Fokker D.XXI

what is it?

The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL). The D.XXI was designed as an inexpensive, rugged, and compact fighter aircraft that would possess respectable performance for its era. Entering operational use in the early years of the Second World War, it provided yeoman service for both the Luchtvaartafdeling (Dutch Army Aviation Group) and the Finnish Air Force.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 460 km/htop speed
• range 930 kmwithout refuelling
• size 1,970 kgmax take-off weight
• built 148made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 90 years ago, in 1936.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.3× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1936-03-27

retired

1948

status

retired

number built

148

role

fighter

origin

🇳🇱 Netherlands

makers

Fokker, Valtion lentokonetehdas

engines

1× Bristol Mercury VIII

length

8.2 m

wingspan

11 m

height

2.9 m

max take-off weight

1,970 kg

top speed

460 km/h

cruise speed

429 km/h

range

930 km

ceiling

11,350 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.