By Karl Toll

but quickly began securing orders for matically. The low-wing monoplane have the capacity or the expertise to aircraft derived from his ground- had come into existence and the USA dominate. With Tony Fokker gone, it breaking D.VII and D.VIII late-war was its leading innovator and propo- no longer had his peculiarly scintillat- fighter designs (see article on the nent. Foreign purchasing commissions, ing brand of salesmanship and drive, replica D.VII in this issue). which once had bought Fokker, were but the company could still compete Fokker Aircraft enjoyed a good now buying American and British air- in selected markets — and it was with reputation, even in the United States, craft (Fokker, ever the brilliant sales- this in mind that it embarked on two where it became known as the man, secured a deal with Donald new fighter programs. One was to Atlantic Aviation Company (so Douglas to sell the DC-2 in Europe). provide a basic state-of-the-art inter- renamed to avoid Fokker’s association The obsolete tri-motor thick wood- ceptor that embodied most of the with the Germans during the Great wing Fokker transports were being qualities of a mid-1930s fighter; the War — the Fokker name was not replaced with modern, rugged, and all- other was to introduce a new three- popular with Americans during the metal American-built in-one modern attack fighter/bomber, early 1920s), and when DC airliners. Fok- combining speed, range, load carrying FOKKER WAS NO LONGER IN THE FOREFRONT Fokker was not ker’s markets were and endurance. OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY, YET THEY turning vanishing out new and, in WOULD BUILD TWO FIGHTER designs the fall of such as the 1934, it be- DESIGNS THAT WENT UP C.V — the came apparent to the AGAINST THE BRUNT OF uring the mid-1930s, company’s most successful military company that new aircraft the fortunes of the design — he was selling the Fokker were needed to regain export control. THE NAZI BLITZKREIG. Fokker Aviation Com- series of single-engine and tri-motor Actually, there was no real hope pany had fallen upon transports to the world’s emerging air- of reestablishing Fokker’s predomi- ONE, THE D.XXI, D lines. Powered by as many as a dozen nance in the overseas military and hard times. Anthony Fokker, the man who had WOULD raised the Dutch aircraft manufacturing firm to world renown, different engines, most of them transport market. When it came to had been forced out from the company that bore his name. In English or American-built, Fokker building new fighters, Fokker did not CONTINUE a few years, he would be dead at age 49 (the charismatic fighters and transports wore the colors Tony Fokker with his revolutionary TO FIGHT Fokker literally worked himself to death, dying of pneumococ- of not only Holland, but also Eindecker monoplane — the first cal meningitis on 23 December 1939 in New York), leaving Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, production fighter to have a machine gun Norway, USA, Poland, Czechoslova- synchronized to fire through the propeller. AGAINST AN behind a legacy of innovative combat and commercial Fokker died in 1939 but his company was designs — as well as a moribund design office that appeared to be lack- kia, Yugoslavia, Turkey, and nearly already deeply in trouble well before this ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ing in new ideas. every South American nation. with outdated wooden designs. Following the First World War, aviation’s boy wonder (he was Fokker’s transports bridged oceans in ENEMY IN THE When the Germans invaded on 10 May 28 at the time) had utilized his superior salesmanship and his headline-grabbing firsts, spanned con- 1940, the Dutch had a variety of aircraft FROZEN NORTH ability to spot engineering talent to rescue his firm from the tinents, and broke records, even as its with which to oppose the enemy. This fighters stocked the squadrons of many view shows early production D.XXIs (note onus of German defeat. The Kaiser’s Imperial German Air the roundel insignia) being overflown by Service may have wound up among the losers of European air arms. Fokker C.V biplanes. Although nimble BY KARL TOLL WWI, but Anthony Fokker was a winner and, By the early 1930s, however, all against the Bf 109E, the D.XXI was too COLOR PROFILES COURTESY this had changed dra- few in number and many were immediately after the Armistice, he not only estab- destroyed/damaged on OSPREY PUBLISHING lished a new factory in his native Holland the ground. 30 AIR CLASSICS/March 2020 airclassicsnow.com 31.

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