Boeing P - 12 The Boeing P - 12 or F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps and United States Navy . Design and development . Boeing developed the aircraft as a private venture to replace the Boeing F3B and Boeing F2B with the United States Navy , the first flight of the P - 12 took place on 25 June 1928 . The new aircraft was smaller , lighter and more agile than the ones it replaced but still used the Wasp engine of the F3B . This resulted in a higher top speed and overall better performance . As result of Navy evaluation 27 were ordered as the F4B - 1 , later evaluation by the United States Army Air Corps resulted in orders with the designation P - 12 . Boeing supplied the USAAC with 366 P - 12s between 1929 and 1932 . Production of all variants totalled 586 . Operational history . P - 12s were flown by the 17th Pursuit Group ( 34th , 73rd , and 95th Pursuit Squadrons ) at March Field , California , and the 20th Pursuit Group ( 55th , 77th and 79th Pursuit Squadrons ) at Barksdale Field , Louisiana . Older P - 12s were used by groups overseas : the 4th Composite Group ( 3rd Pursuit Squadron ) in the Philippines , the 16th Pursuit Group ( 24th , 29th , 74th , and 79th Pursuit Squadrons ) in the Canal Zone , and the 18th Pursuit Group ( 6th and 19th Pursuit Squadrons ) in Hawaii . The P - 12 remained in service with first - line pursuit groups until replaced by Boeing P - 26 s in 1934 – 1935 . Survivors were relegated to training duties until 1941 , when most were grounded and assigned to mechanics ' s schools . Civil and commercial models . Commencing in 1929 Boeing produced four commercial and export variants of the Model 100 with an affinity to both the Army P - 12 and Navy F4B - 1 . The principal differences were the deletion of standard U . S . military equipment and the installation of the fuel tank in the center section of the upper wing . Model 100 . The first Model 100 , the commercial counterpart of the F4B - 1 / P - 12 Model 100 flew on October 8 , 1929 and was sold to the Bureau of Air Commerce ( now the FAA ) with the Government aircraft registration NS - 21 . The second , NX872H , was sold to Pratt & Whitney for use as an engine test bed ; apart from the original R - 1340 " Wasp " , this airplane also flew the R - 98S " Wasp Junior " , the R - 1535 " Twin Wasp Junior " and the R - 1690 " Hornet " engines . It was then sold to stunt pilot Milo Burcham who used it for display flying between 1933 and 1941 as NC - 872H with distinctive modifications . The space between the undercarriage legs was faired in , low pressure tires fitted , and metal paneling replacing the fuselage fabric . As of 1964 the airplane was owned by motion picture stunt pilot Paul Mantz . The third Model 100 has had the most varied career and has carried every possible combination of U . S . civil registration , commencing with the plain 873H and passing through C , AT , NR , NX to N873H . It was used at the factory for several years as a test machine and demonstrator , and was then sent to the Boeing School of Aeronautics at Oakland , California , for use as an advanced trainer . It was acquired about 1936 by Paul Mantz for display and movie flying and was still being used for such in the 1960s , powered by a war surplus Wasp Junior driving a controllable - pitch propeller . Last of the Model 100s , NX874H , was also used as a company demonstrator and was eventually sold to the Mitsui Company of Japan . Model 100A . The Model 100A was a special convertible two - seat version of the basic Model 100 built to the special order of Mr . Howard Hughes . Hughes undertook many extensive modifications before the aircraft was sold to Col . Arthur Goebel as a single seater . Registered 247K it was destroyed in 1957 . Model 100E . Two Model 100Es were built for Siam ( now Thailand ) and were export versions of the P - 12E . Owing to a ruling that export of aircraft currently in production for U . S . Forces could not be undertaken , the Boeing Model 234 designation was changed to 100E though general structure and performance was similar to that of the P - 12E . Both 100Es were delivered in a dismantled state on 10 November 1931 . The last surviving example ( taken over by the Japanese during World War II ) , is currently preserved in the Thai Aeronautical Museum at Bangkok . Model 100F . The Model 100F was a one - off commercial equivalent of the P - 12F delivered to Pratt & Whitney for engine testing . First engine fitted was the 700 hp R - 1535 Twin Wasp Junior and with this was flown on 20 June 1932 . So great was the diameter of the propeller used that both take - off and landing had to be performed in the " three - point " attitude to maintain ground clearance . The 100F also flew with the Hornet and Wasp engines . On one occasion it flew with each of the engines during the course of a single day as a demonstration of quick engine - changing techniques . Because of the different engine weights , the balance of the aircraft was corrected during these engine changes by use of a sliding weight in the fuselage between the cockpit and tail . On a test flight the pilot lost consciousness due to a failure in the oxygen supply and the 100F fell into a spin . Not being designed to withstand the loads imposed by these gyrations , the weight broke loose and destroyed the flying controls - preventing recovery from the spin .