The Fokker D.XXI; Dutch Defender that Served a Surprisingly Long Time

The Fokker D.XXI was designed to defend the tropical colonies of the Dutch empire. It would go on to provide sterling service in very different areas.
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[@stevetournay6103]

The D.21 reconstruction in the Netherlands was completed this past summer and has now flown. Magnificent piece of work.

[@52Megaton]

Martin Schouwenaars is the man (we served on GZR together, me from '97 'till 2001)

[@ahnonymuch4183]

Great video. I am glad the Finns did something useful with the D21, unlike we Dutch.

[@owen368]

Remembered this aircraft from when I was young the book I have only has 2 pages on it but the last sentence is. Finally on 10 may 1940 the 29 combat ready aircraft in Holland fought round the clock until their ammunition ran out on the third day. If this is the action I have heard of elsewhere all remaining aircraft with the range where sent to Britain to continue the fight and everything else that might be useful to the Germans was destroyed. My understanding was that they did there best.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Or Danes... :-(

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

@@owen368 IIRC RF Coastal Command had a squadron of flying boats crewed by RNeAF pilots.

[@ulcolandheer773]

Germany lost about 100 combat aircraft over the Netherlands and about 300 JU-52 transport planes (although al lot crashed in the mud because the only airfield the germans captured around The Hague was not yet finished and had no paved runway.) , The army airforce did quite well. Even scored a direct hit on one of the key bridges near Rotterdam with a TV escorted by 2 G1's while being attacked by a bunch of BF109's. The bomb didn't go off.

[@andrewbowles9753]

Scrappy plane

[@dunzjos9754]

There is a non-flying replica at Soesterberg defence museum in The Netherlands. It's a beautiful little plane.

[@roelantverhoeven371]

soon there will be a flying one too :D they're building one

[@vriesvak9094]

@falco studio Nope, that one has been rebuilt. No original D.XXI exists in the Netherlands

[@ronaldvairfields4348]

@landa studio films and clips. No, it is not a survivor, it is a replica built by the Fokker apprentice school for the Royal Netherlands Air Forces 75th anniversary in 1988.

[@stevetournay6103]

@@roelantverhoeven371 That one has now flown. Magnificent piece of work.

[@fladder64]

@@vriesvak9094 A part was original, the rest is new build from the original drawings and the RNLAF gave it a number to be used 229 so it is a new build and got last year a certificate to fly and the dutch reg is PH-XXI

[@kimmokansala4274]

As a Finn , I'm very proud of Fokker D21 and the pilots who flew it .

[@rogerkay8603]

Rightly so!

[@kimvibk9242]

Sisu!

[@1joshjosh1]

You guys really kicked some Russian ass.!!! I really enjoyed that history.

[@terrynewsome6698]

What about the buffalo's you guys had, good or bad?

[@kimmokansala4274]

To my knowledge , killratio of Brewster Buffalo was unbeaten by Finnish pilots.

[@richardm3023]

Those were some pretty dangerous Fokkers up in Finland.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

The reds understood their meaning.

[@athelwulfgalland]

I see what you did there ... ;)

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Ha! Ha! Now I have to tell my WWI flying Ace joke. I already knew this joke but was surprised to find it in Boys Life in like 1962. Little Johnny had his Grand Father the WWI Flying Ace come to school for Shoe and Tell. WWI Flying Ace: "Ya, so this one day me and Niles is patrolling over the front when here come six of these Fookers ..." Teacher Interrupting: "Children - you should know that the Fokker was a type of German Aircraft." WWI Flying Ace: "Right ya are there, Missy but these Fookers was flying Albatrosses!" What was funny - was there was actually a little cartoon that went with the joke. Given that Boys Life was the official magazine of the Boy Scouts ... I just figured that someone didn't get it. .

[@LosBerkos]

@@Charlesputnam-bn9zy But right past your head it went.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

@@LosBerkos Probably so, bekoz for me ''Fokkers'' mean just ''Fokker planes''

[@petesheppard1709]

A very attractive little machine! Thanks again for bringing a significant, but unsung, aircraft to light!

[@scootergeorge9576]

The Finnish Air Force did very well with obsolete fighters like the Bruster Buffalo and Fokker D.XXI. Their fighter pilots truly had "The Right Stuff!"

[@dallesamllhals9161]

And a Swordfish in 1940?

[@mickwall1286]

You can fry a Finn in butter, he's still Finnish.....

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@mickwall1286 - With an off the Wall pun like that, someone may want to slip you a Mickey Finn! : D

[@1IbramGaunt]

Well remember they weren't actually that obsolete by 1940 standards, as he says they actually did surprisingly well against supposedly more modern aircraft and were certainly more than a match in the right hands for anything the Russians had at the time

[@johnkelinske1449]

@@1IbramGaunt Superior pilots, same as the USAF with F-80s against the MiG 15s over Korea.

[@brianartillery]

Good video. The D XXI has always been a favourite aircraft of mine, ever since I was given a FROG model kit of one, in the early 1970's. By the way, that Fokker G1 is a handsome looking beast.

[@jonkje]

Are you aware of the DXXI currently being build in the Netherlands to airworthy condition?

[@jamesroseby3823]

Ha! I also constructed one of those Frog models in the early seventies and still have it. A favourite of mine too. Great to see one should be flying fairly soon as well. The video was greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[@brianartillery]

@@jonkje - No, but thank you for letting me know. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. I'd love to see it flying. Thank you so much. Nice one.

[@hansvandiejie]

Good looking plane but it would have suffered the same fate as the Me 110: no match for single seat fighters and the G1 was on the slow side as well.

[@fliegeroh]

The Finns invited the Russians to "Meet the Fokkers" and they were not very happy about it.

[@johngeen5633]

Epic, love your comment. Greetings to the brave Fins from the Netherlands.

[@marcusfranconium3392]

They literaly got Fokked up.

