The Fokker D.XXI was developed to be a simple, rugged and easy to maintain fighter for the Netherlands East Indies. As such, it had a fabric covered tube frame construction with fixed landing gear. Despite some early resistance to it caused by the crash of the prototype in the hands of an inexperienced test pilot, it went on to be built in fair numbers.

The initial crash caused its initial cancellation for Dutch service, though that was shortly rescinded. The aircraft was found to be just the ticket for the Finns who ordered several and got a license to build them. Same for the Spanish, though as the fortunes of war would have it, only one aircraft was actually built and never photographed. Denmark also ordered the aircraft. All of these were Mercury powered.

The Dutch aircraft were quickly built and were in squadron service by the time of the German invasion of 1940, but the first to use them in combat were the Finns during the Winter War of 1939-1940. This was a rather short conflict of only a few months, but the D.XXI, operating with skis, showed itself to be a very able performer. Many Finnish pilots were able to rack up a pretty decent score with the D.XXI. In fact, at the start of the conflict, the D.XXI was the most modern fighter in Finnish service. Though other planes came into Finland during that war from Italy, the UK and France, it was the D.XXI that did most of the fighting.

Next to use it were the Danes, though the country surrendered before any combat missions could be flown. The Dutch were fairly successful with the D.XXI, gaining several victories over intruding German recce planes prior to their entry into the war, and having some success once the German invasion was underway. Though not up to the capabilities of the Bf-109E, the Fokker was able to knock down several transports as well as some bombers, 110s and a 109 or two. According to the book, no Dutch pilot ever achieved ace status, even those fighting with the British.

During the Continuation War, the D.XXI had be supplanted for the most part by more modern aircraft like the Buffalo, P-36, Hurricane and later the Bf-109. Still, the D.XXI was able to continue knocking down planes. Thanks to a lack of Mercury engines, the Twin Wasp Jr was used for the last 50 or so built. This had a slight degradation in total performance, but not enough to be all that noticeable. A full dozen Finnish pilots became aces flying the D.XXI while a couple of dozen more got some of their victories in the aircraft.

This book covers the development of the D.XXI as well as its use by all the nations that flew it. Naturally, most of the book covers the Finnish AF use followed by a good sized section on the Dutch A.F. during its homeland defense use. This is further enhanced by a great selection of period photos and the usual collection of full color profiles. Several charts make up the appendices to add additional flavor to the book.

It all makes for a very interesting read, especially if you are looking for something a bit different from the norm. It is well written and tells the tales well. It was a book I very much enjoyed reading and can highly recommend it to you.

May 2013

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