Junkers G 38

The second Junkers G 38 b, D-APIS (earlier registered as D-2500), named, on 29 April 1933, Generalfeldmarschall von Hindenburg, flying as a passenger aircraft for Lufthansa. The photo was likely taken at Berlin Tempelhof airport; among the other Lufthansa passenger aircraft recognizable in the background are Junkers Ju 86 B D-AQER, Inselberg, Werknummer 0011, and several Heinkel He 111 fast passenger transports [Schnellverkehrsflugzeuge].

The windows of the G 38's unusual wing leading edge passenger cabins can easily be recognized. The aircraft is secured to the ground, and a canvas cover protects the cockpit windows.

G 38 D-APIS was later used as a Luftwaffe transport (then registered GF+GG) in Norway and Greece. It was destroyed on 17 May 1941, in Athens-Tatoi. Exact date photo was taken is currently unknown to me. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Heinkel He 70

The first prototype of the Heinkel He 70, the He 70a V1, Werknummer 403, D-2537 (formerly D-3 until June 1933; D-UHUX as of 1934), Blitz. The paint scheme is the typical pale gray DLH finish with black trim.

This aircraft was first flown in Warnemünde on December 1, 1932. It was then used for a number of international speed record flights and subsequently operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa for passenger flights until it was lost on November 3, 1934, at Carcasonne.

Photo taken at Berlin-Tempelhof airfield before its conversion; exact date currently unknown to me. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Focke-Wulf A 17

The prototype Focke-Wulf A 17 V1 Möwe [gull] passenger aircraft D-1149 Bremen, Werknummer 32, built in 1927. D-1149 was powered by a Gnome et Rhône 9A Jupiter engine and could carry eight passengers. It was operated by Norddeutsche LVG and also flew for Deutsche Lufthansa. The photo, unfortunately slightly out of focus, was taken at Borkum island in the North Sea, apparently in 1929.

The A 17's passenger cabin measured 3.5 meters in length, 1.5 meters in width, and 1.8 meters in height, and the design provided for four crank operated windows port and starboard. The eight forward-facing passenger seats had adjustable seat backs. The cabin was furnished with lights, curtains, luggage nets, coat hooks, hand holds, and a toilet in the rear. The entry door was located on the port side, and there was an escape hatch in the cabin ceiling. In addition to the passenger cabin, the A 17 also featured two dedicated luggage compartments. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

[Entry amended January 17, 2020.]

Udet U 11

The sole Udet U 11 Kondor [condor] Grossverkehrsflugzeug [large airliner], Werknummer 243, photographed in January 1926 at Oberschleissheim airfield north of Munich, with test pilot Harry Rother. The aircraft is still in pristine condition and devoid of any markings; it would later be assigned the fuselage code D-828. First flown by Rother on January 19, 1926, the U 11 was powered by four Siemens & Halske Sh 12 air-cooled radial engines with aerodynamic fairings, extended driveshafts (necessitated due to the pusher configuration), and two-blade propellers.

The U 11 was the largest aircraft produced by Udet Flugzeugbau, München-Ramersdorf, following an order by Deutscher Aero Loyd. As is beautifully illustrated by the photos, it was an open-cockpit design with side-by-side seating for the two pilots. The navigator's station was located in the very front of the aircraft, ahead of the pilots. The fuselage was constructed from Duralumin profiles and covered by Duralumin sheets. It could seat eight passengers and also contained a toilet and a luggage compartment.

The wings, featuring two main spars, were manufactured from wood, with fabric covering and a plywood-reinforced leading edge. The empennage consisted of Duralumin tubing and profiles, also covered with fabric. The landing gear was fitted with a then rather common rubber suspension system and 1100 by 220mm main wheels.

