Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker.
The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany,
moving to the Netherlands in 1919.
During its most successful period in the 1920s and 1930s, it dominated the civil aviation
market.
Fokker went into bankruptcy in 1996, and its operations were sold to competitors.
History
Fokker in Germany At age 20, Anthony Fokker, while studying
in Germany built his initial aircraft, the Spin—the first Dutch-built plane to fly
in his home country.
Taking advantage of better opportunities in Germany, he moved to Berlin where, in 1912,
he founded his first company, Fokker Aeroplanbau, later moving to the Görries suburb just southwest
of Schwerin, where the current company was founded, as Fokker Aviatik GmbH, on 12 February
1912.
World War I Fokker capitalized on having sold several
Fokker Spin monoplanes to the German government and set up a factory in Germany to supply
the German army.
His first new design for the Germans to be produced in any numbers was the Fokker M.5,
which was little more than a copy of the Morane-Saulnier G, built with steel tube instead of wood for
the fuselage, and with minor alterations to the outline of the rudder and undercarriage
and a new aerofoil section.
When it was realized that it was desirable to arm these scouts with a machine gun firing
through the propeller, Fokker developed a synchronization gear similar to that patented
by Franz Schneider.
Fitted with a developed version of this gear, the M.5 became the Fokker Eindecker which,
due to its revolutionary armament, became one of the most feared aircraft over the western
front, its introduction leading to a period of German air superiority known as the Fokker
Scourge until the balance was restored by aircraft such as the Nieuport 11 and Airco
DH.2.
During World War I, Fokker engineers were working on the Fokker-Leimberger, an externally
powered 12-barrel Gatling gun in the 7.92x57mm round capable of firing over 7200RPM.
Later during the war, the German government forced Fokker and Junkers to cooperate more
closely, which resulted in the foundation of the Junkers-Fokker Aktiengesellschaft on
20 October 1917.
As this partnership proved to be troublesome, it was eventually dissolved again.
By then, designer Reinhold Platz had adapted some of Junkers design concepts, what resulted
in a visual similarity between the aircraft of those two manufacturers during the next
decade.
Some of the noteworthy types produced by Fokker during the second half of the war included
the Fokker D.VI, Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker, Fokker D.VII and the Fokker D.VIII.
Return to the Netherlands In 1919, Fokker, owing large sums in back
taxes, returned to the Netherlands and founded a new company near Amsterdam with the support
of Steenkolen Handels Vereniging, now known as SHV Holdings.
He chose the name Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek to conceal the Fokker brand because of his
WWI involvement.
Despite the strict disarmament conditions in the Treaty of Versailles, Fokker did not
return home empty-handed.
In 1919 he arranged an export permit and brought six entire trains of parts, and 180 types
of aircraft across the Dutch-German border, among them 117 Fokker C.I's, D.VII's and D.VIII's.
This initial stock enabled him to set up shop quickly.
After his company's relocation, many Fokker C.I and C.IV military air-planes were delivered
to Russia, Romania and the still clandestine German air-force.
Success came on the commercial market too, with the development of the Fokker F.VII,
a high-winged aircraft capable of taking on various types of engines.
Fokker continued to design and build military aircraft, delivering planes to the Dutch air
force.
Foreign military customers eventually included Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland,
Hungary, and Italy.
These countries bought substantial numbers of the Fokker C.V reconnaissance aircraft,
which became Fokker's main success in the latter part of the 1920s and early 1930s.
1920s and 30s: Fokker's glory period
In the 1920s, Fokker entered its glory years, becoming the world's largest aircraft manufacturer
by the late 1920s.
Its greatest success was the F.VIIa/3m trimotor passenger aircraft, which was used by 54 airline
companies worldwide and captured 40 percent of the American market in 1936.
It shared the European market with the Junkers all-metal aircraft but dominated the American
market until the arrival of the Ford Trimotor which copied the aerodynamic features of the
Fokker F.VII, and Junkers structural concepts.
A serious blow to Fokker's reputation came after the TWA Flight 599 disaster in Kansas,
when it became known that the crash was caused by a structural failure caused by wood rot.
Notre Dame legendary football coach Knute Rockne was among the fatalities, prompting
extensive media coverage and technical investigation.
As a result all Fokkers were grounded in the USA, along with many other types that had
copied Fokker's wings.
In 1923 Anthony Fokker moved to the United States, where he established an American branch
of his company, the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, in 1927 being renamed Fokker Aircraft Corporation
of America.
In 1930 this company merged with General Motors Corporation and the company's new name would
be General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation.
A year later, discontented at being totally subordinate to GM management, Fokker resigned.
On 23 December 1939, Anthony Fokker died in New York City.
World War II At the outset of World War II, the few G.1s
and D.XXIs of the Dutch Air Force were able to score a respectable number of victories
against the Luftwaffe but many were destroyed on the ground before they could be used.
The Fokker factories were confiscated by the Germans and were used to build Bücker Bü
181 Bestmann trainers and parts for the Junkers Ju 52 transport.
At the end of the war, the factories were completely stripped by the Germans and destroyed
by Allied bombing.