[@benlaskowski357]

The Finns modified a D.XXI with a retractable undercarriage. The plane had better performance, but wasn't produced in quantity.

[@mustang5132]

There is also the front of the fuselage (engine and cockpit) of a crashed Fokker D.XXI in a small museum called “Crash” in the Netherlands. It is very near to possibly the largest model aviation store in the world (aviation megastore) so if you have the chance I definitely recommend going to see it!

[@doepiedapie2034]

Well the main reason that the Fokker D.XXI was never send to the Dutch Indies, is because the KNIL (royal dutch indies army) did not fully trust the design and went on to buy American Brewster Buffulo's and I believe some earlier model of the P40. This did not pay off ofcourse because the Mitsubishi Zero was a far superior aircraft. Also, there was actually 1 D.XXI sent to the Dutch Indies. That plane was the prototype ''FD-322'' that was built in 1936.

[@billdyke9745]

The Brewster Buffalo being one of the worst planes of WW2...

[@topivaltanen4432]

They hardly ever fought against Zeroes and failed because of technical problems or destroyed in ground.

[@TheGrant65]

@@billdyke9745 The variant of the Buffalo used by Finland _was_ (like the Fokkers) successful in combat and popular with Finnish pilots. The main reason for this seems to be that it did not have a lot of the extra armour plating added to the Buffalo variants used in the Pacific by US and Commonwealth forces. That armour severely affected performance, especially against the latest Japanese fighters, like the A6M "Zero" and Ki-43 "Oscar", which had very little protection for pilots, but were a lot faster, lighter and more agile than the Buffalo.

[@simonmcowan6874]

That was really interesting, thank you from a subscriber from Wales.

[@mathewkelly9968]

You should cover the monstrosity that is the Fokker T.IV flying boats , served well into ww2

[@scootergeorge9576]

They operated in the Dutch East Indies and were all destroyed by early 1942. They operated maybe 3 months.

[@johnkelinske1449]

They were seaplanes, not flying boats and the Dutch actually placed two separate orders for them several years apart.

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@johnkelinske1449 - The Dutch surrendered in 1940. Their holdings in the East Indies surrendered March 8, 1942. This is only 3 months after Pearl Harbor. If his seaplane "served well into WWII" it was not with the Dutch.

[@rubenskiii]

@@scootergeorge9576 WW2 officially start in 1939, so 1942 is not a couple of months of service... When hostilities started between the Netherlands and Nazi-Germany actually quite a number of German U-Boats went to fight in the pacific theatre, and even before the Japanese invasion the East Indies was thus at war.

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@rubenskiii - Sept 1939 to May 1940 and Dec 1941 to March 1942 so these aircraft were operational for, at most, less than a year. And the data I saw, had the bulk of them in the Pacific. They saw little, if any service in Europe.

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

The plane looks great but could be flying out of one of the Tintin books....

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Yes?

[@1IbramGaunt]

Yes it looks like a 1930's transitional aircraft, so what, that's what it IS?

[@allangibson2408]

Given Tintin was created in Belgium before WW2 that shouldn’t be a surprise...

[@leadsolo2751]

Yes :D Just realised it :p

[@KK-TO]

I thought the exact same thing!

[@jacobmccandles1767]

Of all the countries that allied with the Nazis, I cannot condemn the Finns for doing so; with the Red Army trying to kick down your door, and the Americand denying support, what other choice Do you have!?

[@johndavey72]

Thanks Ed. What a great little workhorse . It did remind me of the Gladiator , another workhorse. You do find these little gems , great work !

[@AudieHolland]

Except the Gladiator was a bit more combustible. I got that from Roald Dahl's "Solo (1986)." One of his few autobiographic works and the only one (I believe) where he talks about his experiences as a fighter pilot during World War II. Dahl was a fighter pilot with the RAF at the start of World War II, flying in North Africa, in Gladiators and later Hurricanes during the "Battle for Athens" in 1941. The quotation marks are by Dahl. Twelve Hurricanes were up against 150 German fighters and bombers. According to Dahl, the reason he wasn't shot down was because the Germans actually got in each others' way when trying to shoot at the few Hurricanes. The final score was 4 lost Hurricanes Vs. in between 8 to 20 German planes, depending on the source. Anyway, back to the Gladiator. According to Roald Dahl, if someone had decided to build something that would burn better and brighter than anything else, he would eventually come up with something looking like the Gloster Gladiator.

[@johndavey72]

@@AudieHolland Thanks for that . I knew he flew Spitfires but that was all .

[@AudieHolland]

@@johndavey72 Ah, uh I think Dahl flew only in Gladiators and Hurricanes. The "Battle for Athens" was in April 1941, he was evacuated in May. Following that, his squadron was reassembled and he flew through the month of June but then his old injury from the Gladiator crash started playing up, causing headaches and blackout. He never flew again after that, although he was promoted to Flying Officer, then sent as a diplomatic weapon to Washington D.C.

[@65SATisfaction]

The Finnish Air Force can be proud of having achieved success with a number of “2nd Rate” fighters and aircraft; many of their pilots also made ace in the Brewster Buffalo, Fiat G.50, Curtiss Hawk 75, Morane-Saulnier 406...

[@finntastique3891]

Thanks! Yep, the FAF really flew anything they could get. One factor in the development of piloting skills was the Pyry trainer, that was a nasty and unforgivable plane (and therefore very good for the job). Thus the pilots really learned to fly - it paid off later.

[@carbonara2144]

These machines were OK during the winter war. There was just too few of them. Brewster Buffalo has poor reputation in other theaters of war but in the arctic the overheating was not a problem. Finnish engineers made a simple fix to improve the reliability of the engine and made sure that guns of the plane would not blind the pilot. Finnish Brewsters were light as they were delivered without equipment or armor. Finns added their own instruments, aims, guns and armor plate for the pilots chair. Plane did not have carrier equipment or life-raft. End result was a plane that finnish pilots really liked in winter war and in the beginning of the continuation war. Many a communist bomber was sent down in flames by Brewsters.

