The first military aircraft designed and built by the
Berliner-Joyce Corporation, the P-16 (later redesignated
PB-1) was a tandem two-seat fighter designed to
the requirements of a USAAC contest held in April
1929. The prototype XP-16, powered by a supercharged
Curtiss V-1570A Conqueror 12-cylinder liquid-cooled
engine rated at 600hp, appeared in October 1929, and was of fabric-covered metal construction with an upper
wing of gull configuration. Armament comprised two
fixed forward-firing 7.62mm machine guns and
a third weapon of similar calibre on a flexible mounting
in the rear cockpit. Five 11kg or two 55kg bombs could be carried.
Two contracts were
issued for a total of 25 service test aircraft as YlP-16s,
these being essentially similar to the prototype apart
from having the unsupercharged V-1570-25 Conqueror
which was also rated at 600hp. The YlP-16s were delivered
in 1932 and were later redesignated as PB-1s
(pursuit-biplace). These proved to possess insufficient
manoeuvrability to oppose single-seat fighters, offered
extremely poor visibility for landing and displayed a
tendency to nose over. As a consequence they were
withdrawn from USAAC service on 31 January 1934.
W.Green, D.Swanborough "The Complete Book of Fighters", 2000
