The Fokker T.IV was a Dutch torpedo bomber/maritime reconnaissance
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
of the 1920s and 1930s. First flying in 1927, it served with the
Dutch Naval Aviation Service in the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
until the remaining aircraft were destroyed during the
Japanese invasion in 1942.
Development and design
The Fokker T.IV was developed to meet the requirements of the
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...
for a maritime patrol/
torpedo bomber aircraft for use in the Dutch East Indies. First flying on June 7, 1927,
[Gunston 1977, p.85.] the T.IV was a twin engined
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
with a thick, cantilever, high mounted
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 ...
wing and a deep, slab-sided
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 ...
with an open cockpit housing the two-man crew. The aircraft could carry either a torpedo or 800 kg (1,764 lb) of bombs, and had a defensive armament of three machine guns in nose, dorsal and ventral positions, The initial version was powered by two
Lorraine-Dietrich 12E
The Lorraine 12E Courlis was a W-12 (broad arrow) aero engine produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich during the 1920s and 1930s.
Variants
;12E:
;12Eb:
;12Ebr:
;12Ed:
;12Edr:
;12Ee:
;12Ew:The standard Eb fitted with a supplementary s ...
W-12 engines.
In 1935, Fokker produced a developed version, the T-IVa, to supplement the existing T-IVs in Dutch service.
Wright Cyclone radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
s replaced the Lorraine Dietriches, while the pilots were provided with an enclosed cockpit in a hump over the wing root, and enclosed nose and dorsal gun turrets were fitted.
12 were built for the Dutch Naval Aviation Service, while the remaining T-IVs were rebuilt to the T-IVa standard.
Operational history
Deliveries of the original T.IV to the Dutch Naval Aviation Service in the Dutch East Indies started in 1927 and continued until 1930.
The second batch of 12 TIVa aircraft was delivered to the East Indies from 1936 to 1938,
and the original T.IVs were rebuilt as T.IVas.
[Taylor 1989, p.408]
The T.IV proved to be a reliable and seaworthy aircraft,
and continued in use for local patrols and air-sea rescue operations from the naval base at
Soerabaja
Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...
on
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
until 1942, when the
Japanese attacked the Dutch East Indies.
[Purnell 1978–79, p. 2336.] All the remaining T.IVs were destroyed during the Japanese invasion, either by Japanese bombing or scuttling.
Variants
;T.IV
:Original production version, powered by 336 kW (450 hp)
Lorraine-Dietrich 12E
The Lorraine 12E Courlis was a W-12 (broad arrow) aero engine produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich during the 1920s and 1930s.
Variants
;12E:
;12Eb:
;12Ebr:
;12Ed:
;12Edr:
;12Ee:
;12Ew:The standard Eb fitted with a supplementary s ...
engines. 18 built.
;T.IVa
:Refined version with
Wright SR-1820-F2 Cyclone radial engines, enclosed cockpit and gun turrets. 12 built.
Operators
;
*
Dutch Naval Aviation Service
;
*
Portuguese Naval Aviation - Portugal received three T.IVs,
powered by
Rolls-Royce Eagle engines.
[Taylor 1981, p.145.]
Specifications (T.IVa)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* "THE FOKKER T. IV SEAPLANE: A Twin-Engined Torpedo or Bombing Monoplane". ''
Flight''. 26 January 1928. Pages 49–50.
* Donald, David (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft.'' Aerospace Publishing. 1997. .
* Gunston, Bill. ''The Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft''. Feltham, Middlesex, UK,: Hamlyn, 1977. .
* Taylor, M.J.H. ''Warplanes of the World: 1918–1939''. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan, 1981. .
* Taylor M.J.H.(Editor). ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. London: Bracken, 1989. .
* ''Purnell's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Modern Weapons and Warfare'' (Part work 1978–1979). London : Phoebus. p. 2336.
External links
*http://www.airwar.ru/enc/bww1/fokt4.html
*http://www.dutch-aviation.nl/index5/Military/index5-1%20T4.html
{{Fokker aircraft
T 04
1920s Dutch military reconnaissance aircraft
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Aircraft first flown in 1927
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft