Anton Hermann Gerard (Anthony) Fokker ( niderl. Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker ; April 6, 1890 , Kediri , Dutch Ost-India - December 23, 1939 , New York , USA ) - Dutch aircraft designer .
| Anton Fokker | |
|---|---|
| Anton Herman Gerard Fokker | |
 Fokker in 1912 | |
| Date of Birth | April 6, 1890 |
| Place of Birth | Kediri , Dutch East Indies , Indonesia |
| Date of death | December 23, 1939 (49 years) |
| Place of death | New York , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Allegiance |  Netherlands |
| Occupation | aircraft designer , entrepreneur |
| Awards and prizes | [d] |
Biography
Born in 1890 on the island of Java into the family of a coffee planter Herman Fokker and his wife Johanna Dimont. He was the second child in a family of two children. He had an older sister, Katharina Jacob. In 1895, Anton and his family moved to Haarlem (the Netherlands ). Even as a child he became interested in technology, making models of trains with miniature engines. In 1908, he developed a non-breakable spring “tire” for an automobile wheel. However, when Fokker tried to patent his development, it turned out that this design was already patented by another person.
In 1908, Fokker saw Wilbur Wright’s exemplary flight, and his interest switched to airplanes. His first plane Fokker created in 1911.
In 1912, Fokker settled near Berlin . In 1913, Fokker founded an aircraft factory near Schwerin (Germany). Fokker’s company was named Fokker Flugzeugwerke GmbH , subsequently abbreviated to Fokker Werke GmbH.
During the First World War, Fokker built airplanes for the German army , equipped with a full-fledged synchronizer firing. Their successful application gave rise even to a special term - Fokker Beach .
In 1919, after the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty , under which Germany was forbidden to have the Air Force and the aircraft industry, Fokker moved from Germany to Amsterdam .
In the 1920s, Fokker moved to the United States , where he founded a branch of his company. Fokker company has become one of the leading manufacturers of civil aircraft in the world. In 1926, on the Fokker F-VII / Зm plane, American pilots Richard Werde and F. Bennett first flew over the North Pole . And in 1928, the Australian crew under the direction of C. Kingsford-Smith on the F-VII / Зm "Southern Cross" made the first ever flight across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Australia.
Anton Fokker was the first to build a four-engine passenger aircraft - the F-32 (1929), which could carry 32 passengers.
In the late 20s, the Fokkers accounted for over 40% of the fleet of American airlines.
He died in 1939 in New York from meningitis .
Notes
Links
- Fokker, Anton - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .