's talented staff creates a back country workhorse.

nthony H.G. Fokker was not ering, helped with the arrangements. The secret of Fokker's success was the most popular aviation per­ The future Reichsmarshall, equipped his genius for hiring talented people. A sonality in the early '20s. with a pacified Fokker D.VII, would He had picked the right engineers Fokker, a Dutchman, had thrown in be Fokker's sales representative in and designers, such as the gifted with the Germans in 1914. He was Scandinavia for a year or more. Reinhold Platz, a welder who rose widely perceived to be a war profi­ Fokker's detractors have alluded from the ranks, and Walter Rethel, teer and, indeed, had been one of to a secret 1922 agreement between whose mas- the few major suppliers of the the manufacturer and the new Ger­ Kaiser's air service to survive with his man government, wherein that industrial base more or less intact government would have first call and plenty of money in the bank. on Fokker's services in the Within a matter of months after event of another war. This, of the armistice, Tony Fokker was back course, was long before in business in his native Holland Hitler came to power and manufacturing . His surrepti­ the idea of another war tious departure from Germany, was anathema to almost which involved marshaling no less everyone. Nevertheless, a than six trainloads of contraband German-Soviet pact main­ materials, tools, engines, and 220 tained a clandestine unfinished aircraft, was a classic Luftwaffe on Soviet soil. piece of international subterfuge. An Fokker supplied most of its ex-fighter pilot, Capt. Hermann Go­ equipment. By John Underwood

10 SEPTEMBER 2000 terpiece would be the Messerschmitt Bf 109. This team created air craft that were among the best avail­ able anywhere in the world. Fokker himself, though no engi­ neer, had an instinctive under­ standing for what was technologi­ cally correct. He was a superb pilot and did much of his own test fly­ ing. Fokker's brilliant demon­ stration flying and masterful sales­ manship was a combination that invariably spelled success. That and the fact that he was not averse to cheating to make a good perfor­ mance look even better on paper. Fokker's warplanes were far supe­ rior to anything available in the "Tony" Fokker, shown in a 1912 Spin United States, which had precious (Spider). He built and flew his first mono­ plane in 1910 at age 20. He moved to little expertise in the production of Germany (Johannistal) in 1912 to seek his combat aircraft. The air service had fortune, becoming a naturalized citizen in been equipped exclusively with 1917. Fokker later became a U.S. citizen French, English, and Italian aircraft and lived in Nyack, NY, when he died of during 1917 and 1918. Indigenous complications following minor surgery in December 1939. designs were regarded as unsuitable for combat for a considerable period of time thereafter. land on the q.t. The F.III, with its There was strong resistance to the Fokker fighters remained in ser­ comfortable passenger cabin (pilots importation of foreign aircraft, par­ vice well into the '20s, both in preferred to remain in open cock­ ticularly anything Teutonic. Fokker's Europe and the United States, which pits), quickly found favor with modest success in selling aircraft to had acquired 50 highly esteemed Europe's infant industry, the U.S. military was roundly criti­ D.VIIs for the military. In addition, which included KLM and DVR, the cized from almost every quarter. the army and the navy procured forerunner of Lufthansa. Fokker, on Why spend American dollars over­ small quantities of postwar Nether­ one of his early U.S. visits, brought seas when the aircraft industry at lands-built . These included two F.IIIs to test the North American home was in dire need of what little fighters such as the PW-5, CO-2 ob­ market. business there was? servation craft, and T-2 transports, one of which made the first nonstop coast-to-coast crossing of the United States in May of 1923. The T-2 was a stretched version of Fokker's F.I1I commercial aircraft, which had evolved from a prototype built in Germany in the immediate postwar period and spirited to Hol-

Fokker escorting Kingsford-Smith's world girdling Southern Cross in a bor­ rowed Monocoupe, July 1931. He was fined $500 for performing stunts with a passenger ("Pushka") and having no certificate. Fokker had never troubled himself to apply for any certificate after earning German FAI License No. 88 in 1911. The fine was rescinded when Fokker presented his newly acquired U.S. private pilot's certificate in September. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11 Fokker and "Pushka" Galanschikoff, an early Russian aviatrix, in 1913. Fokker sold her a Spider and fell in love. "Pushka" fled the Russian Revolution, lived in New York, and performed pub­ lic relations services for Fokker. She aspired to fly the Atlantic in a Fokker, but Earhart beat her to it.

