The inventive Frits Koolhoven survived the occupation years as a broken man. He died on 1 July 1946 of a brain haemorrhage. His great misfortune was that he built aeroplanes in the same country as Tony Fokker. While the name of his great competitor is still known throughout the world, Koolhoven has been almost completely forgotten, even in the Netherlands.
With this publication, Dik Top hopes to change that and give Koolhoven the place of honour in our aviation history that he undoubtedly deserves, according to insiders. Charles G. Grey, editor-in-chief of the leading English aviation magazine The Aeroplane from the outset, wrote shortly after the First World War about the F.K.23 ‘Bantam’ fighter plane that Koolhoven built in 1918 during his time in England: ‘One of the neatest single-seat fighters of its time.’ Shortly after Koolhoven’s death, Grey made the following statement about the man he had often met and spoken to personally since then: ‘One of the world’s finest engineers, either aircraft or motors.’
This book contains 445 pages and more than 800 photographs and other illustrations of the aircraft that Koolhoven designed and built in the course of just thirty years. The foreword was written by retired General Dirk Starink. A DVD compiled by Rob Hamann is also included, with over 300 additional photos and a wealth of supplementary information, including the ‘life story’ of most of the aircraft, dimensional drawings and short film clips.
Publisher: Repro-Holland BV
Author: Dik Top, Rob Haman
Format: 20x20cm
Pages: 445 pages and more than 800 photographs + CD with 300 photographs and additional information.
Binding: Hardcover
