Thanks Alex!
On to another old subject: The story is based on the idea and story from Dizzyfugu who built a model of the FK60.
N.V. Koolhoven was an aircraft manufacturer based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In May 1940, Koolhoven’s engineers escaped and remained active in England. Together with the Desoutter-company they built the biplane fighter FK-52C . Which I exposed early in one of my threads.
At the moment of the invasion of German forces in 1940 Koolhoven’s FK-58 single-seat monoplane was at the front in France en Holland. The successor FK-60, which had been on the drawingboard was built in England by Koolhoven and Desoutter in Croydon, Surrey.
The FK-60 had been designed with a more powerful armament, but needed a more powerful engine for duty-tasks in the Netherlands East Indies. So it was powered with the Wright-Cyclone R.1820 engine.
Flight tests with the modified prototype, started in November 1941 proved to be promising. Speed and handling at low altitude was very good.
The new Dutch fighter came just in time: On 1 January 1942 the Dutch forces joined the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, but at the onset of the Japanese assault the ML-KNIL was not up to full combat strength. Production of the FK-60 was immediately taken up and the airframes transported by ship to the Dutch New-Guinea theatre.
In 1943, 120 (NEI) Squadron was established. Equipped with Kittyhawk fighters and the newly arrived FK-60 fighters, it flew many missions under Australian command, including the recapturing of Dutch New Guinea.
Here are two examples. One ML-KNIL version and one RAAF one.
regards
lauhof