Aircraft Will be Exhibited at the National Military Museum as Its Origin is Investigated

A rare First World War-era Fokker D.VII is set to return to the Netherlands in September 2025 to be put on display at Soesterberg’s National Military Museum. The aircraft was traced back to Dutch heritage after spending decades in Germany.

The aircraft, registered D-28, was designed during WWI and originally entered Dutch service before the Second World War. It was believed to be in the Netherlands until, in December 1945, an American Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) team uncovered it in a German barn. That’s when the Netherlands realized that they hadn’t seen it since May 1940.

The group handed the aircraft over to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany. Still, there was little to no information known about the aircraft’s history or origins. The plane was only discovered to have Dutch markings and a registration number during a restoration project in 1980.

Despite ongoing gaps in the historical record, collaboration between Dutch and German museum researchers led officials to make a compromise. It will be put on display in the Dutch National Military Museum starting in September 2025 and remain a part of the exhibition for the next five years.

The most significant mystery remains the aircraft’s movements between May 1940—when it was last documented in the Netherlands—and its discovery in Bavaria in 1945. It is believed to have been taken as part of a planned Nazi aviation museum, but no definitive proof exists.

While the Fokker D.VII’s long-term fate is still undecided, its temporary return to the Netherlands provides an opportunity for further research and public display. Visitors will be able to view the historic aircraft and learn about its complicated past as historians continue their search for missing details.

FMI: www.nmm.nl