 | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded | 22 February 1912 |
| Founder | Anthony Fokker |
| Defunct | 1996 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany (former) Schwerin, Germany (former) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Key people | Anthony Fokker,Reinhold Platz,Walter Rethel |
| Products | Commercial airliners Military aircraft |
Fokker (N.V. Koninklijke Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek Fokker;lit. 'Royal Dutch Aircraft Factory Fokker') was a Dutchaircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviatorAnthony Fokker and became famous duringWorld War I for itsfighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 1920s and 1930s, Fokker dominated the civil aviation market. The company's fortunes declined over the course of the late 20th century; it declaredbankruptcy in 1996, and its operations were sold to competitors.
At age 20, while studying in Germany, Anthony Fokker built his initial aircraft, theSpin (Spider)—the first Dutch-built plane to fly in his home country. Taking advantage of better opportunities in Germany, he moved toBerlin, where in 1912, he founded his first company, Fokker Aeroplanbau, later moving to the Görries suburb just southwest ofSchwerin (at53°36′45.90″N11°22′31.60″E / 53.6127500°N 11.3754444°E /53.6127500; 11.3754444), where the current company was founded, as Fokker Aviatik GmbH, on 12 February 1912.[1]
Fokker capitalized on having sold severalFokker Spin monoplanes to the German government and set up a factory in Germany to supply theGerman Army inWorld War I. His first new design for the Germans to be produced in any numbers was theFokker M.5, which was little more than a copy of theMorane-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.[2] When it was realized that arming these scouts with a machine gun firing through the arc of the propeller was desirable, Fokker developed asynchronization gear similar to that patented byFranz Schneider.[3]
Fitted with a developed version of this gear, the M.5 became theFokker 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 theFokker Scourge which only ended with the introduction of new aircraft such as theNieuport 11 andAirco DH.2.
During World War I, Fokker engineers worked on theFokker-Leimberger, an externally powered 12-barrelGatling gun in the 7.92×57mm round claimed to be capable of firing over 7200 rounds per minute.[4]
Later in the war, after theFokker D.V (the last design by earlier chief designer Martin Kreutzer), had failed to gain acceptance with theLuftstreitkräfte the German government forced Fokker (for their aircraft production expertise) andJunkers (for their pioneering all-metal airframe construction techniques, and advanced design concepts) to cooperate more closely, which resulted in the foundation of the Junkers-Fokker Aktiengesellschaft, or Jfa, on 20 October 1917. As this partnership proved to be troublesome, it was eventually dissolved.[5] By then, former Fokker welder and new designerReinhold Platz, who had taken the late Martin Kreutzer's place with the firm, had adapted some of Prof. Junkers' design concepts, that 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, all designed primarily by Platz, included theFokker D.VI biplane,Fokker Dr.I triplane orDreidecker (remembered as a mount of theRed Baron),Fokker D.VII biplane (the only aircraft ever referred to directly in a treaty: all D.VII's were singled out for handover to the allies in their terms of thearmistice agreement) and theFokker D.VIII parasol monoplane.
In 1919, Fokker, owing large sums in back taxes (including 14,250,000marks of income tax),[6] returned to the Netherlands and founded a new company nearAmsterdam with the support of theSteenkolen Handels Vereniging, now known asSHV Holdings. He chose the nameNederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek (Dutch Aircraft Factory) to conceal the Fokker brand because of his involvement in World War I. Because of the strict disarmament conditions of theTreaty 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.Is, D.VIIs, and D.VIIIs. This initial stock enabled him to set up shop quickly.[citation needed]
After his company's relocation, many FokkerC.I andC.IV military airplanes were delivered to Russia, Romania, and the still-clandestine German air force. Success came on the commercial market, too, with the development of theFokker 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 theRoyal Netherlands 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 late 1920s and early 1930s.
