The Consolidated P-30 was a significant evolutionary step for the U.S. Army Air Corps during the 1930s. It served as a technological bridge, introducing several features that would soon become standard for fighter aircraft, including all-metal construction, a cantilever monoplane wing, an enclosed and heated cockpit, and retractable landing gear. Most notably, it was the first fighter in U.S. Army Air Corps service to utilize an exhaust-driven turbo-supercharger.
Produced by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation—a company founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet in Buffalo, New York—the P-30 was developed as a two-seat, single-engine land-based monoplane. The production batch was officially ordered on December 6, 1934. While some sources estimate a total of 60 aircraft were built, a more detailed breakdown indicates 50 P-30As in the production batch, four initial P-30s, and two Y1P-25 prototypes. One P-30A was uniquely constructed as a single-seater. The company later merged with Vultee Aircraft in 1943 to form Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft (Convair), which eventually became part of General Dynamics' Convair division in 1954.
Technically, the P-30 was powered by a liquid-cooled inline piston engine. Although the Curtiss V-1710-57 Conqueror was used as a prototype powerplant, the operational aircraft were equipped with the Curtiss V-1570-61, producing approximately 700 hp (522 kW). The propulsion system was augmented by a General Electric turbo-supercharger and Curtiss Electric constant-speed propellers. These specifications allowed the aircraft to reach a maximum speed of 275 mph at 25,000 feet, with a service ceiling of 28,000 feet and a rate of climb of 1,925 ft/min.
In service, the P-30 operated as a two-seat pursuit fighter. However, the two-seat fighter concept quickly became obsolete, and the aircraft arrived too late in the design cycle to remain competitive. By 1939, the U.S. Army Air Corps had replaced the P-30 on the front lines with more modern fighters, such as the Curtiss P-36 Hawk and the Seversky P-35. Some aircraft were re-designated as the PB-2 (and the single-seat P-30A as the PB-2A) after the Army eliminated the "pursuit bi-place" category. The remaining airframes were relegated to training roles until the final survivors were withdrawn from service on June 2, 1942.