[@65SATisfaction]

@@carbonara2144 Thank you, that’s a lot of interesting detail I had not heard of about the Brewster. Cheers!

[@finntastique3891]

@@carbonara2144 That's basically how it was, thanks for your comment.

[@blank557]

I know the Finns really loved the Curtis Hawk 75's, from what I read.

[@Page-Hendryx]

The one which has been recreated was done so by using original drawings and some original parts; I don't think it is a restored aircraft per se.

[@owen368]

Question is it flying yet, as you say it's a built from scratch aircraft.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

and?

[@ryanegmond3421]

@@owen368 it is not flying yet. But the project will hopefully be ready this year in 2021

[@Page-Hendryx]

@@dallesamllhals9161 Uh, I was merely pointing out that it wasn't an aircraft that had been restored (as stated). Rather, it essentially was scratch-built.

[@52Megaton]

Leve Fokker! As a Nederlander and a graduate spray painter-student of the Fokker AMS in Hoogerheide as well as a former Lance Corporal 1 in the RNLAF , I still pity the fact that the Government decided to stop funding the Fokker Aircraft Corporation back in the 90's. I have participated in 2 uprisings Namely : One that Fokker Employees attended and (I think) the only one involving Dutch Military personell. Both times the Binnenhof was too small for all attendees... I guess it fitted the size of the support the Dutch government had to both organizations (sadly...)

[@hekka7270]

On 6 January 1940 Jorma Sarvanto (8:17) shot down six DB-3s bombers (out of group of seven) flying his Fokker D.XXI in just four minutes. It probably was world record. Mayby still is.

[@notreallydavid]

Hi. When I was a kid in the seventies I read of a Hurricane shooting down eight(?) Japanese bombers in a single mission. Can't recollect any details, though.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

@@notreallydavid The British had sent Spitfires but no Hurricanes to Australia for the defense of Darwin against the Japanese, under the command of Australian ace (google)Clive ''Killer'' Caldwell who never majored in Hurricanes. Hurricanes East of Suez were in Ceylon Burma, Singapore and the Netherlands Indies (Indonesia). The shooting down of the 8 Japanese bombers you 've read about was probably during the Japanese parachute invasion of Palembang, in the south of Sumatra, where many Japanese transports and bombers were shot down by the Hurricanes who also suffered heavily. The other probable place was during the battle for Singapore. During the 1942 raid on Ceylon, it was Japanese navy planes only, but the Japanese didn't lose many planes there. If you still have the text it could narrow down the search.

[@notreallydavid]

@@Charlesputnam-bn9zy Thanks for that, Charles. Text is long gone, I'm afraid. Will Google Caldwell. All best from Trent Bridge town.

[@joro5748]

@@notreallydavid Jorma Sarvanto's world record consisted in downing six bombers in four minutes, not just on a single mission.

[@notreallydavid]

@@joro5748 Thanks!

[@kevinoliver3083]

The Luftwaffe transport aircraft and fallschirmjager lost invading the Netherlands were one reason that Germany could not have invaded the UK. Even if they had not lost the Battle of Britain.

[@Schlipperschlopper]

You could give the Finns a flying bathtub and they still would kick most enemys asses with it :-)))

[@proofbox]

What else you may not know is that the Finns got hold of some Brewster F2A Buffalo naval fighters from the US who considered them obsolete in the Pacific conflict , and had a 19 to 1 kill ratio against the Soviets , one of the best ratios of any fighter in WW2 .

[@marcusfranconium3392]

Fun fact the dutch used brewster buffalos during the defense of the dutch east indies , british malaya and singapore.

[@Getoffmycloud53]

The Brewster 239 and 339 were not exactly the same as the F2A, these were no “obsolete” US Navy, nor were they seen as obsolete. The F2A was underpowered for the extra weight in naval equipment it had to carry, nor was it as rugged as the F4F, but what people have to understand is that in 1939-41 these were all state of the art types, but in case of the F2A it was just not good enough, especially when using the wrong tactics against nimble Japanese fighters, especially the A6M2. As for the FAF claims, these should hot be seen as absolute, like most claims, they are but an indicator. It would be difficult to claim that the 239 was one of the best fighters in WW2, not by a long shot

[@roykliffen9674]

For those interested; the restored Dutch D-XXI has taken to the air: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6uwXoptrN2Bf9ksi=h-xyUKpWuT3Wf4We

[@JefRoberts]

Enjoyable and interesting tribute to an interesting aircraft

[@voivod6871]

Interesting vid but radial is pronounced ray-dial surely.

[@EdNashsMilitaryMatters]

Hah! Yes, my bad!

[@scootergeorge9576]

Ray De al.

[@1IbramGaunt]

@@scootergeorge9576 sounds like a Blues or Jazz musician lol

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@1IbramGaunt - Really? I was thinking rap or hip hop.

[@gerhardris]

The post is great again thanks. The D21 was considerd a difficult aircraft to fly. Yet it was designed to be able to climb high fast and do power dives. It held an altitude record. It was easy to dive for it wouldn't go faster than 750 kmph or so. Diving on a target with a Spitfire or Me 109E was difficult in order to get the speed in check. The military aircraft Fokker had most success with between the wars was the Fokker C5. A double dekker light bomber. The Fokker C10 further developmet of the C 5 was also bought by the Fins. Both the Dutch and the Fins used them well in the low altitude role. For the Fins especially the tactic of flying with crossed rudder amd aileron at I think it was 300 m when pounced upon, then nose diving straight down in a flick and turn toward the enemy always worked. The enemy needs to lead and that fly them into theground. Getting slow and low by a Russiam a D21 would grab you. The C10 was the Apache of its day. And the correct to learn lesson from the Bristol fighter from WW1. A great danger for spotter plane like a Fiesler Storch. A C10 could turn slow with its pray and use the gunner. The Roc and Defiant were incorrect on the conclusion on the Bristol Fighter. Anyway great film of yours thanks.