In the 1920s, Fokker entered its glory years, becoming the world's largest aircraft manufacturer by the late 1920s.[7] Its greatest success was the 1925F.VIIa/3m trimotor passenger aircraft, which was used by 54airline companies worldwide and captured 40% 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 theFord Trimotor which copied the aerodynamic features of the Fokker F.VII, and Junkers structural concepts.
In 1923, Anthony Fokker moved to the United States, where in 1927, he established an American branch of his company, theAtlantic Aircraft Corporation, which was renamed the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America. In 1930, this company merged withGeneral Motors Corporation and the company's name became General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation, which in turn merged withNorth American Aviation and was divested by GM in 1948. In 1931, discontented at being totally subordinate to GM management, Fokker resigned.
A serious blow to Fokker's reputation came after the 1931crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 in Kansas, when it became known that the crash was caused by a structural failure caused by wood rot.Notre Dame legendary football coachKnute Rockne was among the fatalities, prompting extensive media coverage and technical investigation. As a result, all Fokkers were grounded in the US, along with many other types that had copied Fokker's wings.
In 1934Nevil Shute ofAirspeed Ltd (England) negotiated with Fokker himself for a manufacturing licensing agreement. In January 1935 Airspeed signed an agreement for theDouglas DC-2 and a number of Fokker types, with Fokker to be a consultant for seven years. Shute found him "genial, shrewd and helpful" but "already a sick man"; and he was difficult to deal with as "his domestic life was irregular". Airspeed considered making theFokker D.XVII for Greece, as Greece wanted to buy from Britain for currency reasons, but the proposal did not "come off"; Shute recommended reading his novelRuined City on Balkan methods of business. And after a year the drift to war meant that Dutchmen could not go to the Airspeed factory or to board meetings.[8]
On December 23, 1939, Fokker died inNew York City after a three-week illness.
At the outset ofWorld War II, the fewG.Is andD.XXIs of the Dutch Air Force were able to score a respectable number[quantify] of victories against theLuftwaffe, but many were destroyed on the ground before they could be used.
The Fokker factories were confiscated by the Germans and were used to buildBückerBü 181 Bestmann trainers and parts for theJunkers Ju 52 transport. At the end of the war, the factories were completely stripped by the Germans and destroyed by Allied bombing.
Rebuilding after the war proved difficult. The market was flooded with cheap surplus planes from the war. The company cautiously started buildinggliders and autobuses and convertingDakota transport planes to civilian versions. A fewF25s were built. Nevertheless, theS-11 trainer was a success, being purchased by several air forces. TheS-14 Machtrainer became one of the firstjet trainers, and although not an export success, it served for over a decade with theRoyal Netherlands Air Force.
A new factory was built next toSchiphol Airport near Amsterdam in 1951. A number of military planes were built there under license, among them theGloster Meteor twin-jet fighter andLockheed'sF-104 Starfighter. A second production and maintenance facility was established atWoensdrecht.
In 1958, theF-27 Friendship was introduced, Fokker's most successful postwar airliner. The Dutch government contributed 27 millionguilders to its development. Powered by theRolls-Royce Dart, it became the world's best-sellingturboprop airliner, reaching almost 800 units sold by 1986, including 206 under licence byFairchild. Also, a military version of the F-27, the F-27 Troopship, was built.
In 1962, the F-27 was followed by the jet-poweredF-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 theDutch Royal Flight,Prince Bernhard himself being a pilot.[citation needed]
In 1969, Fokker agreed to an alliance withBremen-basedVereinigte Flugtechnische Werke under control of a transnational holding company. They collaborated on an unsuccessful regionaljetliner, theVFW-614, of which only 19 were sold. This collaboration ended in early 1980.
Fokker was one of the main partners in theF-16 Fighting Falcon consortium (European Participating Air Forces), which was responsible for the production of these fighters for theBelgian,Danish,Dutch andNorwegian Air Forces. It consisted of companies and government agencies from these four countries and the United States. F-16s were assembled at Fokker and atSABCA in Belgium with parts from the five countries involved.
