page_title: Fokker D.XXI
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Fokker D.XXI / Operational history
context_page_description: The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.
  The D.XXI was designed as an inexpensive, rugged, and compact fighter aircraft that would possess respectable performance for its era. Entering operational use in the early years of the Second World War, it provided yeoman service for both the Luchtvaartafdeling and the Finnish Air Force. Additionally, a few examples were constructed by the El Carmolí factory before it fell into rebel hands during the Spanish Civil War. Following the invasion and occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, several captured Dutch D.XXIs were subsequently placed into service with the Luftwaffe.
context_section_description: The Fokker D.XXI was first used in combat by the Finnish Air Force during the 1939–1940 Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland. Upon the war's outbreak, a total of 41 aircraft were in Finnish service, all powered by the Mercury VIII engine. On 1 December 1939, the D.XXI achieved its first victory with the shooting down of a Soviet Tupolev SB. The Fokker was evenly matched against the aircraft of the Soviet Air Force, and its rugged design with a radial engine and fixed undercarriage made it well suited for Finnish conditions. The performance of the Finnish D.XXI allegedly won the admiration of many Soviet pilots.
  As the Winter War continued and newer models of Soviet fighters appeared, the Fokker D.XXI proved to be increasingly underpowered and too lightly armed (with only four 7.92 mm/.312 in machine guns) to compete; plans to arm the Fokkers with 20 mm cannons were dropped, and only one fighter was armed with two 20 mm cannons and two 7.92 mm/.312 in machine guns. Another fighter was equipped with retractable landing gear, but due to less than anticipated performance improvement was not continued in the series. The fixed undercarriage lent itself to both unimproved runways and conversion to skis for winter use, both of which were advantages in the Finnish theater. A total of 12 D.XXI aircraft were lost during the conflict, six being lost to accidents rather than enemy action.
  The conflict between Finland and the Soviet Union was resumed in the Continuation War (1941–44), the D.XXI was again a key element of the Finnish Air Force. During the first air battle, six Mercury-engined D.XXIs shot down a pair of Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bombers. Several Finnish Air Force pilots became fighter aces with the Fokker D.XXI. The top scoring Fokker ace, Jorma Sarvanto, obtained 12 5/6 victories with the type; many other future aces also scored at least one victory with the Fokker. The highest scoring airframe was FR-110, achieving 10 victories; this aircraft survived the war and is on display at the Central Finland Aviation Museum. Finland continued to operate their D.XXIs until 1949, and classified them as surplus to requirements in 1952.
  Although the order by the ML-KNIL was cancelled, the Luchtvaartafdeling (Dutch Army Air Force before World War II) placed an order of 36 aircraft, which were all delivered in time to participate in the war against the Germans in May 1940. On 10 May 1940, the day that Germany launched its invasion of the Netherlands, 28 D.XXIs were serviceable and ready for operations. That first day, six D.XXIs escorted a formation of Fokker T.V bombers to attack the Meuse bridges to hinder the German advance; they were intercepted by nine German Messerschmitt Bf 109s, and during the ensuing dogfight, one Bf 109 was shot down and two more damaged for the loss of one D.XXI and two T.Vs. That same day, a flight of D.XXIs intercepted and shot down 37 out of 55 inbound Junkers Ju 52 troop transports which had crossed the border during the early morning.
  Due to many aircraft becoming unserviceable due to battle damage after the first day, it was decided to regroup at Buiksloot, north of Amsterdam, on 11 May. For the following four days, missions out of Buiksloot were flown by D.XXIs flying in both solo and small formations to escort friendly units as well as in the search-and-destroy role. On 11 May, at least two Bf 109s were recorded as having been shot down by D.XXI fighters. Sorties against the numerically superior German forces continued until the middle of 14 May, at which point news of the Dutch capitulation reached Buiksloot, upon which both the remaining aircraft and the airstrip were destroyed to prevent their use by the Germans. Out of the original force of 28 D.XXI aircraft, eight fighters had remained airworthy. The D.XXI, although much slower and more lightly armed than the Bf 109, performed surprisingly well in combat due to its manoeuvrability. It was also one of the few aircraft that could follow a Stuka bomber into its dive. Nonetheless, the numerical superiority of the Luftwaffe led to  the destr
caption: Pair of Finnish Air Force Fokker D.XXI in flight
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