Lufthansa - An Airline And Its Aircraft

u t ansaAN AIRLINE AND ITS AIRCRAFT

By R. E. G. Davies

Illustrated by Mike Machat

u t ansaAN AIRLINE AND ITS AIRCRAFT

OTHER BOOKS BY R. E. G. DAVI"ESA History of the World's Airlines

Airlines of the United States Since 1914Airlines of Latin America Since 1919

Continental Airlines: The First Fifty YearsRebels and Reformers of the Ai rways

Pan Am: An Airline and Its Aircraft

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AN AIRLINE AND ITS AIRCRAFT

By R. E. G. DaviesIllustrated by Mike Machat

ORION BOOKS/NEW YORK

This book is dedicated to Werner Bittner, Lufthansa's archivist, whose approach to hisvocation is perfectionistic but not pedantic. His meticulous record-keeping has provideda resource which is as inexhaustible as his patience with those, including this author, whoconstantly seek his help.

Also, to Gunther Ott, whose generosity in sharing with me the results of a lifetime oflaborious research into the "old" Luft Hansa has been more valuable than a roomful ofreference books. His meticulous review of the prewar fleet lists has contributed sub-stantially to the historical accuracy of this book.

Text and maps copyright 1991 by R. E. G. Davies

Illustrations copyright 1991 by Mike Machat

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or byany information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from thepublisher.

Published by Orion Books, a division of Crown Publishers, Inc., 201 East 50th Street,New York, New York 10022

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ORION and colophon are trademarks of Crown Publishers, Inc.

Manufactured in Japan

Designed by R. E. G. Davies

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataDavies, R. E. G. (Ronald Edward George)

Lufthansa: an airline and its aircraft by R. E. G. Davies;illustrated by Mike Macha!.

p. cm.Includes index.1. Deutsche Lufthansa (1953- )-History. 2. Deutsche Lufthansa(1926- )-History. 3. Airlines-History. 4. Airlines-Germany (West)-History. I. Title.

HE9849D4D381991387.7'065'43-dc19

ISBN 0-517-57022-X

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

First Edition

88-22463CIP

Contents Flexing the MusclesAircraft Large and Small Junkers-G 38 42-43

Lighter-than-Air Prelude The Standard Workhorse Junkers-Ju 52/3m 44-45

The Dawn of Air Transport Zeppelin LZ 10 Schwaben 2-3 Consolidation in the 1930s Tante Ju and Gooney Bird 46-47

The First Scheduled Airship Zeppelin LZ 120 Bodensee 4-5 Into a New Era Junkers-Ju 86 48-49Service Modern Airliners Junkers-Ju 90 50-51

Ancestral Heritage North Atlantic Rehearsal Blohm & Voss Ha 139 52-53The World's First Sustained AEG J II K 6-7 End of the Airship Era Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg 54-55Airline

Aero-Union Sablatnig Pili 8-9Triumph and Tribulation

Historic Landplane Sortie Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor 56-57Deruluft Fokker-Grulich F.III 10-11

Eastward Bound A Far East Route at Last 58-59The Lloyd Group Dornier Komet III 12-13

Outposts on the Pacific Rim Dramatic Rescue 60-61Junkers Enterprise Junkers-F 13 14-15

A German Airline Empire Lufthansa in 1939 62-63The Europa-Union Triumph Over Adversity 16-17

Lufthansa and the War Effort Final Countdown 64-65The Exploratory Years Born Again

Formation of Deutsche Luft Ancestry of Deutsche Luft 18-19 A New Start Convair 340 66-67Hansa Hansa

An Airline of Many Parts Dornier Merkur 20-21 Back to the Atlantic Lockheed L-1049G Super 68-69ConstellationD.L.H. Gets Under Way Rohrbach Roland 22-23 Turbine Power Vickers Viscount 814-0 70-71First Steps Toward the East Junkers-G 24 24-25 Goodbye to Propellers Lockheed L.1649A Starliner 72-73Foothold in the Orient Junkers-W 33 26-27 Jets and More JetsSCADTA-Oldest Airline in the Caribbean Reconnaissance 28-29 Into the Jet Age Boeing 707-330B and 720B 74-75Americas

The Middle East Connection Lloyd Aereo Boliviano 30-31 The Europa Jet Boeing 727-230 76-77

Ocean ConquestThe City Jet Boeing 737-130 78-79

The Condor Syndikat and IberiaDelivering the Goods Cammacorp-Douglas DC-8-73 80-81

Syndicato Condor 32-33

Early North Atlantic Surveys Ocean Liner InterludeThe Jumbo Jet Takes Over Boeing 747-430 82-83

34-35

Preparations for the SouthNonscheduled Diversification McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 84-85

Dornier Do J Wal 36-37Atlantic A European Mainliner Airbus Industrie A300-600 86-87

South Atlantic Mail Service The Catapult Ships 38-39 They Also Serve Dignity and Impudence 88-89

South Atlantic Airship Service LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin 40-41 Index 90

Another 1000 AirplanesPan American Airways had operated an estimated 982

commercial aircraft by the time the first book in this seriesappeared. The German national airline, including the "old"Deutsche Luft Hansa and the new Lufthansa German Air-lines, has comfortably exceeded that number, even if thefleets of its predecessor airlines are excluded. The totallisted individually in this book is more than 1100

A word about the registration numbers: In the earlymonths following World War I, as the airlines struggled totheir feet, no national system existed, and Deutsche LuftReederei, for example, had its own numbering system untilregulations were introduced. This system was againchanged in 1934 when a group of four letters replaced thenumbers that had previously been prefixed by the interna-tional letter code D, for Deutschland. Until about 1938 thelettering group consisted of a vowel, consonant, vowel, andconsonant, in that order, and each aircraft could therefore befamiliarly known by its acronym. Eventually, however, thepermutation was exhausted.

The first letter of the four-letter group was -A for multi-engined types, -U for single-engined types, and -0 or -I forsingle-engined Reiseflugzeuge, or "travel" aircraft. The Jun-kers-F 13s were all in the -U category. Incidentally, -E and-Ywere allocated for sport aircraft

During the early years, Junkers aircraft had a letter prefixto the type number. No official or authoritative ruling can betraced to define the system, if there was one The -F typesappear to have been single-engined, but all single-enginedtypes were not -Fs. The -G may have indicated Grossf/ug-zeug, or large aircraft; the -W Wettbewerb (competition),because it is believed they were built for such a purpose;and the -A Arbeitsf/ugzeug, or "working aircraft." But none ofthese explanations can be regarded as more than specula-tive, pending the discovery of an official Junkers rulebook onthe practice, which was discontinued in the early 1930s.

vi

AcknowledgmentsIn compiling this account of Lufthansa and its ancestors, I

inevitably made use of the work of other aviation historianswho have toiled for many years, as I have, in trying to recordaccurately the details of long-forgotten episodes, and totrace the complexities of the ever-changing fleet composi-tion. Certain of these veteran researchers must be recog-nized for their outstanding contributions in providing thefoundations on which this book was prepared and on whichsystematic further research can still be pursued.

The sleuthlike investigations of Gunther Ott into the pre-history of the "old" Luft Hansa, its aircraft during the interwaryears, and its exploits during World War II, have been ofincalculable importance. And I feel especially privileged tohave had Gunther review the text of my work, make correc-tions, and offer advice.

The works of John Stroud, doyen of commercial aircrafthistorians, particularly his classic European Transport Air-craft Since 1910, and his "Wings of Peace" series of articlesfor Aeroplane Monthly, have been invaluable. I have con-sulted the published works and other research carried out byWolfgang Wagner and Heinz Nowarra, while for a bal-anced analysis of transport airships, I am indebted to PeterBrooks and John Provan, both of whom have generouslyallowed me to select material from their own publications.

The detailed listings of aircraft were assembled fromLufthansa's own archives, presided over by the industriousand ever-helpful Werner Bittner, and these were sup-plemented by material supplied by John Stroud, Gunther Ott,and Wolfgang Wagner.

Unless otherwise indicated, all the photographs in thisbook have been provided by Lufthansa's immaculately refer-enced archives. Others have been supplied from the col-lections of John Provan, Peter Bowers, Gunther Ott, and SamParker-

I am also gratefUl for much help from Peter Grosz, KurtWeil, Matthew Muller, and Peter Moeller. Frau M. Hunerbachhelped to select the fine photographs from Lufthansa's im-pressive collection; Bob van der Linden acted once again asmy technical conscience and as meticulous proofreader,while Donna Corbett coped with the index.

I can truthfully state that without the help of these goodpeople, this book could not have been produced.

Special NotesGerman law forbids the prominent display of symbols of

unconstitutional organizations. Respecting this law, and un-derstanding the reasons for it, the artist has omitted theNational Socialist Party emblem from the precision drawingsof those aircraft that were introduced between 1933 and1945

To avoid excessive duplication of aircraft descriptivematerial already included in the first book of this series, PanAm: An Airline and Its Aircraft, cross-reference is sometimesmade (for example, for the Boeing jets) to the relevant pagesof that book. However, all information essential to the Luft-hansa story is included here.

The discerning reader may detect what appears to be adiscrepancy in the spelling of Lufthansa. Until 30 June 1933the official name of the airline was Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.It was then changed to Deutsche Lufthansa by decision ofthe General Assembly. The "new" postwar airline is generallyknown worldwide as Lufthansa German Airlines.

For the purists among the aircraft connoisseurs: note thatthe nomenclature of all Junkers aircraft types takes the formJunkers-F, Junkers-Ju, etc.-the hyphen and letter codefollowing immediately after the manufacturer's name.

Further ReadingI cannot recommend much further reading in English

except The Lufthansa Story, a much-better-than-averageaccount published by Lufthansa itself. But for those in-terested in the detailed development of the "old" Lufthansa'saircraft, John Stroud's masterly European Transport AircraftSince 1910 is indispensable, representing as it does a fairslice of his lifetime's dedicated work. For the Zeppelinairships, Peter Brooks's Historic Airships is a classic work onlighter-than-air craft but is unfortunately out of print and diffi-cult to obtain. John Provan's meticulous work has, as yet,been published only privately.

For those conversant with the German language, howev-er, far more books and magazine articles are available, nota-bly Die Flugzeuge der Deutschen Lufthansa by Erich H.Heimann, and Der Deutsche Luftverkehr-Die Pionierjahre1919-1925 by Wolfgang Wagner The many monographspublished in Luftfahrt International and Modell Magazin byGunther Ott are representative of historical aviation researchat its best, as are John Stroud's "Wings of Peace" series inAeroplane Monthly

I--

AuthorLast year, in choosing the launching subject for this series

of books on the world's great airlines, Pan American's longrecord of technical leadership as the "World's Most Ex-perienced Airline" was a vital criterion for selection.

There have been five main eras of development in the70 years of international air transport history: (1) Infancy(1919-1929); (2) Great Flying Boats (1930-1945); (3) GreatPiston-Engined Airliners (1946-1958); (4) First Jet Age(1958-1970); and (5) Wide-Bodied or "Jumbo" Jet Age(1970- ). Of the five eras, Pan Am launched three, arecord that no other airline can match.

Choice of the second airline for the series was difficult.But given that the selected candidate should be (a) foreign,to preserve an impartial perspective of world, as opposed toU.S airline progress, and (b) an innovator, to remind us thatU.S airlines have not always been the frontrunners, Luft-hansa German Airlines was an ideal choice.