In 1967, Fokker started a modest space division building parts for Europeansatellites. A major advance came in 1968 when Fokker developed the first Dutch satellite (theAstronomical Netherlands Satellite) together withPhilips and Dutch universities. This was followed by a second major satellite project,IRAS, successfully launched in 1983. TheEuropean Space Agency in June 1974 named a consortium headed byERNO-VFW-Fokker GmbH to build pressurized modules forSpacelab.
Subsequently, Fokker contributed to many European satellite projects, as well as to theAriane rocket in its various models. Together with a Russian contractor, they developed the huge parachute system for theAriane 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 byEADS-Space Transportation.
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After abrief and unsuccessful collaboration effort withMcDonnell Douglas in 1981, Fokker began an ambitious project to develop two new aircraft concurrently. TheFokker 50 was to be a completely modernised version of theF-27, and theFokker 100 a new airliner based on theF-28. Development costs were allowed to spiral out of control, almost forcing Fokker out of business in 1987. The Dutch government bailed the company out with 212 million guilders, but demanded Fokker look for a "strategic partner",British Aerospace andDASA being named most likely candidates.
Initial sales of theFokker 100 were good, leading Fokker to begin development of theFokker 70, a smaller version of theF100, in 1991, but sales of theF70 were below expectations and the F100 had strong competition fromBoeing andAirbus by then. TheDutch government aircraft [nl] between 1996 and 2017 was a Fokker 70.[9]
In 1992, after a long and arduous negotiation process, Fokker signed an agreement withDASA. This did not solve Fokker's problems, though, mostly because DASA's parent companyDaimler-Benz also had to deal with its own organisational problems.
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.
Discussions were initiated withBombardier on 5 February 1996. After having reviewed and evaluated the opportunities and challenges Fokker represented at the time, Bombardier renounced its acquisition on 27 February.[10] On 15 March, the Fokker company was declared bankrupt.[11]
Differences in national culture could have played a role in the failed takeover of Fokker byDeutsche Aerospace (DASA).[specify][12]
Those divisions of the company that manufactured parts and carried out maintenance and repair work were taken over byStork N.V.; it is now known as Stork Aerospace Group. Stork Fokker exists to sustain remarketing of the company's existing aircraft: it refurbishes and resells F 50s and F 100s, and has converted a few F 50s 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 fromFlight International magazine.
Other divisions of the company that were profitable continued as separate companies: Fokker Space (later Dutch Space) andFokker Control Systems.
In November 2009, Stork Aerospace changed its name to Fokker Aerospace Group. As of 2011, the Fokker Aerospace Group changed its name toFokker Technologies. The five individual business units within Fokker Technologies all carry the Fokker name:
The former Fokker aircraft facilities at Schiphol were redeveloped into the Fokker Logistics Park. One of the former Fokker tenants is Fokker Services.
In 1996, a new company named Rekkof Aircraft ("Fokker" backwards) attempted to restart production of the Fokker F70 and F100, supported by suppliers and airlines. The company was later renamed to Netherlands Aircraft Company, and started to focus on developing a new aircraft named F130NG. This attempt was not successful either, and the project came to a standstill in 2010. In 2023, after years of no updates, the company was renamedFokker Next Gen. Along with the new name reveal, the company announced that they are developing a newhydrogen-poweredregional airliner. Visualisations have been provided, but the name of the aircraft is yet not publicly disclosed.[additional citation(s) needed]
In 2015,GKN considered acquiring Fokker Technologies to supply for the hybrid car market. The British automotive and aerospace supplier plans to buy the Netherlands-based Fokker for €706 million.[13]
In 2021, Fokker Services and Fokker Techniek were acquired by Panta Holdings, a Dutch investment fund. The acquisition sought to strengthen Panta Holdings’ aerospace footprint.[14] Panta Holdings also ownsFokker Next Gen.
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