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Anthony Herman FokkerDutch aircraft designer and industrialist.
Date of Birth: 06.04.1890
Country:  Netherlands |
Content:
Biography of Antony Herman Fokker
Antony Herman Fokker was a Dutch aircraft designer and industrialist. He was born on April 6, 1890, in Cirebon, Java Island. In 1895, his father, a coffee plantation owner, moved the family to Haarlem, Netherlands. Fokker's technical abilities as a future aircraft designer were evident from a young age, as he enthusiastically built models of engines, ships, trains, and gliders.
Early Aviation Career
Fokker created his first aircraft in 1911, using it to learn how to fly and obtain his pilot certificate. Despite making unsuccessful attempts to propose his design to several governments, Fokker caught the attention of German officials with his stable monoplane. They approached him with an offer to train their military pilots. In 1913, Fokker founded an aviation factory near Schwerin, Germany.
World War I
Fokker's produced fighters were known for their maneuverability and combat effectiveness. Notably, renowned aviators like Manfred von Richthofen flew Fokker's triplane. During World War I, Fokker's factory and other facilities constructed 8,000 aircraft of his design. It was during this time that the Germans successfully shot down a French aircraft equipped with a deflector on its propeller blades. Studying this design, Fokker developed a revolutionary synchronization system for firing through the propeller disc.
Later Career
After the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Fokker relocated his factory to Amsterdam. In 1922, he moved to the United States and established the "Fokker" company, specializing in passenger aircraft production. In 1926, one of Fokker's planes completed the first flight over the North Pole. His significant contributions to aviation included the development of a thick wing without external bracing in 1916 and a welded steel tube fuselage. Later aircraft designs featured a cantilever wooden wing and a smooth welded fuselage, which became widely adopted in the United States and throughout Europe.
Legacy and Death
Fokker published numerous works on civil and military aviation, which greatly influenced the design of streamlined multi-engine aircraft. Antony Herman Fokker passed away on December 23, 1939, in New York City, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the field of aviation.
