The improved, three-engine F.VIIB-3m was the most numerous and successful type in the aircraft series; seen here in service with Linie Lotnicze LOT on the Warsaw-Bucharest route.
The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and several other companies under license. It was an airliner that could carry 6-12 people, depending on the version, and it used a variety of engines and engine configurations; while the first versions had a single nose engine, most were produced with three engines.
The F.VII was an important airliner in the 1920s and 1930s; made in several versions, it was used for record breaking flights. An enlarged variant of the F.VII, the F-10, was involved in a famous aviation accident in 1931, leading to safety reforms in the USA. It was also used for an attempt to reach the North Pole, although there was a debate if it did reach all the way there: the aircraft was at least flown in arctic conditions in this attempt. Less controversially, it was flown in the first flight across the Pacific from Australia to the United States, and earlier it was used in flight from the United States to Hawaii.
In the 1930s, the aircraft began to fall out of favor as newer designs that were larger, faster, and more streamlined entered service. Some major variations on this design included the Fokker F-10, which was bit bigger and could carry four additional passengers, and the Fokker F.VIII, which omitted the central engine thus becoming a twin-engined aircraft. The Fokker F.VII was also produced by licensees outside the Netherlands including SABCA, Avia, Avro, and others.
Design and development
F.VII prototype at Schiphol airport.The Napier Lion engine exposed in the nose of a F.VII
The F.VII was designed as a single-engined transport aircraft by Walter Rethel. Five examples of this model were built for the Dutch airline KLM. One of these aircraft, registered H-NACC, was used in 1924 for the first flight from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies. In 1925, while living in the US, Anthony Fokker heard of the inaugural Ford Reliability Tour, which was proposed as a competition for transport aircraft. Fokker had the company's head designer, Reinhold Platz, convert a single-engine F.VIIA airliner to a trimotor configuration, powered by 200hp (150kW)Wright Whirlwind radial engines. The resulting aircraft was designated the Fokker F.VIIA-3m. Following shipment to the US, it won the Ford Reliability Tour in late 1925. The Trimotor's structure consisted of a fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage and a plywood-skinned wooden wing.[1]
The Fokker F.VIIB-3m had a slightly increased wing area over the F.VIIA-3m, with power increased to 220hp (160kW) per engine, while the F.10 was slightly enlarged, carrying 12 passengers in an enclosed cabin. The aircraft became popularly known as the Fokker Trimotor.[2]
The Fokker F.VIII (F.8) was similar, but a twin engine configuration rather than a trimotor, and it was bigger. The Fokker F.IX (F-9) had a similar configuration to the F.VII, but it was quite a bit larger and carried 20 passengers.
Operational history
Seating arrangement in the 8-passenger F.VIIB-3mThe Southern Cross in 1943.Fokker F.VIIB-3m (CH-190) operated by Ad Astra AeroThe Josephine Ford at The Henry Ford museum
The eight- to 12-passenger Fokker was the aircraft of choice for many early airlines, both in Europe and the Americas, and it dominated the American market in the late 1920s. However, the popularity of the Fokker quickly waned after the 1931 crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F.10, which resulted in the death of Notre Damefootball coach Knute Rockne. The investigation revealed problems with the Fokker's plywood-laminate construction, resulting in a temporary ban from commercial flights, more stringent maintenance requirements, and a shift to all-metal aircraft such as the similar Ford Trimotor and later Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2.[3]
Pioneers and explorers
The F.VII was used by many explorers and aviation pioneers, including:
Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on 17 June 1928, as a passenger aboard the Fokker F.VIIB-3m Friendship (NX4204).[4]
A group of U. S. Army Air Corps flyers, led by then-MajorCarl Spaatz, set an endurance record of over 150 hours with the Question Mark, a Fokker C-2A over Los Angeles on 1 to 7 January 1929. The purpose of this mission was to set a flight endurance record using aerial refueling.[10]
Princess Xenia (a FVII, registered G-EBTS later renamed 'The Spider')
2 September 1928, C D Barnard and Eric Alliot flew Karachi to London 5,000 miles in 4.5 days
10 April 1930, C D Barnard, Bob Little and the Duchess of Bedford flew from Lympne to Cape Town - 9,000 miles in 91 hours and twenty minutes over 10 days.[12][13]
Variants
The F.VII with a single inline Napier Lion engine.F.VII retrofitted with a Bristol Jupiter radial engine in KLM livery.The French-registered F.VIIA flown for CIDNA (Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne).America before its journey across the Atlantic, which was a Civilian C-2 version
F.VII
Single-engined transport aircraft, powered by 360hp (270kW)Rolls-Royce Eagle or 450hp (340kW)Napier Lion 12-cylinder inline engines, accommodation for two crew and six passengers; five built. One converted to use 400hp (300kW)Bristol Jupiter 9-cylinder radial and two to use 480hp (360kW) Gnome-Rhône built Jupiter VI engine.[14]
F.VIIA (F.VIIA-1m)
Single-engined transport aircraft; the capacity was increased to carry 8 passengers and the aircraft received a new, simplified undercarriage with suspension and aerodynamic improvements (the ailerons were contained within the profile of the wing and capped by rounded wing tips, the aircraft was equipped with an adjustable stabilizer). Flown on 12 March 1925. First aircraft had a 420hp (310kW) V-12 Packard Liberty engine, but a further 39 F.VIIA examples had mostly Bristol Jupiter or Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engines.
