Undoubtedly the most well known Dutch-built aircraft of WWII was the Fokker D.XXI. Though it was of rather standard construction (like the Hurricane), it offered both ease of operation, ease of maintenance and fairly good performance and armament. The fixed gear was probably an anachronism by 1939, but it was done to save weight and later experiments by the Finns with retractable found no appreciable increase in performance with retractable gear.

Developed specifically as a relatively lightweight fighter for use in the Netherlands East Indies, where conditions were a bit more harsh than in the Netherlands, the aircraft never really saw service there aside from a lone example. This plane spent more time being repaired than flown so it is probably good that they were never sent there. The situation in Europe mandated that they be kept at home. It was a relatively successful export aircraft with Denmark purchasing a cannon armed version and the Finns buying a substantial number along with a manufacturing license. These planes in Finland were used with much success against the Soviets. Even the Netherlands based planes did fairly well, though the German's 109s and airfield bombing soon removed them from the skies.

This book provides a complete development and operational history of the Fokker D.XXI in Dutch service. Each unit's war record is provided in detail, including successes and those destroyed by enemy action. There are an impressive number of photos of the aircraft to slake the needs of the fan of the plane along with a number of very nicely done color profiles and three views. I found it interesting that the lighter color is more grey than I'd thought, so I guess I'll have to repaint several models! A well done camouflage section is also included.

The book is in both Dutch and English, though it is set up a bit differently from other dual language books by having all the Dutch section first, followed half way through the book by the English. This has the effect of the reader having to thumb through pages to see photos related to the part they are reading for a majority of the book. Perhaps the authors might want to consider side by side presentations as that seems to work quite well in most cases. A full individual aircraft history is also provided by serial. The majority of this info is in Dutch with a small English conclusion at the end of each entry.

Though currently out of stock, there are decals related to this book for the modelers in the crowd. Overall, an excellent book on an equally interesting aircraft and one that I can highly recommend to those interested.

Review book courtesy of www.dutchprofile.nl  where you can get your copy today.

March 2008

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