Anthony Fokker: Designer of great airoplanes.

ANTHONY FOKKER:

DESIGNER OF GREAT AIRPLANES

BY: NEERAJ NARULA

DUE: NOVEMBER 27, 1997

Aircraft Technology is at a peak today. For over 80 years, Americans have been designing top of the line aircrafts that no other country could match. Throughout the decades, Americans have designed top fighter jets such as F-4 Phantom aircraft or the F-15 eagle. These planes were designed to strengthen the U.S. military and they obviously have, making the U.S. the strongest militant force in the world.

80 years ago, these technologies were not available. The best type of fighter available was the Fokker D-7, designed by Anthony Fokker. Anthony Fokker gave aircraft technology a boost in progress. If not for Fokker, no country in the world would be as developed as they are.

Anthony Herman Gerard Fokker's interest in aviation began at the age of 16 when he witnessed his first airplane flight, and then was inspired by news of Wilbur Wright's flights in France. In 1910, he enrolled in a school in Germany offering a course in practical aeronautics. There he helped build an airplane. Fokker helped build two more monoplanes, in which he made his first flight and earned a German pilot license.

When he completed his third plane, he took it home to Holland and made a triumphal flight honoring Queen Wilhelmina's birthday. It was the greatest moment in his life. In 1912, after moving to Johannisthal, a suburb of Berlin, his father financed his forming a company to manufacture airplanes. Then to interest German army officials, he built a scout plane and towed it to a nearby military base, where he assembled it and was airborne in minutes. The

army was so impressed, it ordered two.

The Germans then acquired Fokker to help their airplane unit. Fokker already had established his own company and now opportunities to show off his talents had arisen. With the little money that Fokker had, he designed prototypes for the Germans. The Germans were very impressed with the talents of Fokker and declared him a naturalized German, who could not leave the country in time of war.

In 1915, Fokker introduced the K-1. The K-1 was a biplane with twin tail booms. In the nose of each boom there was a position for ...

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army was so impressed, it ordered two.

In 1915, Fokker introduced the K-1. The K-1 was a biplane with twin tail booms. In the nose of each boom there was a position for a gunner. The central part of the plane contained the pilot’s seat and two 80hp engines, one pusher and one tractor. The combination of wing warping control and twin engines, unconnected the tail booms resulting in some bad handling characteristics, and was abandoned after only brief testing. Only one was built.

During the first two years of WWI, the wars in the air were a laughing matter. Pilots from all countries were shooting down other pilots but also shooting down their own planes. This was because when a pilot would shoot from above, sometimes their bullets would hit their own propeller. After a few hits to the propeller, their would not be enough power to fly and they would crash.

In 1916, Fokker introduced the Fokker D-7, a biplane fighter equipped with fixed-on machine-guns. These would allow German pilots to have an advantage over all other countries in the war because now German pilots would not shoot down their own airplanes as frequent. Considered by many to be the best fighter of World War I, the Fokker D-7 was a plane with good flying characteristics. The U. S. figured out how the Fokker D-7 was made and made planes like it on their own. It was such good a plane that when the U. S. got Germany to give up, they demanded that all Fokker D-7’s be surrendered and given to the U.S. and Switzerland.

The Fokker D-8 was a parasol monoplane fighter. Fokker had offered his new plane but Germany made Fokker design the plane for them. The D-8 was accepted by the German airforce, although there were many problems with the production of the plane. The D-8 was revolutionary. It was so good that the British called it the “Flying Razor.” The D-8 was an excellent fighter but its engine was low-powered so it became obsolete.

Once the U.S. found out how the Fokker D-8 was built, Fokker had to design a new plane. The German militia asked Fokker to design a new plane and he did. The Fokker E-1 was a mid-wing monoplane fighter with a synchronized, fixed, forward-firing machine-gun. The effectiveness of the E-1 and its derivatives, the Fokker E-2, E-3, and E-4, created the Fokker scourge. Many countries liked the idea of the synchronized machine-gun built on to the plane but the performance of the plane in general was poor. Only 54 were built.

This idea of having synchronized machine-guns fixed onto the planes was brilliant. It allowed German pilots to be much more competitive in the war. Americans realized that they had some competition on their hands and had some men work on ways to beat the German air force.

After Germany surrendered the war, Fokker fled to the Netherlands. Foreseeing the need for a postwar airliner, Fokker had developed the F-2, which he smuggled out of Germany. It was used by KLM, the royal Dutch airline, to set up air routes throughout Europe. It was Billy Mitchell who orders advanced Fokkers equipped with American engines for his army air service. Among them was the famous "T-2" used by lieutenants Macready and Kelly in 1923 to

make the first non-stop transcontinental flight.

After Fokker came to the United States in 1924 and established the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, he created the famous Fokker trimotor for the 1925 Ford Reliability Tour. It was a sensation and soon became the world's standard for comfort and safety. It was Commander Byrd and Floyd Bennett who made Fokker's trimotor famous when they made the first flight over the north pole in the "Josephine Ford". After the Fokker Aircraft Corporation was established in 1925, the air service purchased several of its transports.

In 1929, General Motors acquired control of Fokker Aircraft Corporation and Fokker was named technical director, as the F-11 amphibian and the F-14 transports are introduced, followed by the 4-engined F-32, America's largest transport. Fokker’s most powerful plane that he designed must be the Fokker D-XXI, a Dutch single seat monoplane fighter with two-fixed synchronized machine-guns attached. The first prototype flew in February 1936. Finland, the first customer for this plane, ended up building a total of 90 Fokker D-XXIs. More than half of these were locally modified to use a different power plant. During the Winter War (1939-40), the Fokker D-XXI was already obsolescent, but because of its high diving speed, it could break out from combat when necessary. Fokker D-XXIs claimed total of 187 aerial victories during 1939-1944 - 127 of those in the Winter War. In the Continuation War (1941-1944), Fokker's planes were used mainly for reconnaissance and training.

Anthony Herman Gerard Fokker's unexpected passing away at the age of only 42, brings to a close the career of an aeronautical genius. His company went on to build much bigger and better aircrafts under Anthony Fokker’s name. Throughout his career, Anthony Fokker led aircraft technology. From his mid-teens, when he built prototypes for European countries, to the day before he died, when he was part of a company that he had a part in running. Known as the "Flying Dutchman", he was the most skillful of pilots, gifted of designers, and cheerful of men. Fokker has boosted the development of aircraft technology and his achievements will never be forgotten.