With a large fleet of Junkers-F 13s and their offspring, the"old" Luft Hansa dominated Europe's airways during the1920s and 1930s, and can thus lay claim to having led theway during the Infancy period; and had not World War IIintervened, it may well have stolen a march on the aviationworld with the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, and launched thethird era.

The history of the German national airline includes,moreover, the spice of adventure, the badge of courageduring the pioneering years, and a powerfUl element of dra-ma during its precarious survival and final demise in WorldWar II. These episodes give the lie to the fashionable myththat only military men have good tales to tell.

Lufthansa's story reaches deep into aviation's almost dis-tant past. Germany was the first country to recognize thepossibilities of air transport. The enterprising airship activi-ties before World War I serve as a fascinating introductoryprelude to the events which led to the creation of the nationalairline in 1926. D.L.H.-as it was known throughout the avia-tion world during the interwar years-inherited the now famil-iar crane insignia as the hallmark of airline quality. As longago as 1919, one of its ancestors led the way not only indevising this insignia, but, far more important, in developingthe methods of how to operate an airline. Though less visiblethan the aircraft on the routes, Martin Wronsky's shrewdanalyses in the offices of Deutsche Luft-Reederei were to laythe foundations for Lufthansa's later success. Mightyairships may have attracted public attention, fame, andeventual notoriety; but D.L.H. kept a steady course of dis-ciplined service to the public, at the same time constantlyexperimenting in every branch of aeronautical technologyand operational practice, in an effort to improve the state ofthe airline art.

The tradition continues today. Now that progress in airlin-er technology is measured by desperately engineered frac-tional improvements, Lufthansa has concentrated on pene-tratingly accurate decision-making in a fiercely competitiveenvironment. With a built-in handicap of a ten-year late startsince World War II, because of political restraints, it hashardly put a foot wrong. It was the launching customer for anAmerican-built airliner, a farsighted decision, bearing inmind that the Boeing 737 has become the world's biggest-selling single aircraft type in the commercial airline world.

When Lufthansa makes a move, other airlines take notice.It has Joined the ranks of a privileged few at the pinnacle ofpower of one of the world's most influential industries. As amember of a dedicated production team, I too feel privilegedto be able to write its history.

R. E. G Davies

ArtistOnce more into the fray! If Pan American and its subtle

changes in color schemes were a challenge, Lufthansa hasbeen no less a stimulant to the eternal search for accuracyand precision. Lufthansa's long history having started longbefore color photography was invented, authentic sourcedata have often been difficult to track down. The stark sim-plicity of the Junkers era was offset by the sheer antiquity ofthe reference material. For Lufthansa's ancestors. a blue waseither light or dark or medium, with no documented PMScolor scale to set the exact shade. And records of the sand-colored tones of the undoped early airship fabric variedaccording to the individual imaginations of the contemporaryartists

These tribulations were happily offset by the pleasure inbeing able to portray the handsome colors of Lufthansa'spostwar modern aircraft, especially the glorious yellow thatvan Gogh himself would have enjoyed.

The German national airline offers further proof of theconstancy of Machat's Law-that aircraft allegedly paintedin the same color scheme are seldom actually so painted.There was a case of a seasoned Lufthansa passenger whocarefully noted the names of all the aircraft he traveled in,and was surprised to pull in to the gate alongside anotheraircraft with the same name as his own. This, I hasten to add,is not typical of Lufthansa's characteristically meticulouscustom and procedure; but nevertheless I have insertedexplanatory notes, where appropriate, which may be ofgeneral interest to the reader as well as of assistance to themodel makers.

Mike Machat

PublisherWe would like to echo Ron Davies's and Mike Machat's

pleasure in being able to produce this, the second in ourseries about the world's great airlines. Lufthansa's excitingstory, from its prehistory to its current era of pace-settingchallenge to its rivals, is published here for the first time inEnglish and distributed to the English-speaking world.

As a great airline with proud traditions, Lufthansa hasalready documented its own history, and English versionshave been distributed among the aviation fraternity. But thisbook will reach a much wider audience than that of thecognoscenti. It was written with the airline's encouragementand support but not, we should stress, with its censorship.Ron Davies's insistence upon literary autonomy was re-spected, and Lufthansa recognized that the author's ObJec-tive was to extract the true drama, adventure, even romancefrom a story that was exciting enough without resort tosensationalism.

Few airlines have endured such fundamental problemsas Lufthansa. Its ancestors survived the worst monetary infla-tion in world history, when a mountain of marks would notpurchase a spark plug; it lived through the political trauma ofNational Socialism, and it had to rebuild itself against airlinesten years ahead of it in technology and organization when itreemerged only 33 years ago.

Mike Machat has supported the author with the samelevel of superb professional artistry evident in the Pan Amer-ican book which launched the series and set the standards,and we have retained the same format and style. We feel thathere is another reference book that also gives JOy to theeye-a visually pleasing production that can be used as areliable reference.

And underscoring this consideration is the thought thatLufthansa's history makes a fascinating and, at times. excit-ing story.

The Publisher

-The Schwaben, one of DELAG's most successful airships.

DELAG's Claim to FameThe seven airships of the pre-World War I DELAG fleet

did not carry passengers or goods according to a regulartimetable or on fixed routes. They carried people mainly onSightseeing flights, not only from their home bases but fromother German cities. Their arrival, usually at weekends, wasInvariably met with great excitement and enthusiasm. As theairships moved from city to city, the opportunity wasoffered-and eagerly taken-for citizens to ride in this newand unusual form of transport. But as yet the airships werenot competitive with surface modes. Average speeds werebarely 40 mph, less than that of an express train.

Pride of place for the world's first scheduled air servicegoes to the St. PeterSburg-Tampa Airboat Line, in Florida,WhiCh, for three months in 1914, operated a diminutive Be-noist XIV flying boat, carrying two people at a time. Thisairline carried about 1200 passengers over the 18 milesbetween St. Petersburg and Tampa. In contrast, DELAGcarried 34,000 people, mostly over longer distances, duringthe 1910-:-1914 period, and more than 10,000 of them paidfor the priVilege. The Schwaben carried up to 20 people perflight and was the first airborne vehicle to provide onboardservice. Heinrich Kubis was the world's first air steward andlater became chief steward of the Hindenburg.

In one respect, DELAG shared a great honor with the1914 Florida airline. It never killed a passenger, and the onlyInjury was that broken leg in 1910

airship, the LZ 6, built a year previously and modified early in1910 as the LZ 6A, was pressed into service. Hugo Eckenerreplaced Captain Kahlenburg as DELAG's chief command-er, but he too was unlucky, as LZ 6A was destroyed by ahangar fire after three weeks' service.

In 1911, a replacement ship, the Ersatz-Deutschland,went into service, but it lasted only a month, as it waswrecked in a crosswind while emerging from its hangar,despite the efforts of at least 250 ground handling staff.

Most organizations would probably have quietly woundup their affairs. But the old Count (he was 73) prevailed uponthe DELAG board to give the airship project one morechance, showing great faith in his chief designer, L. Durr,who. was to retain his position until the last of the greatdirigibles, the LZ 130 Grat Zeppelin II.

The material outcome of this decision was the Schwabenand it was a success. It flew throughout the 1911 summe;and for three more months in the summer of 1912, before astorm caused it to burn to destruction. But the Schwaben'sdesign improvements over those of previous types encour-aged both Zeppelin and DELAG to press on with their pro-gram. Thereafter three more fine airships went into servicethe Viktoria Luise and the Hansa in 1912 and the Sachsen i~1913. All three flew reliably and well until the outbreak ofWorld War I: when they were transferred to the army.

The formidable record of DELAG's operations is shown inthe table on page 4.

The Dawn of Air TransportThe Very First

The credit for recognizing that the transport of people andgoods by air was a practical possibility must go to the airshippromoters in Germany before World War I. On 8 September1908, Ferdinand, Count von Zeppelin, founded the Luft-schiffbau Zeppelin GmbH at Friedrichshafen, on the shoreof the Bodensee (Lake Constance). Little more than a yearlater, on 16 November 1909, to put theory and constructionInto operational practice, and making use of Zeppelin's pro-ducts, the Deutsche Luftschiffahrts A.G. (DELAG) wasformed In Frankfurt-am-Main. The capital was subscribedpartly. by . German cities and partly by the Hamburg-Amerlkanlsche Packetfahrt A.G. (HAPAG), trading as theHamburg-Amerika Linie. The first general manager, AlfredColsman, also held that position at the Zeppelin works.

DELAG moved into action with a speed that even todaywould be considered to be courageous. The city fathers,possibly thinking of the prestige attached to the possessionof an airship stallon, provided installations to receive the newand exciting machines; and DELAG ordered its first airship,the Deutschland, from Friedrichshafen.

The Service RecordDELAG .got off to a bad start. On 28 June 1910, only a

week after ItS first flight, the Deutschland crashed into sometrees after an engine failure. Happily the only casualty, apartfrom pride and wrecked metal, was one broken leg. Another

2

Zeppelin LZ 10 Schwaben44 mph20 seats

Material for this airship was canvas, theactual color of the covering was tan.

-------~ -=::::~~-I--~ -~~:x: --~~ ~

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-...::::::::: . IL J I I , l... 1001.-1 I I "~~~ I/'!=I=P_I .~ ~----------I I I I

--

.......,

Maybach A-Z (150 hp) x 3 45,520 Ib max. gross lift 900 statute miles range

Length 459 feet Diameter 46 feet

attracted much support from official and other sources, Zeppelin formed a joint stockcompany "for the promotion of air navigation with dirigibles" in May 1898. A small factory andshed were set up at Manzell, on the shores of the Bodensee, on rent-free land provided bythe King of Wurttemberg. The main construction hangar was built on floating pontoons on thelake.

First of a Thoroughbred LineThe first Zeppelin, LZ 1, made its first flight on 2 July 1900 Its aluminum-zinc-alloy

structure was 420 feet long, and the gasbags were filled with hydrogen. It was powered bytwo 14-hp gasoline engines, and flew, not too successfully, at less than 20 mph. But it was thebeginning.

Five years were to pass before LZ 2 was built, and this was only after the company hadfolded through lack of funds. But Zeppelin persevered doggedly and gained support after apublic appeal. More ships followed from 1905 onward, each successive one an improve-ment. By the end of the decade the carriage of passengers became practical, and LZ 7Deutschland had the honor of being the first to do so. As shown in the tables on this and thefollowing page, this proudly named airship was the forerunner of a great fleet.

1919

Y LZ 120 Bodensee

Dimensions NormalAirship Date of (ft) Engines Max. Cruise RangeFirst Max. Hp Gross Speed (st.

Type No. Name Flight Length Diam. Seats No. Type (each) Lift (Ib) (mph) miles)

D LZ 6A2 Daimler J4L 115

1250(unnamed) 21 Aug. 1910 473 43 12 38,360 341 Maybach 140

A-ZE LZ 7 Deutschland 19 June 1910

LZ 8486 46 20 3 Daimler J4F 120 49,380 37 1000

Ersatz- 30 MarchDeutschland 1911

F LZ 10 Schwaben 26 June 1911 459 46 20 3 Maybach 150 45,520 44 900A-Z

G LZ 11 Viktoria Luise 14 Feb. 1912 486 46 25 3 Maybach 170 47,840 44 700LZ 13 Hansa 30 July 1912 B-Y

H LZ 17 Sachsen 3 May 1913 519 49 25 3 Maybach 180 57,540 47 1400B-Y

The Father of the Dirigible AirshipThe rigid airship is almost synonymous with the company promoted by Ferdinand, Count

von Zeppelin, born in 1838. A wealthy former cavalry general, he became interested inballooning and by the 1880s was convinced that powered rigid airships had a great future. Apatent for such a design (by Theodor Kober) was taken out on 28 December 1897. Having

THE DELAG FLEET1910--1914

3

The First Scheduled Airship Service

Surrendered to Allies as warreparations.

