Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, also known as Fokker-America and Atlantic-Fokker, was a US subsidiary of the Dutch

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 ...

company, responsible for sales and information about Fokker imports, and eventually constructing various Fokker designs."The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Directory of Airplanes their Designers and Manufacturers" ed. Dana Bell, Greenhill Books Ltd. London , 2002, page 88

History

In 1920

Anthony Fokker Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker (6 April 1890 – 23 December 1939) was a Dutch aviation pioneer, aviation entrepreneur, aircraft designer, and aircraft manufacturer. He produced fighter aircraft in Germany during the First World War such ...

had established the Netherlands Aircraft Manufacturing Company of Amsterdam as his American sales office."Fokker Aircraft Builders To The World", Thijs Postma, Jane's Incorporated, NY, , 1980, page 49 The company's representatives were

Robert B.C. Noorduyn Robert Bernard Cornelis Noorduyn (April 6, 1893 – February 22, 1959) was a Dutch-born American aircraft designer and manufacturer. He is best known for the Noorduyn Norseman, a legendary Canadian bush plane produced in the 1930s to 1940s an ...

and Frits Cremer, a friend and test pilot for Anthony Fokker since before World War I. They successfully sold aircraft imported from Europe in the United States. But Fokker's typical construction of wooden wings and a steel-tube

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

, both covered with fabric, also attracted the attention of the US Army."Fokkers 'Roaring Twenties'", Peter F.A. van de Noort, Rebo Produkties, , page 13 (in Dutch) This resulted in an order to equip their De Havilland DH.4s with steel fuselages. The only restriction was that these had to be manufactured in the United States, therefore Fokker purchased the

Wittemann-Lewis The Wittemann-Lewis Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer between 1906 and 1923. It was notable for building two large aircraft, the Sundstedt-Hannevig transatlantic seaplane with a 100-foot wingspan and the NBL-1 Barling Bomber ...

factory in 1923 and founded the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation in May

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

. The company was based in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and

Teterboro, New Jersey Teterboro ( ) is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 67,Lorillard Spencer Lorillard Suydam Spencer Sr. (July 4, 1883 - June 9, 1939) was president of Atlantic Aircraft and was prominent in Newport, Rhode Island society. He served as the military secretary to Charles Seymour Whitman, the New York Governor. Biography ...

became the president and Robert B.C. Noorduyn, the General Manager. The Netherlands Aircraft Manufacturing Company was succeeded by the Fokker Aircraft Corporation, which held the license rights of the Fokker designs and remained responsible for selling the aircraft from the Dutch Fokker factory. In September 1925 the Fokker Aircraft Corporation took over the stocks and orders of the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, which since then had become a full subsidiary of it. In 1925 the company also began to manufacture one of Noorduyn's own designs, the

Fokker Universal The Fokker Universal was the first aircraft built in the United States that was based on the designs of Dutch-born Anthony Fokker, who had designed aircraft for the Germans during World War I. About half of the 44 Universals that were built betwe ...

. In 1927 the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America was founded, which took over the Fokker Aircraft Corporation."Fokkers 'Roaring Twenties'", Peter F.A. van de Noort, Rebo Produkties, , page 30 (in Dutch) A factory at

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...

, New Jersey, was added in 1927, and another at Glen Dale, West Virginia, in August 1928."The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft" Edited by David Mondey, revised and updated by Michael Taylor (Greenwich Editions 10 Blenheim Cort, Brewery RD. London N7 9NT ), 2000, page 111 Although the company had changed its name, many of its products continued to be referred to as "Atlantic" or "Atlantic Fokker" for some years. Fokker Aircraft Company of America became a subsidiary of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

which acquired a 40 percent holding in May 1929, but ended operations the following year as a combination of the effect of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and bad publicity surrounding the 1931 crash of a

Transcontinental & Western Air Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

Fokker F-10 that killed celebrated football coach

Knute Rockne Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

."World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers" by Bill Gunston, Naval Institute Press Annapolis, MD, , 2006, page 31 Fokker ended his association with the American company in 1931. General Motors renamed their aviation subsidiary General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation, which in turn became part of

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...

in 1934.

Aircraft

Fokker C-2 Bird of Paradise 051127-F-1234P-029

References

External links

aerofiles.com
{{General Motors Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Fokker Defunct companies based in New Jersey Manufacturing companies based in New Jersey Manufacturing companies established in 1924 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1931 Former General Motors subsidiaries 1924 establishments in New Jersey 1931 disestablishments in New Jersey American subsidiaries of foreign companies