The Koolhoven F.K.55 was a Dutch fighter prototype of the 1930s, which did not progress beyond 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 ...
stage.
Development
Design of a
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 ...
high-performance aircraft first started late in 1937. The result, finished in early 1938 was the F.K.55, a single-seat fighter of radical design with
contra-rotating propellers and an engine housed behind the pilot. It had initially been proposed to do away with
ailerons on the wings, and replace them with "slot-spoilers" for lateral control, however this idea was abandoned early in the project.
[
Of mixed metal and wood construction with wooden wings, the F.K.55's front fuselage was made of steel tube while wood formed the tail and rear fuselage. Its Lorraine Pétrel engine afforded only just enough power to take off and to stay in flight. The production version would have used the more powerful ]Lorraine 12R Sterna
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of ...
engine but this never happened.[
]
Operational history
The aircraft flew for the first time on 30 June 1938. It flew for two minutes then landed. Underpowered, the FK.55 was cancelled in the same year.[
]
Specifications
References
*
*https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6125/5981226518_92bc933a1e_b.jpg Shows 20 mm madsen cannon in hub.
{{Koolhoven aircraft
Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers
1930s Dutch fighter aircraft
F.K.54
Mid-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1938