- Yes.
- No.
Hello everyone! Today I’m going to suggest the Koolhoven F.K. 51 with the Wright Whirlwind engine that was operated by the Spanish!
A Spannish Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Whirlwind”
Source: AviationCorner.net - Aircraft photography - Koolhoven FK-51
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
Spoiler
Another photo of a Spannish Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Whirlwind”
Source: AviationCorner.net - Aircraft photography - Koolhoven FK-51In 1935 the Dutch Aircraft builder Koolhoven had produced the F.K. 51 trainer biplane at their own cost, and was now in the progress of showing it to the Dutch Air Force in the hopes of them being interested and buying more of them.
This plan worked and the Dutch Air Force would end up buying 54 of these aircraft.In the meantime Koolhoven had caught the attention of the Spanish government. On the 13th of September 1935 two men that worked for Koolhoven left for Spain together with the first F.K. 51 Prototype. They would demonstrate the aircraft to the Spanish government, who by the end of it were very impressed and would order somewhere around 40 aircraft (Exact number is unknown).
But by the time Koolhoven was producing these aircraft for Spain, a Civil war had broken out that would last from the 18th of July 1936 till the 31st of March 1939. During this time no other countries were allowed to ship any militairy equipment to the country. So Koolhoven had to get creative.
Koolhoven’s solution was genius. Inside the Koolhoven factory no one spoke of Spain, instead they referred to the Spanish aircraft as Siamese onces, or Chinese, pretty much some other country.
A company that really only existed on paper was made under a French name that would act as the contact that Koolhoven would sell the aircraft too.
Finally the aircraft had their rear open cockpit covered up, and with paint the word “POST” was written on the sides of the aircraft. Because who would really bat an eye to a couple of small postal aircraft?Once delivered to this French contact, Spanish pilots would pick them up and fly them to Spain. The plan worked and at least 28 F.K. 51’s managed to get to Spain this way.
Most of the Spanish F.K. 51’s were fitted with a Wright Whirlwind engine. Koolhoven had used this engine type before in a batch of F.K. 51’s meant for the Dutch Naval Aviation Service, so this was a tried and tested engine for Koolhoven.
Once in Spain the aircraft were mostly used for training. But some were fitted with two machine guns in the top wing and a Lewis machine gun for the rear gunner. Some of these were used for nighttime missions.
In the end a small number of F.K. 51’s survived the civil war. And after this war an attempt was made by the Spanish to get 10 more not yet delivered F.K. 51’s from Koolhoven, but sadly these were all destroyed when the Koolhoven Factory was blown up by German bombers during the invasion of the Netherlands.
A drawing of the F.K. 51 “Whirlwind” in Spanish colors.
Source: Koolhoven FK-51 Spanish vers Azur 72064
Design
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A rear machine gun on a Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Cheetah”, the F.K. 51 “Whirlwind” has this same setup
Source: IPMS Nederland - Koolhoven FK.51The Koolhoven F.K.51 was a two-seat trainer/light reconnaissance biplane. Most of the aircraft operated by the Spanish were fitted with the Wright Whirlwind engine producing 365 hp.
The straight line speed of the aircraft was 253 km/h at 2280 meters.
While most were unarmed, a couple were used for nighttime missions, and were fitted with two machine guns in the upper wings. A rear Lewis machine gun can be seen on some of the aircraft too.
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: Wright Whirlwind R-975-E3 (365 hp)
Maximum straight line speed: 253 km/h at 2280 meters
Service ceiling: 6,300 m
Armament
Guns:
2 × 7.9 mm (Most likely Browning) machine guns
1 × 7.9 mm Lewis machine gun (Rear gunner)
Ingame
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We’ve got the Spanish VRCC ingame as a premium for Italy, so by that logic I would suposse that any other Spanish vehicles would end up going there too. The F.K. 51 is a rather weak plane that could only work at the reserve tier of the game, possibly as a premium if Gaijin doesn’t want to include Spain into the researchable techtree for Italy. Luckily this Whirlwind variant has two machine guns in the front which makes it on par with other reserve aircraft.
I think it would be a interesting aircraft to add. But overall it won’t be very good to be honest.
A Spannish Koolhoven F.K. 51 “Whirlwind” that survived the civil war and is now repainted
Source: AviationCorner.net - Aircraft photography - 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:
- “Koolhoven, Nederlandse vliegtuigbouwer in de schaduw van Fokker” book by Theo Wesselink & Thijs Postma
- https://www.tracesofwar.nl/articles/249/Koolhoven-FK51.htm
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