[@johnkelinske1449]

Not actually a bad airplane, the Finns did pretty well with the ones they had.

[@AudieHolland]

The Dutch air service didn't too badly either. Fokker D-XXI, 16 victories: 5 of Bf-110, 5 of Bf-109, 2 of Ju-88, 1 of He-111, 1 of Do-17 and 2 of Ju-52 Most D-XXI pilots actually survived the intense fighting but since the Dutch Air Service was on a dismal budget there was a lack of spares, and many D-XXIs were abandoned and destroyed after they ran out of spares.

[@finntastique3891]

@@AudieHolland Hats off to the Dutch pilots! They did their duty for as long as they could.

[@AudieHolland]

​@@finntastique3891 Thank you. Now that you mention it, Lieutenant Swagerman paid the ultimate price. He commanded a Fokker T-V bomber and on the first day his was one of a handful of bombers to make it into the air. After shooting down two enemies (the T-V had a very effective 20mm cannon), his plane was shot down just off of the beach of Scheveningen, near The Hague. He was the sole survivor, swam back to the shore, boarded a tram then reported back to duty later that day. He made two more sorties which were inconclusive but at least he returned with his plane. Then he was told his T-V was the only one of the bombers remaining. On 13 May he was ordered to attack the Moerdijkbruggen near Rotterdam, escorted by two surviving Fokker G-1s. He made two passes, hit the bridges but the bomb didn't detonate. On the way back they were attacked by several Bf-109s and his plane and one G-1 went down in flames, all crew were killed. As I have mentioned before, I did a paper on the Dutch Airservice when I was a History student (nothing much but it was exhilerating to read the actual pilots' battle reports on the paper they typed it on). His commanding officer at the airbase knew he was sending him on one-way mission and it was noted that the CO did everything he could to have the order rescinded. To no avail of course because the target was a major railbridge Lieutenant Ben Swagerman was awarded the Militaire Willemsorde posthumously. He was only 23 years old.

[@finntastique3891]

@@AudieHolland He did his duty and paid with his life. Respect.

[@AudieHolland]

@@finntastique3891 Thank you for your reply and respect. Actually, Swagerman was not ordered to go on that mission, two of his friends were rostered in. But Swagerman was single and his friends were engaged or already married so he asked the commander if he and his pilot could take over the mission instead. I have no military experience myself but I'd say that is 'above and beyond the call of duty.'

[@Paladin1873]

I've often wondered if Kurt Tank's FW-190 design was influenced in some ways by the Fokker D.XXI.

[@aldosigmann419]

There are similarities!

[@marcusfranconium3392]

Its interesting as the do 335 was based on the Fokker D23 or D XXIII a combination fo the G1 and D21

[@tmjoki]

Thank you, Sir. Great video and an accurate description of the Fokker's role here in Finland. And the pronounciation wasn't bad at all 😉.

[@kiereluurs1243]

Thanks for making this, as it seems on my suggestion. You brought me (as a Dutchie) a lot of unknowns, particularly about the Finish service. Interesting.

[@phillipmel]

K.L. Please do read my history "short" below. Somewhat overlooked 1940's war history has become lost for either (or both) a lack of written records, AND military secrecy/security. I did read a history of Finland's B. Buffalos from an older US writer on various WW II aricraft. He wrote that the Neatherlands (at first) didn't buy any Brewsters, but "later" they actually did. And used some of them in the Pacific War against the Japanese who were occupying Dutch-held Malaysian island territories. I can call myself a US-born internationalist, but I don't use the word "Amerian", rather US guy/man. I don't because many nations, especially Canada and Mexico are (North) "American" as well. N.and S. America. are continents. Also, I'm bi-lingual. People in the US DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH, with many babbling what I call 'Merican. There are many who mispronounce many words, and are the types that "the Donald" likes. So much for criminals. ( " - )~~~

[@nickamer1712]

@@phillipmel Well now... a guy who hates both America and DJT, and calls himself an "internationalist"... Ya don't say!

[@phillipmel]

@@nickamer1712 Hates America? Sure. Your comments are covered by the 1st Admendment, otherwise, you are just another ignorant, unpatriotic dimwit who just doesn't want to believe what he hears on the "fake news". The "Donald" is in for a really rough court ride. He will most likely be both sued and criminally charged in New York's Kings (or Queens) County District's Attorney's region. Also, MAYBE (not as likely) the Wash. D. C. federal attorney's region CAN charge him with sedition and inciting a government overthrow, resulting in at least one death of a capitol guard officer. ALSO, he can be criminally charged for his verbally threatenting ranking Georgia state officials. So you think of yourself as a clear-minded citizen who actually pays attention to events more than two months old??? And a patriotic one too??? Good luck on your project.

[@williamjackson5942]

@@nickamer1712 I hope to see the traitor Trump go to prison!

[@Briselance]

So the Dutch goverment wanted to completely disband its airforce at home, but also wanted to have one overseas? I have nothing against any Dutch citizen, but, man... was that a stupid decision.

[@peterkralt2478]

no that was because we could not win so as a neutral country they did not want to provoke Germany or the other sides with an arms race. Instead of an airforce we bought a lot of AA guns and took out 625 german planes in 5 days, 361 on the first day of the war so we did a hell of a lot better then France in 3 months!! Besides that France and England did not want to sell us modern fighters because of their own airforce build up, so even if we wanted an airforce we could not get real modern fighters.

