The F.XXIII appeared on the drawing boards in 1935 and was in fact nothing more than an F.XXII with a retractable undercarriage. The main undercarriage wheels were to be retracted into the nacelles behind the inner pair of engines.

The tail wheel was not retractable. Initially Fokker wanted to install Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines of 550 hp.
In the Fokker archives there is also a specification in French where GnomeRhône 9KF engines of 650 hp are mentioned. So evidently the French were interested in the aircraft.

The higher power allowed an increase in weight and added 12 mph to the speed. The range however decreased - from 1,095 miles to 980 miles. In this respect the much heavier engines did not justify the revised performance.

The F.XXIII was one of the last Fokker designs to which an F number was given on the drawing board. From then on, aircraft were given a design number at the drawing board stage. This was regardless of whether the design was a commercial or military aircraft or some other category. Because in total there had been about a hundred designs, the new series was started with 'Ontwerp 101' (Design 101).

As soon as a design looked like becoming a reality - or if Fokker wanted to convey this impression to the outside world - a type designation comprising a letter followed by a number, was awarded. in this way for example, Design 275 later became the Fokker F.27.