A Quick Translation of page 126: in the chapter ”The German Army buys planes” (no date is mentioned but must be around 1912)
In this chapter Anthony Fokkers is telling:
” In the mean time I was approached by the German Naval officer Felix Schultz, who confided me he was in the German secret service, but also, as many other in those days, was working for the British Government. He had been one of my pupils..
He was a adventurer, scared of nothing, and a real opportunist (sic), ready for anything.
He suggested me to sell my patents to the British Government, because he was well established in the War Office. He would go to England soon anyway, as German spy, to gather information on the British seaplanes.
The bankers that so-called supported me, had already in Berlin informed the Italian and English attache’s of my designs, but without success. But I was in deperate need of currency, and it seemed there was nothing to lose. This is why I happily appointed capt. Schultz as my representative in England. He registered at the AVRO aviation school in Southampton, as a sportsman with an interest in aviation. He pretended to be a novice, and stirred the crowds by suddenly learning to fly. According to his reports he did his best to rise the interest of the Britsh Navy authorities in my designs. However, they had no faith in my theories regarding automatic stability, and said they were quite satisfied with their own machines.
Schultz sent me drawings of the one of their first seaplanes that were on trial, and were considered to be top secret .
But even today the English keep a cloak of secrecy about their planes, and keep designs that are known to everyone, as a secret from their own people.
Actually , my designs were well known in Enlangd in those days. The English aviation journals at the time of the first aviation exhibition in Olympia in 1912 in London, offered in depth descriptions of my first aeroplane. It is without a doubt that the War Office had all the information on my designs that they could have wanted.
When these efforts lead to nothing, I did not pursue anymore to sell to England. After the war I chuckled when I heard that in English Parliament questions were raised as to why I did not sell my planes to England, because as a Dutchman, I could have just as well done so, as I did to Germany.
But in 1913 the English were simply not interested, as it seemed at that time it originally was with the Germans.”
So this is the story according to good old Anthony himself…
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