Deutsche Luft Hansa
Encyclopedia
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.
(from 1933 styled as Deutsche Lufthansa, often shortened to Luft Hansa respectively Lufthansa and abbreviated DLH) was a German
airline, serving as flag carrier
of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic
and throughout the Third Reich.
Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin
. The name of the company was a composite of "Deutsche Luft" ("German Air" in German), and "Hansa" (after the Hanseatic League
, a powerful medieval trading group). The airline was created by a merger between Deutscher Aero Lloyd (an airline formed in 1923 as a co-operation between the shipping companies Norddeutscher Lloyd
and Hamburg America Line
) and Junkers Luftverkehr, the in-house airline of Junkers
. This action was taken due to an initiative of the German government which hoped to reduce the amount of financial support it provided to the two partly state-owned airlines, which were both plagued by heavy debts at that time.
The foundation of the airline coincided with the lifting of the restrictions of commercial air operations that had been imposed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles
. This allowed the route network to be quickly expanded to cover the major European cities. The initial fleet consisted of 162 aircraft, nearly all of them outdated World War I
types, and the company had 1,527 staff. The most important airfield for DLH was Berlin Tempelhof. From there a Fokker F.II
took off on 6 April 1926 for the first schededuled flight to Zürich
via Halle
, Erfurt
and Stuttgart
. In the same year, Deutsche Luft Hansa acquired a stake in Deruluft
, a joint German-Soviet
airline, and launched non-stop flights from Berlin to Moscow
, which was then regarded as an exceptionally long distance. Shortly after that flights to Paris
were commenced. Deutsche Luft Hansa was one of the first airlines to operate night flights, the first of which connected Berlin with Königsberg
using Junkers G 24
aircraft. This route proved so successful that the night train
connection was discontinued some years later.
During its first year, the airline operated more than 6 million flight kilometres, transporting a total of 56,268 passengers and 560 tons of freight and post.
Over the following years, the domestic network grew to cover all the important cities and towns of Germany. More international routes were added through co-operation agreements. With the newly founded Iberia in Spain
its the longest scheduled route was 2,100 kilometres from Berlin to Madrid
(though with several stopovers). The establishment of Syndicato Condor
in Brazil
served the airline's interests in South America where there were important German minorities at that time.
The first East-West crossing of the Atlantic Ocean (from Baldonnel Aerodrome
in Ireland
to Greenly Island, Canada
) was made by the Luft Hansa pilots Hermann Köhl
and Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld
and the Irish pilot James Fitzmaurice
using the Junkers W 33
aircraft Bremen
in April 1928. The airline launched scheduled multi-leg flights to Tokyo
. A Heinkel HE 12
aircraft was launched (by catapult
) off the NDL liner Bremen
during her maiden voyage crossing the Atlantic in 1929, shortening the mail delivery time between Europe and North America.
, Deutsche Luft Hansa further expanded its international route network in South America, and launched scheduled flights from Germany to the Middle East. Politically, the company leaders were linked to the rising Nazi Party; an aircraft was made available to Adolf Hitler
for his campaign for the 1932 presidential election
free of any charge. Erhard Milch
, who had served as head of the airline since 1926, became a high-ranking official at the Aviation Ministry when Hitler came to power in 1933.
A key interest of Deutsche Luft Hansa at that time was the reduction of mail delivery times. In 1930, the Eurasia Corporation was established as a joint-venture with the Chinese
transport ministry, granting Luft Hansa a monopoly position for mail transport between Germany and China, as well as access to the Chinese market. To this end, the Shanghai
-Nanjing
-Beijing
route was launched in the following year using Junkers W 34 specially deployed there. A record was set in 1930 when the mail route from Vienna
to Istanbul
(with stopovers in Budapest
, Belgrad and Sofia
) was completed in only 24 hours. By comparison, the first transatlantic passenger flight by the airline (from Warnemünde
to New York City
using a Dornier Wal
flying boat
) took roughly one week.
After several years of testing, the first scheduled postal route between Europe and South America was inaugurated in 1934. For this purpose, catapult-launched Wal flying boats were used. These were replaced by the Dornier Do 18
in 1936 making operations in non-visual conditions possible. The European network saw the introduction of the Junkers G.38
(at that time the largest passenger aircraft in the world) on the Berlin-London
route via Amsterdam
, as well as the Junkers Ju 52/3m and Heinkel He 70
, which allowed for faster air travel. This was promoted by so called "Blitz
Services" (German: Blitzstrecken) between Berlin
, Hamburg
, Cologne
and Frankfurt
. In 1935, the first aircraft not manufactured in Germany were introduced into the Luft Hansa fleet: two Boeing 247
s and one Douglas DC-2
.
