The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 191 ...

, Fokker's American subsidiary

Atlantic Aircraft Corporation Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, also known as Fokker-America and Atlantic-Fokker, was a US subsidiary of the Dutch Fokker company, responsible for sales and information about Fokker imports, and eventually constructing various Fokker designs."The ...

, and other companies under licence.

Design and development

Ad Astra Aero - Fokker F-VII-B 3-m (CH190)

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Vliegveld Tjililitan met benzinestation bij Meester Cornelis Batavia Java TMnr 10010739

The F.VII was designed as a single-engined transport aircraft by

Walter Rethel Walther Karl Paul Rethel (15 August 1892 – 1977) was a German aircraft designer born in Wesel. Rethel was born to parents Paul Rethel (1855-1933) and Mally Rethel. His father was a Prussian Major General and grandfather was painter Otto Ret ...

. Five examples of this model were built for the Dutch airline KLM. One of these aircraft, registered H-NACC, was used in 1924 for the first flight from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies. In 1925, while living in the US,

Anthony Fokker Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker (6 April 1890 – 23 December 1939) was a Dutch aviation pioneer, aviation entrepreneur, aircraft designer, and aircraft manufacturer. He produced fighter aircraft in Germany during the First World War suc ...

heard of the inaugural Ford Reliability Tour, which was proposed as a competition for transport aircraft. Fokker had the company's head designer,

Reinhold Platz Reinhold Platz (16 January 1886 – 15 September 1966) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer in service of the Dutch company Fokker. Platz was hired by Fokker in 1912 as a welder. His first hands-on projects were to weld the frame pa ...

, convert a single-engined F.VIIa airliner to a

trimotor A trimotor is an aircraft powered by three engines and represents a compromise between complexity and safety and was often a result of the limited power of the engines available to the designer. Many trimotors were designed and built in the 1920s ...

configuration, powered by 200 hp

Wright Whirlwind The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to in ...

radial engines. The resulting aircraft was designated the Fokker F.VIIa/3m. Following shipment to the US, it won the Ford Reliability Tour in late 1925. The Trimotor's structure consisted of a fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage and a plywood-skinned wooden wing. The Fokker F.VIIb/3m had a slightly increased wing area over the F.VIIa/3m, with power increased to 220 hp per engine, while the F.10 was slightly enlarged, carrying 12 passengers in an enclosed cabin. The aircraft became popularly known as the Fokker Trimotor.

Operational history

The eight- to 12-passenger Fokker was the aircraft of choice for many early airlines, both in Europe and the Americas, and it dominated the American market in the late 1920s. However, the popularity of the Fokker quickly waned after the 1931 crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F.10, which resulted in the death of

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

football coach

Knute Rockne Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is use ...

. The investigation revealed problems with the Fokker's plywood-

laminate Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materi ...

construction, resulting in a temporary ban from commercial flights, more stringent maintenance requirements, and a shift to all-metal aircraft such as the similar

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It ...

and later

Boeing 247 The Boeing Model 247 is an early United States airliner, and one of the first such aircraft to incorporate advances such as all-metal ( anodized aluminum) semimonocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing, and retractable landing gear.

and

Douglas DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 is a 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which b ...

Pioneers and explorers

The F.VII was used by many explorers and aviation pioneers, including: *

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

claimed to have flown over the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

in the Fokker F.VIIa/3m '' Josephine Ford'' (N267) on 9 May 1926, a few days before

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amu ...

accomplished the feat in the

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

Norge Norge is Norwegian (bokmål), Danish and Swedish for Norway. It may also refer to: People * Kaare Norge (born 1963), Danish guitarist * Norge Luis Vera (born 1971), Cuban baseball player Places * 11871 Norge, asteroid Toponyms: * Norge, Okla ...

''.Baaker, Leo
"Famous Fokker Flights."
''tiscali.nl.''Retrieved: 20 December 2010. *

Lester Maitland Lester James Maitland (February 8, 1899 – March 27, 1990) was an aviation pioneer and career officer in the United States Army Air Forces and its predecessors. Maitland began his career as a Reserve pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service during ...

and

Albert Hegenberger Albert Francis Hegenberger (September 30, 1895 – August 31, 1983) was a major general in the United States Air Force and a pioneering aviator who set a flight distance record with Lester J. Maitland, completing the first transpacific fligh ...

