A.Weyl Fokker: The Creative Years (Putnam)

Before Palm left, late in 1913, he and his assistant, Martin Kreutzer, designed a new seaplane to Fokker’s instructions. The directions given by Fokker were his interpretation of the Admiralty’s requirements and suggestions. German naval opinion now favoured twin-float biplanes for coastal defence and reconnaissance purposes, and the Admiralty encouraged German aircraft manufacturers to produce suitable designs. A naval aircraft competition was announced, to be held in August 1914. Substantial prizes were offered for the aircraft with the best performance, and the winner could reasonably expect to receive a naval order for his aircraft. The sponsored projects designed by official naval constructors had been abandoned.
   The new Fokker seaplane was designated W.2. Like the W.1, it was a sesquiplane: the span of the upper wing was twice that of the lower. The long extensions were braced by cables, and the landing wires were attached to two tall king-posts above the upper wing. The whole structure looked too frail to stand up to naval use. Ailerons were fitted to the upper wing only. To improve the crew’s field of vision the upper and lower centre sections were not covered.
   The steel-tube fuselage was mounted in mid-gap. Its rear half was uncovered, Bleriot fashion. The engine was a 100-h.p. Mercedes, with two large radiators mounted on the fuselage sides. The main floats were of the pontoon type, and a broad, flat tail float was fitted.
   The W.2 was entered, not for the Warnemunde contest, but for the Nordischer Seeflug, an oversea flight of about 1,030 km. The route was from Schwerin to Christiania in Norway, now Oslo, and the competition was due to start on August 21, 1914. It was announced that de Waal would fly the W.2.
   However, after a few short flights on Schwerin Lake, Fokker decided that the W.2 was no good. No attempt was made to modify or develop it: it was quietly dismantled in spite of the firm’s advertisements that it could offer full facilities for training on seaplanes. The fuselage and floats were converted into a hydroplane, in which a 70-h.p. Renault replaced the 100-h.p. Mercedes. This contraption, of course, did not fly and did not qualify for the designation W.3.
   Despite the failure of the Fokker W.2, Fokker’s initiative in building it seems to have attracted the attention of the German Admiralty. They decided to put the Fokker Aeroplanbau on the list of manufacturers eligible to receive contracts for prototypes. Thus the W.2 effort was not entirely wasted.

J.Herris Fokker Aircraft of WWI. Vol.1: Spinne - M.10 & Watercraft (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 51)

Fokker W.2

  The next Fokker seaplane was the W.2. A twin-float biplane, it was intended for a Naval competition for a reconnaissance seaplane. Power was a 100 hp Mercedes cooled by side radiators. The fuselage was suspended between the wings and the upper wings, which were much longer, had ailerons. Both wings were of fabric-covered wooden construction and the fuselage was welded steel tube with fabric covering. It was briefly tested in Nov. 1913.
  On 21 August 1914 Fokker was to enter the W.2 in the Nordischer Seeflug but previous testing by Fokker revealed that it was not satisfactory. It was dismantled and its component parts, including floats, were converted into a hydroplane.