Info:
Development
The G-1 was designed and built in a record breaking time of 7 months under the supervision of ingenieurs Beeling and Schatzki, two senior designers of Fokker. Work started in March 1935 after receipt of a configuration from the French Airforce for a two engine heavy fighter that was supposed to utilize French equipment: Hispano Suiza engines, instruments, and a landing gear to be delivered by Olaer. The French interest disappeared after several French designs appeared. Fokker thought the design had potential and continued development under own supervision as project 129.
The aircraft received a twin boom configuration, something which was not new, but caused great sensation with the public. In the fuselage there was room for the crew and for the armament. Like all designs of Fokker in that period of time it was of a mixed construction. The front of the cockpit was build around a steel tubular frame covered with removable aluminium panels. This frame was attached to the frontal wingspar. The armament in the nose, the prototype had 2 23 mm cannons with 100 shells and 2 7,9 mm machineguns with 550 cartridges, was connected to this frame. The rear part of the cockpit was consisted out of a wooden frame covered with triplex. The many small windows in the rear part of the fuselage where made out of Perspex and hung in a Dural framework. The belly of the fuselage had two large doors with perspex windows, helpful for observations. There was also a bomb bay in the design that could contain 400 kg of bombs. The rear part of the fuselage ended in a beautiful conical turret that could turn completely around its axis, giving the gunner a full 360 deg aim. The machine gun could be aimed by opening perspex panels running the full length of the turret.
The wingspars went through the cockpit, right behind the pilot, and fore the compartment of the gunner. In the wing, between fuselage and engine nacelles, there was room for the fuel tanks; 550 liter, with a reserve of 150 liters. The wing edges, on both sides of the engine, contained the oil tanks. The outer parts of the wings where also made out of wood covered with triplex, that was glued together the same way Fokker did with his successful range of passenger planes. All control flaps where made out of a Chromemolybdenumsteel frame covered with linen.
The tail booms where made out of aluminum except for the gear compartments. From the firewall on the whole engine bonnet en and struts where made out of aluminum. For propulsion of the prototype the choice was made for the Hispano Suiza 80-02 radial engine (750 hp), that gave the G-1 a top speed of 470 km/u. Directly behind the gear compartments the twin boom was made out of aluminum again. The horizontal stabilizer, between the tail booms was made out of aluminum and had the tail wheel in the middle.
The prototype of the G-1 had registration number X-2, this number denominated as a prototype of Fokker. Not many people know that at least 5 planes have used this registration number.
There where more variants, read all about them in the paragraph "models".
The aviation salon of Paris
Even before the first flight of the G-1 Fokker sent its G-1 to the aviation salon of Paris. He expected a lot of interest for the creation of his designers. This expectation proved right and became true: the G-1 was the sensation of the show. The prototype was hung under steel cables between planes of Polish and Russian contenders. The plane got several nicknames on this show that pointed to the heavy armament in the nose: the French called the G-1 "le Faucheur", which means "Mower" and the British called the plane "Reaper". There is some doubt if the French came up with that name them selves; a lot of people think that Fokker made that name up himself.
First flight
The first flight of the G-1 was made form Welschap airfield, near Eindhoven, on 16 March 1938. It was the unknown Czech pilot Maresc, main flier of the Tsjechian government and senior pilot of the manufacturer Avia, that made the maiden flight with the prototype with registration code X-2, and painted in the well known green with medium blue belly. The flight went without flaws and after 20 minutes the pilot landed again.
Development problems
For the audience the G-1 was a spectacular promising plane that had minor problems. After 4 testflights this proved not to be true. On the fifth test flight problems occurred with one of the Hispano Suiza engines. Due to overheating the engine broke down and threw out several parts through the exhaust pipes. One of the tail booms got damaged. Before this incident it was already well known that the Hispano engines where badly designed; they used far too much oil. A quick and dirty solution was to ad extra oil coolers that where placed on sticks underneath the engines. This solution was not very elegant and finally Fokker did choose another engine, the Pratt & Wittney Jr. SB4-G This engine produces less power but was much more reliable. For the Dutch aviation department other engines where mounted; the more powerful Bristol Mercury VIII motoren, that where also used in the D-21.
The nose section of the G-1 caused problems too. The armament chosen by the Dutch air force, 8 machine guns for so-called 'water-can fire', proved to very problematic during landings. Due to this heavy armament the plane became nose-heavy and several G-1’s ground looped during landing. A good solution for this problem has never been found though in 1939 a plan was made to give the G-1 Wasp a different setup. In this design 4 of the machineguns where relocated to the bomb bay firing from underneath the pilot. In use the machineguns proved to be very unreliable partly due to the low temperatures at high altitude. This sensitivity for subzero temperatures has been solved by using a different lubricant. Despite that the armament kept on causing problems; firing them on the ground was no problem, but in the air usual 2 or 3 of them jammed. This problem has never been solved.
Edwin Hoogschagen
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© Fokker G-1 Foundation, 2001;
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