[@mikauusitalo7421]

Wonder where this mistake comes from but Engine type of Mercury-Fokker 21:s was VII. (Edit, dutch Fokkers were ordered with VIII mercuries, this according to book "Fokker Suomen sinessä". This book is about rebuilding fr-110 icluding also development history of d21). Sole surviving "original" Fokker 21 has now VIII, because for restoration VII type was'nt available. Type VIII Mercuries were also used in FAF, Bristol Blenheims, though.

[@theodoros9428]

Was the main Finn's fighter plane Also they took licence to produce it

[@lenx5953]

Please also make a video about the Fokker TV and or fokker TVIIIw, I’d really like it if you did!

[@harcovanhees394]

And the Fokker G1 and especially the Fokker D23 (D XXIII) which had a push -pull configuration like the Dornier Pfeill !

[@hjalmar4565]

@@harcovanhees394 He made a video about the G-1 a year ago.

[@dikkekater]

As per tradition i must colonize this comment section. Also the word fokker is dutch for breeder, so yea it is a flying f-er. GEKOLONISEERD

[@Halli50]

The 'left-spinning' Finnish Swastika (blue on a white background?) is an interesting contrast to the 'right-spinning' German Black Swastika. Underestimate the Finns at your own peril!

[@mato5758]

It's actually a Finnish national emblem, and predates the Nazi version.

[@timoterava7108]

They both spin the same way - clockwise - despite being not related. The German swastika is normally black and stand on it's sharp edge. The older Finnish one is normally blue and stands on it's flat side.

[@JDB-channel]

There is also a replica d21 at the Dutch Military Museum (NMM). There's even footage of it being built in the late eighties or early nineties on youtube

[@GreggFellows]

there is one under construction at Hogeveen as well

[@phillipmel]

I'm a former news writer, teacher and history buff. Thanks Ed, for your fine report. I had forgotten that Tony Fokker was Dutch, not German, and he was clearly one of the very best in early aviation. Finland's war history includes this long, drawn out battle with Russia. Before the US was involved, Finland bought a group of US-made Brewster Buffalo fighter planes, and did quite well against the lesser Russian air forces. Sadly, Finland as losers to Russia had to pay reparrations to Russia. Also, the civilian casualties in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were a high percentage of the total population. Warfare has a high price-tag.

[@LosBerkos]

That's hardly accurate regarding civilian casualties in Finland. Neither the confusion of 'Russia' with the USSR. Sure you are a history buff/news writer/teacher?

[@phillipmel]

@@LosBerkos No confusion, Russia then was both it and the USSR. I use the name Russia simply due to the US and world's opinion's about who's was what's. In those years (1942-44) major parts of the SR countries, like Rumania were under German control. Also, my comment about civilian casualties stands as written, and highly accurate. Relatively small-ish-population nations, like Finland, Estonia, Lativia, and Luthunia had nearly as high of a percentage of civilian losses as Germany, Russia, China and Japan had. Your comment to me is OK, and I protect people's rights of freedom of speech/writing. And yes, I'm very sure of all three, and consider it a patriotic goal of informing the general public. I also don't believe that the US is the cradle of world peace and political wisdom. In modern Europe, 30% of it's population visits another country EVERY YEAR. 50% of US citizens have never even been across either the Mexican or Canadian borders, and most never will in their lifetimes. And millions (e.g. San Diego, Seattle, Buffalo and Detroit) live within 50 miles of one or the other of those borders!!! I'm also telling everybody that I'm open to their comments. At least we have one thing we agree on: The freedom of expression. ~( : -)---

[@yaragi]

@@phillipmel Thanks for having the patience to answer and/or correct some of the people (and for doing in in a civil manner) And no, I'm not being sarcastic - it's just that I'm growing ever more dumbfounded by the level of education and/or the stubbornness of their fight against anything contradicting one's own beliefs.. It's like an army of Crusaders dug in to foxholes and trenches. Yes, I agree that I'm being a bit harsh now, but I hope you understand my point.. What worries me is the pace that even recent history is being forgotten or even skewed to fit in one's narrative; in this day and age of information being easily and more readily available and accessible for ever growing number of the population, I can't but wonder how is it that so many of us don't have the ability to 'filter' and broaden the sources of which to explore & some basic fact checking. I apologize for the rant; it's just that I've noted this becoming ever more common reminding me of some deeply divided times I wish that wouldn't be forgotten so instantaneously.. Oh well, all the best & stay safe!

[@mato5758]

From memory, the Brewster Buffalos of the Finnish AF were B-239's,which had low powered engines and 30cal guns, whereas other countries had the B-339 model, with the better engine and 50cal guns.... or the mix of 30 and 50cal guns? So the Finns did even better with the Buffalos, considering the lesser model.

[@timoterava7108]

The Finnish civilian casualties were much smaller compared to the Baltic countries - Finland being the only one not (totally) occupied by the soviets. The Finnish population of 1939: 3.7M The Finnish civilian casualties during the WW2: The Winter War 1939-40 - soviet aerial bombings - 957 - captured by the soviets - c. 2,500, out of which more than 100 killed/died The Interim "peace" 1940-41 - few dozens of civilians killed / captured and killed The Continuation War 1941-44 - soviet aerial bombings - 939 - murdered by the soviet partisans - c. 190 In total c. 2,250 killed/murdered/died civilians = 0.06% of the population. For comparison - the Finnish war related military casualties (for all possible causes, until 1982) were c. 95,000 killed/dead. In addition to that Russia (=the USSR) robbed c. 11.5% of Finland. Because of that 430,000 Finns (11.6% of the population) escaped from the occupied areas - 19 individuals decided to stay.

[@gidsinveenhuizenpuntnl]

It flies again. A restored example is now airworthy in Hoogeveen

[@dallesamllhals9161]

The one from 9:35 mayhaps? 😀

[@gidsinveenhuizenpuntnl]

@@dallesamllhals9161 sharp

[@fladder64]

@@dallesamllhals9161 Yes

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@fladder64 YAY! From a Dane

[@dillonpierce7869]

I always liked the planes like this. Fairly low end of what was available yet in capable hands could be just as effective. Shame less made it to now though.

