Few can believe it today, but the end of the Great War was caused by bad maps. One August day in 1928, the
Deutsche kaiserliche Armee Blaskapelle, German Imperial Army Marching Band accidentally marched into the little Netherlands border town of Schinveld. Not only did this violate Dutch neutrality, but it also violated Dutch ears as the Dutch have a deep distaste for oom-pah-pah music.
This incursion would cause shockwaves. The Dutch, an incredibly cunning people, waited. They knew revenge was a dish best served cold. While the Imperial German Army marching band continued parading over the border, the Dutch were not idle. They were busy preparing. They knew the optimum time to counter-attack was Oktoberfest, when most of the enemy would be away on leave celebrating.
Anthony Fokker had not been idle either. After the failure of the Fokker Fluffernutter, he had returned home to Holland.
Perhaps he felt slighted, unaware that using lunch as an inspiration might not be sound design methodology.
Still, he rose to the occasion in his homeland's hour of need. For you see, by 1928 the
Koninklijke Luchtmacht or Royal Dutch Air Force, was equipped with the most advanced fighter in the skies: the Fokker E-40 monoplane.
The new fighter featured an uprated radial engine of enormous power and was armed with two 9 m.m. guns. The Fokker E-40's most important asset was it's incredibly streamlined, spatted landing gear which would become the envy of air arms worldwide.
In a coordinated effort with the Allies, the Dutch attack was the last straw for the Germans who were forced to sue for peace amid the onslaught.
With the long war now over, the Fokker E-40 soldiered on in peacetime and was finally withdrawn from service in 1936. The only surviving example is on display near the food court at the
Koninklijke Luchtmacht museum in Merkelsbeek.
Brian da Basher
