Fokker D.XVII

Last updated
D.XVII
Dutch Fokker D.XVII 2161 026350.jpg
General information
TypeFighter/Trainer aircraft
National originNetherlands
Manufacturer Fokker
Primary user Royal Netherlands Air Force
Number built11 [1] plus 1 prototype converted from a D.XVI [2]
History
Manufactured1932-1934
First flight27 November 1931 [1]
Retired1940
Developed from Fokker D.XVI

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.

Contents

Design and development

The Curtiss Conqueror powered D.XVII prototype. Het prototype van de Fokker D.17, voorzien van een Curtiss Conqueror motor (2161 026355).jpg
The Curtiss Conqueror powered D.XVII prototype.

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. [3] [1] 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. [4]

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. [1] When the Netherlands surrendered to the Germans, all surviving aircraft were burnt. [1]

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. Nevil 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. [5] [6]

Operators

Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands

Specifications (Fokker D.XVII)

Drawing of Fokker D.XVII prototype with Curtiss Conqueror engine. Fokker D.XVII side drawing L'Aerophile May1932.png
Drawing of Fokker D.XVII prototype with Curtiss Conqueror engine.

Data fromL'avion de chasse Fokker D XVII (Hollande) [7] and A Dutch Fighter [8]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.VII</span> 1918 fighter aircraft model by Fokker

The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the Luftstreitkräfte, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft. The Armistice ending the war specifically required, as the fourth clause of the "Clauses Relating to the Western Front", that Germany was required to surrender all D.VIIs to the Allies. Surviving aircraft saw much service with many countries in the years after World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.VIII</span> German fighter aircraft

The Fokker E.V was a German parasol-monoplane fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz and built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The E.V was the last Fokker design to become operational with the Luftstreitkräfte, entering service in the last months of World War I. After several fatal accidents due to wing failures, the aircraft was modified and redesignated Fokker D.VIII. Dubbed the Flying Razor by post-war pulp-fiction writers, the D.VIII had the distinction of scoring the last aerial victory of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siemens-Schuckert D.IV</span>

The Siemens-Schuckert D.IV was a late-World War I fighter aircraft from Siemens-Schuckert (SSW). It reached service too late and was produced in too few numbers to have any effect on the war effort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker G.I</span> Dutch WWII heavy fighter

The Fokker G.I was a Dutch twin-engined heavy fighter aircraft comparable in size and role to the German Messerschmitt Bf 110. Although in production prior to World War II, its combat introduction came at a time the Netherlands were overrun by the Germans. The few G.Is that were mustered into service were able to score several victories. Some were captured intact after the Germans had occupied the Netherlands. The remainder of the production run was taken over by the Luftwaffe for use as trainers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.XXI</span> 1936 Dutch fighter aircraft

The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker C.X</span> Dutch light bomber/scout aircraft

The Fokker C.X was a Dutch biplane scout and light bomber designed in 1933. It had a crew of two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieuport 11</span> French WW1 fighter aircraft

The Nieuport 11, nicknamed the Bébé, is a French World War I single seat sesquiplane fighter aircraft, designed by Gustave Delage. It was the primary aircraft that ended the Fokker Scourge in 1916. The type saw service with several of France's allies, and gave rise to the series of "vee-strut" Nieuport fighters that remained in service into the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.I</span>

The Fokker D.I was a development of the D.II fighter. The D.I was also flown in Austro-Hungarian service as a fighter trainer aircraft under the designation B.III. Confusing the matter further, both the D.II and D.I arrived at the Front in German service at similar times, in July–August 1916. The main designer was Martin Kreutzer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blériot-SPAD S.61</span> Type of aircraft

