Editing Fokker Scourge

{{Short description|Period of aerial battle of the First World War}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
[[File:Fokker M5K-MG E5-15.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Kurt Wintgens' Fokker M.5K/MG "E.5/15" ''Eindecker'', flown by him on 1{{nbsp}}July 1915, in the first successful aerial engagement in an aircraft fitted with a synchronised machine gun]]

The '''Fokker Scourge''' ('''Fokker Scare''') occurred during the [[First World War]] from [[Kurt Wintgens#First victory using a synchronized gun|July 1915]] to early 1916.<ref name="Franks p. 1">Franks 2001, p. 1.</ref> Imperial German Flying Corps ({{lang|de|[[Luftstreitkräfte|Die Fliegertruppen]]}}) units, equipped with {{lang|de|[[Fokker Eindecker]]}} (Fokker monoplane) [[fighter aircraft|fighters]], gained an advantage over the [[Royal Flying Corps]] (RFC) and the French {{lang|fr|[[History of the Armée de l'Air (1909–42)|Aéronautique Militaire]]}}.

The Fokker was the first service aircraft to be fitted with a machine gun [[Synchronization gear|synchronised]] to fire through the arc of the propeller without striking the blades. The tactical advantage of aiming the gun by aiming the aircraft and the surprise of its introduction were factors in its success.<ref name="Kennett 1991, p. 110">Kennett 1991, p. 110.</ref>

This period of German [[air superiority]] ended with the arrival in numbers of the French [[Nieuport 11]] and British [[Airco DH.2]] fighters, which were capable of challenging the Fokkers, although the last Fokkers were not finally replaced until August–September 1916.<ref>Bruce 1968, v.2, p. 20.</ref><ref name="Franks p. 1"/>

The term "Fokker Scourge" was coined by the British press in mid-1916, after the {{lang|de|Eindeckers}} had been outclassed by the new Allied types.<ref>Robertson 2003, p. 103.</ref> Use of the term coincided with a political campaign to end a perceived dominance of the [[Royal Aircraft Factory]] in the supply of aircraft to the Royal Flying Corps, a campaign that was begun by the pioneering aviation journalist [[C. G. Grey]] and [[Noel Pemberton Billing]] M.P., founder of [[Pemberton-Billing Ltd]] (Supermarine from 1916) and a great enthusiast for aerial warfare.<ref>Hare 1990, pp. 91–102.</ref>

==Background==

===Early air warfare===

[[File:Vickers F.B.9.jpg|thumb|Vickers "gunbus" biplanes had the engine behind the pilot which gave an unobstructed field of fire for the machine gun]]
As [[aerial warfare]] developed, the Allies gained a lead over the Germans by introducing machine-gun armed types such as the [[Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus]] fighter and the [[Morane-Saulnier L]].<ref>Cheesman 1960, p. 177.</ref><ref>Bruce 1989, pp. 2–4.</ref> By early 1915, the German {{lang|de|[[Oberste Heeresleitung]]}} (OHL, Supreme Army Command) had ordered the development of machine-gun-armed aircraft to counter those of the Allies. The new [[Idflieg aircraft designation system|"C" class]], armed two-seaters and twin-engined "K" (later "G") class aircraft such as the [[AEG G.I]] were attached in ones and twos to {{lang|de|[[Feldflieger Abteilung]]en}} (FFA) artillery-observation and reconnaissance detachments for "fighter" sorties, mostly the escort of unarmed aircraft.<ref name="Franks p. 1"/><ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 18">Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 18.</ref><ref>Jones, 2002, p. 469</ref>

On 18 April 1915, the Morane-Saulnier L of [[Roland Garros (aviator)|Roland Garros]] was captured, after he was forced to land behind the German lines.<ref name="Bruce p. 3">Bruce 1989, p. 3.</ref> From 1{{nbsp}}April, Garros had destroyed three German aircraft in the Morane, which carried a machine-gun firing through the propeller arc. Saulnier had failed to develop a synchroniser and with Garros, as an interim solution, fitted metal wedges to the propeller; bullets that hit the blades were deflected by them.<ref>Cheesman 1960, p. 178.</ref><ref name="Bruce p. 3"/> Garros burned his aircraft but this failed to conceal the nature of the device and the significance of the deflector blades. The German authorities requested several aircraft manufacturers, including that of [[Anthony Fokker]], to produce a copy.<ref name="Bruce p. 3"/>

