Fokker C.VIII
Fokker C.VIII / C.VIII-W | |
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![]() Fokker C.VIII |
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Type: | Bomb and reconnaissance aircraft |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: | |
First flight: |
1928 |
Commissioning: |
1930 (C.VIII-W) |
Number of pieces: |
1 + 9 |
The Fokker C.VIII was a Dutch military multipurpose aircraft . While the wheeled version remained a prototype, a limited number of the float version were produced and used by the country's navy as a coastal scout in the 1930s .
development
The C.VIII was developed by Fokker in 1928 as a combined bomb and reconnaissance aircraft. In the reconnaissance version, the crew consisted of the pilot , the radio operator / navigator and the observer who operated the camera equipment located in the rearmost cabin and the twin MG located on the back of the fuselage . Another machine gun was provided on the underside for the radio operator. In the planned bomber version, the crew was reduced to two and the camera was omitted. A prototype was built that was equipped with a Hispano-Suiza engine and flew for the first time in the same year. The Koninklijke Luchtmacht took over the aircraft, but showed no interest in further copies, so that series production was not carried out. But when the Royal Navy was looking for a reconnaissance aircraft in 1929, the C.VIII was taken as the starting point, the structure was enlarged a bit, the span increased by about four meters and the pilot's seat in front of the wing was moved to the rear. The V-engine was retained, but this time a Rolls-Royce engine was used, which received a forehead cooler instead of the chin. Other variants with air or water-cooled drives of different types from 500 to 800 hp, including a radial engine from Gnôme-Rhône , were also planned. On November 15, 1929, the prototype of the aircraft designated as C.VIII-W (W for water) took off for its first flight and after successful testing, the Navy placed an order for a total of nine copies, which were delivered from 1930.
construction
The C.VIII was a stripped high-decker in composite construction . The fuselage was formed by a framework made of tubular steel with a rectangular cross-section, which was clad with sheet metal in the front area and on the top and covered with fabric in the remaining part. The fuselage tank with a capacity of 600 l was located at the height of the wing, so in the land version it was between the first and second cabin and in the float version in front of the pilot's cabin. The continuous wing covered with plywood was one-piece and had two box spars and ribs made of plywood and spruce . It was supported on each side with a crossed pair of handles on the lower edge of the fuselage and connected to the upper side of the fuselage by a tombstone. While the unbalanced ailerons consisted of a plywood-covered wooden frame, the elevator and rudder were made of a tubular steel frame with fabric covering. The horizontal stabilizer was supported with a V-strut on each side towards the fuselage and could be adjusted during the flight, with the vertical stabilizer this was only possible on the ground. In the float variant, the rudder was pulled under the stern of the fuselage. The chassis of the C.VIII consisted of two rigid main wheels not connected by an axle and a grinding spur at the rear. The C.VIII-W had two single-stage floats made of duraluminium with a flat top, which were divided into several watertight compartments.
Technical specifications
Parameter | Data (C.VIII) | Data (C.VIII-W with V-engine) | Data (C.VIII-W with radial engine) |
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crew | 2-3 | 3 | |
span | 14.03 m | 18.10 m | |
length | 11.15 m | 11.50 m | |
height | 3.80 m | ||
Wing area | 44.00 m² | ||
Wing extension | 7.3 | ||
Wing loading | 67.9 kg / m² | ||
Power load | 4.3 kg / hp | 3.7 kg / hp | |
Area performance | 15.7 hp / m² | 18.9 hp / m² | |
Preparation mass | 2100 kg | ||
Payload | 900 kg | ||
payload | 425 kg | ||
Takeoff mass | 2400 kg | 3000 kg | |
drive | a liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder - V-engine | an air-cooled fourteen- cylinder radial engine | |
Type | Hispano-Suiza 12 Lb | Rolls-Royce Kestrel VII | Gnôme-Rhône 14 krsd |
power | 600 hp (441 kW) | 690 PS (507 kW) at an altitude of 1600 m | 815 PS (599 kW) at an altitude of 2180 m |
Fuel supply | 600 l | ||
Top speed | 228 km / h | 245 km / h at an altitude of 1600 m | 260 km / h at an altitude of 2180 m |
Marching speed | 200 km / h at an altitude of 1600 m | 220 km / h at an altitude of 2180 m | |
Rise time | 3.4 min at 1000 m altitude 11.7 min at 3000 m altitude 26.8 min at 5000 m altitude |
2.7 min at 1000 m altitude 8.4 min at 3000 m altitude 16.8 min at 5000 m altitude |
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Service ceiling | 5800 m | 6000 m | 7400 m |
Range | 800 km | 750 km |
literature
- Peter Alles-Fernandez (Ed.): Aircraft from A to Z. Volume 2. Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1988, 3-7637-5905-0, p. 252.
- Werner von Langsdorff : Handbook of aviation. Year 1939, 2nd, unchanged edition, J. F. Lehmann, Munich 1937, p. 320/321.