In the 1950s, the Douglas DC-3 Dakota was the premier short haul airliner of the day. But the aircraft was even then deemed to be out-dated, as it was already some 20 years old, and with the advent of the turbine engine, Fokker the Dutch plane-builder saw an opportunity that was ripe for the picking.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Fokker attempted to grow their business by building a trainer military jet, but it was unable to compete with the economies of scale and mass market prowess of the US, French and British builders of the day. So they needed to tap a different outlet to fuel their future growth. And that outlet was to be the Fokker 27, which was targeted as a replacement for the DC-3 regional airline market.