[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...
THE TRIAL AIR MAIL SERVICE CHRISTIANIA – KRISTIANSAND (1920)
(Photo: Marinemuseum, Horten) By: Odd Arnesen and Rob Mulder (1) For: www.europeanairlines.no In 1920, Norway was at the breach of a new era. The First World War and the first post-war years had given the country much prosperity, and at the beginning of 1920 it did not look to be different year. Det Norske Luftfartrederiet A/S had applied for a concession for different national and international air services and was to be awarded a concession for the trial service Bergen – Haugesund – Stavanger. This route was opened in August 1920. Meanwhile, the Marinens Flyvevåpen (Naval Air Services) and Hærens...
Junkers Ju 52/3m in Norway (1935-1946)
By: Rob J. M. Mulder For www.europeanairlines.no The general history of the Junkers Ju 52/3m is well-known. After the first flight of the aircraft in March 1932, it took three year before the first Ju 52/3m was delivered to Norway. The first customers in Scandinavia were Sweden and Finland. In April 1935, the Norwegian airline Det Norske Luftfartselskap, Fred. Olsen & Bergenske A/S (DNL) was awarded a State subsidy and concession for national and international air service for a period of ten years. The problem was that aircraft deliveries took some months, so the company was in danger not...
Timeline of civil Aviation in Norway up to 1945
By: Rob Mulder Rob Mulder has compiled this timeline of civil aviation in Norway. We have tried to publish as many facts as possible. In the period prior to the Great War (better known as the First World War, 1914-1918) many of the aviation events that took place in Norway were organised by the military. These have been taken up in the timeline if they were significant for the development of Norwegian civil aviation. Timeline of civil Aviation in Norway up to 1945
1934: A MUCH WANTED AIR ROUTE OPENED
By: Rob Mulder For: European Airlines On 18 June 1934, the Norwegian airline Widerøe’s Flyveselskap A/S (Widerøe’s Air Line Co. Ltd.) started up the air service Oslo – Kristiansand – Stavanger – Haugesund. It was the first passenger, freight and mail service in Norway since the airline Det Norske Luftfartederi A/S flew the coastal route Bergen – Haugesund – Stavanger back in 1920. The 1934-results on the WIF air service were promising. On 19 February 1934, Viggo and Arild Widerøe and engineer Einar Isdahl formed the Widerøe’s Flyveselskap A/S (WIF). The capital was just 25,000 Norwegian Kroner. During 1934, Helge...
The Master of Sempill in Norway
By: Rob Mulder From: www.europeanairlines.no and www.hangar.no During the twenties and thirties of the last century it happened regularly that foreign pilots came in their aircraft to Norway for a visit. Many of these visits are until recently been unknown to most of us, but as more archives are visited more details emerge. This story started when I found a picture in the papers of the Norwegian Captain Johan Høver. The picture showed a British registered aircraft on floats with a text on the back: "Puss Moth - Capt Master of Semphill – who arrived this morning". Captain...
1912: Lieutenant Olle Dahlbeck flying in Kristiania (Oslo)
By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no In 1912 the Swedish aviator Olle Dahlbeck came to Kristiania (now Oslo) to fly with his monoplane the Sommer F and his biplane the Bristol Boxkite for an enthusiastic Norwegian audience. He made several flights, among them the first flight in Norway with a female passenger. And Norway had another novelty: His monoplane Sommer F made its first flights in Norway! On 14 October 1910, the Swedish baron Carl Cederström made the first flight in Norway of a heavier-than-air craft. In 2010 this event was only marked with little attention. The big celebration will be...
Breakfast in Oslo, lunch in Bergen, dinner in Oslo!
1935-2010: 75-year jubileeBy: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no and www.hangar.no In June 2010, it was 75 years since the first flight between Oslo and Bergen was inaugurated by the newly formed airline Det Norske Luftfartselskap, Fred. Olsen & Bergenske AS - DNL. A look back at the organization and the first departure on a summer day in 1935. The entire distance between Oslo and Bergen was in 1935 650 km, when travelling along the coast. The Junkers Ju 52/3m-See, LN-DAE “Havørn” in Bergen. (Wilhelm Ingolf Furre, Bergen) It was Rudolf Olsen, who took the initiative to start up a national airline....
Norway Air Express
By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no A long wait In August 1919 the Dutch lieutenant Albert Plesman (founder of Royal Dutch KLM) met with the management of the Norwegian airline company Det Norske Luftfartrederi A/S - DNL and they discussed the possibility to establish an air service between the Netherlands and Norway in cooperation with the other IATA-members. Unfortunately, DNL went brook and until 1933 not much more happened. In the twenties of the last century the Norwegian Captain Wilhelm Meisterlin functioned as personal member of IATA representing Norway. Since 1927 the KLM discussed the possibilities with several Norwegian parties. [caption...
Mr Batts flies in Norway
By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no Behind this curious title lies the history of the American aviator Carl Truman Batts, who on behalf of the American Curtiss Company arrived in April 1919 in Bergen, Norway to fly one of the products of the Curtiss Company, the Curtiss MF Seagull, the post-war version of the successful Curtiss MF flying boat. Here is the story of his stay in Norway. During his stay in Norway he made numerous flights and visited cities like Tønsberg, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Kristiania and Hamar. The Norwegians, who referred to him as ”Mr Batts”, just loved him and...