The grip on the domestic South American markets was further tightened in 1937, when the Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aereos and Lufthansa Perú were founded as Luft Hansa co-operations in Ecuador
and Peru
respectively, operating Junkers W 34 aircraft. The Middle Eastern network was expanded with the launch of the Berlin-Baghdad
-Tehran
route in the same year. In 1938 the Focke-Wulf Fw 200
long range aircraft was introduced making it possible to fly non-stop between Berlin and New York and from Berlin to Tokyo with only one intermediate stopover. This last year prior to the outbreak of World War II
turned out to be the most successful one in the history of the airline, with 19.3 million flight kilometres on the scheduled European routes and a total of 254,713 passengers and 5,288 tons of mail transported.
On 1 April 1939, Deutsche Luft Hansa launched scheduled transatlantic flights between Port Natal
, South Africa and Santiago de Chile using Fw 200 aircraft, a route which had previously been operated by Syndicato Condor. With Bangkok
, Hanoi
and Taipeh, further Asian destinations were added to the route network.
During the 1930s, Luft Hansa aircraft had also been deployed on a number of experimental and survey missions, most notably for developing the best airborne crossing of the South Atlantic, and during the Third German Antarctica Expedition in 1938-39, when two Dornier Wal aircraft performed a photographic survey of 350,000 square kilometres, an area which became known as New Swabia
.
, along with most staff as well as maintenance and production facilities. There were still scheduled passenger flights within Germany and to occupied or neutral countries, but bookings were restricted and served the demands of the warfare. During the later years of the war, most passenger aircraft were converted to military freighters.
The Luft Hansa co-operations in foreign countries were gradually dismantled: Deruluft ceased to exist in March 1940, and by November of that year, the Eurasia Corporation had to be shut down following an intervention by the Chinese government. Syndicato Condor was nationalized and renamed Cruzeiro do Sul
in 1943, in an attempt to erase its German roots.
The last scheduled flight of Deutsche Luft Hansa from Berlin to Munich
took place on 21 April 1945, but the aircraft crashed shortly before the planned arrival. Another (non-scheduled) flight was performed the next day, from Berlin to Warnemünde
, which marked the end of flight operations. Following the surrender of Germany and the ensuing Allied occupation of Germany, all aircraft in the country were seized and Deutsche Luft Hansa was dissolved. The remaining assets were liquidated on 1 January 1951.
, today's German flag carrier
, acquired the name and logo of the 1926-1945 airline upon its foundation in 1953 and considers the former airline to be part of its history, even though there is no legal link between the two companies. Between 1955 and 1963, the newly-founded East German national airline operated under the same name but, having lost a lawsuit with the West German company, it was renamed Interflug
.
in 1939, Deutsche Luft Hansa built up an extensive network centred on its base at Berlin Tempelhof Airport covering many German cities and towns , as well as the major European cities. There were early interline agreements which granted Luft Hansa passengers access to the flight network of leading European airlines of that time and vice versa. The agreements were with air lines including Aerotransport, Ad Astra Aero
, Adria Aerolloyd, Aero Oy
, Air Union
, Balair
, CIDNA
, CSA
, DDL
, Imperial Airways
, KLM, Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère
, LOT
, ÖLAG, Malert
, SABENA
, SANA
, SGTA, and Ukrvozdukhput
, as well as Syndicato Condor
from Brazil
and SCADTA
from Colombia
.
During that period, the following European destinations saw scheduled passenger flights:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Soviet Union
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
Yugoslavia
-affiliated countries. These routes deteriorated during the war as Germany came closer to defeat.
As of 1940/41, the following destinations were served. At that time, interline agreements were in force with Iberia, Aeroflot
, Malert
, LARES (Romania), Aero Oy
(Finland, DDL
(occupied Denmark)
, ABA (Sweden), and CSA
(occupied Czechoslovakia
).
Bulgaria
Denmark
German Reich
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Norway
Romania
Portugal
Soviet Union
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Yugoslavia
Additionally, there were scheduled sea plane flights along the Norwegian
coast (from Trondheim
to Kirkenes
), which was then part of the Atlantic Wall
.
Over the years of its existence, Deutsche Luft Hansa operated the following aircraft types:
Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
(from 1933 styled as Deutsche Lufthansa, often shortened to Luft Hansa respectively Lufthansa and abbreviated DLH) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
airline, serving as flag carrier
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and throughout the Third Reich.