22534050

The Viktoria Lu;se, fifth airship of DELAG's fleet of seven.

The Bodensee. DELAG's postwar contender for scheduled air service,while under construction

1919

5 Dec 1919

REGD

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(

Berlin"'-)

...

24 Aug 1919

DELAG AIRSHIP OPERATIONS1910-1914

I""'\,

"... ,J

MU[I'ich,l1

- r-.... _r.. 1ri-edr'icnshafen

---------------~----~-----_......

LZ 120 Bodensee (Fried- 20 Aug. 1919richshafen)

'The burning was caused by the Ignition of leaking gas by static electriCity discharged from the rubber gas cells. Thereafter all gas cells were made from expensive"gold beater's skin"-the lining of cows' stomachs; 50,000 stomachs were needed for each cell, with 12-15 cells per airship.

The route taken by the Afrika-Zeppelin L 59 in 1917 on its remarkableround-trip flight of 4200 miles (left).

The Bodensee's scheduled route in 1919 (below)

Airship Passengers No. ofAirship Name Date of Period of Service Carried DELAG Hours

No. (and base) First Flight Began Ended Total Paying Flights Flown RemarksLZ 7 Deutschland 19 June 1910 22 June 1910 28 June 1910 220 142 7 20 Crashed at Wallendorf

(Dusseldorf)LZ 6A (unnamed) 25 Aug. 1909 21 Aug 1910 14 Sept. 1910 1100 726 34 66 Destroyed by fire in hangar

(Baden-Baden)LZ 8 Ersatz-Deutsch- 30 March 1911 11 April 1911 16 May 1911 458 129 22 47 Wrecked at base by high

land (Frankfurt) windsLZ 10 Schwaben 26 June 1911 15 July 1911 28 June 1912 4354 1553 218 480 Burned out during storm'

(Baden-Baden)LZ 11 Viktoria Luise 14 Feb. 1912 4 March 1912 31 July 1914 9738 2995 489 981 Transferred to army

(Frankfurt)LZ 13 Hansa 30 July 1912 Aug 1912 31 July 1914 8321 2187 399 841 Transferred to army

(Hamburg)LZ 17 Sachsen (Leipzig) 3 May 1913 June 1913 31 July 1914 9837 2465 419 741 Transferred to armyTOTAL 22 June 1910 31 July 1914 34,028 10,179 1588 3176

REGD

,

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2.00

400

600 StatuteMiles

800 ,I Khar

100 I\

The Bodensee FlightsWith a speed exceeding that of the fastest train, the

Bodensee's 80 mph encouraged DELAG to venture intocompetitive scheduled service. Between 24 August and 5December 1919 a regular service was operated betweenFriedrichshafen and Berlin, northbound on one day, south-bound on the next. Until 4 October a stop was made atMunich, but thereafter the flights were nonstop over the 370miles

During the 104 days, 103 flights were made, of which 78were commercially scheduled. The fare was about $100,although equivalent real values at the time were obliteratedby galloping inflation. The Bodensee carried 2253 passen-gers before it was forced into exile-see opposite page

Zeppelin LZ 120 Bodensee82 mph22 seats

~ [II 1m lIB lIB 1m

Maybach Mb IVa (245 hp) x 4 51,150 Ib max. gross lift 1050 statute miles range

Wartime ProgressDuring World War I the Zeppelin works improved its technology to a remarkable degree.

Under the design leadership of Dr. Ludwig Dun, the work force grew to almost 23,000workers, of whom 13,600 were at Friedrichshafen. Among the staff of engineers were ClaudeDornier and Adolf Rohrbach, both of whom were to make their own personal marks in thescience of aeronautics.

The military airships gradually became bigger and faster. The most important singleadvance was in the L 30, completed on 28 May 1916. For this superb airship, the technicalknowledge of the Zeppelin company was pooled with that of its rival, Schutte-Lanzo Thealuminum-zinc alloy was replaced by duralumin, a new and stronger alloy patented by theDuren Metallwerke A.G. The use of duralumin and other structural improvements, combinedwith six Maybach engines, permitted an airship with 2% times the gas capacity of the largestprewar DELAG ship, the Sachsen.

To escape the predatory Allied warplanes, more than a match for the Zeppelins, variationsof the L 30 produced the L 48 and L 53 "Height-Climbers," while another version led to theL 57 and L 59 Afrika-Zeppelins, with extended range. On 21-25 November 1917, in anattempt to carry supplies to beleaguered German forces in East Africa, L 59 carried a load ofno less than 15 tons from Jamboli, Bulgaria, to a point near Khartoum, Sudan, where she wasordered to return. The round-trip distance was 4200 miles, a world's long-distance record foraircraft that was to hold for many years.

Half of the Zeppelins built during World War I were of the L 30 class or its derivatives.Count von Zeppelin lived just long enough to witness their first production. He died on 8March 1917.

Length 397 feet Diameter 61 feet

Back to the Drawing BoardFormidable though these new airships were, the Zeppelin works quickly adapted to

DELAG requirements when the war ended. Incorporating all the design and structuralimprovements learned from 1914 to 1918, a new airship, LZ 120, the Bodensee, was actuallyshorter than the prewar ships; but with almost twice the power and aerodynamically cleaner,it was twice as fast.

The Bodensee went into scheduled service for a few months in 1919 (see opposite page),but its fate was sealed by the bitterness raging between the ex-combatants. It had to behanded over to Italy in July 1921 as war reparations and was renamed Esperia. A sister ship,LZ 121, Nordstern, had met a similar fate, having been handed over to France a monthpreviously and renamed Mediterranee.

5

The World's First Sustained Airline

0,-,__

The LegacyDeutsche Luft-Reederei worked under the umbrella of the

Aero-Union group until the end of the 1922 summer season.On 6 February 1923 it was absorbed into the new groupDeutscher Aero Lloyd A.G. On the last day of 1922 it hadmade a token flight to Lympne, England, with a DornierKomet (0-223), the first German aircraft to land in Englandafter World War I. On 10 January 1923, not to be outdone,Junkers made a similar flight to Croydon with a Junkers-F 13(0-220).

D.L.R. did much to lay the foundations of organized airtransport. The first critical examination and statistical analy-sis of the disciplines involved were formulated in the earliestyears by Martin Wronsky, a D.L.R. director, who was later tobecome' the commercial director of Deutsche Luft Hansa.

Danziger Luft-ReedereiThe Daimler Airway

ADDITIONAL MEMBERS, 1920

Danzig Free SlateGreat Britain

The crane insignia ofDeutsche Luft-Reederei,inherited by Deutsche LuftHansa, and still the symbolot today's airline.

Martin Wronsky, driving forcebehind German airline developmentduring its formative years.

ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAFFICASSOCIATION (lATA), FOUNDED 28 AUGUST 1919

Laying the FoundationsIn spite of the difficulties that made D.L.R.'s life a series of

minor crises, progress was made. On 18 October 1920 acoastal survey flight was made along the Baltic coast fromWarnemunde to Riga, via Konigsberg, Memel, and Libau. On15 November the Ruhr route was reinstated, and a fleet ofmotorcycles linked Gelsenkirchen with the other industrialcities in the area. The world's first airline pool service, theEuropa Nord-West Flug, opened on 3 August 1920 withD.L.R. coordinating with the Dutch K.L.M. and the DanishD.D.L.

During 1921 a similar disjointed collection of aircraft androutes was maintained. On 27 April, D.L.R. became part of aholding company, Aero-Union (page 8), in which the Zep-pelin and the Hamburg-Amerika Linie concerns joinedA.E.G. with a financial interest.

Country Company Abbreviation

Great Britain Air Transport & Travel AT&TNetherlands Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maat- K.L.M.

schappij voar Nederland anKolonien

Sweden Svenska Luft Trafik AB. S.LADenmark Det Danske Lufffartselskab D.D.L.Norway Det Norske Luftfartsrederi D.N.L.Germany Deufsche Lufl-Reederei D.L.R.

A.E.G. J II of Deutsche Luft-Reederei, with cabin modification.

A Brave StartDeutsche Luft-Reederei (D.L.R.) came into being in Ber-

lin on 13 December 1917. It was a reorganization of theGummiwerke Oberspree GmbH, an affiliated company of theAllgemeine Elektrizitats-Gesellschaft (A.E.G.), and had acapital of 2,500,000 marks. D.LR. was initiated by WalterMackenthun, a prewar military pilot, and was strongly sup-ported by Walter Rathenau, the far-sighted chief executive ofA.E.G. It was registered as a company on 28 May 1918 andwas ready to start when the German Air Ministry authorizedcivil airline operations on 8 January 1919. Four weeks later,on 5 February, D.L.R. opened an air service from the Johan-nistal airfield in Berlin to the seat of the new government atWeimar. An intermediate stop at Leipzig was added later.

The first flight carried newspapers, mail was carried thenext day, and the first passenger was carried on 10 Febru-ary. During the ensuing weeks, in spite of foul weather andthick snow, D.L.R. maintained the service, using two-seatA.E.G. J II and two-seat L.V.G. C V biplanes. It was the firstsustained daily air service in the world to open to all cate-gories of air traffic.A Difficult First Season

Other routes were opened from Berlin during 1919,radiating from Berlin to Hamburg (on 1 March), Gelsenkir-chen (on 15 April), and Warnemunde, gateway to Scandina-via. Special air service was offered to the Leipziger Messe(Leipzig Fair) and from Hamburg to Westerland for summerholidays on the beaches. When regular services had to besuspended for a while on 1 August 1919 because of a fuelshortage, D.L.R. had carried 1574 passengers in its first halfyear of operation.

On 28 August D.L.R. became a founding member of theInternational Air Traffic Association (IATA)-see panel-but fortunes were mixed during the first testing years. Theroute network changed bewilderingly (see maps), partly be-cause of the restrictions placed on commercial flying into theRuhr and the Rhineland by the Allied occupying powers afterthe Treaty of Versailles.

6

L.V.G. C VI

93 mph (max.)

1 Benz Bz IV (200 hp) 370 statute miles range 3,570 Ib max. gross takeoff weight

Length 26 feet Span 44 feet

At first, like the aircraft of the victorious Allies, large, ponderous bombers such as theFriedrichshafen G Ilia were readily available to carry goods and people when Germanyturned its aeronautical swords into plowshares. Three Staaken R XIV four-engined giantswere even used briefly. But in general the Germans had to improvise with small aircraftbecause of the strict enforcement of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles after 10 January1920.