===Synchronisation gear===
{{main|Synchronization gear}}
[[File:Interrupter gear diagram en.png|thumb|left|Diagram of Fokker's "{{lang|de|Stangensteuerung}}" synchronisation mechanism]]
<!-- [[File:Fok E I's U-0 & Stangensteuerung.jpg|thumb|Detail of an early Fokker Eindecker: the cowling is off, showing the prototype form of the {{lang|de|Stangensteuerung}} gear, connected directly to the oil pump drive at the rear of the engine.]]-->
The Fokker company produced the {{lang|de|Stangensteuerung}} (push rod controller), a genuine [[Synchronization gear#The Fokker Stangensteuerung gear|synchronisation gear]]. Impulses from a cam driven by the engine controlled the timing of the machine-gun for its fire to be limited to the intervals between the propeller blades' travel past the barrel.<ref name="Grosz p.2">Grosz 1989, p. 2.</ref> Unlike earlier proposed gears, the {{lang|de|Stangensteuerung}} was fitted to an aircraft and proved effective. In a postwar biography, Fokker claimed that he produced the gear in 48{{nbsp}}hours but it was probably designed by [[Heinrich Lübbe]], a {{lang|de|Fokker Flugzeugbau}} engineer.<ref name=Weyl1>Weyl 1965, p. 96.</ref> Among several pre-war patents for similar devices was that of [[Franz Schneider (engineer)|Franz Schneider]], a Swiss engineer who had worked for [[Nieuport]] and the German [[LVG]] company.<ref name="Grosz p.2"/><ref>Woodman 1989, pp. 180–183.</ref>

The device was fitted to the most suitable Fokker type, the [[Fokker M.5K]] (military type name "Fokker A.III"), of which A.16/15, assigned to [[Otto Parschau]], became the prototype of the [[Fokker Eindecker fighters#Leutnant Parschau and the Green Machine (A16/15)|Fokker Eindecker]] series of fighter designs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grosz |first=Peter M. |year=2002 |title=Fokker E I/II |series=Windsock Datafile No. 91 |url=https://www.windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk/91-fokker-eiii-210-p.asp |location=Berkhamsted |publisher=Albatros |pages=6–9 |isbn=1-902207-46-7}}</ref><ref name="Gray and Thetford p. 83">Gray and Thetford 1961, p. 83.</ref> Fokker demonstrated A.16/15 in May and June 1915 to German fighter pilots, including [[Kurt Wintgens]], [[Oswald Boelcke]] and [[Max Immelmann]].<ref>Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 9.</ref> The Fokker, with its typical {{lang|fr|Morane}} controls, an over-sensitive balanced elevator and dubious lateral control, was difficult to fly; Parschau, who was experienced on Fokker{{nbsp}}A types, converted pilots to the new fighter.<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 77.</ref><ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 10">Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 10.</ref> The early {{lang|de|Eindeckers}} were attached to FFAs, in ones and twos, to protect reconnaissance machines from Allied machine-gun-armed aircraft.<ref name="Gray and Thetford p. 83"/>