, two lieutenants of the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

, made the first transpacific flight from the continental

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

(c. 2,400 mi/3,862 km) in the Atlantic-Fokker C-2 '' Bird of Paradise'' on 28–29 June 1927. * Richard E. Byrd,

Bernt Balchen Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Disting ...

and two others flew the first official

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film ...

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...

in the civilian-owned C-2 ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

'' (NX206), crash-landing off the coast of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

on 1 July 1927. * Lieutenant Colonel 'Dan' Minchin,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Leslie Hamilton Flying Officer Leslie Hamilton , was a British First World War flying ace credited with six aerial victories. He disappeared while attempting the first non-stop east–west flight across the Atlantic Ocean. His Fokker F.VIIa, named ''St. Raphae ...

and

Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (german: link=no, Anne Prinzessin zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg; née Lady Anne Savile; 25 May 1864 – 31 August 1927) was an English socialite and aviation patron and enthusiast. Anne was ...

attempted on 31 August 1927 to become the first aviators to cross the Atlantic from east to west using a Fokker F.VIIa named '' St. Raphael'' (G-EBTQ). Their fate remains unknown. *

James DeWitt Hill James DeWitt Hill (2 March 1882 – 7 September 1927) was an early US air mail pilot, who died while attempting one of the first transatlantic flights, with Lloyd Wilson Bertaud in a Fokker F.VIIA monoplane named ''Old Glory''. Early life and e ...

and

Lloyd W. Bertaud Lloyd Wilson Bertaud (September 20, 1895 – September 6, 1927) was an American aviator. Bertaud was selected to be the copilot in the WB-2 Columbia attempting the transatlantic crossing for the Orteig Prize in 1927. Aircraft owner Charles ...

made a failed attempt to fly from

Old Orchard Beach, Maine Old Orchard Beach is a resort town and census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland− South Portland−Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, to Rome in the F.VIIa ''

Old Glory Old Glory is a nickname for the flag of the United States. The original "Old Glory" was a flag owned by the 19th-century American sea captain William Driver (March 17, 1803 – March 3, 1886), who flew the flag during his career at sea and ...

'' (NX703) on 6 September 1927, but they and the aircraft were lost in the North Atlantic the following day. *

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 18978 November 1935), nicknamed Smithy, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand. Kingsford Smith was ...

's F.VIIb/3m ''

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

'' was the first aircraft to cross the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

from the United States to Australia in June 1928, and the first to cross the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

, flying from Australia to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and back in September of that year. *

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; Presumption of death, declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first women in aviation, female aviator to fly solo acro ...

became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on 17 June 1928, as a passenger aboard the Fokker F.VIIb/3m ''Friendship'' (NX4204). * A group of U. S. Army Air Corps flyers, led by then- Major

Carl Spaatz Carl Andrew Spaatz (born Spatz; June 28, 1891 – July 14, 1974), nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil produc ...

, set an endurance record of over 150 hours with the ''Question Mark'', a Fokker C-2A over Los Angeles on 1 to 7 January 1929. The purpose of this mission was to set a flight endurance record using aerial refueling.

Variants

;F.VII: Single-engined transport aircraft, powered by a

Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of o ...

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in pro ...

engine, accommodation for two crew and eight passengers; five built. One converted to use

Bristol Jupiter The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments tur ...

and two to use Gnome-Rhône Jupiter VI engine.Stroud 1966, pp. 466–467. ;F.VIIa (F.VIIa/1m): Single-engined transport aircraft, slightly larger than F.VII with new undercarriage and wing. Flown on 12 March 1925. First aircraft had a V-12 Packard Liberty engine, but a further 39 F.VIIa examples had mostly radial

Pratt & Whitney Wasp The Pratt & Whitney Wasp was the civilian name of a family of air-cooled radial piston engines developed in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.Gunston 1989, p.114. The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company (P&W) was founded in 1925 by Frederick B. Rentsch ...

engines. ;F.VIIa/3m: Version with two additional underwing engines, flown on 4 September 1925. The first two aircraft were otherwise identical to the F.VIIa. From the third aircraft, the fuselage was 31 in (80 cm) longer and was powered by 200 hp (149 kW)

Wright J-4 Whirlwind The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwin ...

