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Fokker T.VIII

1939 WORLD WAR 2

History

Before the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II, the Dutch maintained a relatively healthy local inventory of modern aircraft. In 1937, work began on a new design that would meet the requirements of a seaplane in service with the Dutch Marine Corps Luchtvaardienst (MLD). The aircraft became a three-crew, twin-engine seaplane primarily used for maritime reconnaissance work, with torpedo bombing capability as a secondary mission.

The first flight took place in 1938, and serial production soon followed, designated T. VIII.

The aircraft was originally constructed of a mix of metal and wood. Its hull covers a glazed spot for one crew member, while the other two sit under a greenhouse-like canopy in the midship forward. The rear wing adopts a traditional single-tail arrangement.

The wings are straight members mounted in the middle along the sides of the fuselage, each with a radial engine nacelle on the leading edge. A strong network of struts was used to connect the aircraft to the large twin-floating landing gear, allowing water landings and takeoffs. Dimensions include a length of 42.7 feet, a wingspan of 59 feet and a height of 16.4 feet. Moderate armament: 1 x 7.92mm machine gun in a fixed forward firing position in the lower part of the nose, 1 or 2 x 7.92mm machine guns mounted on a trainable bracket in the rear cockpit.

The design is approved for carrying up to 1,335 pounds of ordnance, including bombs or a single torpedo.

The aircraft originally appeared with the American Wright "Cyclone" radial piston engines, in time to replace them with the British Bristol "Mercury" type engines. This change never happened due to the speed of the German invasion, which kept the Cyclone in place and a general lack of power for most of the T. VIII's lifespan. These are the 9-cylinder design and air-cooled Wright R-975-E3 models, each producing 450 horsepower.

Performance is overwhelming, giving the airframe a top speed of 177 mph, a range of up to 1,710 miles, and a service ceiling of up to 22,310 feet.

The T. VIII entered service in 1939 and the German invasion began on 10 May 1940 and continued until 17 May ("Battle of Holland"). In the ensuing confrontation, the seaplanes were forced into active duty, but they were virtually powerless against the more agile and well-armed German fighters.

The Dutch navy has nine T. VIIIs in service, transferring stocks to French air bases close to the English Channel, where they are used for patrolling. However, due to the hopelessness of the Allies on the Continent, the stockpiles were again relocated, this time in South Wales, England.

From the beginning of June, these aircraft form the 320 (Netherlands) Squadron, fly in the colours of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and are equipped with the RAF series. In this camouflage, they continued to function as maritime patrol platforms until a lack of spare parts limited their usefulness.

These Dutch crews then switched to flying other types of aircraft for that role.

The Finnish government also ordered T. VIII - contracted for five - but these were not delivered prior to the German invasion. The Germans captured about 25 T.VIIIs, which at one point operated under the banner of the Luftwaffe.

There are only a few variants of the T.VIII series, starting with T.VIII W/G, of which 19 have been completed. These are the hybrid wood/metal structures mentioned above, which were eventually changed to a more exemplary all-metal structure with 12 examples of T. VIII W/M. When the Germans invaded, the T. VIII W/C was designed to be a larger model, with a more powerful engine to compensate for the performance limitations of the earlier model, and an increased speed gain of up to 45 mph.

When the Germans passed through the Netherlands, the W/C was ordered from Finland and then overhauled by the Luftwaffe (five copies).