As previously mentioned in this monthly newsletter, the San Diego Air & Space Museum is in the final stages of restoring an FB-5 biplane, the first airplane designed and built specifically for use on an aircraft carrier, as part of the Museum’s and United States Navy’s celebration of “100 Years of Carrier Aviation.”

The origins of the FB-5 can be traced to one of the greatest aircraft of the First World War: the Fokker D.VII fighter of Germany. After studying the excellent qualities of that legendary aircraft, Seattle’s Boeing Airplane Company produced the PW-9, a nimble fighter introduced to the US Army Air Service in 1923.

The Museum's nearly restored FB-5 Biplane.

Impressed with the PW-9, the Navy ordered ten virtually identical FB-1s, though not equipped for use on aircraft carriers. Eventually, the design evolved to allow for the rigors of flying from aircraft carriers. The fuselage and landing gear were strengthened, a tail hook was added and, with the FB-5, the wings were staggered to allow for greater pilot visibility and the rudder was redesigned for improved stability.

The FB-5 made its first flight on October 7, 1926 and twenty-seven were delivered to the Navy on January 21, 1927. The delivery was unique in itself: standard procedure had been to either truck the aircraft or assemble and fly them off. However, each FB-5 was stood on its nose on a dolly, rolled out of the Boeing factory, and placed on a barge in Seattle Harbor that took them to the awaiting carrier USS Langley. Therefore, each FB-5 made its maiden flight from the Langley’s deck.

Though a satisfactory fighter, the FB-5 fell victim to the Navy’s move in the 1930s towards air-cooled engines exclusively for carrier-based aircraft. After only a few years in carrier service, the FB-5s were passed to the Marine Corps for use with shore-based squadrons.

The basic structure of our FB-5 restoration project arrived at Gillespie Field in 2007. It was an incomplete tubular steel fuselage, partially complete lower wings, upper wing ribs, and various detail parts, most of which were reproductions. There only a few detail parts in the aircraft that are original. No decision has yet been made as to where the completed aircraft will be displayed.