1920s
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The name of the company was a composite of "Deutsche Luft" ("German Air" in German), and "Hansa" (after the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
, a powerful medieval trading group). The airline was created by a merger between Deutscher Aero Lloyd (an airline formed in 1923 as a co-operation between the shipping companies Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutsche Lloyd was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on February 20, 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic...
and Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
) and Junkers Luftverkehr, the in-house airline of Junkers
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
. This action was taken due to an initiative of the German government which hoped to reduce the amount of financial support it provided to the two partly state-owned airlines, which were both plagued by heavy debts at that time.
The foundation of the airline coincided with the lifting of the restrictions of commercial air operations that had been imposed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. This allowed the route network to be quickly expanded to cover the major European cities. The initial fleet consisted of 162 aircraft, nearly all of them outdated World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
types, and the company had 1,527 staff. The most important airfield for DLH was Berlin Tempelhof. From there a Fokker F.II
Fokker F.II
|-References:*Anderson, J.D. A History of Aerodynamics . Cambridge University Press. ISBN 1521 66955 3*de Leeuw, R. Fokker Commercial Aircraft . Fokker Publications...
took off on 6 April 1926 for the first schededuled flight to Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
via Halle
Halle
Halle is a noun that means hall in the German language. It may also refer to:-In Germany:* Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, official name Halle , also called Halle or Halle an der Saale...
, Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. In the same year, Deutsche Luft Hansa acquired a stake in Deruluft
Deruluft
Deruluft was a joint Soviet-German airline, established on 24 November 1921. Deruluft opened its first service to Moscow from Königsberg on 1 May 1922...
, a joint German-Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
airline, and launched non-stop flights from Berlin to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, which was then regarded as an exceptionally long distance. Shortly after that flights to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
were commenced. Deutsche Luft Hansa was one of the first airlines to operate night flights, the first of which connected Berlin with Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
using Junkers G 24
Junkers G 24
The Junkers G 24 was a German three-engine, all-metal low-wing monoplane passenger aircraft manufactured by Junkers from 1925. Junkers F 24 was the designation for single-engine versions of the same aircraft.-Design and development:...
aircraft. This route proved so successful that the night train
Night Train
Night Train or Nightrain may refer to:*Night train, a train that runs at night, see sleeping car.-Music:*Night Train , an Australian rock bandAlbums*Night Train , an album by the Oscar Peterson Trio...
connection was discontinued some years later.
During its first year, the airline operated more than 6 million flight kilometres, transporting a total of 56,268 passengers and 560 tons of freight and post.
Over the following years, the domestic network grew to cover all the important cities and towns of Germany. More international routes were added through co-operation agreements. With the newly founded Iberia in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
its the longest scheduled route was 2,100 kilometres from Berlin to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
(though with several stopovers). The establishment of Syndicato Condor
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul, was the second oldest airline of Brazil, tracing its origins to 1927, when it was founded as Syndicato Condor, a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa. Syndicato Condor retained rights and interests of a former German trade company, Condor Syndikat, which previously...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
served the airline's interests in South America where there were important German minorities at that time.
The first East-West crossing of the Atlantic Ocean (from Baldonnel Aerodrome
Casement Aerodrome
Casement Aerodrome or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a military airbase to the south west of Dublin, Ireland situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole base of the Irish Air Corps, and is also used for other government purposes...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Greenly Island, Canada
Greenly Island, Canada
Greenly Island is an island in Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, Canada, near the border of Newfoundland and Labrador, in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the southwestern end of Strait of Belle Isle. The rocky surface of Greenly Island has a thin cover of herbaceous vegetation...
) was made by the Luft Hansa pilots Hermann Köhl
Hermann Köhl
Hermann Köhl was a German Aviation pioneer and pilot of the first trans-atlantic flight in the East-West direction....
and Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld
Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld
Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld was a German aviation pioneer and initiator of the first trans-atlantic flight in East-West direction....
and the Irish pilot James Fitzmaurice
James Fitzmaurice (pilot)
James Fitzmaurice DFC was an Irish aviation pioneer. He was a member of the crew of the Bremen, which made the first successful Trans-Atlantic aircraft flight from East to West on 12–13 April 1928.-Early life:...
using the Junkers W 33
Junkers W 33
The Junkers W 33 was a German-built singled-engine transport aircraft. It was aerodynamically and structurally advanced for its time , a clean, low-wing all metal cantilever monoplane. Almost 200 were produced...
aircraft Bremen
Bremen (aircraft)
The Bremen is a German Junkers W33 type aircraft that made the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west between April 12 and April 14, 1928....
in April 1928. The airline launched scheduled multi-leg flights to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. A Heinkel HE 12
Heinkel HE 12
-External links:* Air Classics, Mar 2002 by Cook, John C* photo of Heinkel 12 on Bremen catapult* Popular Mechanics, September 1930...
aircraft was launched (by catapult
Aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...
