Fokker B.III (English version)

B.III

Fokker B.III

preliminary translation

The B.III was built in 1926. It's the army version of the B.I

It is not an amphibian but a normal flying boat, but in the B.I format.

The B.III was intended as an armed long-range scout.

The crew consisted of three people, each in a separate cockpit.

Some data:

Maximum speed: 180 km/h, cruising speed 160 km/h, landing speed 90 km/h.

Range 750 km, ceiling 4,000 meters.

Click on the photo to enlarge the photo

1

Here and on the two photos on the right, probably the last Fokker products from Veere (Zeeland).

The assembly hall and accessories were taken over by the Marine Aviation Service.
Fokker started to concentrate his production in Amsterdam-Noord.
The hall thus became a Marine Airfield at the end of 1926.
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2

This photo shows the employees of Fokker who worked on this flying boat.
The photo was taken in Veere.
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3

The hull of the B.III was made of aluminum, the upper wing of wood and covered with canvas.
The lower wing is covered with plywood.
Fairing number one was for the observer / gunner, number two for the pilot and number three for the co-pilot / rear gunner.

This is one of the last shots inside the assembly hall of Veere company.
Marine Vliegkamp Veere
4

Test flight of the B.III in the water-rich environment of the Fokker plant in Veere.
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5

Still on and in the water at Veere.
The engine used was a Napier Lion with 450 hp.
With four-bladed push propeller.
Napier Lion
6

Another nice photo of all those test flights on water.
The Naval Aviation Service bought this aircraft.
An order for 12 aircraft was canceled.
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7

On calm water, the engine turned off.
The wingspan of the upper wing was 18 meters, the lower wing 14.6 meters.
Wing area upper wing was 56.8 m^2 and the lower wing 40 m^2.
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8

Image taken above water.

Length flying boat 9.85 meters, height 3.8 meters.
Empty weight 1300 kg.
Takeoff weight 2500 kg.
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9

Front photo, lying in the water.
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10

Built in 1926 for commercial purposes.
The B.IIIc received a special cabin for six passengers.
Presumably, this aircraft was eventually finished in the US.

It was transported from Amsterdam to the Fokker site in the United States, along with 20 hulls for the construction of the B-IV flying boats.

In the USA this B-III-C was delivered to the Van der Bilt family in 1927.
Registration NC 149, later NC 3996.
That 149 is on the tail, and on the nose the family flag of the family.
The aircraft flew a lot around Long Island.
After this, the flying boat production was definitively transferred to the American Fokker factory.

The T-2 hangar at the Aviodrome in Lelystad still contains the bare hull of a B-IV flying boat from the US

In 1992 it came back to the Netherlands from Canada and presented in what was then Aviodome.
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