The Blériot-SPAD S.61 was a French fighter aircraft developed in 1923. Designed by André Herbemont, the S.61 was a conventional biplane, abandoning the swept upper wing used by Herbemont in several previous designs. The prototype S.61 was evaluated by the French Air Force alongside the S.51 as a potential new fighter, but like its stablemate, was rejected. The Polish Air Force was impressed enough to order 250, as well as purchase licences for local production. The Romanian Air Force also ordered 100 aircraft. About 30 were built in Poland, by the CWL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker C.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Fokker C.I was a German reconnaissance biplane under development at the end of World War I. The design was essentially an enlarged Fokker D.VII fighter with two seats and a 138 kW (185 hp) BMW IIIa engine. The C.I was originally developed to sell to the German Army. It never saw service in World War I, but Anthony Fokker managed to smuggle parts out of Germany at the time of the Armistice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.II</span> Type of aircraft

The Fokker D.II was a German fighter biplane of World War I. It was a single-seat fighter aircraft developed before the Fokker D.I. It was based on the M.17 prototype, with single-bay unstaggered wings and a larger fuselage and shorter span than production D.IIs. Using a 75 kW (100 hp) Oberursel U.I, the D.II was underpowered, though the single 7.92 mm (.312 in) lMG 08 machine gun was normal for 1916. The German Army purchased 177.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.XI</span> Dutch fighter aircraft

The Fokker D.XI was a 1920s Dutch single-seat fighter designed and built by Fokker

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.VI</span> 1910s German fighter aircraft

The Roland D.VI was a German fighter aircraft built at the end of World War I. It lost a fly-off to the Fokker D.VII, but production went ahead anyway as insurance against problems with the Fokker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.XIV</span> Type of aircraft

The Fokker D.XIV was a fighter aircraft developed in the Netherlands in the mid-1920s but which was only produced as a single prototype. It was a low-wing, cantilever monoplane with fixed tailskid undercarriage, the basic concept of which was derived from the Fokker V.25 that had been developed during World War I. The pilot sat in an open cockpit aft of the wing's trailing edge. Flight testing revealed excellent performance, but development was ceased when the prototype crashed, killing the test pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.XIII</span> Type of aircraft

The Fokker D.XIII was a fighter aircraft produced in the Netherlands in the mid-1920s. It was a development of the Fokker D.XI with a new powerplant and considerably refined aerodynamics, and had been designed to meet the requirements of the clandestine flying school operated by the German Army at Lipetsk in the Soviet Union. Like its predecessor, it was a conventional single-bay sesquiplane with staggered wings braced by V-struts. The pilot sat in an open cockpit and the undercarriage was of fixed, tailskid type. The wings were made of wood and skinned with plywood, and the fuselage was built up of welded steel tube with fabric covering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.XVI</span> Type of aircraft

The Fokker D.XVI was a sesquiplane fighter aircraft developed in the Netherlands in the late 1920s.

The Aviatik (Berg) D.II, the prototypes of which were known as Aviatik 30.22 and Aviatik 30.38, was an Austro-Hungarian sesquiplane fighter aircraft prototype towards the end of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loire 250</span> French 1935 prototype fighter plane

The Loire 250 was a French single-seat fighter monoplane designed and built by Loire Aviation of St. Nazaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.XII</span> Type of aircraft

The Fokker D.XII was a Dutch single seat, single engine fighter aircraft designed to an American specification which called for the use of a Curtiss D-12 engine, designated PW-7. Despite considerable efforts to improve the airframe, Fokker failed to win the USAAS competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Descamps 17</span> Type of aircraft

The Descamps 17 A.2 was a two-seat reconnaissance fighter built under a French government programme of 1923. Two versions, with different engines, were tested and six examples were built under licence by Caudron as the Caudron C.17 A.2.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gustavsson, 2012
  2. Westburg, 1974, p.17
  3. Westburg, 1974, p.21
  4. Davis, 1932, p.80
  5. Norway, 1954, p.226
  6. Taylor, 1970, p.
  7. de Rougery, 1932, p.116
  8. Spooner, 1934, pp.310-311

Bibliography