The A.E.G. J II was introduced by Deutsche Luft-Reederei 'soon after starting serviceearly in 1919, It was a neat conversion of the 1917-vintage wartime J II general-purposebiplane, built typically of a steel tube framework and wooden ribs, covered with fabric. As theillustrations show, a small cabin roof and sides were added to the fuselage to protect thecontents, including some passengers, from the elements. More than 600 of the type werebuilt, some of which were designated K, for Kabine, and quite a few graduated into servicewith A.E.G.'s pioneering airline, carrying for the first time, in March 1919, the famous craneinsignia that was to become the trademark of Germany's national airline, and which Luft-hansa proudly carries today.

0-129(A)0-130(A)0-131(A)

R 69R 70R 71

Staaken RXIV

Const. Regist.No. Nos.

5083 D-62(A)" 0-17(B)

5086 D-63(A)5087 0-274(A)5089 0-275(A)5091 0-277(A)

" OLR 445097 0-18(B)

" OLR 425098 0-279(A)5099 0-280

" OLR 19

2 seats

0-38(B)6748A.E.G.N 1


5071 0-35(B)5072 D-54(A)

" D-112(B)5074 D-56(A)5075 0-57(A)5076 0-58(A)5078 OLR 435081 0-61 (A)5082 0-271(A)

" D-16(B)

1304 0-146(B)1365 0-49(B)

Fr. FF49


5058 D-46(A)" DLR 31

5059 0-47(A)5060 0-60(B)5061 0-265(A)5062 0-49(A)5063 0-15(B)5065 0-51 (A)5067 D-52(A)5068 D-53(A)5070 D-276(A)

J II K


4721 D-208(A)4722 D-209(A)4830 DLR 114963 D-40(A)4978 0-41 (A)4991 D-43(A)

" DLR 104993 D-44(A)5050 D-45(A)5053 D-14(B)

" DLR 47

0-27(B)0-118(A)0-119(B)

234238239

L.V.G. C V

117 0-189(A) 591 0-485(A) 699 0-73(B) 1050 0-255(A) 14470 0-483(A)150 0-9(B) 0-117(B) 1044 0-252(A) 14549 0-260(A) 0-11(B)315 0-10(B) 695 OLR 62

OLR 59Note No constructor's numbers for (B) 0-58, 59, 147.

A.E.G. J II310 0-479(B) 417 0-68(B) 439 0-74(B) 6748 0-38(B) 6840 0-5(A)

OLR 97 418 OLR 39 5053 0-14(B) OLR 74 6845 0-6(A)415 OLR 15 419 0-23(B) 6741 0-24(B) 6839 0-25(B) 6865 0-26(B)416 OLR 14 OLR 36

Note No constructor's numbers for (B) 124, 150, 151; OLR 3, 4,13,32

1037 0-121(A)0-28(B)OLR 503

505 0-117(A)Note No constructor's numbers for FF 45s OLR 504, 505, 506, 508. OLR also had a Fokker OVII and a Hansa-Brandenburg W33 (OLR W 15). No constructor's numbers for FF 49s W3, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Friedrichshafen FF45


4012 D-202(A)4100 D-203(A)4587 D-37(A)

" D-12(B)4590 D-38(A)

" D-13(B)" DLR 6

4619 D-205(A)4621 D-206(A)4643 D-207(A)

" D-123(B)" DLR 84

Note (A) Indicates Luftfahrzeugrolle A (1919-1920); (B) Indicates L.F.R. B (1920-1934). Several known numbers cannotbe matched with the constructor's number. These are: (A) 0-59, 0-71,0-489 (also 0-43 in B series); (B) 0-34, 36, 37, 62,64, 65, 76; OLR 21, 45. cln 5068 was registered as O-BAFC in Belgium in March 1920.

THE DEUTSCHE LUFT REEDEREI FLEETCounting and identifying the fleet of Deutsche Luft Reederei, possibly as many as 70 or 80 aircraft, has defied the

ingenuity of many meticulous and indefatigable researchers. The problem is complicated by the existence, in the early1920s, of three numbering systems, and seldom can more than one be positively linked with the constructor's number.From March 1919 to May 1920, aircraft were registered on the Luftfahrzeugrolle referred to below as LFRA. This wascancelled by order of the Allied control commission and replaced by a second register, referred to as LFR B. To thesewere added D.LR's own fleet number. Fortunately for the numerologists, none of the aircraft survived to adopt yet another(lettered) series in 1934.

D.L.R's place in history is so important that this listing, however incomplete, is considerated appropriate to markD.L.R's pioneering role in air transport.

A.E.G.

7

-Aero-Union

300!

Memel

100 200J I

Scale-MilesoI

"All aboard" (by ladder) on an L.V.G. C VI of DLR.

REGD

:-. RotterfJ~m/ T'- __Do'fttmund

\,

>II ...

\ .\.I"J

'--

/r

/I

/II

A.E.G. N 1 of Deutsche Luft-Reederei

company, the Danziger Luft-Reederei. Service opened on29 July 1921, from Danzig to Riga, via Konigsberg andMemel, using original Fokker F. III five-seat single-enginedmonoplanes.

From the start, Danziger Luft-Reederei had been a mem-ber of lATA (page 6) and it became a component of theAero-Union group, merging with Danziger Lloyd Luft-dienst to become Danziger Aero Lloyd, under the umbrellaof Deutscher Aero Lloyd, after 6 February 1923.

Meanwhile, Danziger Luftpost, representing the Junkerscompetition, started a route on 26 July 1921 from Danzig toRiga via Kovno, Lithuania, and a month later this service wasextended to Reval (Tallinn), Estonia.

Otto Julius Merkel, who organizedDeutscher Aero Lloyd, and waslater a member of Luft Hansa'sexecutive board.

The Danzig CompromiseUnder articles 100-108 of the Treaty of Versailles, the FreeCity of Danzig (now Gdansk) was created to reconcile therights of the 96% German population with the aspirations ofthe youthful new Polish republic, which desperately neededa good commercial seaport on the Baltic. Under the protec-tion of the League of Nations, Danzig and its adjoining terri-tory were formally proclaimed a Free City on 15 November1920. Poland's economic interests were protected by a cus-toms union, but the city retained its German character, andmuch of the commercial activity was linked with Berlin, EastPrussia, and the Baltic coast region of Pomerania.

The First Airline GroupWithin a year or two of the start of permanent airline

operations in Germany, the need to coordinate the manydiverse activities was becoming apparent. Air transportcould not yet pay for itself but it clearly had a future, and theindustry attracted fresh capital that led to reorganization.

Aero-Union A.G. was incorporated on 27 April 1921 bythe Allgemeine Elektrizitats-Gesellschaft (A.E.G.) (pages6--7), the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt A. G.(HAPAG), and the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH, which atthis time also owned the Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH. It wasa nonoperating holding company, which, however, in-troduced the combined talents of important and influentialenterprises of considerable stature. While A.E.G. was nolonger producing aircraft, HAPAG and Zeppelin could pro-vide marketing skills as well as aircraft. A.EG. and HAPAGeach held 40% and Zeppelin held 20% of the shares Someincentive for the merger appears to have come from thegrowing strength of the Lloyd Luftdienst group, whose par-ent, the Norddeutscher Lloyd (ND.L) shipping line, hadgained access to precious fuel supplies (see page 12).

The operating members of the group were DeutscheLuft-Reederei (D.L.R.) (page 6); Danziger Luft-Reederei(this page); and Deutsch-Russische Luftverkehrsgesell-schaft (Deruluft) (page 10). Together they composed aformidable amalgamation, one which was to have a criticalinfluence on subsequent airline development in Germany.For on 6 February 1923, after less than two years of a "pa-per" existence, it joined with Lloyd Luftdienst, which wasbacked by NDL, to form Deutscher Aero Lloyd, one of thetwo immediate ancestors of Deutsche Luft Hansa.

Airlines of Its OwnBecause of this special situation, under which only Dan-

zig-registered aircraft could fly over the "Polish Corridor," thediminutive quasi-state was privileged to have its own airlines.Seeking outlets for eastern expansion, Deutsche Luft-Reederei (D.L.R.) established, in October 1919, an affiliated

8

Canst. Regist. Canst. Regist. D.L.H. YearNo. No. Airline No. No. name built Remarks

252 D-3 LLVS 386 D-2 Hornisse 1921 Ex-Aeronaut (E 12), Junkers 1925, scrapped March253 0-4 LLVS 1932

254 0-5 LLVS 258 0-50 LLVS, OAL., Norddeutsche LVG October 1924,written off 17 October 1926

255 0-6 LLVS 152 0143 Biene 1923 LLVS, OAL., scrapped March 19320-70 LLVS 273 0-156 Sablatnig, OLE 1921, Aeronaut (E 5)

128 0-77 LLVS 261 0-165 Sablatnig (fate unknown)0-78 LLVS 0-166 Sablatnig (fate unknown)

- 0-93 LLVS 262 0-171 Hummel 1923 A. Comte (CH 54) April 1921, LLVS July 1921, O.A.L,- 0-94 LLVS written off 21 April 1927- 0-164

ILLVS 265 0-395 Wespe 1924 OAL.. scrapped May 1928

- 0-106 LLVS 0-415 O.V.S. written off 23 August 1928- 0-127 OLE. 268 0-451 Fliege OAL., leased to OLAG 1928 (A-52), scrapped

Abbrev. LLVS: L1oyd-Luftverkehr Sablatnig. OLE. March 1932Oansk Luft Expres, an affiliated company in Oen- 275 0-453 Luftbild GmbH July 1925, written off 31 May 1927mark. 0-577 Luftreederei Weisser Stern 1926/27

L1oyd-Luftverkehr Sablatnig also operated four 0-581 Libelle 1921 Ex-Aeronaut (E 10), Junkers, leased to OLAG (A-54)Friedrichshafen floatplanes, listed below: 1928; in museum 1932-1944

Const. Regist.269 0-727 Hornisse 1924 OAL. July 1925, written off 7 August 1926

Type No. No. 0-730 OAL. July 1925, written off 23 July 1925

49 1368 0-85 270 0-770 Mucke 1924 OAL. July 1925, scrapped March 1932-49 223 0-86 0-962 Moskito 1923 Ex-Aeronaut (E 11), Junkers, written off 23 Sept 192771a 0-120 0-984 Ameise 1923 Ex-Aeronaut (E 8), Junkers, written off 30 July 1927-71a - 0-121 Note All the named aircraft were inherited by O.L.H. on its formation in 1926. The Aeronaut ones came via JunkersLuftverkehr, which had acqUired them in exchange for Junkers-F 13s on a two-far-one basis.

1 Benz Bz IV (200 hp) 4,815 Ib max. gross takeoff weight 325 statute miles range

9

93 mph

FLEET OF LLOYD-LUFTVERKEHR SABLATNIG (and other Sablatnig aircraft known to have been in airline use)Sablatnig P III

6 seats

Sablatnig P I

Sablatnig P III

The Sablatnig P I, typical of the first attempts to adapf aircraftfor commercial use.

International SortieOne early pioneer airline promoter, often forgotten by

latter-day aviation historians, was Dr Josef Sablatnig, whohad built night bombers at his Berlin factory toward the endof World War I. He converted one of these aircraft (in themanner of the A.E.G J II K) with a fully enclosed cabin,heated and lighted, big enough for four seats. Designatedthe Sablatnig P I, it had the distinction of making the firstoverseas international flight by a German airplane when, on21 April 1919, it flew from Berlin to Copenhagen and Stock-holm, to reinforce German interest in airline development toScandinavia.L1oyd-Luftverkehr Sablatnig

On 19 March 1919, the Sablatnig Flugzeugbau began ascheduled air service from Berlin to Warnemunde with aSablatnig N I. On 5 July of that year, in cooperation withDeutsche Luft-Reederei, it added another from Berlin to theBaltic coast at Swinemunde and in September extended thisto Copenhagen through its associated company, Dansk LuftExpres. Two P Is were used on this route, sO'mewhat in-termittently, during that summer until a fuel shortage towardthe end of the year forced a closure.

