A brief history of the Boeing Airplane Co. Model 15
By Willie Bodenstein
13.07.2024
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The Boeing Model 15 was a single-bay biplane with wings of unequal span. The lower wing had a reduced span and chord. Both wings were tapered. The wings had a wooden structure with a fabric covering while the fuselage had a welded steel tube fuselage, also with a fabric covering. It had a braced tail unit with a variable-incidence tail-plane that could be controlled in flight.
Powered by a 435hp Curtiss D-12 inline engine, the Model 15 made its maiden flight on 2 June 1923 with Captain Frank Tyndall at the controls. It was given the Air Corps designation XPW-9, and after early tests at the Boeing factory, was sent to the Army for trials. The Army ordered two more prototypes on 28 September 1923 and these were delivered on 1 May 1924.
The US Navy was also interested in the new fighter. Early in 1925 the Navy ordered sixteen Model 15s, giving them the designation Boeing FB-1. The first of these aircraft was delivered on 1 December 1925, but only 10 of the 16 were completed as FB-1s. The FB-1 was almost identical to the Army PW-1, with the same split axle undercarriage. They were not equipped for carrier use and instead went to the US Marine Corps.
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Nine of the ten FB-1s were deployed to China as part of the USMC Expeditionary Force that was sent in June 1928 to help protect the International Settlement in Shanghai at a time of increasing anti-foreign sentiment in China.
Of the 158 aircraft built, 147 were standard production aircraft and the remaining were aircraft developed for specific interests.
