Fokker G.I
Encyclopedia
The Fokker
Fokker
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....
G.I was a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
heavy twin-engined fighter plane comparable in size and role to the German Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
and the British Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
. Although in production prior to World War II, its combat introduction came at a time when the Netherlands was overrun. The few G.1s that were mustered into service were able to score some victories, but ultimately the aircraft was withdrawn from operations, and the remainder of the production run was taken over by the Luftwaffe as trainers.
Design and development
The G.I, given the nickname le Faucheur ("reaper" in French), was designed as a private venture in 1936 by Fokker chief engineer Dr. Schatzki. Intended for the role of jachtkruiser, "heavy" fighter or air cruiser, able to gain air superiority over the battlefield as well as being a bomber destroyer, the G.1 would fulfill a role seen as important at the time, by advocates of Giulio DouhetGiulio Douhet
General Giulio Douhet was an Italian general and air power theorist. He was a key proponent of strategic bombing in aerial warfare...
's theories on air power. The Fokker G.I utilized a twin-engined, twin-boom layout that featured a central nacelle housing two or three crew members (a pilot, radio operator/navigator/rear gunner or a bombardier) as well as a formidable armament of twin 23 mm (.91 in) Madsen cannon and a pair of 7.9 mm (.31 in) machine guns (later eight machine guns) in the nose and one in a rear turret.
Besides its main mission, the G.1 could be configured for ground attack and light bombing missions (it could carry a bomb load of one 400 kg/882 lb bomb or combinations of two 200 kg/441 lb or 10 26 kg/57 lb bombs).
The design and construction of the prototype (registered as X-2) was completed in just seven months. At its introduction at the Paris Air Show
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...
in November 1936, even before its first flight, the G.I was a sensation, appearing in a purple and yellow finish (evocative of the Spanish Republican colors, thought to be Fokker's first export customer).
Like all Fokker aircraft of the period, the G.I was of mixed construction; the front of the central pod and the tail booms were built around a welded frame, covered with aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
plating. The back of the central pod, however, as well as the wings, had a wooden frame, covered with triplex, a technique also used in Fokker's successful passenger aircraft at that time.
The G.I prototype, powered by 485 kW (650 hp) Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza was a Spanish automotive and engineering firm, best known for its luxury cars and aviation engines in the pre-World War II period of the twentieth century. In 1923, its French subsidiary became a semi-autonomous partnership with the parent company and is now part of the French SAFRAN...
14AB-02/03 engines, had its first flight at Welschap Airfield
Eindhoven Airport
-Facilities:Passenger facilities available include: Exchange office, Lost property office, Luggage lockers, Baby changing area and a Health centre. Wireless internet access is provided free of charge throughout the airport. A business lounge is available too. Major car rental companies have their...
, near Eindhoven on 16 March 1937 with Karel Toman-Mares at the controls. Later, Emil Meinecke took over much of the test flights. The maiden flight went well, but a subsequent test flight in September 1937 ended with a supercharger explosion that nearly caused the loss of the prototype. The accident prompted a replacement of the Hispano-Suiza engines with 559 kW (750 hp) Pratt & Whitney SB4-G Twin Wasp Junior
Pratt & Whitney R-1535
|-See also:* Pratt & Whitney Wasp series* R-985 Wasp Junior* R-1340 Wasp* R-1830 Twin Wasp* R-2800 Double Wasp* R-4360 Wasp Major-Bibliography:...
engines.
Operational history
Besides the Dutch Luchtvaartafdeeling
Royal Netherlands Air Force
The Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...
, several foreign air forces showed an interest in the G.I. as either a fighter or dive-bomber. In order to test its potential as a dive-bomber, the G.1 prototype was fitted with hydraulically-operated dive brakes under the wings. Flight tests revealed that the G.1 was capable of diving at over 644 km/h (400 mph) and demonstrated aerobatic capabilities. Swedish Air Force officer Captain Bjorn Bjuggren tested the G.1 in over 20 dives and reported favourably on its effectiveness as a dive bomber. Orders for G.1b Wasp aircraft came from Spain (26 ordered) and Sweden (18), while the Mercury variant was ordered by Denmark (12) and Sweden (72). Although Belgium, Turkey, Hungary and Switzerland air forces showed great interest, they never placed firm orders.
The Luchtvaartafdeeling ordered 36 G.Ias with 541 kW (725 hp) Bristol Mercury
Bristol Mercury
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Bridgman, L, Jane's fighting aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
VIII engines, the standard engine used by the Dutch Air Force in the Fokker D.XXI
Fokker D.XXI
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* De Jong, Peter. Le Fokker D.21 . Outreau, France: Éditions Lela Presse, 2005. ISBN 2-914017-26-X....
fighter, in order to equip two squadrons. Only the first four examples were built as three-seaters intended for ground-attack, with the remainder being completed as two-seat fighters. During the lead-up to hostilities, a total of 26 G.Ias were operational in the 3rd Jachtvliegtuigafdeling (JaVA) at Rotterdam (Waalhaven Airfield), and 4th JaVA Fighter Group at Bergen near Alkmaar
Alkmaar
Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.-History:...