Rother's test flights revealed significant design shortcomings, and the aircraft's service career with Deutsche Lufthansa (successor to Deutscher Aero Loyd) was correspondingly brief. The U 11 subsequently crashed during the delivery flight to Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule [German air transport school]. The failure of the U 11 was among the reasons for the financial failure of Udet Flugzeugbau and its eventual acquisition by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW). At least one of the above photos appears to have been an official release by BFW, as it bears a company stamp on the rear.

Enlargements of sections of the second photo posted above reveal a number of interesting details (below).

[Entry amended January 20, 2020]

Dornier Merkur

Dornier Merkur (Do B-Bal) passenger aircraft D-562, Marder [Mustelidae], Werknummer 71, of Deutsche Luft Hansa. Aircraft was manufactured in 1925 and powered by a water-cooled BMW VI V-12 engine.

The aircraft's registration has been applied by means of the typical Dornier factory stencil, used from 1926 on. The application of aircraft registrations only became more standardized in accordance with the decrees of 1930 and thereafter.

D-562 was entered in the German aircraft registry in 1926. It was transferred to the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule [German air transport school] in June of 1934. It was destroyed in 1935. Location and exact date of photo unknown. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

[Entry amended January 28, 2020]

Cologne Airport, 1937, Part 4

Selected images of the newly rebuilt Cologne airport, originally published in Moderne Bauformen - Monatshefte für Architektur und Raumkunst [Modern Construction Design - Monthly Magazine For Architecture And Interior Art], volume XXXVI, issue no. 6, June 1937, Julius Hoffmann Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.

Top: parked aircraft inside the grosse Flugzeughalle [large aircraft hangar]. The aircraft in the centre is De Havilland D.H.86A (later D.H.86B), G-ADUG, operated by Imperial Airways.

The hangar was surrounded on the outside by an extension along three of its walls. This extension housed a variety of rooms used by Deutsche Lufthansa, such as workshops and storage facilities. Further rooms were used by the air traffic control.

Centre and bottom: enlargements of the main photo, showing Focke-Wulf A 47 D, D-IJTE, and, partially hidden behind a Lufthansa Heinkel He 70 and the Imperial Airways D.H.86 G-ADUG, an unidentified Junkers Ju 86.

Cologne Airport, 1937, Part 3

Selected images of the newly rebuilt Cologne airport, originally published in Moderne Bauformen - Monatshefte für Architektur und Raumkunst [Modern Construction Design - Monthly Magazine For Architecture And Interior Art], volume XXXVI, issue no. 6, June 1937, Julius Hoffmann Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.

Top: air traffic control tower and grosse Flugzeughalle [large aircraft hangar]. Enlargement of bottom right portion of image shows, once again, Junkers Ju 52/3m D-ANEN, Werknummer 5072, Fritz Puetter. The aircraft is in the process of being serviced, as evidenced by the open cowling of the starboard engine.





Top: front view of the large aircraft hangar and control tower. The building was shielded from the wind by the forward position of airport's main building. Subsurface refuelling stations were located in front of the hangar, underneath the apron.

Bottom: Enlargement of the bottom right corner of the above image reveals Junkers W 33 f D-OTAQ (originally D-2009), Werknummer 2580, Bosporus, operated by Deutsche Lufthansa. (Additional aircraft identity confirmation courtesy of the LEMB Stammkennzeichen Database Project)

Cologne Airport, 1937, Part 2

Selected images of the newly rebuilt Cologne airport, originally published in Moderne Bauformen - Monatshefte für Architektur und Raumkunst [Modern Construction Design - Monthly Magazine For Architecture And Interior Art], volume XXXVI, issue no. 6, June 1937, Julius Hoffmann Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.

Top: according to the original photo caption, these are "festive" passenger facilities in the main building. The two towers of the Kölner Dom [Cologne cathedral] were visible through the glass doors.

Centre: apron with air traffic control tower, grosse Flugzeughalle [large aircraft hangar], operations building, main building, and observation area. The entire assembly stretched across a distance of 400 m.

