The Rijksmuseum, the Amsterdam museum of art and history, has purchased an historic biplane designed by Dutch aeronautical engineer Frits Koolhoven in 1917. The biplane, an FK 23 Bantam, is the oldest airplane in the Netherlands to have been preserved in its original state.

The Rijksmuseum says the aircraft is an important icon of the Dutch contribution to the development of air travel. From 2013, it will be put on display in a room with 20th century objects. Taco Dibbits, collections director at the Rijksmuseum, says: “The 20th century was the century of aviation, which is why the Koolhoven plane is an essential part of the new exhibition. The Bantam speaks the language of modernism. The acquisition fits nicely with the rich collection of historic objects in the fields of technology and warfare already in the museum’s possession.”

Frits Koolhoven (1886-1946) worked for the English factory British Aerial Transport Company. He became famous as an aeronautical engineer during World War I, and grew into a serious rival of his compatriot Anthony Fokker who had founded a successful aircraft factory in Germany. The name Bantam refers to a Javanese fighting cock.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Fokker and Koolhoven factories grew into the pillars of the Dutch aviation industry.

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