==Operational service==

===Service début===

[[File:Otto Parschau's A-16-15 Eindecker.jpg|thumb|left|Otto Parschau's "green machine" (A.16/15, factory s/n 216) with a {{lang|de|Stangensteuerung}} synchroniser; the "prototype" Fokker Eindecker.]]
Fokker {{lang|de|Eindecker}} E.5/15, the last of the pre-production series, is believed to have been first flown in action by Kurt Wintgens of FFA{{nbsp}}6.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 11–12">Van Wyngarden 2006, pp. 11–12.</ref> On 1{{nbsp}}and 4{{nbsp}}July 1915, he reported combats with French Morane-Saulnier{{nbsp}}L (Parasols), well over the French lines.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 10"/> The claims were not [[Aerial victory standards of World War I#Germany|confirmed]] but research has shown that the first claim matches French records of a Morane forced down on 1{{nbsp}}July near [[Lunéville]], with a wounded crew and a damaged engine, followed three days later by another.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 10-12">Van Wyngarden 2006, pp. 10–12.</ref> By 15{{nbsp}}July, Wintgens had moved to FFA{{nbsp}}48 and scored his first confirmed victory, another Morane{{nbsp}}L.<ref name="Franks 2001, pp. 10–11">Franks 2001, pp. 10–11.</ref> Parschau had received the new E.1/15 (Fokker factory serial 191), the initial example of the five Fokker '''M.5K/MG''' service test examples for the {{lang|de|Eindecker}} line of aircraft, when the A.16/15 (green machine), he had flown since the beginning of the war, was returned to the Fokker Flugzeugbau factory in [[Schwerin]]–Gorries for development.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 12">Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 12.</ref>

By the end of July 1915, about fifteen {{lang|de|Eindeckers}} were operational with various units, including the five M.5K/MGs and about ten early production E.I airframes.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 12"/> The pilots flew the new aircraft as a sideline, when not flying normal operations in two-seater reconnaissance aircraft.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 12"/> Boelcke, in FFA{{nbsp}}62, scored his first victory in an [[Albatros C.I]] on 4{{nbsp}}July.<ref>Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 13.</ref> M.5K/MG prototype airframe E.3/15, the first {{lang|de|Eindecker}} delivered to FFA{{nbsp}}62, was armed with a [[Parabellum MG14]] gun, synchronised by the unreliable first version of the Fokker gear. At first, E.3/15 was jointly allocated to him and Immelmann when their "official" duties permitted, allowing them to master the type's difficult handling characteristics and to practice shooting at ground targets.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 14">Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 14.</ref> Immelmann was soon allocated a very early production Fokker E.I, E.13/15, one of the first armed with the [[MG 08#lMG 08|lMG 08]] (a lightened version of the MG08 ''Spandau'') machine-gun, using the more reliable production version of the Fokker gear.<ref>Woodman 1989, pp. 180–183.</ref>

===The Scourge begins===

[[File:Parschau's E1-15.jpg|thumb|Otto Parschau's second Eindecker, E.1/15, with experimental "mid-wing" modification which became standard on production E.Is]]
The Fokker Scourge is usually considered by the British to have begun on 1{{nbsp}}August, when [[B.E.2c]]s of [[No. 2 Squadron RAF|2 Squadron]] [[Royal Flying Corps]] (RFC) bombed the base of FFA{{nbsp}}62 at {{nowrap|5:00 a. m.,}} waking the German pilots, including Boelcke (most likely, still with E 3/15) and Immelmann (flying E 13/15), who were quickly into the air after the raiders.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 14"/> Boelcke suffered a [[Firearm malfunction|jammed gun]] but Immelmann caught up with a B.E.2c and shot it down. This aircraft was flown as a bomber, without an observer or Lewis gun, the pilot armed only with an automatic pistol.<ref name="Franks 2001, pp. 10–11"/> After about ten minutes of manoeuvring (giving the lie to exaggerated accounts of the stability of B.E.2 aircraft) Immelmann had fired 450{{nbsp}}rounds, which riddled the B.E. and wounded the pilot in the arm.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 15">Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 15.</ref> By late October, towards the end of the [[Battle of Loos]], more Fokkers (including the similar Pfalz E-type fighters, which were also called Fokkers by Allied airmen) were encountered by RFC pilots and by December, forty Fokkers were in service.<ref>Franks 2001, p. 59.</ref><ref>Jones, 2002, p. 144</ref><ref>Wise, 1981, p. 355</ref>