Post-World War II rebuilding
Rebuilding after the war proved difficult.
The market was flooded with cheap surplus aeroplanes from the war.
The company cautiously started building gliders and autobuses and converting Dakota transport
planes to civilian versions.
A few F25s were built.
Nevertheless, the S-11 trainer was a success, being purchased by several air forces.
The S-14 Machtrainer became one of the first jet trainers, and although not an export success,
it served for over a decade with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
A new factory was built next to Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam in 1951.
A number of military planes were built there under license, among them the Gloster Meteor
twin jet fighter and Lockheed's F-104 Starfighter.
A second production and maintenance facility was established at Woensdrecht.
In 1958 the F-27 Friendship was introduced, Fokker's most successful post-war airliner.
The Dutch government contributed 27 million guilders to its development.
Powered by the Rolls-Royce Dart, it became the world's best selling turboprop airliner,
reaching almost 800 units sold by 1986, including 206 under license by Fairchild.
There is also a military version of the F-27, the F-27 Troopship.
In 1962, the F-27 was followed by the F-28 Fellowship.
Until production stopped in 1987, a total of 241 were built in various versions.
Both an F-27 and later an F-28 served with the Dutch Royal Flight, Prince Bernhard himself
being a pilot.
In 1969, Fokker agreed to an alliance with Bremen-based Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke
under control of a transnational holding company.
They collaborated on an unsuccessful regional jetliner, the VFW-614, of which only 19 were
sold.
This collaboration ended in early 1980.
Fokker was one of the main partners in the F-16 Fighting Falcon consortium, which was
responsible for the production of these fighters for the Belgian, Danish, Dutch, and Norwegian
Air Forces.
It consisted of companies and government agencies from these four countries and the United States.
F-16s were assembled at Fokker and at SABCA in Belgium with parts from the five countries
involved.
Aerospace In 1967, Fokker started a modest space division
building parts for European satellites.
A major advance came in 1968 when Fokker developed the first Dutch satellite together with Philips
and Dutch universities.
This was followed by a second major satellite project, IRAS, successfully launched in 1983.
The European Space Agency in June 1974 named a consortium headed by ERNO-VFW-Fokker GmbH
to build pressurized modules for Spacelab.
Subsequently, Fokker contributed to many European satellite projects, as well as to the Ariane
rocket in its various models.
Together with a Russian contractor, they developed the huge parachute system for the Ariane 5
rocket boosters which would allow the boosters to return to Earth safely and be reused.
The space division became more and more independent until, just before Fokker's bankruptcy in
1996, it became a fully stand-alone corporation, known successively as Fokker Space and Systems,
Fokker Space, and Dutch Space.
On 1 January 2006, it was taken over by EADS-Space Transportation.
Fokker 50, Fokker 100, and Fokker 70
After a brief and unsuccessful collaboration effort with McDonnell Douglas in 1981, Fokker
began an ambitious project to develop two new aircraft concurrently.
The Fokker 50 was to be a completely modernised version of the F-27, the Fokker 100 a new
airliner based on the F-28.
Yet development costs were allowed to spiral out of control, almost forcing Fokker out
of business in 1987.
The Dutch government bailed them out with 212 million Guilders but demanded Fokker look
for a "strategic partner", British Aerospace and DASA being named most likely candidates.
Initial sales of the Fokker 100 were good, leading Fokker to begin development of the
Fokker 70, a smaller version of the F100, in 1991.
But sales of the F70 were below expectations and the F100 had strong competition from Boeing
and Airbus by then.
In 1992, after a long and arduous negotiation process, Fokker signed an agreement with DASA.
This did not however solve Fokker's problems, mostly because DASA's parent company Daimler-Benz
also had to deal with its own organisational problems.
Bankruptcy On 22 January 1996, the Board of Directors
of Daimler-Benz decided to focus on its core automobile business and cut ties with Fokker.
The next day an Amsterdam court extended temporary creditor protection.
On 15 March the Fokker company was declared bankrupt.
Those divisions of the company that manufactured parts and carried out maintenance and repair
work were taken over by Stork N.V.; it is now known as Stork Aerospace Group.
Stork Fokker exists to sustain remarketing of the company's existing aircraft: they refurbish
and resell F50s and F100s, and converted a few F50s to transport aircraft.
Special projects included the development of an F50 Maritime Patrol variant and an F100
Executive Jet.
For this project, Stork received the 2005 "Aerospace Industry Award" in the Air Transport
category from Flight International magazine.
Other divisions of the company that were profitable, continued as separate companies, like Fokker
Space and Fokker Control Systems.
In November 2009, Stork Aerospace changed its name to Fokker Aerospace Group.
As of 2011, the Fokker Aerospace Group changed its name to Fokker Technologies.
The five individual business units within Fokker Technologies all carry the Fokker name:
Fokker Aerostructures Fokker Landing Gear
Fokker Elmo Fokker Aircraft Services
Fokker Services The former Fokker aircraft facilities at Schiphol
were redeveloped into the Fokker Logistics Park.
