BOEING FB-5 ON DISPLAY

Air Classics, Jul 2004

Expansion at The Air Museum allows for new displays

Recent hangar expansion at The Air Museum Planes of Fame, Chino, California, has allowed some previous- ly stored aircraft to he put on display. One of the most significant is a Boeing FB-5 biplane carrier fighter. The FB series was Boeing's first original fighter design and some of the design's features were taken from the Fokker D.VII. The FB-5 (Model 67) made its first flight on 7 October 1926 and was fitted with a Packard 2A-1500 engine of 520-hp.

Production of the new fighter totaled just 27 aircraft and the planes were delivered to the Navy all at once on 21 January 1927 in a manner of delivery that certainly has not been repeated. The aircraft were placed on a barge and then taken out to the USS Langley which was anchored in Seattle Harbor. The planes were craned aboard and they made their first flights from the carrier's deck!

The aircraft were initially assigned to VF-1B and VF-6B aboard the Langley but later on FB-5s operated with VF-3B from the USS Lexington. Later, some FB-5s were passed to the US Marine Corps' VF-6M in San Diego, California.

Although an excellent aircraft for its time, the FB-5 was soon eclipsed by newer designs. Rather than being completely scrapped, some airframes were given to technical schools where they were used as training aids. Out of the 27 FB-5s, rather amazingly three still survive. One is in the Naval Aviation Museum, another is being restored to airworthy condition, and a third is with The Air Museum. This particular aircraft was saved from a technical school by Ed Maloney. A number of years ago, some restoration work was started on the aircraft but stopped as more important projects came along. However, the plane is now on display for all to see and, hopefully, will be rebuilt as time and funds permit.