Crow, and the FK.26 transport, a cabin biplane. He was an engineer­ designer by training and a born manager with a full measure of fi­ nancial sense. was named general manager and treasurer of At­ lantic Aircraft. Bob Noorduyn's first production order was for 135 welded steel tube . His mother was fuselages to rejuvenate the U.S. air English. Unlike Fokker, service's dilapidated de Havilland Noorduyn had helped DH-4 bombers. The welded fuselage supply the Allies with was largely a Fokker innovation, and aircraft during the war, his welders were among the most notably in the employ skilled in the industry. Many were of Tom Sopwith and Sir Dutch imports themselves. Indeed, W.G. Armstrong-Whit­ the language on the factory floor was worth & Co. as much Dutch-German as it was Noorduyn had been English. an assistant to another Commercial aviation was late in Dutch designer, Fritz developing in the United States, and Koolhoven, at Arm­ Fokker's F.III transport, which was The Fokker F-11, built at in 1919, featured strong-Whitworth, widely used in Europe by KLM and cabin comfort for six passengers. Fokker adopted the full-cantilever wing in 1917. which led to a postwar Lufthansa, was a marketing disap­ hitch in the same ca­ pointment. Only two F.IIIs were pacity with the British imported, one of which found its Wartime sentiments notwith­ Aerial Transport Co., which pro­ way to Anchorage, where the broth­ standing, Fokker had friends and duced the BAT monoplane fighter, ers Wien hoped to start an airline. admirers in the business world and an ultralight monoplane called the The other later belonged to a boot- in the U.S. military. One of them was Brig. Gen. Billy A lineup of Fokker D.Vlls still bearing German crosses at Kelly Field circa 1920. Mitchell, assistant chief of the Peter M. Bowers photo. air service. The upshot of this was the establishment of a com­ pany at Teterboro, New Jersey, in a nearly new plant formerly occupied by the Wittman-Lewis Company, builders of the cele­ brated Barling Bomber. The venture, funded largely by American investment, became known as the Corporation. Fokker had an able assistant in the person of Robert B.C. Noorduyn, a fellow Dutchman whose mother was English, who would later manufacture the Norseman bush airplane in