F.VIIA-3m
The result of an attempt to improve the reliability of the aircraft by installing two additional underwing engines; flown on 4 September 1925. The first two aircraft were otherwise identical to the F.VIIA. From the third aircraft, the fuselage was 31in (80cm) longer and was powered by 200hp (149kW) Wright J-4 Whirlwind radial engines. Probably only 18 were built, while many F.VIIA were upgraded to the F.VIIA-3m standard.
F.VIIB-3m
Main production variant with heavier engines (offered were the 300hp (220kW) Wright Whirlwind, Armstrong Siddeley Lynx or 360hp (270kW)Titan Major radial engines) as well as a greater wing span and modified wing geometry; 154 built, including those built under licence.
Enlarged version of the Fokker F.VII airliner, able to carry up to 12 passengers; built by the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation in the United States.
A C-2 of the United States Army
C-2
Military transport version of the Fokker F.9, powered by three 220hp (164kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engines, accommodation for two pilots and ten passengers; three built in 1926 for the US Army Air Corps.
C-2A
Military transport version for the US Army Air Corps, with greater wingspan, powered by three 220hp (164kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engines, accommodation for two pilots and ten passengers; eight built in 1928.
XC-7
One C-2A fitted with three 330hp (246kW) Wright J-6-9 radial piston engines. Re-designated C-7 when four C-2A examples were similarly reconfigured.
C-7
Military transport conversion of C-2A for the US Army Air Corps by re-engining with 300hp (220kW) Wright R-975 engines. XC-7 prototype and four C-2As re-designated in 1931.
C-7A
Six new production C-7 (Wright R-975) aircraft with larger wings, new vertical fin design, and fuselages patterned after the commercial F.10A.
XLB-2
Experimental light bomber version of the C-7, powered by three 410hp (306kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1380 Wasp radial piston engines; one built.
TA-1
Military transport version for the US Navy and Marine Corps; three built.
TA-2
Military transport version for the US Navy; three built.
TA-3
Military transport version for the US Navy, powered by three Wright J-6 radial piston engines; one built.
Three aircraft built in Italy as the IMAM Ro.10, powered by three 215hp Alfa Romeo Lynx (licence built Armstrong Siddeley) engines. Three built for operation by Avio Linee Italiane and Ala Littoria.
Plage i Laśkiewicz. Between 1929 and 1930, produced 11 examples of F.VIIB-3m, plus 20 of its own F.VIIB-3m bomber version (developed by Jerzy Rudlicki).
Three aircraft built in Spain.
Avro, 14 aircraft known as Avro 618 Ten used Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engines
Operators
Civilian operators
Historical poster with stylized Fokker F.VII for the Belgian airline SABENA
On 21 June 1926, a KLM F.VII (H-NACL) force-landed at Seabrook Beach, Sandgate near Hythe, Kent, due to fuel exhaustion caused by pilot error; all five on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.[20]
On 9 July 1926, a KLM F.VII (H-NACC) struck ground in fog at Wolvertem, Belgium, killing both pilots.[21]
On 17 September 1927, a Reynolds Airways F.VII (C776) crashed at Dunellen, New Jersey, due to loss of control following engine failure, killing seven of 12 on board. The aircraft was formerly operated by KLM, and had been imported to the United States.[23]
On 4 July 1928, Belgian financier Alfred Lowenstein disappeared during a flight over the English Channel as a passenger in Fokker F.VIIA-3m (G-EBYI), in unknown circumstances.[24]
On 15 August 1928, a Pan Am F.VIIA-3m, General Machado (NC53) ditched in the Gulf of Mexico off Egmont Key, Florida.[25]
On 4 July 1929, a Fokker F.VIIA-3m (G-EBYI) force landed near Mongalla, Sudan. Owner and pilot was Donald H Drew, three passengers included Glen Kidston, no casualties. Aircraft damaged beyond repair.[26]
On 11 September 1930, a Sabena F.VII (OO-AIN) crashed on climbout from Croydon Airport due to an in-flight fire, killing both pilots.[27]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fokker F.VII.
Notes
↑ Thurston, David B. (2000). The World's Most Significant and Magnificent Aircraft: Evolution of the Modern Airplane. SAE. pp.127–128. ISBN978-0-7680-0537-0.
Bowers, Peter and Ernest McDowell. Triplanes: A Pictorial History of the World's Triplanes and Multiplanes. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1993. ISBN0-87938-614-2.
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