The Fokker T.V was a twin-engine bomber, described as an "aerial cruiser", built by Fokker for the Netherlands Air Force. It was modern for its time, but by the German invasion of 1940, it was outclassed by the airplanes of the Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, the T.V was used with some success against the German onslaught.
Development and design
In the early 1930s, the Luchtvaartafdeling became interested in the luchtkruiser concept multipurpose aircraft, which was to have a primary role of intercepting and destroying enemy bomber formations, with a secondary role as a long-range bomber, with Colonel P.W. Best, commander of the Luchtvaartafdeling stating on 28 March 1935 that aircraft of the luchtkruiser should be purchased in as large numbers as possible, proposing to cancel procurement of the Fokker D.XXI fighter to release funds. To meet this requirement, Fokker developed the T.V, a five-seat, twin-engined monoplane. It featured a wooden wing, while the slab-sided fuselage was of mixed construction, with a wooden monocoque centre fuselage, a fabric covered steel tube rear fuselage and a duralumin forward fuselage. While this construction method was typical for Fokker aircraft, it was obsolete compared with contemporary aircraft of its size, which were normally of all-metal construction. It was fitted with a 20 mm autocannon in the nose to meet thebomber destroyer part of the requirement, and four defensive Browning machine guns, one each in dorsal, ventral and tail positions, with one capable of being switched between two waist positions. It had a bomb-bay under the centre fuselage capable of carrying up to 1,000 kg of bombs. A contract was signed for 16 T.Vs on 7 December 1936, with the first aircraft flying on 16 October 1937 from Schiphol airfield.
Operational history
The first 11 T.Vs, by now considered medium bombers, were delivered in 1938, with the last 4 following in 1939. Although it had good handling characteristics, its suffered from reliability problems with its engines and propellers, and by the summer of 1939, the Netherlands was planning to purchase 24 Dornier Do 215s to replace them. On 10 May 1940, Germanyinvaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The T.V saw its first combat, when taking off from Schiphol to avoid air attack, eight T.Vs encountered a formation of German bombers, shooting down two. After this, the T.V reverted to its primary bomber role, being used in attacks against German airborne troops landing at The Hague and Rotterdam. By the end of the first day of fighting only two T.Vs were serviceable, being sent against bridges over the River Maas at Rotterdam on 11 May, where a further aircraft was shot down, with the final T.V being shot down during attacks on bridges at Moerdijk on 13 May. As the T.V lacked self-sealing fuel tanks, they gained a reputation for rapidly catching fire when hit by enemy fire.
