JOHAN VISSCHEDIJK COLLECTION
No. 9014. Fokker F.XX (PH-AIZ c/n 5347) KLM "Zilvermeeuw"
Photographed at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1933-1936, source unknown

Fokker F.XX

06/30/2009. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "The twelve-seat F.XX was revealed on December 20, 1932, and it had an elliptic fuselage compared to the squared earlier Fokker aircraft, and as a novelty, it was the first Fokker with a retractable landing gear. The much more streamlined F.XX was first flown by test-pilot Emil Meinecke on June 3, 1933.

Eventually, on August 24, the aircraft was sold to KLM for use on the Holland-Java (Dutch East Indies) route to prove that normal passenger-carrying aircraft could ensure mail deliveries as fast and at lower costs then specialized air-mail aircraft, like the Pander S.IV. On December 18, 1933, the Zilvermeeuw (Silver Gull) was prepared to fly passengers and Christmas post to Java, when problems with two of the three 640 hp Wright R-1820-F Cyclone radials prevented the intended flight.

Breaking several point-to-point records, the sole F.XX served with KLM till September 26, 1936, when it was registered as F-APEZ to Alain Pilain of France, representing the 'paper' airline Air Tropique. In fact, the aircraft went to Société Française de Transport Aériennes, that acted as a purchasing office for the Spanish Nationalists. In 1937 it went to Spain, was registered
EC-45-E, and was destroyed in a crash at Prat de Llobregat in February 1938."

Fokker F.XX


Created June 30, 2009