radial engines. Probably only 18 were built, while many F.VIIa were upgraded to the F.VIIa/3m standard. ;F.VIIb/3m: Main production version with greater span; 154 built, including those built under licence. ;F-9: American-built version of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m; built by the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation in the United States. ; F-10: Enlarged version of the Fokker F.VII airliner, able to carry up to 12 passengers; built by the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation in the United States. ;C-2: Military transport version of the Fokker F.9, powered by three 220 hp (164 kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engines, accommodation for two pilots and ten passengers; three built in 1926 for the US Army Air Corps. ;C-2A: Military transport version for the US Army Air Corps, with greater wingspan, powered by three 220 hp (164 kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engines, accommodation for two pilots and ten passengers; eight built in 1928. ;XC-7: One C-2A fitted with three 330 hp (246 kW) Wright J-6-9 radial piston engines. Redesignated C-7 when four C-2A examples were similarly reconfigured. ;C-7: Military transport conversion of C-2A for the US Army Air Corps by re-engining with 300 hp (220 kW) Wright R-975 engines. XC-7 prototype and four C-2As redesignated in 1931. ;C-7A: Six new production C-7 (Wright R-975) aircraft with larger wings, new vertical fin design, and fuselages patterned after the commercial F.10A. ;XLB-2: Experimental light bomber version of the C-7, powered by three 410 hp (306 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1380 radial piston engines; one built. ;TA-1: Military transport version of the US Navy and Marine Corps; three built. ;TA-2: Military transport version for the US Navy; three built. ;TA-3: Military transport version for the US Navy, powered by three Wright J-6 radial piston engines; one built. ;RA-1: Redesignation of the TA-1. ;RA-2: Redesignation of the TA-2. ;RA-3: Redesignation of the TA-3.

Licensed versions

SABCA SABCA (Sociétés Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) is a Belgian aerospace company. Its main sectors of activity are civil aviation, space and defence. SABCA was established during 1920. Presently, it is owned by the French aircraf ...

, 29 aircraft built. *

Avia Avia Motors s.r.o. is a Czech automotive manufacturer. It was founded in 1919 as an aircraft maker, and diversified into trucks after 1945. As an aircraft maker it was notable for producing biplane fighter aircraft, especially the B-534. Av ...

, 18 aircraft built. * Three aircraft built in Italy as the IMAM Ro.10, powered by three 215 hp Alfa Romeo Lynx engines. Three built for operation by

Avio Linee Italiane Avio Linee Italiane (ALI) was an Italian independent airline owned by the Fiat Group, which operated between 1926 and 1952. It was ultimately acquired by Linee Aeree Italiane (LAI). ALI was the country's only pre-World War II airline not to be n ...

and

Ala Littoria Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s. History ''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (SANA) ...

. *

Plage i Laśkiewicz Plage i Laśkiewicz (Plage & Laśkiewicz) was the first Polish aerospace manufacturer, located in Lublin and manufacturing aircraft under Lublin name. Full name was: ''Zakłady Mechaniczne E. Plage i T. Laśkiewicz'' – Mechanical Works E. Plag ...

. Between 1929 and 1930, produced 11 examples of F.VIIb/3m, plus 20 of its own F.VIIb/3m bomber version (developed by

Jerzy Rudlicki Jerzy Rudlicki (14 March 1893 – 18 August 1977) was a Polish pilot and aerospace engineer. Best known for his inventing and patenting of the V-tail (Polish Patent #15938), which is an aircraft tail configuration that combines the rudder and elev ...

). * Three aircraft built in Spain. * Avro, 14 aircraft known as

Avro 618 Ten The Avro 618 Ten or X was a passenger transport aircraft of the 1930s. It was a licensed version by Avro of the Fokker F.VIIB/3m. Development In 1928 Avro came to an arrangement with Fokker to license production of its successful F.VIIB/3m ...

Operators

Civilian operators

; *

SABENA The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its b ...

operated 28 aircraft. ; *''

Det Danske Luftfartselskab Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S or DDL, trading in English as Danish Air Lines, was Denmark's national airline from 1918 until it merged to create Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1951. DDL was established on 29 October 1918, but started its ...

'' operated three F.VIIa aircraft. ; * CIDNA operated seven F.VIIa aircraft. *

Air Orient Air Orient was an airline based in France. Created in 1929 from the merger of ''Air Asie'' (c. 1928) and ''Air Union Lignes d’Orient'' (c. 1927 – renamed from Messageries Transaeriennes 1923), the short lived airline was merged with Air Franc ...

operated eight F.VIIb aircraft. *

STAR A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

operated one F.VIIa aircraft. ; *

; *

Malert MALÉRT (''Magyar Légiforgalmi R.T.'') was a Hungarian airline, founded on November 19, 1922. The airline merged with Aeroflot in 1944-46 into Maszovlet (''Magyar-Szovjet Légiforgalmi Társaság'') a forerunner of MALÉV Hungarian Airlines. ...

operated two F.VIIa aircraft. ; *2 F.VIIb-3ms operated by the

Manchuria Aviation Company Manchuria Aviation Company(traditional Chinese/Kyūjitai: 滿洲航空株式會社; simplified Chinese: 满州航空株式会社; Shinjitai: 満州航空株式会社; Japanese Hepburn: ''Manshū Kōkū Kabushiki-gaisha, "MKKK"'') was the nationa ...

