Seversky P-35 (36-404) marked as P-35A in the USAAC at the National Museum of the USAF

This is a cool photo -- to my mind! -- of a Seversky P-35A coming in for a landing. Seversky later became Republic. The diminutive P-35 evolved into the P-43, which evolved into the legendary -- and huge -- P-47 Thunderbolt that helped wipe out the Luftwaffe. For some reason, I find the earlier versions of later aircraft more interesting. Maybe because it was the first effort to try to solve or overcome some long-standing drawback in performance development, like the attempt on the P-35 to transition from fixed landing gear to retractable. Also it's maybe because some of the early attempts look kind of cute, as if Walt Disney had designed them. The most perfect example of this to me is the Boeing P-26A, but the P-35A also has a certain cuteness to it. Later, more perfected and capable airplanes often look either somewhat bland, if attractive, or mean: they look like what they are, killing machines. That makes me uneasy, even if I like the airplane aesthetically.