By: Egil H Thomassen For: www.europeanairlines.no One of the first books I bought, as a fresh aerophilatelist was N.C.Baldwin’s “Bridging the Atlantic”. It is stated in the book’s preface: “So far, as we are aware, no really comprehensive chronicle of projected and successful special and first flights has appeared hitherto in any language (about Atlantic flights). This work is therefore an attempt to fill the gap through a concise, essentially factual chronology of events”. This was written in 1945 and still holds true. The book tells of triumphs and tragedies, of the latter there are about 80 unsuccessful attempts...
Widerøe’s Flyveskole Study Tour to Germany
Widerøe’s Flyveskole (Wideroes Flying School) was the flying school of the airline Widerøe’s Flyveselskap itself formed in 1934. In the week of May 2 to 8, 1938, three pupils of the Widerøe’s Flyveskole made a study trip to Germany with the company’s Stinson SE-8M, LN-BAR. The participants were traffic pupils and were: Chr. F. Walter, Holger Hannestad, Trond Kindset. They were under the command of the school’s chief instructor Martin Hamre. Here a short report of the visit. The photographs have not been taken during the visit, but are merely used as illustrations. The report has been written by Martin...
Centennial: first flight Junkers F 13
[caption id="attachment_3813" align="aligncenter" width="1888"] The J 13 prototype (531) first flew on 25 June 1919. In the backgroundis an example of the single-seat Junkers J 9 fighter, military designationJunkers D.I, which was soon registered to Junkers-Flugzeugwerkas a commercial courier aircraft (Günther Ott)[/caption] On 25 June 2019, we celebrated the fact that it was 100 years ago, that the aircraft made its first flight! Read all about it in the special edition of the reprint of the successful book ‘Junkers F 13 – The World’s First All-Metal Airliner’. On 25 June 1919, a small six-seater aircraft lifted off from an airfield...
The shortest visit to Norway ever: 29 minutes!
[caption id="attachment_3690" align="aligncenter" width="544"] Messerschmitt Bf 108-B1 D-ICNN which arrived at Kjeller on 10 August 1037[/caption] It left as fast as it arrived. On a lovely Summer day, 10 August 1937, at 1230, a small blue plane came down from the sky and landed nicely and fast on Kjeller’s green grass. After filling up 200 liters of fuel, the aircraft disappeared just as fast. It was at Kjeller for exactly 29 minutes. It must have been the shortest visit to Norway?! What kind of flight was this? It was a Messerschmitt Bf 108 B-1S Taifun - a German one-engine low-wing...
The day the first Lufthansa Junkers Ju 52/3m arrived in Norway
[caption id="attachment_3576" align="aligncenter" width="538"] The first Lufthansa Junkers Ju 52/3m to arrive in Oslo was D-ABIS "Kurt Wolff" with Joseph Kaspar as captain.[/caption] In 1934, just before the opening of the air service to Oslo, Lufthansa decided to introduce the Junkers Ju 52/3m officially to the Norwegian public. Flugkapitän Joseph Kaspar flew the company’s float-equipped Ju 52/3m, D-ABIS "Kurt Wolff" on Thursday, 26 April 1934, at 1745, for the first time to Oslo. He had departed from Travemünde for Copenhagen and continued 1245 to Gothenburg. Kaspar had his cabin filled with guests: Dr. Dierbach (DLH), Dr. Pinagel (chief of press at...
Junkers Aircraft Designation – An Aviation Historian’s “Minefield”
By: Lennart Andersson For: www.artiklar.z-bok.se and www.europeanairlines.no The Junkers F 13 was first called the Junkers Type F, although at the factory it was known as the J 13. Today, the original Junkers archive is available to researchers. Of course original research costs time, money and effort, but in my view the publication of articles that continue to distort the already maltreated history of Junkers and other German interwar aircraft in general is no longer justifiable. Previous mistakes, inventions and imperfections need not be reiterated, because if that happens the inaccuracies will inevitably be taken up again...
Fleet list of Deutscher Aero Lloyd AG (1923-1926)
Fleet list of Deutscher Aero Lloyd AG (1923-1926) Abbreviations: b/u = Broken up Canx = cancelled from the register c/n = Constructor’s Number dbr = Destroyed between repair f.u. = Fate unknown In = Date aircraft was taken in use / or registered Regn = Registration One of the most mysterious airline fleets is the fleet of the Deutscher Aero Lloyd AG from Germany. The DAL was the successor of the Deutsche Luftreederei GmbH and it became in 1926 one of the parent companies of the Deutsche Luft Hansa AG. Its fleet has been extensive and we wonder if all...
Nordbayerischer Verkehrsflug GmbH (1926-1931) and Deutscher Verkehrsflug AG (1931-1934)
Fleet list of Nordbayerischer Verkehrsflug GmbH (1926-1931) Abbreviations: b/u = Broken up Canx = cancelled from the register c/n = Constructor’s Number dbr = Destroyed beyond repair f.u. = Fate unknown In = Date aircraft was taken in use / or registered Regn = Registration The Nordbayerischer Verkehrsflug GmbH was formed to operate regional air service not interesting for the national carrier Deutsche Luft Hansa AG-DLH. Soon the company became a popular sight around the regional airports in mainly eastern parts of Germany. The company was reconstructed in 1931 as the Deutscher Verkehrsflug AG as...
Air Cargo a la Junkers
Air Express Co Ltd, Luftfrako and Deutramp By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no With the introduction of civil aviation at the end of the Great War (1914-1918) the aircraft started to find implant in the transportation of airmail and cargo. The trade and industry were not yet ready for this new form of transportation and could at that moment not foresee the great impact the aircraft would have. Its potential payload was not recognized either. But that would soon change. The story here is about the Trost Brothers and their co-operation with Junkers Flugzeugwerk AG and the German Junkers-affiliated air brokers...
The Zeppelin companies in Germany
By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no Deutsche Luftschiffahrts Aktien-Gesellschaft – DELAG (1909-1935) The first airline company in Germany was not an airline company in the way it could be defined, as its aim was not the opening of regular, sustained air services, but much more the transportation by rigid airships of passengers on joy-ride flights. First after the Great War, the full potential of the rigid airship was recognised and exploited, but for Germany it was too late (due to the Treaty of Versailles). Later in the twenties, new initiatives were started and up to the destruction of the Hindenburg in...