The BAT F.K.23 Bantam was a British single-seat fighter

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

produced by British Aerial Transport Company Limited of London during World War I.

Design and development

Frederick Koolhoven's first design for the British Aerial Transport Company (BAT) was the F.K.22 single-seat fighter. It was a two-bay biplane of wooden construction. It was planned to have a 120 hp (90 kW) A.B.C Mosquito radial engine but the failure of this engine led to the installation of the 170 hp (127 kW) A.B.C.Wasp I in the first and third aircraft. The second machine was fitted with a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine and was the first to fly at Martlesham Heath in January 1918. The original contract called for six development aircraft but three aircraft were built as the F.K.23 Bantam I, the second prototype then being renamed the Bantam II. The Bantam I was the same wooden structure but was slightly smaller. Two further prototypes of the larger design were also built followed by at least 9 development aircraft. One aircraft was delivered to the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

on 26 July 1918, one was delivered to the French at Villacoublay and a further aircraft to the United States Army Air Corps at Wright Field in 1922. The production Bantam had to be modified due to unsatisfactory

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

characteristics of the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

s. Continuous engine problems and downsizing of the Royal Air Force were factors in no more orders for the Bantam. Koolhoven returned to Netherlands with one aircraft where it was re-engined with a 200 hp (149 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial engine. Several examples were operated as civil racing aircraft.

Variants

;F.K.22 Bantam I :Prototypes and evaluation version, 2 built. ;F.K.23 Bantam II :Production aircraft, 3 prototypes + 9 aircraft were built.

Operators

; *

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

received 1 aircraft for evaluation. ; *

Koolhoven N.V. Koolhoven was an aircraft manufacturer based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. From its conception in 1926 to its destruction in the Blitzkrieg in May 1940, the company remained the second major Dutch aircraft manufacturer (after Fokker). Althoug ...

factory operated 1 aircraft. ; * Royal Air Force operated 1 aircraft. ; * United States Army Air Corps received 1 aircraft for evaluation.

Survivors

*One aircraft, registered K-123, originally on display at the Aviodome, Netherlands. The airplane was acquiredB.A.T. F.K.23 Bantam moves to Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum, the Dutch National museum for classic art and history in Amsterdam that is most of all known for

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

's The Night Watch, recently acquired the B.A.T. (Koolhoven) F.K.23 Bantam. It will be part of a future exhibition on the twentieth century. The B.A.T. F.K.23 Bantam was restored by members of the Koolhoven Aeroplanes Foundation. by the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

in Amsterdam. *The remains of a second FK 23 are used to build a flying example. It is a project from the "vroege vogels" from Lelystad in the Netherlands.

Specifications (F.K.23 Bantam)

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

BAT FK23 Bantam Walkaround photos at IdFlieg.com
* Contemporary technical description of F.K.23 Bantam with photographs and drawings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bat Bantam 1910s British fighter aircraft Bantam Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Koolhoven aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1918