[@jacafren5842]

Great job, diligent and lucid! Small details on the Danish D XXIs: while it is true that the D XXI was tested by the Danes with a 645 HP engine (a spare engine for the 18 Gauntlets operated by army Air Force) this aircraft was subsequently reengined with a 830/840 hp type, the same as on the 10 license produced aircraft and the other aircraft bought from Fokker. It was planned to fit all 12 with two Madsen 20 mm cannons and two 8 mm mgs - by April 9 1940 most were only fitted with 2 mgs. They were based at Vaerloese. The base was strafed and a recon aircraft that had taken of was shot down by a BF 110. No Fokker D XXIs were able to get into the air.

[@janvanhaaster2093]

Some additional information: * the prototype was demonstrated in the Dutch East-Indies, in the end it was destroyed there in 1942 during a Japanese bombing attack at the Andir airfield * the Spanish Republicans are believed to have produced one D21 * the Finnish made one D21 with a retractable undercarriage * aside the Bristol Mercury VIII the Finnish D21's were also made with the Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp R-1535 Junior with 825hp * 7 D21's were confiscated by the Germans, some of them have been used by them for some time

[@drstevenrey]

Duh, after 1918 Fokker could not build shite in Germany due to a thing called the Treaty of Versaille. You might have heard of it, maybe.

[@drstevenrey]

Ironic really, that the Dutch East Indies sort of saved his company, as he was actually born there.

[@gerardoppewal372]

There IS now a flying replica that just received its Airworthyness Certificate at Hoogeveen Airport, EHHO, Netherlands.

[@bennybenitez2461]

A brilliant well prepared and presented video. As a U.S. Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) local Post and District Historian in South Florida I appreciate your video and send a smart hand salute!

[@marcusfranconium3392]

You will apreciate that one of the designers of the Fokker D21 was one of the chief designers in the development of the P47 . there is also a restauration going on of one D21 that fought in may 1940 and to get this plane back in the air . they are now just waiting for certification to take to the sky. It did taxi trails 2 months ago . Fokker D.21(DXXI) first taxi run!! #19 kzbin.info/www/bejne/an6wn6RmrKiLeJo

[@martenikaeltheroy3621]

So finland had more operational fokkers in1939 than netherlands in 1940 ??? And what about fokkers d21 in ibdonesia 1941 ?

[@stevetournay6103]

Fokker's company produced those World War I German fighters, yes, but most of the design was carried out by Reinhold Platz.

[@misterbacon4933]

Their is now a flying replica of the Fokker D21! Their is a KZbin video of it!

[@jakkeledin4645]

Finns got simple orders; Come back alive. Their duty was not shoot Russians down, just survive. So long we Canon send planes on sky Sovjet have to sent fighters. More they sent, More they loosed In accident. Sovjet pilot anemia number 1 was they self! Look the numbers what they loosed. Still Finns shoot down so many.

[@janrobertbos]

the rebuilt has been completed: the Fokker D21 flies again...😄

[@valdorhightower]

Did any of the Fokker D.XXIs see combat in the Netherlands East Indies? If so, how did they fare against the Japanese?

[@jaakkooksa5374]

The famous Douglas Bader story, where he talked about his experiences as a fighter pilot at a girl school. "I had two fuckers to the left of me, two fuckers to the right, another two fuckers below, and one fucker coming in from the sun" At this point the headmistress interjected "I must inform you girls that there is a type of aircraft called a fokker spelled f-o-k-k-e-r" "I don't know about that", said Bader, "this lot were all flying Messerschmitts"

[@dallesamllhals9161]

0:40 and VII? Edit: As a (still low power)Dane..guess I should say thanks for the XXI..BUT we never found out* in April 9th 1940... *1 took to the air and then... :-/

[@viejomarino]

The spanish factory, was completed after the war and produces a training derivative of the D XXI

[@r.g.o3879]

The dutch and Belgians were firm believers in the concept of neutrality and as both countries were quite poor with limited resources they felt throughout most of the 30s that their best option was to hope that the Germans would respect their neutral status. By the time they began to realize that was a vain hope it was too late to build up a large enough air force and armored force, but they made some amazing efforts producing numbers of quite good fighter designs just before being overrun. They had also attempted to purchase British and French types but both countries made no serious effort to aid them, instead making malicious lies about their loyalty in order to deflect blame from themselves. The brave little Belgian army fought on valiently beside the french allowing the British to be evacuated. For years they spread rumors and lies that their allies had let them down, only much later grudgingly admitting the truth. In fact the BEF had been sent over with a primary objective to not take heavy casualties or get trapped in France. They pulled out of their lines without informing their allies for quite some time who were forced to scramble to plug the gap left. Along with a refusal to send over more modern spiitfire squadrons claiming they were needed to defend England even though there were enough available to affect the airwar in Europe. If the Germans had faced the spitfire sooner they may not have decided to launch the battle of Britain when they did

[@jarikinnunen1718]

Jorma Sarvanto shot down six bomber in four minute by Fokker D21 in Winter War.

[@waffle-waffle5416]

as a fun fact, Anthony Fokker himself also born in Dutch East Indies, as a fun fun fact he's born in the same region as the founding father of modern Indonesia

[@theodoros9428]

Nice video

[@searchthetruth1981]

If only we had +400 d21...and +100 g1 s.whe would have made meat out of the germans.....

[@richarddyson4380]

It’s a really tough decision re whether such a rare and valuable aircraft should be flown. It’s historical value could potentially make it too valuable to fly. As much as I would love to see it fly, I would hate to see it be lost forever due an accident.

[@ryanegmond3421]

The group that is restoring the Fokker d.XXI has very skillful pilots.