On 8 October Sablatnig joined with the Bremen-basedNorddeutscher Lloyd shipping line to establish L1oyd-Luftverkehr Sablatnig, GmbH. It started a permanent routefrom Berlin to Bremen and linked Bremen with the Ruhr areaat Gelsenkirchen. However, this latter route had to be cur-tailed at Munster because of the Allied occupation of theRhineland.

Already, in 1920, a new aircraft type, the Sablatnig Pili,had been in1roduced, and in 1921 additional summer holidayroutes were opened from Bremen to Wangerooge and alongthe Baltic coast-the Ostseebaderdienst-from Travemundeto Swinemunde, via Warnemunde and Sassnitz.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTSinfluencing German airline progress

before creation of Deutsche Luft Hansa

Date Event Effect

1918 11 Nov. Token flights by Sab- Demonstrated Germanlatnig, Berlin-Kiel air-mindedness

1919 19 Jan. First postwar general Permitted universal suf-election in Germany frage

6 Feb. First meeting of The Deutsche Luft-National Assembly at Reederei (D.L.R.) serv-Weimar ("Weimar ice between Weimargovernment") and Berlin was the first

regular postwar airservice in Europe

7 May Peace treaty imposed Among many harsh28 June on Germany conditions imposed on

Treaty of Versailles Germany, aircraft con-struction and airlinesignedoperation were severe-ly restricted

28 Aug. International Air Traf- D.LR. was one of sixfic Association (lATA) founding membersfounded

1920 10 Jan. Treaty of Versailles Permitted commercialeffective aviation

1921 April-May French troops occu- Restricted airline op-pied Rhineland erations in Rhineland-

Ruhr area21 Nov. Deruluft formed jointly

by Aero-Union andSoviet government

1922 16 April Treaty of Rapallo Germany recognizedsigned Soviet Union and

\opened way for airlinedevelopment

1 May Deruluft startedscheduled service

1923 15 Nov. Height of financial cri- Worst example of infla-sis ($1 equal to tion in history2,500,000,000,000German marks)

1924 9 April "Dawes Report" Restructured impossi-completed bly harsh reparations

payments schedule30 Aug. London Agreement

adopted DawesReport

1925 16 Oct. Pact of Locarno Guaranteed new fron-signed tiers of Germany and

permitted more flexibil-ity in aviation

Dec. British and French Airline operations per-troops evacuated manently resumed innorthern third of Rhineland-Ruhr areaRhineland area, in-cluding Cologne andRuhr

1926 6 Jan. Deutsche Luft Hansa Created largest airlineAG (D.LH.) formed in Europeas merger ofDeutscher Aero Lloydand Junkers

10 Sept. Germany joined Improved political andLeague of Nations commercial climate

REGDDERULUFT 1922 -1937

A Deruluft Dornier Merkur at Konigsberg.

A Vital LinkOn 16 April 1922 the Treaty of Rapallo (see panel) nor-

malized relations between Germany and the Soviet Union.Almost immediately deeds followed words. Deruluft beganservice from Konigsberg to Moscow, via Kovno (Kaunas)and Smolensk, on 1 May 1922. At first the Fokker F.lllscarried the mail and officials only; but on 27 August theservice was opened to the public. During the first year 109trips were completed and almost 300 passengers were car-ried. The eight-hour flight from Konigsberg was a great im-provement on the two days by train.A Fine Service Record

Because of Deruluft's multinational ownership, it was notabsorbed into the mergers that created Deutscher AeroLloyd in 1923 and Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926. The newGerman flag-carrier, however, took over the 50% sharehold-ing from DAL. and leased many aircraft and crews to De-ruluft. The backbone of the fleet during the late 1920s wasthe Dornier Merkur. Later, on the new route to Leningrad,opened on 6 June 1928, Deruluft used the Junkers-F 13. Thejourney time from Berlin was 14 hours.

Deruluft survived until 31 March 1937, operating im-proved equipment such as the Rohrbach Roland (page 23),the Tupolev ANT-9, and the Junkers-Ju 52/3m (pages 44-47). The last-named was fitted with outsize skis during thewinter. There is no record as to whether or not the crew wasalso supplied with skis in case of an emergency landing.

with a frozen engine, gluelike oil, and no battery, it took three men toswing the propeller at Kovno during the 1920s.

Eyes Toward the EastGermany showed remarkable enterprise and vitality in

developing air transport after World War I. Restricted thoughGermany was by the severe terms of the peace treaties,German entrepreneurs found ways and means of legitimateevasion, largely by doing abroad what they were not allowedto do at home.

Rebuffed in the west-relations with France were particu-larly frigid for several years-they turned to the Soviet Union,which was eagerly seeking commercial and industrial part-nerships. On 24 November 1921 a joint Soviet-German air-line was founded, with Aero-Union as the German partner,and aptly named Deutsch-Russische Luftverkehrs GmbH(Deruluft).

Fokker F III of Deruluft

Deruluft

10

------------------------_.......

Fokker-Grulich F. III 5 seats 95 mphLink with a Legend

During World War I, the Dutch aircraft constructor An-thony Fokker had built some of Germany's best combataircraft at factories initially in Johannistal, Berlin, and later atSchwerin, Mecklenburg. The Fokker Flugzeugwerke nowturned its postwar attentions to civil aircraft and started anew line of commercial transports. Until June 1921 theSchwerin factory, renamed Schwerin Industriewerke afterFokker's return to the Netherlands in 1918, produced theFokker F.II and the Fokker F.III, characterized by a wood-covered tubular steel frame and thick wooden wing con-struction. Both types were used by airlines in the Lloydgroup, and the F.III inaugurated Deruluft's service to Mos-cow, the aircraft having been re-imported from the Nether-lands immediately after the Armistice.

THE FOKKER-GRULICH F II FLEET

1 BMW Va (320 hp) 5070 Ib max. gross takeoff weight 350 statute miles range

THE FOKKER-GRULICH AIRCRAFT

F II 38'3" 52'10" 10'6" 4' 880 B.MW IV 250 4800 75 300 26

11

THE FOKKER-GRULICH F III FLEET

Const. Regist. No. D.L.H. DateNo. Original Other Name Written Off

1531 D-180 Dz 8 Main 6 Sept. 19821539 D-1028 Dz 5 Rhein 17 Aug. 19281551 D-353 Oonau July 19351552 D-378 Aister July 19351553 D-447 Ems 3 Oct. 19271554 D-468 Weser 8 Oct. 19261555 D-489 Etsch Nov. 19281556 D-503 D-ORIP Leine Oct. 19361557 D-516 Elbe 30 June 19261559 D-533 Oder Sept 19291563 D-575 Isar July 19351564 D-594 D-OTIK Fulda July 19351565 D-701 Saale July 19351566 D-716 D-OLYK Schwarza Oct. 19361567 D-729 Unstrut 22 April 19271568 D-743 Inn 3 June 1933

Note Prototype F III registered as H-NABA (Netherlands), later to Malert,Hungary as H-MABB. D-197 with Deruluft, 1922. Four aircraft were sold to Aerolloyd in 1925, later transferred to D.D.L., Denmark: and six aircraft were leasedfrom Deruluft in 1927-28.

Dimensions Max Engines Max. Cruise Normal Approx.Pass. Payload Gross Speed Range No.

Type Length Span Height Seats (Ib) No. Type Hp (each) TOW (Ib) (mph) (st. miles) Built

By the late 1920s the mainline fleets of almost all theairlines of Europe were to include either Dutch-built Fokkertrimotors or German-built Junkers metal landplanes, in anearly example of manufacturing rivalry for export markets.But the later Fokker transports were not built in Germany.Fokker-Grulich

Starting in 1924, the F.lls and F.llis continued to be built inBerlin as Fokker-Grulich types, the name taken from Dr.Karl Grulich, who was to become the technical manager ofDeutscher Aero Lloyd and who had coordinated disjointedaircraft construction as much of German industry disinte-grated during the inevitable postwar decline. Only a thindefinition separated aircraft manufacture from operation.Deutscher Aero Lloyd, for example, was involved in Fokker-Grulich F.II and F.III construction, along with Albatros, whichbuilt the wings. It refrained from ordering Junkers-F 13s,however, as this action would have supported a competitor.In contrast, the Junkers organization, which had over-produced the F 13, at first supplied aircraft, provided tech-nical support, and even printed comprehensive timetablesfor innumerable airlines, and only later decided to put its ownname to an operating company.

F 1113 36'4" 57'9" 12'0" 5 1000 B.MW Va2 320 5070 95 350 50--60

'Inside cabin only. One passenger could be carried in the open cockpit alongside the piioU 2Some Fokker-Grulich F Ills had Armstrong-Siddeley Pumas Deruluftaircraft had Rolls-Royce Eagles. 3Later, a single Grulich V1 (registered in the Soviet Union as RR2) and a Grulich V2 (RR5) were developments of the F III.

Const. Regist. No. D.L.H.No. Original 1934 Name Remarks

1500 0-57 Prototype VA5, used byD.L.R. 1920

1503 D-175 Moldau Ex-Danziger Lult ReedereiDz3, D.A.L., written off 16June 1931

D-715 Aero Lloyd, to Balair August1925 as CH-151

1570 D-717 Weichsel Scrapped July 19351581 D-728 Mulde Scrapped July 19351582 D-741 D-OVYF Pregel Written off 10 June 19361583 D-742 D-OSUP Swine Scrapped Oct. 19361584 0-752 D-ORAN Nagold Scrapped Feb. 1937-the

last F 111585 D-756 Oievenow Scrapped July 19351571 D-757 Spree Written off 24 August 19291586 D-758 Trave Written off 26 July 19301587 D-765 Eider Written off 2 May 19321588 D-766 Lahn Written off 23 Nov. 19311589 D-767 Ruhr Scrapped July 19351572 D-780 Havel Written off 22 July 19291590 D-782 Sieg Scrapped March 19321591 D-783 D-OFAV Wupper Scrapped Aug 19371592 D-784 filer Written off 3 Aug. 19271593 D-785 D-OJIP Lech Written off 24 June 19361594 D-786 D-OGOT Werra Written off 24 July 19341596 D-423 Used by Deutsche Verkehrs-

fliegerschule 1925-1930Note All except D-57, D-175, and possibly D-423 were bUilt by DeutscherAero lloyd in 1925 and designated Fokker-Grulich F 11, with BMW IV engines.Some were re-engined with BMW Va engines and redesignated F 11 b. Theearlier ones were built by Fokker at Schwerin. Besides D-175, one or two wereused by Danziger Luft Reederei, including Dz 4, but their late is unknown.

The Lloyd Group-

Lloyd Luftdienst BremenThe Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt (HAPAG)

had been the first transport organization in the world topromote air travel. In 1910 it had participated in the pioneerairship line DELAG (page 2); in 1919 it had backed DeutscheLuft-Reederei as general sales agent (page 6); and In April1921 it helped to promote the first aviation holding group,Aero-Union (page 8). Possibly viewing this as a potentlal!ycompetitive threat to be nipped in the bud, HAPAG's long-established rival, Norddeutscher Lloyd (N.D.L.) of Bremen,moved into the airline arena. On 8 March 1921 it establishedthe Lloyd-Luftdienst GmbH.

