Fokker had produced some excellent airliners during the 'between wars' years, and with the end of World War II lost little time in formulating the design of a new medium-range aircraft in this category. The company's design study of 1950 was for a 32-seat transport to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines. Known as the P.275 project, it was enlarged slightly and modified to incorporate a circular-section pressurised fuselage by 1952, when Dutch government backing was sought for its construction and development.
The type was then designated Fokker F27, and the first of two prototypes made its maiden flight on 24 November 1955, powered by two Dart 507 turboprops. Of high-wing monoplane configuration, the F27 has a pressurised fuselage, retractable tricycle landing gear and accommodation for 28 passengers. The second prototype, with Dart Mk 511 engines and its fuselage lengthened by 0.91m to seat 32 passengers, was flown on 31 January 1957. Between the initial flights of these two prototypes, Fokker concluded an agreement with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation for the latter to manufacture and market the F27 in North America, where it was known as the Fairchild F-27.
Fokker's first F27 Friendship entered service with Aer Lingus in December 1958, but Fairchild had been a little quicker off the mark, its F-27 entering service with West Coast Airlines three months earlier. The American company had modified the interior layout to seat 40, increased the fuel capacity and made provision for weather
radar in a lengthened nose; Fokker adopted similar improvements at a later date. The initial Dutch production version was designated F27 Mk 100 (Fairchild F-27), and was powered by two 1279kW Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.6 Mk 514-7 turboprops. It was followed by the similar F27 Mk 200 (Fairchild F-27A) with 1529kW Dart RDa.7 Mk 532-7 engines. Both airliners had standard accommodation for 40 passengers, but a high-density arrangement made it possible to seat 52. An executive version of the Mk 200 was available with the interior design to customer requirements. Subsequent versions include the F27 Mk 300 Combiplane (Fairchild F-27B), a passenger/cargo aircraft with Mk 100 powerplant, a reinforced cabin floor, cargo tie-down rings and a large cargo door forward of the wing on the port side. A similar Combiplane version of the Mk 200 had the designation F27 Mk 400, but no equivalent version was produced by Fairchild in America. Fokker next developed a lengthened fuselage (by 1.50m) variant of the Mk 200. Designated F27 Mk 500, this failed to appeal initially to airline operators, but 15 were acquired by the French government for service with the nation's Postale de Nuit. Friendship Mk 500s now in service with airlines have standard accommodation for 52 passengers, with high-density seating for 60. Fairchild in America produced its own stretched variant, the FH-227.
The last production version was the F27 Mk 600, combining the Mk 200 fuselage without the reinforced cabin floor but with the cargo door of the Mk 300/400 Combiplanes. The F27 Mk 600 introduced an optional roller-track quick-change interior so that the type could be used for passenger/cargo services. Other versions included the F27 Mk 400M and F27 Mk 500M military aircraft, an F27 Mk 400M aerial-survey version and an F27 Maritime suitable for coastal patrol, fishery protection, and search and rescue. Late production aircraft had an updated flight deck and cabin interior. Manufacture was shared by Dassault-Breguet (France), MBB (Germany) and SABCA (Belgium). When production was terminated in 1986 in favour of the Fokker 50, the company had sold 581 F27s alongside 205 Fairchild-built F-27/FH-227 variants. In mid-1991 Fokker stated that around 450 F27s were still in service and that the highest-time aircraft had made some 80,000 flights.