; *

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally '' Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amst ...

received all five F.VII aircraft and 15 F.VIIa. ; *

Aero Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (P ...

operated six F.VIIa aircraft for a short period in 1928. Since 1 January 1929, all aircraft were handed over to PLL LOT airline. * ''Polskie Linie Lotnicze'' LOT operated six F.VIIa and 13 F.VIIb/3m between 1929 and 1939. ; *

Aero Portuguesa Aero Portuguesa (AP, sometimes written Aero-Portuguesa, short names for the ''Sociedade Aero Portuguesa Lda.'' - Air Portuguese Society, Ltd.) was the first airline of Portugal with scheduled international services. It existed from 1934 to 1953, ...

operated one F.VIIb/3m aircraft. ; *

CFRNA CFRNA ("The French-Romanian Company for Air Transport"; french: Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne; ro, Compania franco-română de navigație aeriană) was a French–Romanian airline, founded on 1 January 1920. Its name changed ...

; *

CLASSA ''Compañía de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas'', meaning 'Subsidized Airlines Company', mostly known as CLASSA, was a Spanish airline based in Madrid, Spain. The airline was established as part of the Miguel Primo de Rivera government's eff ...

LAPE LAPE, Spanish Postal Airlines ''(Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas)'', was Spain's national airline during the Second Spanish Republic. History LAPE, often also spelt L.A.P.E. and colloquially known as ''"Las LAPE"'', replaced CLASSA (''Compa ...

; *

Ad Astra Aero Ad Astra Aero (Latin for "to the stars air") was a Swiss airline based at Zürichhorn in Zürich. Early years Initiated by Oskar Bider and Fritz Rihner, in July 1919 the "Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Lufttourismus" (literally: Swiss ...

at least one F.VIIb/3m *

Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. ( German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between B ...

operated one F.VIIa and eight F.VIIb/3m aircraft. ; *American Airways, which later became

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenge ...

. *

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

operated F.VIIb/3m aircraft.

Military operators

; *

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

; *

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; nl, Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of Be ...

; *'' Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske'' ; *

Czechoslovak Air Force The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia c ...

; *

Ethiopian Air Force The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during na ...

; *

Finnish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = 159 , equipment_label ...

operated one F.VIIa. ; *

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...

- five F.VIIa/3m and two F.VII/3m aircraft, impressed into military service in 1939/1940. ; *

Royal Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...

; *

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the mon ...

; *

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

received three bomber F.VIIa/3m aircraft. ; *

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

operated 21 F.VIIb/3m (20 of them were licence-built) aircraft as bombers and transports between 1929 and 1939. ** 1 ''Pułk Lotniczy'' *** 211 ''Eskadra Bombowa'' *** 212 ''Eskadra Bombowa'' *** 213 ''Eskadra Bombowa'' ; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

, operated four aircraft in the squadron of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

and other two in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

. ; *

designations include Atlantic-Fokker C-2, C-5 and C-7. *

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

, originally designated TA then RA ; *

Yugoslav Royal Air Force The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...

Accidents and incidents

*On 21 June 1926, a

F.VII (H-NACL) force-landed at

Seabrook Beach Seabrook Beach is a census-designated place in the town of Seabrook and partially in the town of Hampton in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. It had a population of 1,078 at the 2020 census. Geography The CDP is a compact area of ...

, Sandgate near Hythe, Kent, due to fuel exhaustion caused by pilot error; all five on board survived, but the aircraft was written off. *On 9 July 1926, a KLM F.VII (H-NACC) struck ground in fog at

Wolvertem Meise () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Meise proper and Wolvertem (a ''deelgemeente''), and, several smaller villages like Sint-Brixius-Rode, Oppem, Meusegem, Impde/I ...

