Albanian black shirts

Visit of the Italian foreign minister Ciano to the Albanian fascist party directory. DVX

Albanian fascist party directory

        The Dutch Fokker T.IX bomber was projected in 1938 with the intention of expanding the bomber fleet of the Dutch Airforce and replace the Glenn Martin B.10 bombers of the Royal Netherlands East-Indies Airforce.  This aircraft was fitted with two Bristol Hercules II engines of 1,375 hp each. This 14-cylinder two row radial engine would give the T.IX an estimate top speed of over 500 km/hr.  It had a crew of 5, a bomb-load of 2000 kg and a defensive armament consisting of a 20 mm cannon and four 7.7mm machine guns. 
         The prototype flew for the first time in September 10, 1939. The plane originally had the number 701, but on September 23, after delivery of the prototype to another airfield, the number was changed to 970.  Further tests took place without major incidents, until March 8, 1940, when it suffered damaged during a landing, due to an undetected defect in the design of the chassis. It was parked at Schiphol AFB waiting for further repairs when war broke out. The Germans captured the prototype intact but didn't show interest in further development of the aircraft, instead they removed the engines and other parts for their own use. Apparently the prototype survived the war in a semi-disassembled state and ended up being sent to the Aviation Museum in Gilze-Riyen, where it stayed until 1960,  when it was scrapped. The 970 ID number and the national markings put the date of this photo somewhere between September 23 and October 1, 1939.