Fokker C.XI

Fokker · Netherlands · first flew 1935 · fighter

The Fokker C.XI-W was a Dutch two-seat biplane floatplane designed for catapult-launched shipboard reconnaissance from Royal Netherlands Navy cruisers. Powered by a Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial, it offered good performance for its class in the mid-1930s.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Twin central floats below the fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Single-engine biplane floatplane for shipboard catapult launch
Twin central floats below the fuselage
Wright Cyclone radial in an NACA cowl

A classic inter-war biplane floatplane with twin main floats, an NACA-cowled radial engine, and a two-seat tandem cockpit arrangement. The unequal-span wings with one set of interplane struts per side are distinctive.

Specifications

The Fokker C.XI has a length of 10.4 m (34 ft).
It has a wingspan of 13 m (43 ft).
Its maximum speed is 280 km/h (174 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Ordered to replace older floatplane types aboard Dutch naval vessels, 14 C.XI-W aircraft were delivered from 1936. They served aboard cruisers in the Dutch East Indies as well as in home waters. When Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, surviving aircraft continued operations with Dutch forces in exile and in the East Indies until the Japanese advance in 1941–42.

Variants

Produced only in the C.XI-W floatplane configuration; no land-based variant entered service.

Where you'll see it

Served with the Royal Netherlands Navy from 1936; saw active operations in both European and East Indies theatres during World War II.

Related aircraft

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