The diminutive, nimble Boeing F4B-3, shown here returning to the USS Saratoga   (CV-3), first appeared in 1928.  It became the U.S. Navy\'s first truly operational carrier-borne fighter plane, while also seeing Army service as the P-12. 

Featuring a combination of aluminum and fabric in its construction, the F4B-3 was incredibly maneuverable, so sensitive that a pilot could turn the plane merely by putting his hand outside the cockpit into the airstream.  Going through several design modifications, the F4B series aircraft could fight on a par with virtually any plane of its class in the world during that period.  The F4B-4 saw active carrier duty until 1937.