In the new fighters, pilots could make long, steep dives, aiming the fixed, synchronised machine-gun by aiming the aircraft. The machine gun was belt-fed, unlike the drum-fed [[Lewis gun]]s of their opponents, who had to change drums when in action. The Fokker pilots took to flying high and diving on their quarry, usually out of the sun, firing a long burst and continuing the dive until well out of range. If the British aircraft had not been shot down, the German pilot could climb again and repeat the process. Immelmann invented the [[Immelmann turn]], a [[Zoom climb|zoom]] after the dive, followed by a roll when vertical to face the opposite way, after which he could turn to attack again.<ref>Jones, 2002, p. 150</ref>
{|class="wikitable" align=right style="margin:0 0 1em 1em"
|+RFC aircraft losses<br /><small>(July 1915<br />to January 1916)</small><ref>Wise, 1981, p. 355</ref>
|-
! Month
! Total
|-
| June ||align="right"|6
|-
| July ||align="right"|15
|-
| August ||align="right"|10
|-
| September ||align="right"|14
|-
| October ||align="right"|12
|-
| November ||align="right"|16
|-
| December ||align="right"|17
|-
| January ||align="right"|30
|-
| '''Total''' ||align="right"|'''120'''
|}
The mystique acquired by the Fokker was greater than its material effect and in October, RFC HQ expressed concern at the willingness of pilots to avoid combat. RFC losses were exacerbated by the increase in  the number of aircraft at the front, from 85 to 161 between March and September, the hard winter of 1915–1916 and some aggressive flying by the new German "C" type two-seaters.<ref>Wise, 1981, p. 355</ref><ref>Hoeppner 1994, p. 38</ref> Boelcke and Immelmann continued to score, as did [[Hans Joachim Buddecke]], [[Ernst Freiherr von Althaus|Ernst von Althaus]] and [[Rudolph Berthold]] from FFA{{nbsp}}23 and Kurt von{{nbsp}}Crailshein of FFA{{nbsp}}53. The "official" list of claims by Fokker pilots for the second half of 1915 was no more than 28, many of them over French aircraft. Thirteen aeroplanes had been shot down by Immelmann or Boelcke and the rest by seven other Fokker pilots.<ref name="Van Wyngarden p. 18"/><ref>Franks 2001, p. 41.</ref> January 1916 brought thirteen claims, most of them against the French, followed by twenty more in February, the last month of the "scourge" proper. Most of the victories were scored by [[Flying ace|aces]] rather than the newer pilots flying the greater number of Fokkers. Allied casualties had been light by later standards but the loss of air superiority to the Germans, flying a new and supposedly invincible aircraft, caused dismay among the Allied commanders and lowered the morale of Allied airmen. In his memoir ''Sagittarius Rising'' (1936), [[Cecil Arthur Lewis|Cecil Lewis]] wrote,

{{quote|Hearsay and a few lucky encounters had made the machine respected, not to say dreaded by the slow, unwieldy machines then used by us for Artillery Observation and Offensive Patrols.<ref>Lewis 1977, p. 51.</ref>}}

On 14 January, RFC HQ issued orders that until better aircraft arrived, long and short-range reconnaissance aircraft must have three escorts flying in close formation. If contact with the escorts was lost, the reconnaissance must be cancelled, as would photographic reconnaissance to any great distance beyond the front line. Sending the B.E.2c into action without an observer armed with a Lewis gun also became less prevalent.<ref name="Terraine p. 199">Terraine 1982, p. 199.</ref> The new tactic of concentrating aircraft in time and space had the effect of reducing the number of reconnaissance sorties the RFC could fly.<ref>Jones, 2002, pp. 156–157</ref>

