Koolhoven F.K. 51 "Wasp", the most numerous F.K. 51!

Suggestions Aircraft
1
Would you like to see the Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Wasp” ingame?
  • Yes.
  • No.
0 voters
In what techtree would you like to see this aircraft be added in?
  • In a future Dutch/BeNeLux techtree.
  • In the French BeNeLux sub-tree
  • Other (Please explain in the comments).
  • I said “No” in the first question.
0 voters

Hello everyone! Today I’m going to suggest the Koolhoven F.K. 51 with the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine for the Dutch East Indies Air Force!

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A Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Wasp”
Source: Koolhoven F.K.51 - TracesOfWar.nl

Quick note:
Koolhoven didn’t give the various F.K. 51 variants any special names, they were all simply called F.K. 51. In order to properly suggest the different variants, I’m including the engine type within Quotation Marks next to the F.K. 51 name.

History

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A Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Wasp”, note the machine gun pointing upwards in the rear
Source: IPMS Nederland - Koolhoven FK.51

The Dutch East Indies Air Force (Luchtvaartafdeeling Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger, or LA-KNIL for short) was the biggest user or the Koolhoven F.K. 51. Between 1935 and 1939 they had made four orders, totalling to 60 aircraft. However only 45 would actually end up in their service, since the last 15 were destroyed in the Koolhoven Factory when this got bombed by German aircraft during the invasion of the Netherlands.

The LA-KNIL used the F.K. 51’s as trainers. And unlike the Dutch Homeland airforces, the LA-KNIL would put their brand new rookie pilots in the F.K. 51 as their starter plane. The F.K. 51 was quite a handfull for these rookies, the aircraft was quite heavy and was also fitted with a heavier engine then the other F.K. 51’s the other airforces used.

The 45 aircraft were given the registration numbers K-1 to K-45. And in 1940 when a new registration system was implemented, these numbers went up by 100. So now it was K-101 to K-145.

Four aircraft were involved in two seperate instances of mid-air collisions. This was not due to any flaws in the aircraft, but simply pilot errors.

By the time the war with Japan started in the East Indies, the F.K. 51’s were used for reconnaissance missions. But as more and more Japanese aircraft started to patrol and attack the areas, it was decided to not use the F.K. 51’s anymore since they stood no chance against the much better Japanese aircraft.

One interesting thing that happend during this time is that the USA Airforce became a temporary user of the F.K. 51. Two of the aircraft were by the USAF for postal and passenger duties. American aircraft would land in the Indies often to refuel, so this small but needed service was setup. However some time later the USAF got their hands on some other more well suited aircraft, so the F.K. 51’s were returned to the LA-KNIL.

By the time of the Dutch surrender to Japan, most if not all F.K. 51’s were destroyed by their own crews.

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A Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Wasp” in a shallow dive, note the two bulges under the top wing where the machine guns can be fitted
Source: IPMS Nederland - Koolhoven FK.51

Design

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A rear machine gun on a Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Cheetah”, the F.K. 51 “Wasp” has this same setup
Source: IPMS Nederland - Koolhoven FK.51

The Koolhoven F.K.51 was a two-seat trainer/light reconnaissance biplane. The aircraft operated by the LA-KNIL were fitted with the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine producing 450 hp.

The straight line speed of the aircraft was 253 km/h at 2280 meters.

While most were unarmed, some seem to have been fitted with (Or had mountings for) two M.20 Lewis machine guns in the upper wings. On top of that there was also the option to mount anothe in the rear for the gunner to use.

Specifications

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Crew: 2 (One Pilot, and one Radio Operator/Gunner)
Length: 7.85 m
Wingspan: 9 m
Height: 2.85 m
Empty weight: 1,450 kg
Full weight: 1,600 kg
Powerplant: Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior (450 hp)

Maximum straight line speed: 253 km/h at 2280 meters
Service ceiling: 6,300 m

Armament
Guns:
2 × 7.9 mm M.20 Lewis machine guns
1 × 7.9 mm M.20 Lewis machine gun (Rear gunner)

Ingame

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As usualy with my Dutch vehicle suggestions, I ofcourse want to see this ingame in a Dutch or BeNeLux techtree. The F.K. 51 is a rather weak plane that could only work at the reserve tier of the game. Luckily this Wasp variant has two machine guns in the front which makes it on par with other reserve aircraft. And the gunner can be usefull from time to time, but I think it would still be outplayed by pretty much everything there, but it’s still an important plane to have from an historical point of view.

Personally I would love to see this in a Dutch/BeNeLux techtree. This aircraft could be at the start of a Rank 1 attacker line in my opinion. But let me know where you would like to see this ingame in the poll above!

Ofcourse the BeNeLux has been added to France, so this is now the only option where Dutch Aircraft will go to. But it must be said that the Netherlands and France have nothing in common, and do not make sense to combine together ingame.

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A Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Wasp” in front of a hanger
Source: IPMS Nederland - Koolhoven FK.51

So there you have it! Please make sure to vote in the poll above, and let me know what you think of this little fighter aircraft!

Sources

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Main sources:

Secondairy sources:

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Photos:

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