| Fokker D.XXIII | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Single-seat fighter |
| National origin | Netherlands |
| Manufacturer | Fokker |
| Designer | Marius Beeling |
| First flight | 30 May 1939 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Fokker D.XXIII was a Dutch single-seat fighter designed and built by Fokker. Only one aircraft was flown before the country was invaded by the Germans in May 1940.[1]
Development[]
The Fokker D.XXIII was designed as a twin-engined single-seat aircraft. To overcome the problems of asymmetric flight it had a tractor engine at the front and a pusher engine at the rear.[1] The D.XXIII was a cantilever monoplane with the twin tail units on booms.[1] The pilot had an enclosed cockpit in between the tractor and pusher engines and it had a retractable tricycle landing gear.[1]
The prototype first flew on 30 May 1939 powered by two Walter Sagitta I-SR liquid cooled vee piston engines.[1] The trial flights identified problems with the cooling of the rear engine and general engine performance. It was proposed to use Rolls-Royce or Daimler-Benz engines in the production aircraft.[1] Concerns were also raised about the pilot clearing the rear propeller if he had to bail out and an ejector seat was studied.[1] The programme was abandoned in May 1940 when the German forces invaded the Netherlands.[1]
Specifications[]
Fokker DXXIII
Data from [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan: 11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
- Height: 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 18.5 m2 (199 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 2,180 kg (4,806 lb) equipped
- Max takeoff weight: 2,950 kg (6,504 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Walter Sagitta I-SR liquid-cooled 12-cylinder Vee piston engine, 400 kW (530 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 525 km/h (326 mph; 283 kn) estimated
- Range: 840 km (522 mi; 454 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 9,000 m (29,528 ft)
Armament
- Guns: two 7.9mm (0.31in) machine guns and two 13.2mm (0.52in) machine-guns (planned not fitted to prototype)
References[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fokker D.XXIII. |
Notes[]
Bibliography[]
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The original article can be found at Fokker D.XXIII and the edit history here.