Boeing P-26A Peashooter are only two original "Peashooters" left in the world, one hangs from the ceiling in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and remaining and flying at Planes of Fame Air museum in Chino CA.
They also managed to shoot down some Zeroes. WW2 TV has an interview with a Phil Air Force Colonel who also has lectures on the history of the Philippine Air Force.
the us was so unprepared and behind the curve when ww2 broke out in the late 30’s. the japanese were ripping around in the A6m zero and the germans had the ME-109’s, among other modern aircraft. while our boys were training in aircraft just barely more modern than the p26.
@BrokenWrenches - The answer is real simple. America was an isolationist peaceful nation during that time and totally anti-war. Unlike post-WWII period to date, she tried to mind her own business, so there was no need to spend huge amounts of money developing superior bleeding edge weaponry. That was before the evil Military Industrial Complex was born. Yep, it was a different time.
The frame inside the wings isn't strong enough to hold the weight of the plane without the cables for bracing. This is common for any planes before about the mid to late 1930s, when wing design improved. The landing gear are probably braced because the wings are pulling on them :)
Now that's afearsomly named fighter,get out of the way of the peashooter. Impressive showing guys,well presented aircraft. the future P47 wings are evident there.