[@Theogenerang]

I can tell you from my experience with bush planes that a retracting undercarriage can be a very real liability. Its one less thing to carry (system weight), service and forget-on-landing. They also drag mud into the wheel wells.

[@johnnygnoneeded]

For a cargo plane operating from rough air strips, yes, a sturdy fixed undercarriage is an asset. In air to air combat, where speed is life and maneuverability is paramount, the drag of those big old pylons and spats over those big wheels can make the difference between a pint with your mates after a mission or a telegram to your family! Ask any Stuka after meeting a Hurricane, a Hyabusa after meeting a P-40, or an IL-Rata after meeting a Buffalo or ME-109.

[@Theogenerang]

@@johnnygnoneeded Theres more to operating a weapons system than speed and manoeuvrability. Remember that as many as a third of Me109's suffered ground handling accidents due to that types narrow undercarriage and poor airfield conditions. If it cant fly, it cant fight.

[@AudieHolland]

@@johnnygnoneeded That's rather simplistic. Fighters with fixed undercarriage of the time, like the Fokker D-XXI and the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" were very hard to shoot down or even intercept by faster, more powerful modern fighters like the Bf-109 and Bf-110. The Stukas weren't vulnerable because of their fixed undercarriage but because, once having pulled out of their dive, they were slow moving targets at low altitude, with nothing of the maneuverability of the D-XXI or Ki-27. The German Bf-109s shot down by Dutch D-XXIs were overconfident, believing their modern, powerful fighter would make mincemeat of those 'antiquated' Dutch fighters. But to get a D-XXI in their sights, a Bf-109 pilot would have to slow down and go low, while the Dutch D-XXI could simply pull up, causing the Bf-109 to fly by, then giving the D-XXI an excellent shot while the German was defenseless, trying to get accelerate and get away. Once the German had gotten away, he would have to slow down again, turn and try another shot at the Dutchman. The D-XXIs on the other hand were too slow to bring the fight to the German Bf-109s and Bf-110s so if the German fighter pilots had behaved sensibly and not get themselves lured into low level, low speed dogfights, they could have simply ignored the Dutch D-XXIs.

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

4:04 It's a Dutch baby B-24

[@mrkhgb]

Fokker T.V, Say Fokker T5.

[@marcusfranconium3392]

The bomber was ment as an aircruiser/heavy fighter/dive bomber medium bomber, just like the G1 fighter. But was mainly used as a medium bomber its succesor the T9 was damaged and abandoned in may 1940. a faster more heavyly armed bomber. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_T.V en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_T.IX

[@DeniatitadenCompostela]

Funny how the British pronounce Fokker. The name means breeder and the word is related.

[@marks.6480]

I used to own a neat little kit model of this plane in Dutch livery. It was one of the prettiest fighters in my collection

[@fliegeroh]

Was it the old Airlines kit? I had it in 1/72 scale a long time ago.

[@marks.6480]

@@fliegeroh IIRC it was a Revell or Matchbox kit but it was a long long time ago.

[@RussellBond-b3z]

With retractable landing gear and a little better weapons this could have been a great aircraft.

[@jouniairplanevideos]

Upadate on the Dutch D21. It's starting test flights

[@piwikiwi3409]

I really enjoy your Forgotten Aircraft series, I think you have a nice laidback style while also being accurate and insightful. I read your bio and decided to buy your Desert Sniper book because of your fascinating journey and the unique perspective it undoubtedly brings. Thanks 👍

[@EdNashsMilitaryMatters]

Hope you enjoy the book

[@alessiodecarolis]

Effectively there were more aircrafts in Dutch Indies than in the motherland, perhaps because Nazi's menace was understimated, but this little fighter performed well during early war years.

[@roykliffen9674]

The Dutch government - as well as a reasonable part of the population - were heavily under the influence of the "War Resistor's International" movement which strafed for international disarmament - signified by the "broken Rifle" lapel pin - in order to prevent another catastrophe like WW1 from ever happening again. This Utopian thinking, combined with the expectation of being able to remain neutral - as was the case in WW1 - made it almost impossible for those that were grounded in reality to persuade the government to invest in the military, not just planes but in a general modernisation of the entirety of the military services. When finally even the Pacifist could no longer deny war was coming, it was far too late to prepare the armed forces. Plenty of funds were made available but foreign suppliers were barely willing to sell engines or armament to the Dutch as they already knew they would soon be in need of those themselves. Many more planes were build, but they stood idle as the guns or canons they required hadn't been delivered.

[@scotttait2197]

Please learn how to say radial properly its not difficult

[@rebeccaforrest2315]

Thanks for this video keep up the good work

[@JustDarrenJ]

A nice look at a Brewster Buffalo at 8:34.

[@ulcolandheer773]

I knew the Dutch gave the Germans a black eye and a bloody nose before surrendering, didn't know these planes shot down so many luftwaffe planes in those four days. I thought most of the 200 JU-52's lost were by AA or being forced to land in soggy fields after the dutch recaptured the airfields taken by the fallschirmjäger.