, Belgium, killing both pilots. *On 8 June 1927, a Fokker/Atlantic F.VIIb/3m (NC55) of

Colonial Air Transport Colonial Air Transport was an early airline that flew between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. History It was established as Bee Line on 16 March 1923 and operated out Naugatuck, Connecticut; in 1926 was reorganised in New York City by J ...

crashed on landing at

Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey Hasbrouck Heights (pronounced HAZ-brook /ˈhæz.bɹʊk/) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,842,SS Josiah Macy reported the last known sighting of F.VIIa '' St. Raphael'' (G-EBTQ) on a trans-atlantic attempt from

RAF Upavon Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993 ...

, England to

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada, piloted by

and Frederick F. Minchin, with

as passenger. *On 7 September 1927, F.VIIa ''

'' (NX703) disappeared with

and

J. D. Hill J. D. Hill (born October 30, 1948) is an American former professional American football, player who was a wide receiver for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions. He played college football ...

at the controls, in an attempted transatlantic flight from

Old Orchard Beach Old Orchard Beach is a resort town and census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland−South Portland−Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The flight's last known location was in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, 960 km East of

Cape Race Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mea ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. *On 17 September 1927, a Reynolds Airways F.VII (''C776'') crashed at

Dunellen, New Jersey Dunellen () is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,637, reflecting an increase of 410 (+5.4%) from the 7 ...

, due to loss of control following engine failure, killing seven of 12 on board. The aircraft was formerly operated by KLM, and had been imported to the United States. *On 4 July 1928, Belgian financier

Alfred Lowenstein Alfred Léonard Loewenstein (11 March 1877 – 4 July 1928) was a Belgian financier. At his peak in the 1920s, Loewenstein was worth around £12 million in the currency of the time (equivalent to £ million in ), making him the third-riche ...

disappeared during a flight over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

as a passenger in Fokker F.VII/3m (G-EBYI), in unknown circumstances. *On 15 August 1928, a

F.VIIa/3m, ''General Machado'' (NC53) ditched in the Gulf of Mexico off Egmont Key, Florida. *On 4 July 1929, a Fokker F.VIIa/3m (G-EBYI) force landed near Mongalla, Sudan. Owner and pilot was Donald H Drew, three passengers included

Glen Kidston George Pearson Glen Kidston (23 January 1899 – 5 May 1931) was an English record-breaking aviator and motor racing driver. He was one of the "Bentley Boys" Career His father, Archibald Glen Kidston, was a grandson of the original A.G. Kidston ...

, no casualties. Aircraft damaged beyond repair. *On 11 September 1930, a

Sabena The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its b ...

F.VII (OO-AIN) crashed on climbout from

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neocla ...

due to an in-flight fire, killing both pilots. *On 30 October 1930, a Fokker F.VIIb/3m (CH-161) of

Balair Belair, legally ''Belair Airlines AG'', was a Swiss charter airline headquartered in Glattbrugg operating out of Zürich Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. It was a subsidiary of Air Berlin and operated under the Air Berlin brand ...

struck a chimney, and crashed in fog on approach to

Essen/Mülheim Airport Essen/Mülheim Airport , is a minor unscheduled airport located south-west of Essen and south-east of Mülheim, North Rhine-Westphalia. It serves the western Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. Airlines a ...

; three crew injured, three passengers unhurt. See als
Commons Fokker F.VIIb/3m of Balair
*On 6 December 1931, a KLM F.VIIb/3m (PH-AFO) crashed at

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

after failing to take off, killing five of seven on board. *On 3 April 1940, a

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. ...

Avro 618 Ten (G-AASP, ''Hercules'') crashed on takeoff from Cairo; there were no casualties, but the aircraft was written off.

Specifications (F.VIIb/3m)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bowers, Peter and Ernest McDowell. ''Triplanes: A Pictorial History of the World's Triplanes and Multiplanes''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1993. . * Dierikx, Marc. ''Fokker: A Transatlantic Biography''. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997. . * * * Molson, K.M. ''Pioneering in Canadian Air Transport''. Winnipeg: James Richardson & Sons, Ltd., 1974. . * Nevin, David. ''The Pathfinders (The Epic of Flight Series)''. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1980. . * Postma, Thijs. ''Fokker: Aircraft Builders to the World''. London: Jane's, 1979. . * * Stroud, John. ''European Transport Aircraft since 1910''. London: Putnam, 1966. * * Weyl, A.R. ''Fokker: The Creative Years''. London: Putnam, 1965. * {{USN transports F 07 1920s Dutch airliners 1920s United States airliners Trimotors High-wing aircraft F.VII Aircraft first flown in 1924 Aircraft of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army