[[File:FE2B, Masterton, New Zealand, 25 April 2009 01.jpg|thumb|Reproduction FE2b, Masterton, New Zealand, 2009]]
New defensive formations were devised; a [[No. 2 Wing RAF|II Wing RFC]] method was for the reconnaissance aircraft to lead, escorted on each side {{convert|500|ft|m|abbr=on}} higher, with another escort {{convert|1000|ft|m|abbr=on}} behind and above.<ref>Jones, 2002, pp. 147–148</ref> On 7 February, on a II{{nbsp}}Wing long-range reconnaissance, the observation pilot flew at {{convert|7500|ft|m|abbr=on}}; a German aircraft appeared over [[Roulers]] (Roeselare) and seven more closed in behind the formation. West of [[Torhout]] (Thourout) two Fokkers arrived and attacked at once, one diving on the reconnaissance machine and the other on an escort. Six more German aircraft appeared over [[Cortemarck]] (Kortemark) and formed a procession of fourteen aeroplanes stalking the British formation. None of the German pilots attacked and all the British aircraft returned, only to meet two German aircraft coming back from a bombing raid, which opened fire and mortally wounded the pilot of one of the escorts. The British ascribed their immunity to attack during the 55-minute flight to the rigid formation which the two Fokkers were unable to disrupt.<ref>Jones, 2002, pp. 157–158</ref>

On 7 February, a [[No. 12 Squadron RAF|12 Squadron]] B.E.2c., was to be escorted by three B.E.2cs, two F.E.2s and a [[Bristol Scout]] from 12 Squadron and two more F.Es. and four R.E. aeroplanes from [[No. 21 Squadron RAF|21 Squadron]]. The flight was cancelled due to bad weather but twelve escorts for one reconnaissance aircraft demonstrated the effect of the Fokkers in reducing the efficiency of RFC operations.<ref>Jones, 2002, p. 158</ref> British and French reconnaissance flights to get [[aerial photographs]] for intelligence and artillery ranging data had become riskier, in spite of German fighters being forbidden to fly over Allied lines (to keep the synchronisation gear secret).<ref>Franks 2001, pp. 11–12.</ref> This policy, for various reasons, prevailed for most of the war; the rarity of German fighters appearing behind the Allied lines limited the degree of air superiority they were able to attain.<ref>Hoeppner, 1994, p. 41</ref><ref>Franks 2001, p. 6.</ref>

===End of the Scourge===
[[File:Ni-11 Navarre.jpg|thumb|The red Nieuport 11 of [[Jean Navarre]], ''Guardian of Verdun'']]
The scourge waned during the [[Battle of Verdun]] (21{{nbsp}}February{{snd}}20{{nbsp}}December 1916). The Germans tried to impose an air barrage ({{lang|de|Luftsperre}}) which concealed much of the German preparation for the offensive from French aerial reconnaissance. During March and April increasing numbers of the new French [[Nieuport 11]] fighters were sent to Verdun. Organised in specialist fighter squadrons ({{lang|fr|escadrilles de chasse}}) the Nieuports could operate in formations larger than the singletons or pairs normally flown by the Fokkers, quickly regaining air superiority for the {{lang|fr|[[History of the Armée de l'Air (1909–42)|Aéronautique Militaire]]}}.<ref>Herris and Pearson 2010, p. 29.</ref>

British F.E.2b pusher aircraft had been arriving in France from late 1915 and in the New Year began to replace the older F.B.5s. The pilot and observer had a good view forwards from their cockpits and the observer could also fire backwards over the tail. [[No. 20 Squadron RAF|20 Squadron]], the first squadron equipped with the F.E., arrived in France on 23{{nbsp}}January 1916, for long-range reconnaissance and escort flying. The new aircraft lacked the speed to pursue the Fokkers and had limited manoeuvrability but the F.E.s became formidable opponents, particularly when flying in formation.<ref>Hare 1990, p. 87.</ref>