12 SEPTEMBER 2000 The first Fokker Tri-Motor was created on short notice to compete in the 1925 Ford Reliabi lity Tou r. It was quite a sensation. Variants pioneered the airways with WAE, American, and Pan Am. legger. The lack of suitable landing facilities, both in the Lower 48 and in the territories, was a major obsta­ cle that had to be overcome. That situation began to change with the privatization of airmail, which became the foundation for scheduled passenger services. The Fords had foreseen the future of air transportation; So had the Guggen­ heims, whose funding for an experimental airline resulted in Western Air Express, which began carrying a few passengers almost from the outset. WAE would pro­ foundly affect Fokker's American sojourn. Ford aroused public interest by sponsoring the first Commercial Air­ plane Reliability Tour in 1925. The nationwide tour afforded millions of Americans the opportunity to see the latest developments in air transporta­ tion. Fokker's marvelous F.VIII/3M Tri-Motor, produced as an after­ thought and brilliantly demonstrated by its maker, was the sensation of the event. Reporter Cy Caldwell, tongue-in-cheek called it the "Fokker PubliCity Tour," and Ford himself was so impressed that he bought the "Tony" Fokker, proud of his "non-stalling," 10-seat F.vll ai rliner, had a gen ius for airplane and named it the Josephine adopting innovative features such as the welded tube f uselage, spl it -axle landing Ford. gear, and full-cantilever wing well before the com petition. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13 being proprietary. The The F.III, introduced in the United States in 1922, Universal's wide-track needed better landing fields than were generally available at the time. This one made profits for its tripod landing gear, owner by hauling Canadian bootleg. also innovative, would be widely emulated in the decade to follow. Up to that point Whirlwind production had been reserved ex­ clusively for the military. The availabil­ ity of the J-4 and J-5 for commercial ap­ plications greatly en­ hanced Fokker's pro­ spectus for the Whirl­ wind was eminently reliable. The Univer­ sal, first flown in These developments created the five-passenger monoplane to be October 1925, had come to fruition climate for a viable manufacturing powered by a 200-hp Wright J-4 in the remarkably short gestation enterprise that began with the Whirlwind. period of two months. It was an , designed specifi­ The Universal embodied the prin­ immediate success. cally for the North American market. cipal characteristics of its Dutch Colonial Air Transport acquired Noorduyn and his technical staff, predecessors with the exception of the first of three Universals early in which included chief engineer A. the wing, which was semi-cantilever. 1926. Edd ie Hubbard, a pioneer air­ Francis Arcier, a Witteman-Lewis Heretofore, Fokker's transports had mail contractor, became Fokker's holdover from the Barling Bomber, featured cantilever wings, innovative distributor in the West. Eddie flew had formulated specifications for a in themselves, almost to the point of up and down the Pacific Coast, ag-

Hermann Goering, last commander of the famed "Richtofen Flying Circus," was at loose ends following the armistice. He became Fokker's sales representative in Sweden before turning to politics. This was his D.VII demonstrator. The cross on the fin has been painted over with white paint, and the LVG guns have been removed while their cartridge chutes remain in place. It's interesting to note that the biplane's engine is running, but Herr Goering is nowhere to be seen!

14 SEPTEMBER 2000 gressively demonstrating the Universal from Canada to Mex­ ico. This resulted in sales to Pacific Air Transport and the Aero Corporation of California, whose CEO, Jack Frye, was about to launch the ancestral beginnings of TWA. A gold rush in northern On­ tario, near Hudson Bay, brought the first of many Canadian orders. West ern Canada Airways, founded by Capt. A.C. "Doc" Oakes, col­ lected his first Universal at the factory on Christmas Day, 1926, during a heavy snowfall, F-32, then the largest in North America, seldom carried profitable payloads and was prone to distributing passenger equanimity when rear engines failed from overheat­ which necessitated the installa- ing. Only three F-32s were in airline service, and they retired early. tion of skis. Oakes was so pleased with the Universal that he ordered two more on floats for with extensive arctic flying experi­ invaluable asset to the Universal service in the gold-mining district. ence. Balchen, lured to the United program and a great deal more. WCA eventually had a fleet of 12 States by Cmdr. Richard Byrd's Early o n the Canadians found Universals. promise of a flying job, did much of themselves with several damaged Fokker then hired , the experimental testing at Teter­ aircraft. This was due mainly to a young Norwegian army aviator boro. He would prove himself an harsh winter flying conditions and pilot error. It was a new kind of fly­ ing, and everything had to be learned the hard way. Balchen, a skilled mechanic as well as a pilot, was loaned out to Western Canada Airways to oversee repairs and get their Universals back in service. On his return he was named chief pilot. Whereas the Whirlwind's 200 to 220 hp had seemed sufficient for all practical purposes in 1925, it was not long before customers were agi­ tating for more horsepower and increased payloads. No less a voice than Jack Frye's joined the chorus for more power. Frye, h aving bought out Hubbard, was the new West Coast distributor. For him the power issue was more a safety issue. For mountain flying 220 hp just wasn't enough . On his way to Spokane for the 1927 National Air Races, Frye had aCCidentally flown up a blind