One of the former Fokker tenants is Fokker Services.
Meanwhile, Rekkof Aircraft is attempting to restart production of the Fokker XF70 and
XF100, supported by suppliers and airlines.
Famous Fokker aircraft and pilots
In 1915, the Fokker E.I was the first "fighter" introduced into the German air force, leading
to the Fokker Scourge.
Manfred von Richthofen is associated with an all red Fokker Dr.I triplane, at least
for some of his 80 victories The introduction of the Fokker D.VII into
the German air force in 1918 revolutionized aircraft design.
In 1923, Oakley George Kelly and John Arthur Macready completed the first non-stop flight
spanning the North American continent in a Fokker T-2 Variant of Fokker F.IV.
In 1927, Richard E. Byrd completed his trans-Atlantic flight from New York City to Paris in a Fokker
F.VII.
In 1928, Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger did
so in a Fokker F.VII piloted by Wilmer L. Stultz.
In 1928, Charles Kingsford-Smith completed the first trans-Pacific flight in another
F.VII.
The Fokker S-14 Machtrainer was one of the first purpose-built jet training aircraft
in the world.
The United States Army Parachute Team Jump from an F-27
Fokker aircraft 1912–1918
Fokker Spin Fokker M.1 - M.4 Spin
Fokker W.1 - W.2 Fokker A.III
Fokker A.II Fokker M.6
Fokker B.I Fokker W.3
Fokker A.I Fokker M.9
Fokker B.II Fokker Eindecker fighters
Fokker E.I Fokker E.II
Fokker E.III Fokker E.IV
Fokker M.16E and M.16Z Fokker B.II
Fokker B.III Fokker D.I
Fokker D.II Fokker D.III
Fokker D.IV Fokker D.V
Fokker V.1 Fokker V.2 and V.3
Fokker V.4 Fokker F.I
Fokker Dr.I Fokker V.6
Fokker V.7 Fokker V.8
Fokker V.9, V.11, V.12, V.13.
V.14, and V.16 Fokker D.VI
Fokker D.VII Fokker V.17 - V.25
Fokker E.V/D.VIII Fokker V.27 - V.37
Fokker C.I Fokker V.39
1919–1940 Fokker V.39 - Fokker V.42
Fokker C.I Fokker F.6
Fokker F.II Fokker F.III
Fokker F.IV Fokker T.II
Fokker S.I Fokker D.IX
Fokker D.X Fokker S.II
Fokker B.I Fokker C.IV
Fokker F.V Fokker S.III
Fokker D.XI Fokker DC.I
Fokker T.III Fokker B.II
Fokker F.VII Fokker C.V
Fokker D.XII Fokker D.XIII
Fokker S.IV Fokker D.XIV
Fokker B.III Fokker F.VIII
Fokker T.IV - T.IVa Fokker C.VII-W
Fokker F.XI "Universal" Fokker F.XIV
Fokker D.XVI Fokker F.IX
Fokker C.VIII Fokker C.IX
Fokker F.XII Fokker D.XVII
Fokker F.XVIII Fokker F.XX
Fokker F.XXXVI Fokker C.X
Fokker F.XXII Fokker C.XI-W
Fokker D.XXI Fokker G.I
Fokker T.V Fokker S.IX
Fokker C.IV-W Fokker T.VIII
Fokker D.XXIII Fokker F.XXIV
Fokker T.IX Fokker-Atlantic designs
Fokker A-2 Ambulance Fokker A-7 Attack
Fokker AO Artillery Observation / Atlantic Observation
Fokker B-8 Fokker C-2
Fokker C-5 Fokker C-7
Fokker C-14 Fokker C-15
Fokker C-16 Fokker C-20
Fokker CO-4 Fokker CO-4 Mailplane
Fokker CO-8 Fokker FA
Fokker FLB Fokker JA
Fokker LB-2 Light Bomber Fokker O-27
Fokker PJ Fokker PW-5
Fokker PW-6 Fokker PW-7
Fokker RA Fokker T-2
Fokker B.11 Sport/Trainer Fokker F.7
Fokker F.10 Fokker F.11
Fokker F.12 Fokker F.13
Fokker F.14 Fokker DH-4M
Fokker-Hall H-51 Fokker Universal Airliner & freighter
Fokker Super Universal Airliner & freighter Fokker F.32
1945–Present day Fokker F24
Fokker F25 Promotor Fokker S-11 Instructor
Fokker S-12 Instructor Fokker S-13 Universal Trainer
Fokker S-14 Machtrainer Fokker F26 Phantom
Fokker F27 Friendship Fokker F28 Fellowship
Fokker F.29 Fokker 50
Fokker 60 Utility Fokker 70
Fokker 100 Fokker 120NG
Fokker 130 References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
Fokker Technologies Official company website Pictures of the Fokker fleet
Rekkof official website Fokker, a living history
FokkerPilot.net Fokker aircraft website
The assembly-hall at Fokker with lots of F-16s Armistice terms