This was essentially a booking and travel agency,representing numerous small airlines as associates, all flyingunder the Lloyd banner, which coordinated their marketing.One considerable advantage was that, immediately after theend of World War I, ND.L. became closely associated withDeutsche Petroleum AG. and had thus gained access tovital fuel supplies during a critical period of fuel shortages.

The initial route under direct control was from Berlin toBremen, when N.D.L. joined with the Sablatnig Flugzeugbauto start a L1oyd-Luftverkehr Sablatnig service on 8 October1920. This connected the shipping line's home base with theGerman capital and also provided an air link with Bremenfrom the industrial Ruhr area.

Lloyd Ostflug was then incorporated on 7 November1920 in association with the aircraft constructor Albatros,which had started a service from Berlin to Konigsberg, via

Stettin and Danzig, as early as 11 November 1919. The routewas no ordinary one. The Junkers Flugzeugwerke and theOstdeutsche Landwerkstatten (holder of the traffic license)were also involved. Under the terms of the treaty of Ver-sailles, Poland had been given its "Corridor" to the BalticSea, severing East Prussia geographically from the Father-land. Germans had the Hobson's Choice of either gOing bythe long and circuitous sea route or traveling through Polandif they wished to move from the main part of Germany to thedismembered piece. Flying by Lloyd Ostflug had obVIOUSattractions.

Like D.L.R., which had set up a sister company in Danzig,to use modern Fokker F.II and F.III aircraft, registered inDanzig to meet the legal situation created by the new FreeState (page 8), Lloyd Ostflug was linked with Danziger Luft-post as an operator of the new Junkers-F 13s, with DanZigregistrations to circumvent the restrictions of the VersaillesTreaty, imposed on all aircraft built after Janu.ary 1920.Danziger Lloyd Luftdienst merged with DanZiger Luft-Reederei (page 8) to become Danziger Aero Lloyd afterFebruary 1923. ..

An Austrian affiliate, Austro-L1oyd Luftdlenst, was In-corporated in Vienna in October 1922, with support from theLombard and Escompte banks, and absorbing the WienerFlugverkehrsgesellschaft. The objective was to connect theAustrian capital with Berlin and other German cities as wellas with Agram (Zagreb), Trieste, and Budapest; but there ISno record of Austro-L1oyd's ever having operated, and It wasprobably set up solely to hold the route licenses.

Deutscher Aero LloydOn 6 February 1923 the HAPAG and Lloyd shipping lines

decided to merge their respective aviation activities to formthe Deutscher Aero Lloyd (D.A.L.), which combinedHAPAG's Aero-Union (essentially Deutsche Luft-Reederei)and the Lloyd Luftdienst combination of L1oyd-LuftverkehrSablatnig, L1oyd-Ostflug, and Deutscher Luft-L1oyd. AE.G.withdrew and the Deutsche Bank, represented by Dr.Weigelt, became a major shareholder. Mackenthun andAE.G.'s von Rieben resigned as managers of D.L.R.

The new group resumed service on 23 April 1923 on theinternational service from Rotterdam to Copenhagen, Incooperation with K.L.M. and DD.L., using Dornier Kometlis, inherited from the Zeppelin works interest In Aero-Union.On 5 May it opened a joint Berlin-London through serVice, Inpartnership with the British Daimler Airway, via Hamburg,Bremen, and Amsterdam. In March 1924, Komet lis alsolinked Berlin with Vienna, via Dresden.

But the most important single development of all waswhen a Dornier Komet III made a flight on 15 April 1925from Berlin to Milan, via Munich. The event had a doublesignificance. Not only did a German airline reach out toaLatin country; it also demonstrated that a commercial air-craft, carrying people and goods, could fly across the Alps,hitherto considered to be an almost insuperable barrier forflying.

This Fokker-Grulich F II was built in 1925 and retired in 1936.

12

REGD

l~~,,

'>. {-1.......\1. ...~"\: ............... ,... ... ,lJ

o '100 2.00 300'-- --'-----l.----J

ScaleMilesR,{EGD

DEUTSCHER AERO LLOYDJuly 1925

Munich 0 100 200 304.. r '!Bod Reichenhall - S~'e- Mil:;Inn'sbruck

......

Dornier Komet III 6 seats 96 mphAn Uncertain Beginning

Claude Dornier had been a leading designer at Luftschiff-bau Zeppelin, based at Friedrichshafen, on the Bodensee(Lake Constance). In 1914 he was put in charge of a newplant at Lindau, a short distance along the shore of the lake.He initiated the line of flying boats which was to make himfamous As the war ended, the first commercial type, the GsI, was under construction. It could carry six passengers, firstflew on 31 July 1919, and made some demonstrations. But itfell victim to the Treaty of Versailles and had to be sunk nearKiel on 25 April 1920

To meet the imposed limitations on aircraft construction,Dornier produced a smaller type, the Delphin, a kind oftelescoped Gs I, with improvised modifications. Its broadbeam and high engine mounting did little for its aesthetics,but its metal construction gave it an inherent strength.An Unusual Switch

Seldom does a basic aircraft design start as a hydroplaneand then, as it were, come ashore. Many landplanes havebeen subsequently fitted with floats, but the reverse pro-cedure has been a rare occurrence. The Dornier Komet ofOctober 1920 was one of the exceptions, especially as it wasa direct derivative of a flying boat, the Delphin. The smallsingle-engined Komet four-seater had the same wing andbracing struts and almost the same fuselage, but its enginewas mounted within the line of the fuselage.

It was not a pretty airplane but was efficient enough topay its dues. It flew first with Deutscher Aero Lloyd in 1923and then with Deutsche Luff Hansa in 1926. It was not anoutstanding type but it came at the right time and carried theGerman commercial airline flag on some of the early in-ternational routes. A few were exported, to Spain, Colombia,and the U.S.S.R. D.L.H. used them until 1928 on short routes.

Its development, the Komet III, quickly modified to be-come the Merkur, was easier on the eye, more efficient, andmore successful (see page 21).

1 Rolls-Royce Eagle (360 hp) 6610 Ib max. gross takeoff weight 650 statute miles range

Length 39 feet Span 62 feet Height 11 feet

THE DORNIER LANDPLANES

First Dimensions Engines Max. Cruise Normal Approx.Flight Pass. Gross Speed Ran~e No.

Type Date Length Span Height Seats No. Type Hp (each) TOW (Ib) (mph) (sl. mies) BuiltKomet I 10 Feb. 21 31'2" 55'9" 4 B.MW Ilia 185 4520 81 370 l'Komet II 9 Oct. 22 33'9" 55'9" 4 B.MW IV 250 4850 84 300 19Kamel III 7 Dec. 24 39'4" 62'4" 11'4" 6 R-R Eagle 360 6610 96 650 202

Merkur 10 Feb. 25 41'0" 64'3" 11'4" 6 B.MWVI 450/600 7900 112 460 50'The Komet Iwas only the prototype, with the pilot's seat aft of the wing, and predictably unsuitable. 2Most of the Komet Ills were converted into Merkurs. (The KomelI and II were designated Do P, and the Komet III and Merkur designated Do B.)

13

Junkers EnterprisePostwar Airline Dilemma

With the economy shattered and a currency so unstablethat it led to unimaginable monetary inflation, the establish-ment of a German national airline was impracticable in theearly 1920s Airlines were formed in haphazard fashion. Noless than 56 companies applied to the German Air Ministry in1920 for licenses to operate, and all except 14 were grantedpermission. Many of them probably had only the vaguestidea of how to organize or what was needed in the way ofequipment or installations. There was a great deal of "keep-ing up with Joneses." If Bavaria had an airline then Wurttem-berg had to have one too. And the prospect of gainingaccess to government subsidies was no doubt tempting, anopportunity too good to pass up.

THE JUNKERS-F 13 FLEET OF DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSAAND ITS PREDECESSORS

Const. Regist. No. OtherNo. Original 1934 Name Operators Disposal

531 0-1 - Nachtigafl Junkers 1920; Bayer, 1938 H0-183 - Hertha L.L. (T) 1923

616 0-192 D-OTOR Meise Junkers 1921 (T)583 D-193 D-OHYR Drossel Ad Astra (CH 91)581 0-203 D-ODEM Bussard Junkers 1920 (T) 19340591 0-206 - Zeisig Junkers 1920

Rumpler 1923 (T) 1927'592 D-207 - Falke 1934'636 D-225 D-ONUZ Piepmatz Junkers (R-RECH) 1935 D641 0-230 - Wiedehopf Junkers 1923 1933 D644 D-232 - Truthahn Rumpler 1923 (T); 1933'

Condor 1928757 D-247 O-OPAH Stein- Deruluft (RR-41);

Schmatzer Aeronaut (E 16).650 D-260 - Eisvogel Deruluft (RR-40);

Aeronaut (E 15).660 D-272 - Silbermove 1926'665 0-290 - Hauben- 1926'

lerche786 0-298 - Schnee- (Severa charter,

ammer 1928)545 D-332 D-OKUF Elster Junkers, 1920; 1938 H

Danzig (Oz 36 and42); TREU 1923;OlAG (A-68) 1940 l

724 0-333 O-ONOl Mandel- 1934 Dkrahe

682 0-338 O-OVAS Nebelkrahe 19340584 D-347 - Schwalbe Ex-0-162 (Oz 38);

Bayer. L.L. 1923 (T)Condor 1929

717 0-354 - Rackel- (To Severa) 1928huhn

718 D-355 D-OZEP See- 1936 Rschwalbe

14



720 0-357 D-OGUZ Gold- 19350hiihnchen

723 0-366 O-OHll Eismowe Oeruluft 1929-35 1935'750 D-367 - Turm- Condor 1928, re- (1947)

schwalbe regis. in 1946725 D-368 - Waldkauz Condor 1929 1945'726 D-369 - Blauke- (From OVl. 1928)

hichen730 0-372 - Konig- Deruluft 1929

sadler734 0-373 O-OPOX St6sser Westflug GmbH 1939 H

1927 1940 l738 D-376 O-OBAZ Kronen- Sudwestdeutsche 1936'

reiher lV 1923 (T); Flug-felag Islands, 1931-32

739 0-409 - Fliegen- Sudwestdeutsche 1925'schnapper lV 1923 (T)

740 D-41O - Steppen- Sudwestdeutsche 1931huhn LV 1923 (T); Flug- sunk

felag Islands 1929 (Reyk-javik)

695 D-419 D-OlEF Weih ODl (T-DKOV) 1934 D697 0-420 O-OHAH Seeadler (Govt. weather 1935 R

seNice, 1934-35)699 0-422 - Eidergans OLAG (A-32, 45, 1930'

67)702 D-424 D-OXET Emmerling LURAG 1923; Eu- 1936 R

ropa Union 1925; toOeruluft 1929-36

703 D-425 O-OBON Milan LURAG 1923, Eu- 1934 Dropa Union 1925

704 0-426 D-OJAl Sprosser OLAG (A 38) 19340707 0-429 D-OHUN Haselhuhn 19340743 0-433 D-OKAX Baum- OLAG (A-29) 1934 D

laufer746 D-436 - Schnee- Eurasia (EU IV)

huhn547 0-454 D-OMIZ Adler Ex D-158, Danzig 1934 D

(Dz 31, 37, JunkersRussland (R-RECB)

