A good aeroplane?

Who has't had discussions about which plane was the best plane in the second world war. And who did not regret starting that discussion. Believe it or not, even discussions how good or bad the Fokker G-1 was, are like that.

To classify stuff, you have to compare the several features of the planes with each other. And that's the problem with the Fokker G-1. For instance between the Spitfire and the Messerschitt Me109 there have been hundreds of fights and on basis of the general outcome a winner could be designated. But no, because of the many versions, tactics, pilots, etc. a final answer can not be given. Some use statistics to gain their equal, for instance the F4 Corsair is said to have the highest kill rate of WWII, however most of the kills were bombers.

In order to provide a reasonable assessment of the G-1 or another plane, we must take into consideration the purpose for which the aircraft are designed and how it is deployed. 

The purpose of G-1 was to combine different tasks within the military aviation. Today we call this a multi-role combat aircraft, like the Tornado and the JSF.

The idea of ​​Fokker was a combination of a long-range fighter, reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber. Do not think this "modern" idea came from Fokker himself. Abroad, there were a number of countries that thought exactly the same and gave orders to develop such a machine. Here are some examples:

MESSERSCHMITT BF110C-1 Germany
POTEZ 63.11A.3 France
MARTIN MARYLAND 167F United States
ILYUSHIN DB3M Russia
KAWASAKI KI-45 KAI-Ko Toryu Japan

In the Netherlands it was called a "Jachtkruiser" (chaser plane), in Germany a "Zerstorer" and in England an "Attack aircraft".

Soon it appeared in all countries (no exceptions) that the concept of a Attack aircraft did not work in conjunction with fighter aircraft. Even today a Tornado would not survive long if there is no air superiority with fighters. An attack aircraft, for example, does excell in reconnaissance and shooting down bombers. At bombers must think of the types of just before the war and in small numbers. In 1940 nobody could imagine of a bomber fleet of 1,000 aircraft with similar armament of a Boeing B17!

What happened once it was revealed that an attack aircraft didn't satisfy? They started using them for other purposes such as night fighter and ground attack aircraft as well as they didn't have to fear for fighters. Insofar the G-1 did not make it that far. In May 1940 they used what they had.

So if the concept / usage was wrong , it still was a quite good design?

Below an overview of attack aircraft from around 1940. Be careful with the comparison because in a comparison of a final version Bf110 built in 1944 with a G-1 of 1938 this, of course, is not correct! You can draw your own conclusions , but we think Fokker certainly did a good job. 

NB Once the Chase part is removed from the fighter plane one does have a workable concept, just look at the Mosquito. Remember, however, that the development of this plane was started only in 1940 and that it was 2 times as heavy as the average attack aircraft in service in 1940!