Bottom: enlargement of bottom left portion of the same image reveals Junkers Ju 52/3m D-ANEN, Werknummer 5072, Fritz Puetter, operated by Deutsche Lufthansa. Aircraft features aerodynamic fairings around its landing gear. (Additional aircraft identity confirmation courtesy of the LEMB Stammkennzeichen Database Project)

Cologne Airport, 1937, Part 1

Selected images of the newly rebuilt Cologne-Butzweilerhof airport in 1937. The complete transformation of the old, obsolete airport was the first construction project of the new National Socialist government in Cologne upon attaining power in 1933. The project was realized in close cooperation between the city of Cologne and Deutsche Lufthansa. The requirements of the Luftwaffe (then still in its clandestine formation stage) were taken into consideration as well.

After two years of research and planning, Professor H. Merten's design for the airport was ready for construction in early summer of 1935. The new airport was opened for operations on August 1, 1936, just before the commencement of the Games of the XI Olympad in Berlin.

These photos were originally part of an 8-page feature titled Der neue Kölner Verkehrsflughafen [Cologne's New Civil Aviation Airport], published in the architectural trade journal Moderne Bauformen - Monatshefte für Architektur und Raumkunst [Modern Construction Design - Monthly Magazine For Architecture And Interior Art], volume XXXVI, issue no. 6, June 1937, Julius Hoffmann Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.

Top photo shows the magazine's cover, featuring the main portal of the new airport. The massive eagle sculpture was designed by local Cologne artist Willi Meller and made from basaltic lava.

Centre photo shows the airport's main building as seen from the direction of the city. The building contained all passenger facilities as well as the airport's administration.

Lower photo shows the observation area and the patio of the airport restaurant on the south-western airside of the main building. This area was designed specifically to host a large amount of spectators during aviation events.

Dornier Delphin III

The BMW VI-engined Dornier Delphin III (Do L Bas) flying boat D-UBIF, Konstanz, Werknummer 152. The boarding pier for crew and passengers can be seen behind the fuselage. This aircraft was built at Dornier's facilities in Altenrhein, on the Swiss side of Lake Constance, and at one point in its existence also displayed the Swiss registration CH-178.

According to the inscriptions on the back of these photos, they were taken at the Lake Constance shore promenade in Konstanz, Germany, in 1936 (top photo) and in 1935 (lower photo). (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

[Entry amended February 2, 2020]

Heinkel He 111

Heinkel He 111 C-4, D-ABYE, "Königsberg", Werknummer 1831, operated by Deutsche Lufthansa (later transferred to the Luftwaffe). Location unknown. Photo was originally featured in Transaer 1937 - Handbuch des internationalen Luftverkehrs [Handbook Of International Air Transport], edited by Fischer von Poturzyn, Dr. Heinz Orlovius, and August Dresel, 538 pages, published as an edition of 2000 copies, by Richard Pflaum Verlag, Munich, Germany, 1937. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Heinkel He 70

Heinkel He 70 D, D-UBIN, Falke, Werknummer 709, operated by Deutsche Lufthansa, photographed approximately 1936. Photo was originally featured in Transaer 1937 - Handbuch des internationalen Luftverkehrs [Handbook Of International Air Transport], edited by Fischer von Poturzyn, Dr. Heinz Orlovius, and August Dresel, 538 pages, published as an edition of 2000 copies, by Richard Pflaum Verlag, Munich, Germany, 1937. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Junkers Ju 160

Top: Luftwaffe-operated Junkers Ju 160, WL+UJAF, Werknummer 4242, date and location unknown. A glimpse at the background reveals at least one Messerschmitt Bf 110, several Messerschmitt Bf 109s, and at least one Heinkel He 111. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Bottom: Junkers Ju 160, D-UGAZ, Iltis, Werknummer 4214, of the Deutsche Lufthansa, date and location unknown. On the left, behind the aircraft, mobile boarding stairs. This aircraft was built in 1935 and withdrawn from airline service in 1941. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

[Entry amended November 30, 2014, and January 18, 2020.]