765 0-462 - K6nigs- Sudwestdeutschefischer lV 1928; Deruluft

(URSS-320, 0301)1930

764 D-463 D-OMUH Tauchente 1938 H1940 L

763 0-464 D-ONll Laub- Flugfelag Islands 1939 Hsanger 1928-29 1940 l

761 0-466 O-OSAF Pracht- 19340fasan

694 D-534 - Auerhahn DOL (T-OBOT) 1933'



688 D-550 - Brach- OlAG (A-95)vogel

768 0-556 O-OVAX Prariehuhn (From Bad-Pfalzische Luft-hansa, 1930--33)

748 0-557 O-OGEX LeieNogel Schlesische LV (T) 193401924

752 D-558 D-OKES Mauer- Schlesische lVsegler 1924 (T); Deruluft,

1929756 D-560 - Himmel- 1927'

sziege681 0-561 D-OZYR Fischreiher Oberschlesische 19340

lV (T)685 0-564 O-OFEN Gold- 1936 R

ammer

687 D-565 D-OGIT Kleiber OLAG (A-53)705 D-571 - Blaurake (From Bad-

Pfalzische Luft-hansa 1929)

719 0-579 - Schnee- (To O.l.H. 1928) 19320gans

706 0-582 O-OlAS Dommel Sachsische lV 193401924 (T)

742 D-583 - Wildente OLAG (A-39) 1928'747 D-600 - Ringel- (From D.V.L. 1929);

taube Eurasia (EU III1930)

696 0-724 - Kolkrabe 1932'790 D-838 D-ONIQ Plattmonch (From DVS. 1927) 1927'791 0-869 D-OHYK Lori (From D.V.S. 1927)532 D-1036 - Kasuar Ex-Danzig (Oz34);

D.A. Lloyd Annelise569 0-1183 D-OlOF Albatros Ex-Danzig (Dz 30);

Junkers Russland690 D-1391 - Steinadler (To O.L.H 1928) 1928

(Sweden2032 0-1579 D-OVUM Karmin- (From Bad- 1934 D

gimpel Pfalzische Luft-hansa 1934)

823 - O-OTAl Blaumeise From Ala Littoria, 1935 R1934

2008 D-1182 O-OMAS Rotkehl- From Ala Littoria, 1935 Dchen 1934

2022 0-1374 D-OOEN Kohlmeise From Ala Littoria, 193501934

2071 - O-ONOR Hanfling From Ala Litloria, 1936 R1934

2026 - O-OlAP Sonnen- OLAG (A-48, OE- 1939 Hvogel lAH)

Abbrev. T: Trans-Europa-Unlon (TREU), 0: Deutsche Verkehrsschule (OVl),R: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, L: luftwaffe, H Hansa Flugdienst.Note Aircraft that crashed or were damaged beyond repair shown by ,

Junkers-F 13 4 seats 105 mphThe Tail Wags the Dog

The best commercial aircraft by far to emerge in Germanyduring the immediate postwar years was the Junkers-F 13(see opposite page). It was to go down in history as one ofthe most significant transport aircraft of all time. Yet Junkerscould find no German customer for its product because theLloyd groups had their own manufacturing associates, suchas Fokker and Dornier.

It therefore created a precedent. Allover the world, dur-ing air transport's formative years, airlines were founded firstand then they shopped around for aircraft to operate. Jun-kers Flugzeugwerke of Dessau turned this orthodox pro-cedure upside down. It produced a superb aircraft first andthen shopped around for airlines to operate it.

The result was that half the airlines of central and northernEurope were created by the Junkers-F 13, as shown onpages 16-17

Metal corrugation cannot be shown accurately at thisscale. Refer to F 13 pictures, pages 16, 20, and 28.

1 Junkers-L 5 (280 hp) 5500 Ib max. gross takeoff weight 400 statute miles range

15

Note Many Junkers-F 13s of Junkers Luftverkehr did not pass to Oeutsche Luft Hansa. Some served In the U.S.S.R. or Persia, as Indicated. Some F 13s (c/n799/0-833 Spiegelhahn; 2015/0-1378/0-0LOF; 2016/0-1382/0-0NUS) were owned by Seeflugzeug-Versuchsabteilung GmbH (Severa), a military supportagency, which in 1929 changed its name to Lufthansa Abt Kustenflug, leading to some confusion, and later to Flugdienst GmbH.

Cometh the Hour ...The pilot Monz flew the first prototype on 25 June 1919,

and the F 13 went into service on 18 July. It was one ofthe most important transport airplanes ever built. Unlikethe ponderous bomber conversions such as the HandleyPages and Farmans, the modified A.E.G.s, or the awkwardcousins of the first Dornier flying boats, the F 13 looked likean airplane designed from the start to carry passengers. Theenclosed cabin carried four in cushioned seats, with seat-belts, lighting, and picture windows.

Construction continued into the early 1930s-not withoutproblems (see page 17)-and 322 were built altogether.Deutsche Luff Hansa had 55, and in the early and middle1920s they became a familiar sight allover Europe as airlines

Cons!. Regis!.No. No. Name

741 0-431 Steissvogel745 0-435 Rohrsanger755 0-559 Ziegenmelker762 0-465 Grunspecht774 0-812 Fischadler775 0-82 Wasseramsel776 0-63 Gimpelhaher2001 0-1126 (Persien)

brought them into service, working in partnership with Jun-kers (pages 16-17). They were exported allover the world,even to the United States, where, however, they were not acomplete success, because of some accidents (see panelon page 17). They started historic services in Colombia(page 28), Persia (page 30), Bolivia (page 31), the U.S.S.R.(page 30), and Brazil (page 32).

Deutsche Lufthansa was still operating F 13s in 1937, andtwo, built in 1924, were still on the 1938 register, valued in thebooks at 1 mark each, The Brazilian airline VARIG retired thelast F 13 in 1948, so that the absolute lifespan of this trulyearly bird was 29 years, far longer than that of many afamous airliner built decades later. Several F 13s are pre-served, in museums in Munich, Stockholm, Paris, PortoAlegre, and-a particularly fine example-Budapest.


712 0-340 Krickente713 0-341 Spottvogel714 0-342 Kreuzschnabel715 0-343 Schleiereule716 0-337 Lachmowe721 0-358 Schwarzspecht

722 0-359 Rauchschwalbe727 0-336 Sturmowe729 0-371 Singdrossel


651 R-RECI (USSR)663 0-288 Wurger683 0-339 Distelfink686 0-549 Sittich698 0-421 Hahn708 0-319 Turteltaube709 0-320 Kormoran710 0-321 Edelfalke711 0-322 Alk

534 0-219 Stieglitz565 0-201 Uhu570 0-251 Eule572 0-252 Lerche590 0-194 Kuckkuck614 R-RECE (USSR, Persien)630 R-RECF (USSR)643 0-231 Wachtel (USSR,

Persien)


The First Metal AirlinerEven before World War I, in 1909, Professor Hugo Jun-

kers had prepared the first outlines of a metal-built airplane,a cantilever monoplane with a thick wing and a fuselage thatderived much of its strength from sheet-metal skin ratherthan from wire bracing. This was considered to be almostrevolutionary at the time and was never expected to suc-ceed. Nevertheless, the first of the series, the J 1, flew on 12December 1915, and during the war further monoplanes andeven a biplane were produced. At first the fuselage and wingwere covered with smooth metal, but later types used corru-gated duralumin-rather in the style of the familiar ironsheets used for roofing-for strength. By the time the lastmilitary aircraft came off the line in 1918, the series number-ing had reached J 11.

It is said that on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, in oneof the best-known incidents in the chronicle of airplane tech-nology development, Professor Junkers instructed designerOtto Reuter and his team to switch from military to com-mercial aircraft construction. The result was a modified J 10,at first called the J 12, but this was never built, as it wassuperseded by the improved J 13 project, later produced asthe F 13 Its wing was formed of strongly braced tubularspars-effectively a lightweight girder-and the entire struc-ture was clad in corrugated duralumin, combining unidirec-tional strength with light weight. The tubular steel/woodenand fabric aircraft of the same period were fragile comparedwith the sturdy F 13.

The Europa-UnionSpreading the Junkers Net

With the Lloyd group of companies gaining stature andinfluence, Junkers realized that strength came not from di-versity but from cooperation and ostensible unity.

Accordingly it formed two important international groups,the Trans-Europa-Union, on 14 May 1923, and the Ost-Europa-Union, on 22 October of the same year. After a year,the name of the latter was changed to the Nord-Europa-Union.

Serving a greater population and a commercially moreadvanced region, Trans-Europa was the stronger group, andhad the advantage that all the component companies shareda common language. Junkers also had a shareholding in thepilots' training school, the Deutsche Verkehrsflieger-Schule (D.V.S.), founded at Berlin's Staaken airfield in 1925

On 7 May 1925, two years after the birth of the twoUnions, a move was made to unite both into one all-embracing organization, the Europa-Union, together withother related Junkers affiliates. But this idea was never putinto practice, and an even greater unification was only a fewmonths ahead.

The One That Got AwayOne of the foreign affiliates of the Junkers group was

Aerolloyd Warschau, formed by Dr. Wygard on 1 Septem-ber 1922 with subsidy support from the Polish government. Itbegan service four days later on routes from Warsaw toDanzig (Gdansk) and Lemberg (Lvov) with the ever-presentJunkers-F 13s.

Sturdily independent at last after more than a century offoreign rule, Aerolloyd Warschau broke free of German con-trol and the name was changed to Aerolot on 9 May 1925.Nevertheless, the ubiquitous Junkers-F 13 remained as theservice aircraft until the arrival of trimotored Fokkers at theend of 1929.

The "cleaning brigade" working on a Junkers-F 13 in the 1920s

16

TRANS-EUROPA-UNION (TREU)-Founded 14 May 1923-Based at Munich

Company Date Date ofand Founded First

Location Service Remarks

Ad Astra Aero 20 Sept. 1 June Created as a merger ofZurich 1919 1922 several Swiss companies,

all founded in 1919

Rumpler Lull- 30 Sept. 30 Sept. Earlier services, Marchverkehr 1922 1922 1919, Augsburg-Berlin, op-

Munich erated by an affiliate of theRumpler Flugzeugwerke.

Aero-Express R. T. 1 Jan. 15 July Flew pleasure flights toBudapest 1923 1923 Lake Balaton in June 1923;

service ended in 1924 whenHungarian gove granted ex-clusive rights to MALERT.

Osterreichische May 1923 14 May Founded by Austrian bank-Luftverkehrs, AG. 1923 ing and railroad interests, in(OLAG) association with Junkers.

Vienna

Bayerischer Lull 16 June 11 April Originally associated withLloyd 1919 1921 Rumpler in 1919; fleet de-

Munich molished, under provisionsof Versailles Treaty, 1920.

Junkers Lullver- 13 Aug 13 Aug. Airline operations originallykehr AG. 1924 1924 by affiliate of Junkers

Berlin formed 1 Jan. 1922 as Jun-kers-Werke Abteilung Lull-verkehr.