. The aircraft were actively involved in border patrols and in order to ensure neutrality, on 20 March 1940, a G.1a from 4th JaVA forced down a Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...
from the RAF's 77 sqn
No. 77 Squadron RAF
No. 77 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 October 1916 at Edinburgh, and was equipped with B.E.2 and B.E.12 aircraft. The squadron disbanded at RAF Turnhouse on June 13, 1919....
when it strayed into Dutch air space.
Battle of the Netherlands
On 10 May 1940, when Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded the Netherlands
Battle of the Netherlands
The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow , the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until 14 May 1940 when the main Dutch forces surrendered...
, 23 G.1a aircraft were serviceable while production of Spain's order of the G.1b variant continued with a dozen aircraft completed, awaiting armament.
The German invasion started with an early morning (03:50 hours) Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
attack on the Dutch airfields. While the 4th JaVA received a devastating blow, losing all but one of its aircraft, at least two 3rd JaVA G.1a fighters were launched in time to down three of the Heinkel He 111 bombers. The two squadrons continued to fly, but with mounting losses, bringing their numbers down to three airworthy aircraft by the end of the first day. At the Fokker factory, the embargoed Spanish G.1bs aircraft were confiscated. All of these aircraft were unarmed, but three examples were hastily fitted with a four nose-mounted machine gun armament array. In the "Five-day War", the available G.1 fighters were mainly deployed in ground attack missions, strafing advancing German infantry units, but also used to attack Junkers Ju 52/3m transports. Although reports are fragmentary and inaccurate as to the results, G.1 fighters were employed over Rotterdam and the Hague, contributing to the loss of 167 Ju 52s, scoring up to 14 confirmed kills.
Aftermath
At the conclusion of hostilities, several G.Is were captured by the Germans, with the remainder of the Spanish order and G.1bs that the Danish government had ordered in 1939 completed at the Fokker plant by mid-1941 in order for the G.1s to be assigned as fighter trainers for Bf 110 crews at Wiener NeustadtWiener Neustadt
-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...
. For the next two years, Flugzeugführerschule (B) 8 flew the G.1b until attrition grounded the fleet.
On 5 May 1941, a Fokker test pilot, Hidde Leegstra, accompanied by engineer (and member of the Fokker Board of Directors) Ir. Piet Vos, managed to fly a G.1 to England. The crew's subterfuge involved acquiring additional fuel for the supposed test flight as well as ducking into clouds to deter the trailing Luftwaffe aircraft from following. After landing in England, the G.1 was conscripted by Phillips and Powis Aircraft
Miles Aircraft
Miles was the name used to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who designed numerous light civil and military aircraft and a range of curious prototypes...
, later Miles Aircraft
Miles Aircraft
Miles was the name used to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who designed numerous light civil and military aircraft and a range of curious prototypes...
. The company had designed an all-wooden fighter-bomber, and was interested in the G.1 wing structure and its resistance to the rigours of a British climate. Despite being left outdoors for the remainder of the war, the G.1 survived only to be eventually scrapped after 1945.
There are no surviving G.Is today, although a replica can be found at the Dutch Air Force Museum in Soesterberg.
Variants
- G.I : Prototype,powered by two Hispano-Suiza 14AB-02/03 engines; one built, c/n 5419.
- G.Ia : Two and three-seat models, powered by Bristol MercuryBristol Mercury|-See also:-Bibliography:* Bridgman, L, Jane's fighting aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
VIII engines; 36 built, c/n 5521-5556. - G.Ib : Two-seat, smaller "export model" , powered by Pratt & Whitney SB4-G Twin Wasp JuniorPratt & Whitney R-1535|-See also:* Pratt & Whitney Wasp series* R-985 Wasp Junior* R-1340 Wasp* R-1830 Twin Wasp* R-2800 Double Wasp* R-4360 Wasp Major-Bibliography:...
; 25 or 26 built, c/n 5557-5581.
Operators
:- LuchvaartafdelingRoyal Netherlands Air ForceThe Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...
(LVA)
- LuftwaffeLuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
(small numbers)
Specifications (Fokker G.Ia)
Similar Aircraft
- Focke-Wulf Fw 189Focke-Wulf Fw 189|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brown, Capt. Eric . Wings of the Luftwaffe. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1978. ISBN 0-385-13521-1....
- Focke-Wulf Fw 187Focke-Wulf Fw 187The Focke-Wulf Fw 187 Falke was a German aircraft developed in the late 1930s. It was created by Kurt Tank as a twin-engine, high-performance fighter, but the Luftwaffe never saw a need for the design, which fitted "between" the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Bf 110...
- Messerschmitt Me 110
- Messerschmitt Me 210Messerschmitt Me 210The Messerschmitt Me 210 was a German heavy fighter and ground-attack aircraft of World War II. The Me 210 was designed to replace the Bf 110 in heavy fighter role; design started before the opening of World War II. The first examples of the Me 210 were ready in 1939, but they proved to have poor...
- Bristol BeaufighterBristol BeaufighterThe Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
- Gloster F.9/37Gloster F.9/37|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bowyer, Michael J.F. Interceptor Fighters for the Royal Air Force 1935-45. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1984. ISBN 0-85059-726-9....
External links
- Fokker G-1 Foundation (Mostly in Dutch, English site discontinued)
- G.I, Fokker (in Dutch)
- Images and Videos of the G.1 at Dutch Aviation
- Redesign flying replica Fokker G-1