[[File:Airco DH2 2.jpg|thumb|D.H.2 taking off from airfield at Beauval, France]]
The [[Airco DH.2]], a single-seat fighter, began to arrive at the front in February 1916. This aircraft had a modest performance but its superior manoeuvrability gave it an advantage over the {{lang|de|Eindecker}}, especially once the Lewis gun was fixed to point in the direction of flight. On 8 February, [[No. 24 Squadron RAF|24 Squadron]] (Major [[Lanoe Hawker]]) arrived with D.H.2s and began patrols north of the Somme; another six D.H.2 squadrons followed. On 25 April, two of the D.H. pilots were attacked and found that they could out-manoeuvre the Fokkers; a few days later, without opening fire, a D.H. pilot caused a Fokker to crash onto a roof at Bapaume.<ref>Jones, 2002, pp. 158–159</ref> The Nieuports proved even more effective when the first Nieuport 16s in British service were issued to [[No. 1 Squadron RAF|1]] and [[No. 11 Squadron RAF|11 Squadrons]] in April.<ref>Cheesman 1960, p. 92.</ref>

By March 1916, despite frequent encounters with Fokkers and the success of {{lang|de|Eindecker}} aces, the scourge was almost over.<ref>Franks 2001, pp. 59–60.</ref> The bogey of the Fokker {{lang|de|Eindecker}} as a fighter was finally laid in April, when an E.III landed by mistake at a British aerodrome. The captured aircraft was found not to have the superior performance it had been credited with.<ref>Lewis, 1977, p. 52</ref> The first British aircraft with a synchronisation gear was a Bristol Scout, which arrived on 25 March 1916 and on 24 May the first [[Sopwith 1½ Strutter]] aircraft were flown to France by a flight of [[No. 70 Squadron RAF|70 Squadron]].<ref>Bruce, 1968, v.2, p.119</ref>

===End of the {{lang|de|Eindecker}}===

[[File:HalberstadtDII.jpg|thumb|Halberstadt D.II, said to be one of Boelcke's aircraft]]
The effect of the new Allied types, especially the Nieuport, was of considerable concern to the Fokker pilots; some even took to flying captured examples.<ref>Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 51.</ref> {{lang|de|Idflieg}} was sufficiently desperate to order German firms to build Nieuport copies, of which the [[Euler D.I]] and the [[Siemens-Schuckert D.I]] were built in small numbers.<ref>Van Wyngarden 2006, p. 64.</ref><ref>Cheesman 1960, p. 166.</ref> New D type single-seat, biplane fighters, particularly the [[Fokker D.II]] and [[Halberstadt D.II]], had been under test since late 1915 and the replacement of the monoplanes with these types began by mid-1916.<ref name="Grosz 1996, p. 5">Grosz 1996, p. 5.</ref>

In February 1916, {{lang|de|Inspektor-Major}} Friedrich Stempel began to assemble {{lang|de|Kampfeinsitzer Kommando}} (KEK, single-seat battle units). The KEK were units mostly of two to four fighters, equipped with {{lang|de|Eindeckers}} and other types which had served with FFA units during the winter of 1915–1916. By July 1916, KEK had been formed at [[Vaux-en-Vermandois|Vaux]], [[Avillers-Sainte-Croix|Avillers]], [[Jametz]] and [[Cunel]] near Verdun as well as other places on the Western Front, as {{lang|de|Luftwachtdienst}} (aerial guard service) units, consisting only of fighters.<ref>Guttman, 2009, p. 9</ref> In late May, German air activity on the British front decreased markedly, while the commander of the new {{lang|de|Luftstreitkräfte}}, {{lang|de|Oberst}} (Colonel) [[Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen]], reorganised the German air service.<ref>Gray & Thetford 1962 p. xxix</ref> The fighters of the KEK were concentrated into fighter squadrons ({{lang|de|[[Jagdstaffeln]]}}) the first of which, [[Jagdstaffel 2|''Jagdstaffel'' 2]] ({{lang|de|Jasta 2}}) went into action on the Somme on 17 September. By this time, the last of the {{lang|de|Eindeckers}}, long outmoded as front line fighters, had been retired.<ref>Jones, 2002, p. 281</ref>

