Fokker PW-5

PW-5

National origin: Netherlands
Manufacturer: Fokker
First flight: 1921
Introduced: 1922
Primary user: US Army Air Service
Number built: 12
Developed from: Fokker D.VIII

The Fokker PW-5 (designated Fokker F VI by Fokker) was a Dutch fighter aircraft of the 1920s. It was a parasol monoplane of which twelve were built for the US Army Air Service, being used as advanced trainers.

Design and development

In 1921, the US Army Air Service, having evaluated the Fokker D.VIII parasol monoplane, and the D.VII biplane fighters handed over to it after the Armistice with Germany that ended World War I, placed an order for two examples of a parasol monoplane fighter based on the design of the D.VIII but powered by an American-built Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine, for evaluation. These aircraft, designated by Fokker as Fokker F VI, had plywood-covered wooden cantilever wings similar to those in the D.VIII and the contemporary D.X fighters, and a typical Fokker welded steel-tube fuselage. The forward fuselage was protected by armour plates, although the car-type radiator and the wing-mounted fuel tank had no such protection. The aircraft had a fixed tailskid undercarriage, while it had no fixed fin, having a balanced rudder instead.

Operational history

The two evaluation examples were delivered in 1921, and despite one of them crashing on 13 March 1922 when its wing failed owing to flutter, an order for a further 10 aircraft was placed. These were delivered later in the year, the aircraft being used as advanced trainers by the 1st Pursuit Group.

Operators

United States

US Army Air Service
1st Pursuit Group.

Specifications (PW-5)

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 26 ft 1 in (7.95 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 5 in (12.01 m)
Height: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Wing area: 247 sq ft (22.9 m)
Empty weight: 1,935 lb (878 kg)
Gross weight: 2,686 lb (1,218 kg)
Powerplant: 1 x— Wright-Hispano water-cooled V-8 engine, 300 hp (220 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 144 mph (232 km/h; 125 kn) at sea level
Endurance: 2 hours
Rate of climb: 1,585 ft/min (8.05 m/s)

Armament

Guns: 2x—.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
Bombs: provision for small bombs on rack under fuselage

Related development

Fokker D.VIII
Fokker D.X

Dorr, Robert F. and David Donald. Fighters of the United States Air Force. London:Temple Press/Aerospace, 1990. ISBN 0 600 55094 X.
Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
Weyl, A. R. Fokker: The Creative Years. London:Putnam, 1965.

Fokker PW-5 Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia