Aviation Inventors Codexery

Anthony Fokker

Dutch aviation pioneer who built fighter aircraft for Germany in WWI.

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Pneumococcal meningitis caused the death of the 49-year-old Fokker in New York during 1939.[1]

Life and work

He did not complete high school and showed an early interest in mechanics and model aeroplanes.[2][3] In 1910, aged 20, he was sent to Germany for automobile training but transferred to a school in Mainz to pursue flying.[4] On 16 May 1911, Fokker gained his official flying certificate.[3] The physicist Adriaan Fokker was a cousin of Anthony Fokker.[5][6]

On 1 September 1911, Fokker gained fame in his homeland by piloting his aircraft around the Grote or St.-Bavokerk tower in Haarlem.[4][7] To get the Eindecker monoplane operational for the military, Fokker collaborated extensively with the skilled pilot Otto Parschau.[8] Before the German Crown Prince and other dignitaries at Stenay on 13 June 1915, Fokker showed off the Eindecker.[8] The Gestängesteuerung, a pushrod control mechanism developed by Fokker, ensured that a forward-firing machine gun discharged only when the propeller blades were not in the way.[9]

What the cited sources add

The Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland states that Fokker's school years were not an unqualified success and brought problems for his parents and teachers.[3] It notes that Fokker solved a wheel problem by constructing a wheel with a solid tire and shock-absorbing springs.[3] The same source records that Fokker's patent application for the Spin construction was officially recognized on 26 January 1912.[3] It also reports that Fokker's skill and daring in flying aroused great interest among older pilots and spectators.[3]

The Dutch Aviation account of the Spin 1 states that Fokker decided in 1910 to build an airplane together with school fellow Franz von Daum, using 1500 German Marks from Anthony's father.[10] The Haarlem's Dagblad article from 2 September 1911 describes Fokker flying over the city and seeing amazed people gathering in the streets.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Anthony Fokker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "A.H.G. Fokker Dies. Airplane Designer. Pioneer Manufacturer Victim of Rare Disease After 'a Most Gallant Fight'. Made World War Craft. Synchronized Propeller With Machine Gun to Permit Firing Between Blades", The New Yo (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Anthony Fokker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland", International Institute of Social History, 1979 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. "Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland", International Institute of Social History, 1979. facts only, no text reused. resources.huygens.knaw.nl
  4. Wikipedia, "Anthony Fokker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: van Weezepoel, Paul. "Anthony Fokker Biography". Dutch Aviation. Retrieved: 15 August 2010.; "Fokker Spin (Spider) 1: A first experiment ...", Dutch Aviation; "Fokker Spin (Spider) 2: Improved version", Dutch Aviation; JAC. C. M. Jr., "Fokker vliegt over den St. Bavo", Haarlem's Dagblad, 2 September 1911, p. 1; "Fokker Spin (Spider) 3: A first production model", Dutch Aviation (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Anthony Fokker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Adriaan Daniël Fokker (1887-1972)", Stichting Huyghens-Fokker (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Adriaan Daniël Fokker (1887-1972)", Stichting Huyghens-Fokker. facts only, no text reused. huygens-fokker.org
  7. JAC. C. M. Jr., "Fokker vliegt over den St. Bavo", Haarlem's Dagblad, 2 September 1911, p. 1. facts only, no text reused. nl.wikisource.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Anthony Fokker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: van Wyngarden, G. Early German Aces of World War 1. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2006. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Anthony Fokker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guttman, "Fokker's Fabulous Flying Coffin", Aviation History, 2012, p. 42 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "Fokker Spin (Spider) 1: A first experiment ...", Dutch Aviation. facts only, no text reused. dutch-aviation.nl

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Anthony Fokker (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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