Bernt Balchen, on indefinite leave from the Norweg ian air force, became a Fokker test pilot and field service mechanic while awaiting arctic flying opportunities.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15 Fokker's chairman, James A. Talbott, who also presided over Richfield Oil, traveled in style in this executive F-10A. NC535E was often detailed to events to promote air-mindedness. It conveyed thousands of first timers aloft during its four years with Richfield. Florence "Pancho" Barnes sometimes spared pilot Jake Littlejohn at the controls. canyon while wending his way through the Cascades. Lacking the power to extricate himself by climb­ ing out, he had no option but to reverse course with a vertical turn. The canyon was narrow and steep, and the Fokker's wheels brushed leaves from a tree as Frye rolled out of the turn. It had been a white­ knuckle affair, one that Frye's passengers would never forget. A stretched version of the Uni­ versal, known as the Universal Special, appeared late in 1927. Pow­ ered by a 400-hp Wasp, it had a larger wing but retained the semi­ cantilever feature. The pilot'S cockpit was also fully enclosed,

(top right) The , introduced in 1928, carried six passen­ gers. It proved to be popular in Canada with bush operators, thanks to its year­ round adaptability on wheels, skis, or floats.

(bottom right) A Universal on Hamilton floats built for the Cuban coast guard.

16 SEPTEMBER 2000 with the windshield raked forward The Super Universal became Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker as in the characteristic manner of later Fokker's best-selling commercial sales manager. The company Fokker Tri-Motors. This aircraft was airplane. Eighty were built, the last planned to build the giant, four­ a one-only production. of which in 1931, many for Cana­ engine 32-passenger F-32 at a new The Super Universal, which fol­ dian users. Western Canada Airways plant at Alhambra, California, but lowed, differed mainly in having a had 13. In addition, Canadian Vick­ the airplane was neither ready nor new, fully cantilever wing and re­ ers built 14 under license and the the economy right for so capa­ vised tripod landing gear attached to Japanese firm of Nakajima built 47, cious an airplane. Production had the wing spar. The advent of the Su­ many of which were military C2N-1 come to a virtual standstill when per Universal coincided with an utility airplanes. Air Trans­ Fokker, having divested himself of expansion program and corporate port, with government subsidies his shares, returned to Holland in name change. Atlantic Aircraft be­ permitting fares commensurate 1931. came Fokker Aircraft Corporation of with railroad fares, inaugurated pas- The advent of the Great Depres-

A master self-promoter, Fokker never missed an opportunity to place his name before the public. Richfield's management held the majority of Western Air Express stock, reequipping the airline with F-10s and F-14s. They controlled the Fokker com­ panyin 1928 and 1929.

America. A new factory was built senger services with U.S .-built Super sion and a tragic plane crash in near Wheeling, West Virginia, and Universals in April 1929. Some were Western Kansas, remembered as the production of the Super Universal float-equipped to better serve the is­ Rockne disaster, marked the begin­ got underway early in 1928. land empire. ning of the end of Fokker as a The smaller Universal was re­ Japan, by far the largest user of manufacturing entity in America. tained as a companion model for Fokker Universals, supplied a num­ reorganized Fokker several years, mainly for charter op­ ber of Nakajima-built aircraft to its as the General Aviation Manufac­ erators and private owners. The puppet state of Manchuko, which turing Company, which was enclosed cockpit became a fixture in created the Manchurian Aviation unprofitable, and then sold the di­ 1928, and several engine options Company Ltd. in 1932, an exten­ vision to raised the horsepower range to 330. sion of Japan's Air Transport's in 1934. Many of the skilled crafts­ Altogether, 45 Universals were built, Korean service. men included in the transaction half of which were sold to Canadian The Fokker Aircraft Corporation were Tony Fokker's countrymen. operators either directly or indirectly of America became an element of Some would remain on the job into as used aircraft. General Motors in May 1929, with the jet age. ...

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17