[@peterkralt2478]

Not being forced to land, they planned to land them after capturing 3 airfields near Den Haag 8000 paratroopers had to take these airfields, then capture Den Haag and take the royal family and the government prisoner. The first wave would be dropped and once they secured these airfields the next waves would land and disembark. 2 out of these 3 airfields were not finished so the planes pilled up in the soggy soil where they became sitting ducks for the Dutch soldiers still surrounding these airfields picking them of at landing and take of or stuck in the mud. Some German planes landed on the beach and fields in that area instead when they realized they could not land safely and did not have the fuel to turn back and some were called back during flight when the German command realized the Dutch had recaptured the airfields. So about a 1000 german para's out of the 8000 of the 22th para division have not been deployed. The german 22th para division lost 42% of their officers and 28% of their soldiers in Holland and did not optain their objectives , 1100 of them managed to keep fighting/hiding in the dunes till the Dutch surrender and the rest was either killed or taken prisoner of which 1350 have been transported to England to remain prisoner till the end of the war. The first day of the German attack the Luftwaffe lost 361 planes in the Netherlands including 37 HE111 and 47 ME109 which is the biggest loss of planes for any airforce in a single day ever! In total the Dutch destroyed 625 German planes but after the surrender the Germans managed to selvage about a 150 of them so their real loss of planes in the Netherland in those 5 days is about 475 planes. The Dutch lost 34 planes on the ground by German air attacks 47 in air combat and 17 were decommissioned due to technical failure and combat damage. from the remaining 45 planes a few planes fled to England when we had to surrender, 2 G1's were captured/repaired by the Germans and most of the rest is destroyed by the Dutch to avoid the Gerrmans taking them over. after tthe Dutch surrender the occupied Netherlands became the first line of air defense to protect German industry agains allied air raids and in total 6000 planes have crashed in Dutch soil and territorial waters, about 3000 German planes and a little over 3000 Allied planes.

[@aukemoskable]

update about the D21 being restored, it is restored and airworthy.... its flying!

[@EdNashsMilitaryMatters]

Nice! I should do a story on it!

[@robertcardon5402]

Ed, I hope someday you'll do a video on the DO 335 or the equally fantastic BV 141.

[@marcusfranconium3392]

Funny to say that as the Fokker D XXIII or D23 was the insperation for that plane , Only difference was it evolved from the G1 double boomed and 2 engines in tandem. the prototype was destroyed in may 1940 after the bombing of schiphol airport. With the intended engines it would be 100 km faster than spitfires or me109s there is footage of this aircraft .

[@philiphughes6214]

Like so many countries being caught off-guard, the Danes had no fighters flying on the morning of 9th April 1940, one of the Danish D 21's was shot down by a Messeschmitt 110 while trying to take-off from Værløse airport.

[@Stripedbottom]

The reason why the D.21 was kept in production and service for so long in Finland was not that the aircraft was particularly suitable or well liked - it was already considered a 2nd line fighter at the start of the Continuation War - but that it was the only at least moderately capable fighter for which a full production line existed in Finland, due to the pre-war decision of making this the main fighter of FAF and acquiring the production licence. Especially given that the various attempts at domestic design & production never amounted to much, the D.21 was simply kept in production for want of anything better. It's use after WW2 was strictly for training (iirc it was already practically removed from combat status towards the end of WW2)

[@marcelvanlierop]

The replica is almost finished: kzbin.info/www/bejne/an6wn6RmrKiLeJo The engine sound is glorious and I can already envision it flying at the Duxford airshow one day. It'll be a wonderfull addition :) Welcome!

[@sigmasd10]

Great video, but just wanted to let you know that "Radial" as in radial engine, is actually pronounced "RAY-DEE-AL", not "RAD-EE-AL". Otherwise, keep up the good work.

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

I admire the way Dutch, Belgian, and French fighters targeted German Ju-52's during the Western battles in 1940. Smart tactic, considering they were outnumbered 2-1 in fighters.

[@wintersbattleofbands1144]

What an attractive little airplane.

[@CarLos-yi7ne]

In the meantime the newly build DXXI is in the final fase of testing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHnSqWxvZp5nnrs It contains some parts of the wreck of an original DXXI which were found at its crashsite with tactical number "229". That is the reason that this number is on the newly build one.

[@baronhyatt6729]

I love aircraft like this

[@jamesbugbee6812]

Way back, built a Frog model of this a/c & was captivated by its balanced practicality w/in a transitional technology; fixed gear didn't seem as outlandish as it could have, & her successes were therefore not so much of a surprise, especially in ever-talented Finnish hands. Sisu 💜.

[@markrowland1366]

The Fokker trimotor, in 1930, constituted the magority if takeoffs and landings around the world. Australian miners in New Guinea faced the impossibility of roads, had them delivering machinery and people, as little as twenty miles, as many times a day as could be flown. One is on display at Brisbane airport Queensland.

[@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188]

I have seen pictures in a book of the Danish addition to this plane. The rather efficient Madsen machineguns which did cost the Germans some losses during the occupation of Denmark the 9th of april, when they also attacked Norway

[@holgernarrog962]

It is always fascinating to see the high kill ratio of Dutch, French and other nations fighters against German fighters. I would not be astonished if it is an x-fold the Germany lost in these occasions.

[@leendertvanderent5078]

That's right. The germans lost An amazing 400 Planes in five days of fighting in May 1940.

[@holgernarrog962]

@@leendertvanderent5078 They were fighting against France, UK, Belgium and NL together.

[@randomroughneck1030]

so, moral of the story; if you want something not too expensive and outdated that will work very well with/against modern technological counterparts for some reason, call the dutch.

[@marcusfranconium3392]

To think fokker was just 1 of the aircraft builders in the 1930s like Koolhoven , de schelde all futuristic aircraft . Koolhoven actualy deliverd fighters to france and where used by free poles in france at the time. .

[@searchthetruth1981]

Ik vind m mooi....en waarschijnlijk met een inklapbaar onderstel nog meer!!!

[@brothergrimaldus3836]

It looks like a cross between a P47 Thunderbolt and an F4F Wildcat. Great looking plane!

[@MarkkuKoljonenwTinja]

Thanks! 👍 Christine&Markku

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

Like many Fokkers, the D.XXI is a beautiful machine.

[@carlwesternut2434]

Its a shame Australia didn't take the same stance on aircraft in general. The Australian government at the time were too busy waiting to be supplied from other countries.

[@searchthetruth1981]

Fokker had good planes....sadly enough the brand didn t last...😢

[@MrFunguspower]

7:22 like a glove.

[@mblaber2000]

Those Fokkers was flyin’ Messerschmidts