The Fokker F.XII was a three-engined high-winged
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
airliner produced in the 1930s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
. Two aircraft were built under license by Danish
Orlogsværftet
''Orlogsværftet'' () was a Danish naval shipyard under the Royal Danish Navy. Before 1924, it was an integral part of the naval base at Holmen Naval Base, Holmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark, with an independent management from 1692 when Olau ...
. The first was powered by 347 kW (465 hp) Bristol Jupiter VI radial engines and the second, an improved model, the F.XIIM, was about 20 km/h (12 mph) faster than the Dutch-built F.XIIs.
Operational history
Ten aircraft were ordered by KLM/KNILM for operation on the Amsterdam to Batavia route.
The first service left Amsterdam on 5 March 1931 arriving in Batavia on 14 March 1931. The aircraft was used regularly on the route from the 1 October 1931. In 1932 KLM started to use the larger Fokker F.VIIIs on the route and the F.XIIs were then used for European destinations.
In 1936 KLM sold four of the aircraft to the British Crilly Airways to operate between London and Madrid, this didn't get the support of the Spanish government and the aircraft were passed to British Airways for use on European routes to Paris and Scandinavia.
They were soon considered obsolete by British Airways and sold with some ending up with Spanish Nationalists for use in the civil war.
Two of KLMs remaining F.XIIs were sold to British Airways and one to a company in French West Africa but ended up in Spanish Republican hands.
The two KNILM aircraft were still in Java when the Japanese invaded in 1942.
One additional aircraft the eleventh to be built was ordered by AB Aerotransport of Sweden in 14-passenger configuration and was used in Sweden until destroyed in a hangar collapse in 1947.
Operators
;
*''
Det Danske Luftfartselskab
Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S or DDL, trading in English as Danish Air Lines, was Denmark's national airline from 1918 until it merged to create Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1951. DDL was established on 29 October 1918, but started its f ...
'' - two Danish built aircraft, one delivered in 1933 and one in 1935
;
*''
Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KNILM)'' - two aircraft operated from 1931 to 1942.
;
*''
Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM)'' - eight aircraft operated from 1931 to 1936.
;
*
Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
;
*
AB Aerotransport
AB Aerotransport (ABA) was a Swedish government-owned airline which operated during the first half of the 20th century and was merged into what would become the SAS Group. ABA was established on 27 March 1924 under the name Aktiebolaget Aerotr ...
- one aircraft delivered in 1932.
;
*
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
- six aircraft operated in 1936
*
Crilly Airways - four aircraft bought from KLM in 1936 but not operated.
Accidents and incidents
* 6 Apr 1935 - PH-AFL named ''Leeuwerik'' of KLM crashed in bad weather at
Brilon
Brilon (; Westphalian: ''Brailen'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany, that belongs to the Hochsauerlandkreis.
Geography
Brilon is situated on the Brilon Heights at an altitude of about 450 m on the upper reaches of the r ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, while flying from Prague to Amsterdam.
All seven onboard killed.
* 19 November 1936 -
British Airways Ltd
British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's A ...
plane crashes into a hill at night in fog on approach to
Gatwick Aerodrome, killing two crew and injuring two others.
Specifications
External links
Fokker F.XIIA loyal Indies aircraft
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{Fokker aircraft
F 12
1930s Dutch airliners
High-wing aircraft
Trimotors
Aircraft first flown in 1931