must be true as Google links it right back to here. 

[Old Wombat]

Apart from coming up with some great WhIf's, if there is one thing comrade harps is good at, it is seriously realistic back stories!

Nice one, comrade!



Guy

[comrade harps]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

I enjoy researching my back stories. Apparently there really was a Michael Gregor who came up the Severskey's trademark elliptical wing in 1931 and who worked with Severskey for a couple of years. According to an article I have by Warren M. Bodie from an old Wings magazine about the background to the P-47, Gregor vanished from history about 1933. So, I placed him elsewhere. The stuff about Wedell-Williams and the XP-34 is true. I gave Gregor the job of turning out a Regianne Re.2000 (Italeri, 1:72nd scale) as a re-worked P-34 for the USAAC. The stuff about 2nd Lt Lamont Gillett is also true, as far as I know.

I'd love to pop this on a table at a model show and watch the JMNs scratch their heads in confusion and uncertainty.

[NARSES2]

Apart from coming up with some great WhIf's, if there is one thing comrade harps is good at, it is seriously realistic back stories!

Agree completely 

I'd love to pop this on a table at a model show and watch the JMNs scratch their heads in confusion and uncertainty.

A lot of people would fall for it, including me if I didn't already know. I'd just assume it was a prototype of an aircraft designed for the same specification as the P-35

[jcf]

Michael Gregor went to work for Canadian Car & Foundry and designed the CC&F GDB-1 as
a follow on to CC&F production of the Grumman G-23/FF-1. Gregor worked for Chase Aircraft
during the '40s and died in 1953.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Car_and_Foundry_FDB-1

[comrade harps]

Michael Gregor went to work for Canadian Car & Foundery and designed the CC&F GDB-1 as
a follw on to CC&F production of the Grumman G-23/FF-1. Gregor worked for Chase Aircraft
during the '40s and died in 1953.

That fills in the gap that the Bodie article left. Interesting that the Wikipedia article entirely misses his time at Seversky (but the Republic Aviation article does include him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seversky_Aircraft).

Thanks for the info.

[Captain Canada]

Nice one....had me believing as well ! Love those aeroplanes myself.....always wanted to build one.