The Fokker C.I was a German

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

biplane under development at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The design was essentially an enlarged

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

fighter with two seats and a 138 kW (185 hp)

BMW III BMW IIIa was an inline six-cylinder SOHC valvetrain, water-cooled aircraft engine, the first-ever engine produced by Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, who, at the time, were exclusively an aircraft engine manufacturer. Its success laid the foundati ...

a engine. The C.I was originally developed to sell to the German Army. It never saw service in World War I, but Anthony Fokker managed to smuggle parts out of Germany at the time of the Armistice.

Development

The prototype, V.38, was tested at Schwerin, and put into immediate production. After the armistice, production continued in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Operators

The C.I went into Dutch service after 16 were ordered in February 1919. The USSR bought 42 C.Is. The C.Is served in the reconnaissance and trainer roles. The last C.I left service in 1936. ; *

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

; *

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

; *

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

* Dutch Army Aviation ; *

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

- Two aircraft were purchased by US Navy in 1921. ; *

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

Variants

;V 38 :Prototype. ;C.I :Two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, powered by a 138 kW (185 hp)

BMW IIIa BMW IIIa was an inline six-cylinder SOHC valvetrain, water-cooled aircraft engine, the first-ever engine produced by Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, who, at the time, were exclusively an aircraft engine manufacturer. Its success laid the foundati ...

piston engine. ;C.Ia :Improved version. ;C.IW :Experimental floatplane version. ;C.II :Three-seat passenger transport version, powered by a 138 kW (185 hp)

piston engine. ;C.III :Two-seat advanced trainer version of the C.I, powered by a 164 kW (220 hp)

Hispano-Suiza 8B The Hispano-Suiza 8 is a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914 that went on to become the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hisp ...

engine.

Specifications (Fokker C.I)

Het prototype van de O-Maskine 2161 027141

References

* * {{Authority control 1910s German military reconnaissance aircraft C 01 Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1918