Forums


  • The Fokker D.XVI (sometimes written as Fokker D.16) was a sesquiplane fighter aircraft developed in the Netherlands in the late 1920s.
    Development
    The Fokker D.XVI was a conventional, single-bay sesquiplane with staggered wings braced with V-struts. It featured an open cockpit and fixed undercarriage with a tailskid. The wings were made up of wood spars and ribs with a plywood covering, while the fuselage was of steel tube construction with a fabric covering. Power was provided by an Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar radial engine fitted with a Townend ring.
    Operational history
    The Royal Netherlands Army ordered 14 aircraft, which differed from the prototype in having divided main undercarriage units in place of the prototype's cross-axle. Hungary purchased four aircraft with Gnome et Rhône-built Bristol Jupiter engines in place of the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engines used on the Dutch machines. Evaluation aircraft were also provided to China, Italy, Roumania and the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army machine was powered by a Curtiss V-1570, which crashed in March 1931 at Schiphol. The D.XVI also won a competition organised by the government of Roumania to select a new fighter, but despite this, no orders were placed. One Dutch Army aircraft was given to Roumania. In lieu of the radial-engined D.XVI, Fokker manufactured the similar Fokker D.XVII powered with an inline engine. One example was fitted with a three-bladed propeller and a full-chord NACA cowling.
    3
    2
    Fokker D XVI
    1
     157
    1
    General characteristics
    Crew: One pilot
    Length: 7.34 m (24 ft 1 in)
    Upper wingspan: 9.40 m (30 ft 10 in)
    Lower wingspan: 7.12 m (23 ft 4 in)
    Height: 2.70 m (8 ft 10 in)
    Wing area: 18.5 m2 (199 sq ft)
    Empty weight: 1,005 kg (2,216 lb)
    Gross weight: 1,475 kg (3,252 lb)
    Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar 14-cylinder two-row air cooled radial engine, 340 kW (460 hp)
    Propellers: 2-bladed
    Performance
    Maximum speed: 320 km/h (200 mph, 170 kn)
    Range: 640 km (400 mi, 350 nmi)
    Endurance: 3.5 hours
    Armament
    Guns: 2 × fixed, forward-firing 7.9 mm (.31 in) Vickers M20 machine guns, later replaced with FN Browning machine guns, in forward fuselage
     

  • Fokker D.XVII
    Fokker D.XVII (sometimes written as Fokker D.17), was a 1930s Dutch sesquiplane developed by Fokker. It was the last fabric-covered biplane fighter they developed in a lineage that extended back to the First World War Fokker D.VII.
    Design and development
    Problems with severe vibration in the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar radial engine on the Fokker D.XVI resulted in one being converted to use a normally aspirated 500 hp (370 kW) Curtiss Conqueror V-1570 V-twelve, becoming the prototype for the D.XVII. Production versions were fitted with a 600 hp (450 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel, while one aircraft was built with a 790 hp (590 kW) Lorraine Pétrel and another was built with a 690 hp (510 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs for comparison purposes. Structure was standard for Fokkers throughout the 1920s. The sesquiplane's fuselage was welded steel tube with fabric covering and the wings were made with wood spars and ribs covered with plywood.
    Operational history
    On 18 January 1935, Lieutenant René Wittert van Hoogland set a Dutch high-altitude record in a Fokker D.XVII of 10,180 m (33,400 ft) while using oxygen and high octane fuel.

    By May 1939, the aircraft was obsolete and remaining examples were transferred to the LVA Flying School for fighter pilot training however they saw some action during the Battle of the Netherlands, escorting Fokker C.Vs and C.Xs on bombing missions. When the Netherlands surrendered to the Germans, all surviving aircraft were burnt.

    Airspeed Ltd. had a licence to build Fokker aircraft in England and considered making the Fokker D.XVII fighter for Greece under the designation Airspeed AS.17. Greek government interest was constrained by currency concerns. Neville Shute and a Fokker representative "who was well accustomed to methods of business in the Balkans" spent three weeks in Athens but they did not close the deal.
    1
    XVII
    XVII Curtiss Powered Conversion
    Specifications (Fokker D.XVII)
    General characteristics
    Crew: One
    Length: 7.20 m (23 ft 7 in)
    Upper wingspan: 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
    Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
    Wing area: 20.0 m2 (215 sq ft)
    Empty weight: 1,120 kg (2,469 lb)
    Gross weight: 1,500 kg (3,307 lb)
    Fuel capacity: 190 L (42 imp gal; 50 US gal)
    Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIS liquid-cooled V-12, 482 kW (646 hp) 655 CV @ 3,500 m (11,500 ft), .68 gear ratio.
    Propellers: 2-bladed
    Performance
    Maximum speed: 345 km/h (214 mph, 186 kn)
    Cruise speed: 290 km/h (186 mph, 162 kn)
    Range: 660 km (410 mi, 360 nmi)
    Service ceiling: 9,400 m (31,000 ft)
    Time to altitude:
    2.8 minutes to 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
    5.7 minutes to 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
    10 minutes to 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
    18 minutes to 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
    29 minutes to 9,000 m (30,000 ft)
    Wing loading: 75 kg/m2 (15 lb/sq ft)
    Power/mass: 0.195 hp/lb (0.321 kW/kg)
    Armament
    Guns: 2 × FN-Browning M.36 7.92 mm (0.31 in) machine guns.
     

Moderator(s): Boelcke, Buhli, cheruskerarmin, Cpt_Farrel, Duggy, Graf, Gumpy, Hayate, HBPencil, HEERDT, Jarink, Jaypack44, Juri_JS, kristorf, mapal, MarcoPegase44, monguse, PatCartier, PIPS, RAF_Loke, Rudi_Jaeger, Tailhook, Tomi_099, US_Grant