Fokker F.II
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| F.II | |
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| Type | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Fokker |
| Designed by | Reinhold Platz |
| Maiden flight | October 1919 |
| Primary users | KLM Deutsche Aero Lloyd |
| Number built | c. 30 |
The Fokker F.II was an early airliner produced in Germany and the Netherlands shortly after World War I. It was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a design lineage back to designer Reinhold Platz's D.VIII fighter, via his abortive F.I. Unlike this latter aircraft, however, passengers were provided with a fully-enclosed cabin. The wing construction was of wood, fully skinned in plywood, and the fuselage was of welded steel tube covered in fabric. The aircraft had fixed, tailskid undercarriage, the main units of which were joined by a cross-axle.
The prototype F.II, known by the company designation V.45, was constructed at the Fokker factory in Schwerin, Germany, and made its first flight there in October 1919. When Anthony Fokker decided to relocate the firm to the Netherlands, the V.45 was illegally flown across the border on 20 March 1920. Even after this, perhaps another three examples were built at Schwerin before production shifted to Amsterdam and Veere. In Germany, however, the technical manager of Deutsche Aero Lloyd, Karl Grulich arranged to build the type under licence for the airline, making a few modifications of his own to the design. These included strengthened landing gear, a redesigned cockpit, and redesigned cabin windows. Deutsche Aero Lloyd built the fuselages at its own workshops, but the wings were built by Albatros and were then supplied to the airline for final assembly.
[edit] Operational history
KLM operated Dutch-built examples between 1920 and 1927, and two more of these were sold to SABENA, who used them on its Brussels-Antwerp route. The few machines that Fokker had built in Germany were bought by Deutsche Luftreederei and registered in the Free City of Danzig. Deutsche Aero Lloyd's aircraft were used right up until the time the airline was absorbed by Deutsche Lufthansa in 1926, at which point ten machines remained. These were put to use on regional routes linking Cologne with Aachen, Essen, Krefeld, and Mülheim until 1934.
[edit] Operators
- KLM
- SABENA
- Deutsche Aero Lloyd/Deutsche Lufthansa
- Deutsche Luftreederei
[edit] Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Capacity: 5 passengers
- Length: 11.65 m (38 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 16.10 m (52 ft 10 in)
- Height: 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 38.2 m² (411 ft²)
- Empty weight: 1,200 kg (2,650 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,900 kg (4,190 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × BMW IIIa, 138 kW (185 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph)
- Range: 1,200 km (750 miles)
[edit] References
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 405.
- World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 894 Sheet 36.
- "A Fokker Raid on London" (7 October 1920). Flight: 1064-66.
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