Consolidated P - 30 The Consolidated P - 30 ( PB - 2 ) was a 1930s United States two - seat fighter aircraft . An attack version called the A - 11 was also built , along with two Y1P - 25 prototypes and YP - 27 , Y1P - 28 , and XP - 33 proposals . The P - 30 is significant for being the first fighter in United States Army Air Corps service to have retractable landing gear , an enclosed and heated cockpit for the pilot , and an exhaust - driven turbosupercharger for altitude operation . Design and development . In 1931 , the Detroit Aircraft Corporation , parent company of the Lockheed Aircraft Company built a two - seat single - engined fighter aircraft based on the Lockheed Altair high - speed transport as a private venture . The prototype , the Detroit - Lockheed XP - 900 , flew in September 1931 and was purchased by the United States Army Air Corps as the Lockheed YP - 24 . Its performance was impressive , being faster than any fighter then in service with the Air Corps , and an order for five Y1P - 24 fighters and four Y1A - 9 attack aircraft was placed for the new aircraft , despite the loss of the prototype on 19 October 1931 . The Detroit Aircraft Corporation went into bankruptcy eight days later , however , leading to the cancellation of the contract . When the Detroit Aircraft Corporation failed , the chief designer of the YP - 24 , Robert J . Woods was hired by Consolidated Aircraft . Woods continued to develop the YP - 24 , the design becoming the Consolidated Model 25 , with all - metal wings replacing the wooden wings of the YP - 24 and a larger tail . The Army Air Corps ordered two prototypes as the Y1P - 25 in March 1932 , to be powered by a Curtiss V - 1570 - 27 , fitted with a turbo - supercharger on the port side of the forward fuselage . The order for the second prototype was quickly changed to a Y1A - 11 attack aircraft , omitting the supercharger . First to fly was the Y1P - 25 , which was delivered to the Air Corps on 9 December 1932 . It demonstrated promising performance , reaching a speed of at , but was destroyed in a crash on 13 January 1933 , killing its pilot , Hugh M . Elmendorf ( whose name was later given to Elmendorf Air Base in Alaska ) . The Y1A - 11 , armed with four forward - firing machine guns instead of the two of the Y1P - 25 and racks for 400 lb ( 182 kg ) of bombs was delivered to Wright Field on 5 January 1933 . On 20 January 1933 the Y1A - 11 disintegrated in midair , killing pilot Irvin A . Woodring . Despite the loss of both prototypes in a week , on 1 March 1933 , the Air Corps placed an order for four P - 30 fighters and four A - 11 attack aircraft . These production variants differed from the prototypes in having stronger fuselages , simplified undercarriages and more powerful engines . Operational history . The first P - 30 was delivered in January 1934 . Testing showed that the gunner ' s cockpit was uncomfortable and cold at the high altitudes where the P - 30 was intended to fight , while the rearward facing gunners were liable to blackout when the aircraft was maneuvered . Despite these concerns , on 6 December 1934 , the U . S . Air Corps placed an order for a further 50 P - 30As , with more powerful V - 1570 - 61 engines driving a three - bladed variable - pitch propeller and with oxygen supplies for the crew . Three of the four P - 30s were delivered to the 94th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field in 1934 . The first P - 30A , by this time redesignated PB - 2A ( Pursuit , Biplace ) , made its maiden flight on 17 December 1935 , with deliveries to service units starting on 28 April 1936 . The last of the 50 PB - 2As were completed by August that year . While intended as a high altitude fighter , the PB - 2 flew relatively few high altitude flights , partly because of the discomfort for the crew . One exception took place in March 1937 , when a PB - 2A was flown to before being forced to return to lower altitudes when the aircraft ' s controls froze . On 17 October 1936 , a PB - 2A flown by Lt . John M . Sterling won the Mitchell Trophy air race with a speed of . Since the PB - 2A was one of the few aircraft at the time to have retractable landing gear , they were frequently damaged in " wheels - up " landings when the pilots forgot to extend the landing gear . One PB - 2A was modified to a single - seat configuration as the PB - 2A Special , to compete in a 1936 Air Corps competition for a new fighter to replace the Boeing P - 26 Peashooter . It was larger and heavier than the other competitors and was much more expensive . It crashed during testing , with the Seversky P - 35 being ordered into production . One A - 11 was converted to the XA - 11A testbed with the new 1 , 000 hp ( 746 kW ) Allison XV - 1710 - 7 engine . While the PB - 2 was sturdy , the two - seat fighter concept was obsolete by the time the aircraft entered service , and by 1939 , all had been replaced in front line service by Seversky P - 35 and Curtiss P - 36 Hawk aircraft . The survivors remained in use as training aircraft until after the start of World War II , with the last being withdrawn from use on 2 June 1942 .