==Aftermath==

===Analysis===

[[File:FokkerCaricature.jpg|thumb|Caricature of Fokker {{lang|de|Eindecker}} published in ''Flight'' for 3 February 1916, satirising exaggerated accounts of its capabilities in other publications.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1916/1916%20-%200103.html |work=Flight |title=Deadly Fokker |via= Flightglobal Archive |access-date= 13 September 2014|date=3 February 1916 |volume=VIII |number=371 |page=103}}</ref>]]
Among British politicians and journalists who grossly exaggerated the material effects of the "Scourge" were the eminent pioneering aviation journalist C.{{nbsp}}G. Grey, founder of ''[[The Aeroplane]]'', one of the first aviation magazines and Noel Pemberton Billing, a [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS) pilot, notably unsuccessful aircraft designer and manufacturer and a Member of Parliament from March 1916.<ref name="Kennett 1991, p. 110"/> Their supposed object was the replacement of the B.E.2c with better aircraft but it took the form of an attack on the RFC command and the Royal Aircraft Factory.<ref name="Franks p. 1"/> C.{{nbsp}}G. Grey had orchestrated a campaign against the Royal Aircraft Factory in the pages of ''The Aeroplane'', going back to its period as the Balloon Factory, well before it had produced any heavier-than-air aircraft.<ref>Hare 1990, P. 29</ref>

Before the unsuitability of the B.E.2c for aerial combat was exposed by the first Fokker aces, criticism was not primarily aimed at the technical quality of Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft but because a government body was competing with private industry. When the news of the Fokker monoplane fighters reached him in late 1915, Grey was quick to blame the problem on orders for equipment that the latest developments had rendered obsolete. Grey did not suggest alternative aircraft, even supposing that the rapid development of aviation technology during the war could have been foreseen. Pemberton Billing also blamed the initially poor performance of British aircraft manufacturers on what he saw as the favouritism shown by the RFC, an arm of the British Army, towards the Royal Aircraft Factory, which, while nominally civilian, was also part of the army. Pemberton Billing claimed that,

{{bquote| ... hundreds, nay thousands of machines have been ordered which have been referred to by our pilots as "Fokker Fodder" ... I would suggest that quite a number of our gallant officers in the Royal Flying Corps have been rather murdered than killed.<ref>Hare 1990, p. 91.</ref>}}

Even among writers who recognised the hysteria of this version of events, this picture of the Fokker Scourge gained considerable currency during the war and afterwards. In 1996 Peter Grosz wrote,

{{quote|The epithet ''Fokker Fodder'' was coined by the British to describe the fate of their aircraft under the guns of the Fokker monoplanes, but given [its] acknowledged mediocrity, it comes as something of a shock to realise how abysmal the level of British aircraft performance, pilot training and aerial tactics must have been....<ref name="Grosz 1996, p. 5"/>}}

===Subsequent operations===

The period of Allied air superiority that followed the Fokker Scourge was brief; by mid-September 1916, the first twin-''Spandau'' armed [[Albatros D.I]] fighters were coming into service. The new aircraft were again able to challenge Allied aircraft, culminating in "[[Bloody April]]" during the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Battle of Arras]] {{nowrap|(9 April – 16 May 1917).}}<ref>Cheesman 1960, p. 108.</ref> In the next two years, the Allied air forces gradually overwhelmed the {{lang|de|Luftstreitkräfte}} in quality and quantity, until the Germans were only able to gain temporary control over small areas of the Western Front. When this tactic became untenable, development of new aircraft began, which led to the [[Fokker D.VII]]. The new aircraft created another Fokker Scourge in the summer of 1918 and as a condition of the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|Armistice]], Germany was required to surrender all of its [[s:Armistice between the Allied Governments and Germany#I. Military Clauses on Western Front|Fokker D.VIIs]] to the Allies.<ref>[http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/armisticeterms.htm "Armistice terms"] firstworldwar.com</ref>

