Fokker D.VII (preserved/replica) photos

[JDK]

This one was stolen from the Dutch by Herman Göring when he visited Schiphol in June 1940. It was stored for the future museum there (which was prevented by the war). By the Germans stolen paintings and art objects were for a part returned to Holland, this one never was.

You touch on a very interesting historical point, there, Roger. Actually it wasn't 'stolen' I suspect, but 'spoils of war'; the difference being something that keeps lawyers happily employed for years. Huge quantities of the art and related items lifted during W.W.II have never been repatriated; in the case of many Jewish collections throughout Europe, because the owner and their families were murdered in the the Holocaust. A common element in the history (provenance) of most great art is some dubious changes of owner during by right of conquest.

In this particular case, while my sympathies may be with the Dutch, there is a degree of ironic natural justice in that Mr Anthony Fokker also 'stole' a number of German commissioned, and probably paid for aircraft of his name that he loaded on a train and transported unofficially and probably illegally at the war's end from Germany to Holland. Pots and kettles, if referring to Anthony and Hermann.

Were all the aircraft in museums that were acquired in war returned to their 'rightful' owners the world would be a less diverse place. The excellent collection of Great War German aircraft fuselages (the train with the wings was lost) in Poland sent there for 'safe keeping' from the Berlin Museum certainly shouldn't be in Poland - but they are, and good arrangements have been made between the modern Poles and the Germans to straighten that out, I think.

As the Deutsches Museum had much of its collection destroyed, and thus today is mainly a postwar-traded one, they do need a D.VII. As the MLM Museum in Holland has a lovely D.VII in postwar Dutch colours (Don't mention Anthony...) no-one is the looser here, IMHO.

Just my opinion, of course,

Regards,

[Steve Nelson]

The MiG-15 at the NMUSAF was of course a "gift" from a defecting North Korean pilot. The plaque in front of the aircraft mentions that "a demand to return the plane to its 'rightful owners' was ignored."

At least one foreign type captured and evaluated by the U.S. after WWII was eventually repatriated. The H8K "Emily" flying boat sat cocooned at Pax River for many years, before being returned to Japan. Unfortunately, it's on outdoor display.

SN

[PropsRule]

For the D.VII replicas running Ranger engines, what modifications (if any) are needed to run the engine as an "upright" installation?

[k5083]

The MiG-15 at the NMUSAF was of course a "gift" from a defecting North Korean pilot. The plaque in front of the aircraft mentions that "a demand to return the plane to its 'rightful owners' was ignored."

Unfortunately, the US was more accommodating when it came to returning a couple of other aircraft captured during the Korean War and later evaluated at Dayton, a Yak-9 and (IIRC) either an Il-2 or Il-10. Those would have made nice museum displays had they not been returned.

August

[JDK]

Unfortunately, the US was more accommodating when it came to returning a couple of other aircraft captured during the Korean War and later evaluated at Dayton, a Yak-9 and (IIRC) either an Il-2 or Il-10. Those would have made nice museum displays had they not been returned.

The French earned their Yak, the hard way. It'll have been an Il-10, I guess, which are both common and (for a warbird type) relatively available. You can, of course, go on all day - the Do 335, etc. etc...

[JDK]

Back on topic, as August asked nicely, and I like to keep lawyers on side with the occasional rude remark thrown in...



The Dutch example in the MLM.



The airworthy NZ Example, seen at Omaka's Classic Fighter Show 2007.

[Pogo]

D. VII replica built by Roger Freeman, Pioneer Flight Museum, Old Kingsbury Aerodrome at Kingsbury, Texas. From the literature I have on hand, "it carries the color scheme associated with Ltn. Georg Von Hantelmann, a young up-and-coming ace in Jasta 15." Sorry for the mediocre pix, but at least they show the scale of this type. Check out how it towers over the J-3!




Not yet flying, waiting for its "real" engine, it has a temporary Ranger bolted on the nose at present.

Here it is with the brand new replica Axial 9'x7' display prop that I made for it last spring, almost finished, stuck on for a test fit. That's me next to it. The fuse is on a trailer because....



....We took it to a classic boat and car show near Houston, Keels & Wheels on Clear Lake, my home turf. Now the prop is finished, wearing its custom-made "Axial" decals. The display-only prop is an exact replica right down to the data stampings.

[Hoodoo]

[quote="Pogo"]D. VII replica built by Roger Freeman, Pioneer Flight Museum, Old Kingsbury Aerodrome at Kingsbury, Texas. From the literature I have on hand, "it carries the color scheme associated with Ltn. Georg Von Hantelmann, a young up-and-coming ace in Jasta 15." Sorry for the mediocre pix, but at least they show the scale of this type. Check out how it towers over the J-3!

Now this aircraft doesn't yet have the correct Spandau package,but we are working on it. I wonder how many surviving originals and replicas have the accurate Fokker DR 1 and DVII MG set up with proper empty belt chutes with hinged cover coming out of the left side of the guns AND spent cartridge trays (which are visible from the outside) mounted between the trunnions and the ejection hole in the receiver that deflected the rounds to the right and left respectively so they could spill out over the side in front of the pilot AND the 30MM wide two hole parabellum belts in the feed trays (not the three hole belts)?

You would think as the aircraft's purpose was to get this armament in the air so it could shoot down other airplanes there would be a greater effort to get this area right. Most of the time no matter how much the expense otherwise the guns are just stuck almost as an afterthought.

[Baldeagle]

VAFM Fokker at Creve Coeur last September, pilot will remain nameless.



Unless you buy the DVD...: http://www.vafm.org/Dayton/DVD.html



We improved it a lot during the rebuild, here it is over Blakesburg a couple of weeks ago while I was trying to shoot down photographer Gilles Auliard in the Stearman photo plane



http://www.vafm.org


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[Lightjug]

I have one to add from my recent trip to London... RAF Hendon Has This One

[John Dupre]

The MiG-15 at the NMUSAF was of course a "gift" from a defecting North Korean pilot. The plaque in front of the aircraft mentions that "a demand to return the plane to its 'rightful owners' was ignored."

Unfortunately, the US was more accommodating when it came to returning a couple of other aircraft captured during the Korean War and later evaluated at Dayton, a Yak-9 and (IIRC) either an Il-2 or Il-10. Those would have made nice museum displays had they not been returned.

August

Who did they get returned to? North Korea? I heard that the aircraft were kept in store for a number of years and then scrapped.

[yakdriver]

Check out fokker-team.de Achim Engels is building exact Fokker E-III, DVII, DVIII and DR1 replicas. Scroll down to the Aeroforum link and there are hundreds of pictures of the builds. Real works of art.

[CraigQ]

The one the Hannas flew was I think all black with skull and crossbones? If that's the one Jerry Yagen just bought it from Italy, and I think it might fly at his WW1 fly-in next weekend.

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That is the one and it is flying at the museum today and Sunday (if the rain holds off). It has the Ranger engine.

[Robbo]

Some more shots of the Hendon D.VII


Fokker D VII by shuttleworthpix, on Flickr


Fokker D VII and Sopwith Camel by shuttleworthpix, on Flickr


Fokker D.VII by shuttleworthpix, on Flickr


Fokker D.VII by shuttleworthpix, on Flickr

[Mike]

This is the Hanna's one taken mid-80s. I've also got an air-to-air of it taken out of the ARCo Storch which I'll try and find. Unfortunately I've had no success with air-to-airs of D.VIIs since then.............



And a few of the Rhinebeck one, taken a couple of years back before they changed the scheme again.