SOdwestdeutsche May 1924 These were primarily agen-Lullverkehrs AG. cies for travel and ground

Frankfurt 12 March 11 Aug. services, operating as Jun-Sachsische Lull- 1924 1924 kers Lullverkehr.verkehrs AG. Jan 1925 13 MarchDresden 1925Schlesische Lull- Feb. 1925 13 Marchverkehrs AG. 1925BreslauOberschlesische 24 Feb. 20 April 1923Lullverkehrs A.G. 1925 1925

GleiwitzLullverkehrsges-elisehaft Ruhr-gebeit AG.(LURAG)

EssenBayerische Lull-verkehrs A.G.

Munich

HugoJunkers.

OST-EUROPA-UNION-Founded 22 October 1923-Based at Riganame changed in 1924 to NORD-EUROPA-UNION-Based at Reval

Company Date ofand Date First

Location Founded Service RemarksLatvijas Gaisa 1921 July 1923 Established in association

Satikmes AlS with Junkers and absorbedRiga in 1925

A-S Aeronaut (end) 1921 (Summer) Founded by L1oyd-Reval 1922 Lullverkehr Sablatnig, with

participation from Denmarkand Sweden.

Aero ON 9 Oct. 1923 20 March Founded by Bruno Lucan-Helsinki 1924 der, Junkers representative

in Finland.

Junkers Luftver- 13 Aug. 13 Aug. (See Trans-Europa-Union)kehr A.G. 1924 1924

Berlin

DanZiger Lull- 26 Feb 1922 Initially operated Kbnigs-post GmbH 1921 I:>erg-Memel-Riga-Reval

Danzig route of Lloyd Ostflug.Lloyd Ostflug 7 Nov. 1920 27 Dec. Founded jointly by Nord-

Danzig 1920 deutscher Lloyd, Albatros,Junkers, and OstdeutscheLandwerkstatten; Junkersdisassociated in 1923 andBerlin-Danzig-Konigsbergroute operated alternately byJunkers and Lloyd groups

tOO 2.00 3..-! , -

Scale - Miles REGD

Triumph Over AdversityJack of All Trades

By the mid-1920s, even before the formation of DeutscheLuft Hansa, the Junkers group was deploying other typessuch as the small Junkers-A 20 mail carrier in 1923. A yearlater came the Junkers-G 24, a three-engined nine-seat air-craft that was the harbinger of bigger and better airliners inthe years to come. But during these rather turbulent yearsthe little Junkers-F 13 resisted the inroads of these challeng-ers, having earned itself great respect, even affection,among its operators, because of its strength, resilience,reliability, and adaptability.

Curiously it was able to demonstrate its special qualitiesat the geographical extremities of the Nord-Europa-Unionand Trans-Europa-Union groups. To cross the Gulf of Fin-land, the Estonian Aeronaut and the Finnish Aero O/V bothconverted the F 13 to use floats in the summer and skis in thewinter. In that severe northern climate, where to start theengine was a formidable test of stamina, it could theoreticallyhave taxied across the gulf. Down south, the Hungarian.Aero-Express and initially the Austrian OLAG both had F 13floatplanes to follow the River Danube between Vienna andthe riverfront moorings of the Hotel Gellert in Budapest.

As the accompanying panel shows, the adolescence ofthe Junkers-F 13 did not go smoothly. Given an orderlydevelopment period, free of restrictions, the innovative de-sign would have ensured its complete and universal domi-nance. Its technical superiority was backed by efficient orga-nization and a corporate strength derived from a fine espritde corps at all levels of the staff. Its numerical designationgave the lie to superstition. It was one of the greatest air-planes in aeronautical history, and to call it an airliner, evenbefore the term came into use, would not be misrepresentingits true destiny.

THE O.L.H. JUNKERS-A 20 FLEET

Const. Regist. No.No. Original 1934 Name Remarks353 0-392 O-IBUX Erde Written off 1937457 0-394 - Mars To OVS. July 1928459 0-404 - Saturn Destroyed 1934461 0-440 - Orion Bulgarian Traffic Manage-

ment 1932464 0.443 - Merkur Destroyed 1928862 0-574 O-IBUP Aldebaran Sold (or to R.L.M.) 1936822 0-592 O-ISYN Kassiopeia To R.V.M. 19291363 0-599 o-IBIT Betelgeuze Sold (or to R.L.M.) 1936865 0-704 ~ Castor To R.V.M. 1929866 0-712 ~ Pollux Sold 1927

JUNKERSF 13 AIRCRAFT INTHE TRANS-EUROPA-UNION FLEET

Const.Airline Base No. Regist. Name

Ad Astra Aero A G Zurich, 583 CH 91 DrosselSwitzerland 587 CH 92 Specht

593 CH 93 Dahle617 CH 94 Star

Bayerische Luft Lloyd Munich, 531 "01" NachtigallGmbH Germany 584 347 SchwalbeOsterreichische Luftver- Vienna, 575 A3 Taubekehrs A G Austria 534 A2 StieglitzRumpler Luftverkehr Munich, 644 0-232 TruthahnAG Germany 591 0-206 ZeisigSiichsische Luftverkehrs Dresden, 687 0-565 KleiberAG Germany 706 0-582 Dommel

SOdwestdeutsche Luft- Frankfurt, 739 0-409 Fliegen-verkehrs A G Germany schnapper

738 0-376 Kronen-reiher

740 0-410 Steppen-huhn'

Aero Express R.T. Budapest, 635 H-MACB EnteHungary 640 H-MACF Strauss

Junkers-Luftverkehr Oessau, 545 0-332 ElsterAG Germany 581 0-203 Bussard

616 0-192 Meise641 0-230 Wiedehopf

Note The Austnan (bnefly) and the Hunganan aircraft were floatplanes, foruse on the River Danube. Ad Astra also had some Junkers-G 24s.

JUNKERS-F 13 AIRCRAFT IN THE NORO-EUROPA-UNION FLEET

Const. Regist.Airline Base No. German National Name

Aero OIY Helsinki, 700 0-335 K-SALA RegenpfeiferFinland 760 0-506 K-SALB Bergfink

A-S Aeronaut Tallinn, 646 0-255 E 13 SchwanEstonia 650 0-260 E 15 Biene

757 0-247 E 16 Steinschmi3tzerLatvijas Gaisa Riga, 579 0-202 B-LATA CondorSatikmes AlS Latvia B-LATB

Note Aero OIY and Aeronaut aircraft were fitted With floats In the summer andskis in Ihe winter.Special Note When Deutsche Luft Hansa was formed on 6 January 1926, allJunkers airline activities were under the name of Europa Union, even though thetraffic license had been revoked by the German Aviation Board. Furthermore,most of the foreign airlines had declined to join Europa Union, as the mainpurpose of its formation was perceived to be a device to raise funds for thefinancially ailing Junkers Flugzeugwerke.

POST-WORLD WAR I RESTRICTIONSON AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTION

Date Situation or Development1919 March About 600 aircraft registered. Most of these

(1919)- were former military types, converted to civi-April (1920) lian use. Others were mainly Junkers-F 13s

1920 10 January Effective date of the Treaty of Versailles. Ger-many prohibited from building any aircraft forsix months, while Allied Commission set up toconsider problem.

April-May Every German aircraft confiscated by Allies.22 May Some aircraft released, but had to be re-

purchased by the previous owners and usedonly for commercial purposes. A new registerof commercial aircraft was initiated.

1921 5 May-July Under the "London Ultimatum" all aircraft wereagain confiscated, under a new German law,enforced by the Allies. The old register wascancelled. Eleven F 13s, awaiting shipment atHamburg, ostensibly for the U.S., were im-pounded. 25 F 13s were seized by the Alliesas reparation.

10 August The cost of all aircraft had to be validatedonly after approval by the Allied Commission.

1922 14 April The ban on aircraft construction was lifted, but(effective 5 there were severe restrictions on aircraft size,May) engine power, and other features to ensure

that aircraft could not carry bombs.16 April (The Treaty of Rapallo normalized relations be-

tween Germany and the Soviet Union-seepage 10.) Oomier and Junkers set up produc-tion in Moscow, Sweden, Switzerland, andItaly.

1926 6 January (Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. formed.)21 May A conference in Paris lifted the ban on aircraft

manufacture.8 July A German law ratified the Paris agreement.

The Junkers-A 20, even smaller than the F 13, and used primarilyfor training and carrying mail.

17

Formation of Deutsche Luft Hansa

DEUTSCHE LUFT HANSA AFFILIATES, 1926

Deutscher Aero Lloyd Junkers LuftverkehrCompany Location D.A.L. % Remarks Company Location Junkers % Remarks

Deruluft Berlin 50.0 50% by Soviet Union Badischer L.V.G. Karlsruhe 110 Jointly with BadenDanziger Aero Lloyd Danzig 1000 Danzig affiliate Bayrischer Luftlloyd Munich 50.0 Jointly with BavariaMitteldeutscher Aero Lloyd Leipzig 429 Jointly with Saxon in- Bayrischer L.V.G. Munich 13.3 Jointly with Bavaria

terestsLV WOrttemberg Stuttgart 5.7 Jointly with WOrttem- Luftverkehrsgesellschaft Essen 11.0 Jointly with the Ruhr-

berg Ruhrgebiet (LURAG) gebietAdria Aero Lloyd Tirana 55.0 Albanian affiliate Norddeutscher L.V.G. Bremen 250 Link with Aero Lloyd

GroupAero Lloyd Berlin 1000 InsuranceCondor Syndikat Berlin 36.6 Aircraft trading Oberschlesischer L.V.G. Gleiwitz 3.6 Jointly with Upper

SilesiaAustro Lloyd Luftbild Vienna 100.0 Austrian affiliateLuftfahrtverlag Berlin 100.0 Publisher Rumpler Luftverkehr Berlin 50.0 Aircraft constructorSOddeutscher Aero Lloyd Munich 13.7 Jointly with Bavarian Sachsischer L.V.G. Dresden 26.0 Jointly with Saxony

interests Schlesischer LVG. Breslau 12.5 Jointly with SilesiaBadisch-Pfalzische LVG. Mannheim 20.0 Jointly with Baden- Sudwestdeutscher LVG. Frankfurt 16.7 Jointly with Hesse

Pfalz (Palatinate)Hessische Flugbetriebs Darmstadt 15.4 Airport handling Westflug Bielefeld 41.4GmbHUdet Flugzeugbau Munich 7.7 Aircraft constructor ''Etag'' Erdal und Teerpro- Berlin 750 Airport materials

dukte"Welu" (L.V.G Westfalen) Dortmund 20.0 Jointly with Westfalen SCADTA Barranquilla 5.7 Colombian affiliate

interestsBasler Luftverkehr Basel 750 Swiss affiliateAero Hansa Berlin 100.0 Original investment on

6 Jan 1926Deutsche Verkehrs- Berlin 143 Flying school Deutsche Verkehrsflieger- Berlin 14.3 Flying schoolfliegerschule (DVS.) (Staaken) schule (DVS.) (Staaken)Lloyd Junkers L.V.G.

'Berlin 500 Formerly Lloyd Ostflug Lloyd Junkers L.V.G.

'Berlin 500 Formerly Lloyd

Ostflug

Too Many Cooks ...By 1925, the two big airline groups, Deutscher Aero

Lloyd and the Junkers Luftverkehr, were competing in-tensely. The former operated routes mainly to th

Lufthansa - An Airline And Its Aircraft

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