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Subject: Koolhoven F.K.58
Date: 11 Dec 2017 07:31:47 -0800
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koolhoven_F.K.58
The Koolhoven F.K.58 was a single engine, interceptor-fighter aircraft designed
and mainly manufactured by N V Koolhoven in the Netherlands under contract by
Battle of France.
with fighters quickly enough. The Dutch manufacturer Koolhoven was contracted to
design a cheap, easily built, high-performance fighter, that could be built and
serviced with French-supplied engines and other components. According to some
sources, the Koolhoven fighter was intended primarily for fighter units based in
French colonies.
On 17 July 1938, the prototype Koolhoven Model 1166 (later renamed the F.K.58)
design: the Fokker D.21. The F.K.58 used the same composite materials as the
D.21: the structure of the fuselage consisted of welded steel tubing covered
with sheet metal (front part) and fabric (aft); the wings had wooden members
with a plywood and fabric skin.
In July 1939, the Dutch government placed an order on behalf of the Luchtvaart
Afdeling (Netherlands Army Aviation Corps) for 36 F.K.58 variants, powered by
Bristol Taurus engines. As the British government restricted exports of
Tauruses, they were to be replaced by Dutch stocks of the Bristol Mercury VIII
(as used by the Dutch Fokker D.21 and Fokker G.1A). The lower output of the
Mercury, relative to the Taurus, would have allowed a top speed to some 480
km/h.
The F.K.58s comprising the Dutch order were in various stages of construction
when they were destroyed by a German air raid on the Koolhoven factory in May
1940.
Battle of France, it is unlikely that they would have changed the outcome. The
F.K.58s that became operational were regarded as superior to the Morane-Saulnier
M.S.406, comparable to the Bloch MB.151, and inferior to the Dewoitine D.520, as
well as the latest German fighters.
Role
Fighter
Manufacturer
Koolhoven
Designer
Erich Schatzki
First flight
17 July 1938
Introduction
1940
Retired
1940
Primary users
French Air Force
Polish Air Force
Produced
1939-1940
Number built
20
The F.K.58 was originally procured for use as colonial fighters. Instead, the 13
fighters operational by May 1940 were manned by expatriate Polish pilots of
Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport). As delivered, the fighters were not armed
and the Poles had to acquire machine guns and fit them. From 30 May 1940, they
were used in the defence of French cities, patrolling in Avignon - Marseille
area, then from Clermont-Ferrand, without any encounters with the enemy. The
type's service life was short-lived with only 47 or so operational sorties
recorded; the unit had no confirmed victories, but at least one F.K.58 was lost.
After the fall of France, all surviving airframes were scrapped.
Specifications (F.K.58)
General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 8.7 m (28 ft 6.75 in)
Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1.25 in)
Height: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Empty weight: 1,930 kg (4,255 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,750 kg (6,063 lb)
Performance
Maximum speed: 505 km/h (314 mph)
Cruise speed: 450 km/h (280 mph)
Range: 750 km (466 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,810 ft)
Rate of climb: 11.6 m/s (1,130 ft/min)
Power/mass: 0.28kW/kg (0.17 hp/lb)
Armament
4 x 7.5 mm FN-Browning machine guns in underwing fairings
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