Fokker D.XI

The Fokker D.XI was a single‑seat, single‑engine fighter aircraft designed by Dutch constructor Anthony Fokker in the early 1920s. First flown in 1921, it represented the last of the World War I‑era biplanes that Fokker produced before turning to more modern monoplanes. The D.XI featured a wooden frame covered with fabric, a straight‑wing biplane layout, and was powered by a 220 hp Hispano‑Suiza 8Fb V‑8 engine, giving it a top speed of about 210 km/h (130 mph). Its armament consisted of two synchronized 7.7 mm machine guns mounted on the fuselage. Though modest by later standards, the aircraft offered excellent maneuverability and a stable platform for pilots transitioning from wartime types to the new generation of combat planes. Production was limited to roughly 200 airframes, exported to several countries including Sweden, Norway, and the Soviet Union, where it served as a primary fighter until the mid‑1930s. The D.XI’s importance lies in bridging the gap between WWI biplane design and the interwar evolution toward faster, all‑metal monoplanes, and it demonstrated the adaptability of Fokker’s design philosophy in a rapidly changing aviation landscape. Its service record also provided valuable data that influenced later Fokker models such as the D.VIII and the high‑speed K.VII.

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