British Aerial Transport F.K.23 'Bantam'

When the British Aerial Transport Company closed down in 1920, the 'Bantam' was part of the property bought up by Ogilvy Aviation, a trader in second hand aircraft and parts. After Mr. Ogilvy’s death in 1953, the 'Bantam' remains, one cut up fuselage plus wings of two different 'Bantams', were donated to the Shuttleworth Collection and stored in a barn for many years. In 1975 the remains were moved to someone who planned to restore the 'Bantam', but the material got returned in 1989 without any work done and some vital parts lost.

Around 1990 it was decided that only aeroplanes collected by Richard Shuttleworth himself would be kept in the Shuttleworth Collection and the 'Bantam' remains were offered for closed bids. Thanks to the enthusiast support from the Stichting Vroege Vogels (Early Birds Foundation), the newly formed Koolhoven Aeroplanes Foundation was able to make his bid for this last surviving, original Koolhoven aircraft in the world. All other interested gentlemen welcomed the thought of this and withdrew their bids!

April 1991 the remains of the 'Bantam' arrived in hangar 8 at Schiphol Airport and a restoration team was formed:

After a survey of the material, it was decided to take all parts of one identity and reconstruct it to one original aircraft for static display. During this process drawings of all parts were made to document the aircraft in detail, thus enabling the Stichting Vroege Vogels to build a 'Bantam' in flying condition.

To have a connection between the 'Bantam' and The Netherlands, it was decided to finish her as the civil K-123. With this registry the aircraft was a daily highlight of the E.L.T.A. in 1919, the first big aviation exhibition in The Netherlands. K-123 and Koolhoven's private 'Bantam' G-EAJW together, daily performed aerobatics that thrilled the audience.

July 1918, K-123 was flown to France in order to be tested, together with two other allied types, against a captured Fokker D.VII. The 'Bantam' proved to be superior to the D.VII in two out of three tests.

The 'Bantam' was extremely fast. In those days fighters had top speeds from 90 to 115 mph ... the 'Bantam' reached 142 mph!

The restoration of the 'Bantam' started with a careful selection of the aged and corroded material. Three wings appeared to be in such good shape that they only needed repair.

The fuselage however was cut up in many pieces, yet the front and tail sections had survived. With an archaeologist approach it was all succesfully reconstructed and rebuilt upside down, using the top longeron as datum line.

Most steel parts were badly corroded, as were the aluminum fillers used all over the place. Without exception steel nails had been used in the wood, which in 80 years had corroded to ten times there size; they had to stay in the wood as they were.

The static 'Bantam' is fitted with the original Wasp engine. The flying 'Bantam' will need a reliable replacement as the Wasp was known to be very unreliable because of its poor design and construction.

A jar with synthetic cassaine glue, almost the same as used in 1918, was obtained from Guy Black in England. From a received subsidy flying wires could be bought from Bruntons in Scotland, the same manufacturer as in 1918.

The restoration has been done the hard way. Wherever possible, broken parts and pieces of wood were repaired instead of replaced. Thanks to this meticulous approach, the reconstruction of the ‘Bantam’ consists of an exceptional high percentage of original material: 90 to 95%.

August 2003 the B.A.T. F.K.23 'Bantam' from 1917, is restored to its full glory; twelve and a halve years to turn a 'pile of firewood' into a beautiful swift looking aircraft. Five engineers have spent their time to the 'Bantam', along the way helped by some 20 other people providing skills, knowledge or parts. These people can look at their work with great satisfaction; it has become a museum piece of great historical value.

The proud members of the restoration team. From left to right: Harry van der Meer, Arie Groen, Piet van der Horst, Lou Kolsteeg and Herman Beker.

The help of the Stichting Vroege Vogels, in particular their secretary Jaap Mesdag, has been crucial for the project. Without them taking care of the finances, it would not have been possible to bring the remains of the last existing Koolhoven aircraft to The Netherlands.

Today the 'Bantam', the last real life example of Koolhoven's work, is on public display in the main exhibition hall of the Dutch National Aviation Theme Park Aviodrome, that also contributed to the project by providing accomodation and facilities for the restoration.

• You can watch a 'walk around' in this video (Avi, 7,65 Mb.)
• Open a large image in a new window to have a better look at the result. (desktop size, 1024 x 768 pixels).

© Koolhoven Aeroplanes Foundation  -  Contact  -  Menu: Milonic