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

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* Hare, Paul R. ''The Royal Aircraft Factory''. London: Putnam, 1990. {{ISBN|978-0-85177-843-3}}.
* Herris, Jack and Bob Pearson. ''Aircraft of World War I: 1914–1918''. London: Amber, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-90662-666-2}}.
* [[Ernst von Hoeppner|Hoeppner, E. W. von]] ''Deutschlands Krieg in der Luft: ein Rückblick auf die Entwicklung und die Leistungen unserer Heeres-Luftstreitkräfte im Weltkriege'' (in German) translation ''Germany's War in the Air''. Battery Press, 1994. original publication: Leipzig: 1921, K. F. Koehle. {{ISBN|978-0-89839-195-4}}.
* Immelmann, Franz (appendix by Norman Franks). ''Immelmann: The Eagle of Lille''. Drexel Hill, UK: Casemate, 2009 (originally published in Germany, 1934). {{ISBN|978-1-932033-98-4}}.
* Jones, H. A. ''The War in the Air, Being the Story of the Part Played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force'', (volume II). original publication, London: Clarendon Press 1928. London: Imperial War Museum and N & M Press facs. edition, 2002. [https://archive.org/details/warinairbeingsto02rale], access date 12 April 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-84342-413-0}}.
* [[Cecil Arthur Lewis|Lewis, Cecil]]. ''Sagittarius Rising''. London: Penguin, 1977 (first published 1936). {{ISBN|978-0-14-004367-9}}.
* Kennett, Lee ''The First Air War: 1914–1918'' New York, Simon & Schuster, 1991.  {{ISBN|978-0-02-917301-5}}.
* Robertson, Linda R. ''The Dream of Civilized Warfare: World War I Flying Aces and the American Imagination'' Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-8166-4270-0}}.
* Terraine, John. ''White Heat: The New Warfare 1914–1918''. London: Book Club Associates, 1982. {{ISBN|978-0-85052-331-7}}.
* Weyl, A. J., ''Fokker: The Creative Years.'' London: Putnam, 1965.
* Wyngarden, Greg van. ''Early German Aces of World War I''. Botley, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-997-4}}.
* Woodman, Harry. ''Early Aircraft Armament: The Aeroplane and the Gun up to 1918''. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-85368-990-4}}.
* Wise, S. F. ''Canadian Airmen and the First World War. The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force vol. I''. (repr. ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press,1981 [1980]. {{ISBN|978-0-8020-2379-7}}.
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Bradbeer |first=T. G. |title=The Battle for Air Supremacy over the Somme 1 June – 30 November 1916 |type=PhD |url=http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p4013coll2/id/180/rec/1 |year=2004 |publisher=US Army Command and General Staff College |location=Fort Leavenworth, KS |access-date=26 March 2016 |docket=ADA428847 |oclc=939481536 |archive-date=6 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406185615/http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p4013coll2/id/180/rec/1 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Duffy |first=C. |title=Through German Eyes: The British and the Somme 1916 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=2007 |orig-year=2006 |location=London |edition=Phoenix |isbn=978-0-7538-2202-9}}
* {{cite book |title=Die deutschen Luftstreitkräfte im Weltkriege: Aus den Aufzeichnungen und mit Hilfe 29 Offiziere und Beamten der Marine- und Militärische- Flugzicherung |trans-title=The German Air Force in the Great War: Its History, Development, Organisation, Aircraft, Weapons and Equipment, 1914–1918 |last=Neumann |first=G. P. |year=1920 |publisher=Mittler & Sohn |location=Berlin |edition=abr. trans. Hodder & Stoughton |url=https://archive.org/details/germanairforcein00gurduoft |access-date=18 August 2014 |oclc=773250508 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/airwar/fokkerscourge.htm The War in the Air - Fighters: The Fokker Scourge]
* [http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/airplane%20at%20war/FOKKER.htm The Fokker scourge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228111530/http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/airplane%20at%20war/FOKKER.htm |date=2015-02-28 }}
* [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1916/1916%20-%200103.html Caricature satirising exaggerated view of Fokker Scourge]
* [https://archive.org/details/aeroplane101916lond The Aeroplane, volume 10, January–March 1916]
* [https://archive.org/details/anaviatorsfieldb30011gut An Aviator's Field Book, being the field reports of Oswald Bölcke, from 1 August 1914 – 28 October 1916]

{{Aviation in World War I}}

[[Category:Aviation in World War I]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War I]]