) off the NDL liner Bremen
SS Bremen (1929)
The SS Bremen was a German-built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd line to work the transatlantic sea route. The Bremen was notable for her bulbous bow construction, high-speed engines, and low, streamlined profile. At the time of her construction, she and her sister ship were...
during her maiden voyage crossing the Atlantic in 1929, shortening the mail delivery time between Europe and North America.
1930s
Even though the early years of the decade saw a difficult financial situation due to the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Deutsche Luft Hansa further expanded its international route network in South America, and launched scheduled flights from Germany to the Middle East. Politically, the company leaders were linked to the rising Nazi Party; an aircraft was made available to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
for his campaign for the 1932 presidential election
German presidential election, 1932
The presidential election of 1932 was the second and final direct election to the office of President of the Reich , Germany's head of state during the 1919-1934 Weimar Republic. The incumbent President, Paul von Hindenburg, had been elected in 1925 but his seven year term expired in May...
free of any charge. Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch was a German Field Marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa...
, who had served as head of the airline since 1926, became a high-ranking official at the Aviation Ministry when Hitler came to power in 1933.
A key interest of Deutsche Luft Hansa at that time was the reduction of mail delivery times. In 1930, the Eurasia Corporation was established as a joint-venture with the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
transport ministry, granting Luft Hansa a monopoly position for mail transport between Germany and China, as well as access to the Chinese market. To this end, the Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
-Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
-Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
route was launched in the following year using Junkers W 34 specially deployed there. A record was set in 1930 when the mail route from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(with stopovers in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Belgrad and Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
) was completed in only 24 hours. By comparison, the first transatlantic passenger flight by the airline (from Warnemünde
Warnemünde
Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...
to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
using a Dornier Wal
Dornier Do J
The Dornier Do J Wal was a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry under its aircraft designation system of 1933....
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
) took roughly one week.
After several years of testing, the first scheduled postal route between Europe and South America was inaugurated in 1934. For this purpose, catapult-launched Wal flying boats were used. These were replaced by the Dornier Do 18
Dornier Do 18
The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the Luftwaffe, but Lufthansa got 5 aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and on their mail route over the South Atlantic from 1937 to 1939.27–29 March 1938 a...
in 1936 making operations in non-visual conditions possible. The European network saw the introduction of the Junkers G.38
Junkers G.38
-Bibliography:* junkers.de * junkers.de - External links :* * Popular Mechanics, February 1930* article includes photo and cutaway drawing* cutaway drawing of G.38 better than 1931 article...
(at that time the largest passenger aircraft in the world) on the Berlin-London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
route via Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, as well as the Junkers Ju 52/3m and Heinkel He 70
Heinkel He 70
The Heinkel He 70 was a German mail plane and fast passenger aircraft of the 1930s, that also saw use in auxiliary bomber and reconnaissance roles. It had a relatively brief commercial career before it was replaced by types which could carry more passengers...
, which allowed for faster air travel. This was promoted by so called "Blitz
Blitz
-Armed conflict:*The Blitz, the German aerial attacks on Britain in WWII. The name Blitz was subsequently applied to many individual bombing campaigns or attacks.*Blitzkrieg, the "lightning war", a strategy of World War 2 Germany-People:...
Services" (German: Blitzstrecken) between Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. In 1935, the first aircraft not manufactured in Germany were introduced into the Luft Hansa fleet: two Boeing 247
Boeing 247
The Boeing Model 247 was an early United States airliner, considered the first such aircraft to fully incorporate advances such as all-metal semi-monocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing and retractable landing gear...
s and one Douglas DC-2
Douglas DC-2
The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247...
.
The grip on the domestic South American markets was further tightened in 1937, when the Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aereos and Lufthansa Perú were founded as Luft Hansa co-operations in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
respectively, operating Junkers W 34 aircraft. The Middle Eastern network was expanded with the launch of the Berlin-Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
-Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
route in the same year. In 1938 the Focke-Wulf Fw 200
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
long range aircraft was introduced making it possible to fly non-stop between Berlin and New York and from Berlin to Tokyo with only one intermediate stopover. This last year prior to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
turned out to be the most successful one in the history of the airline, with 19.3 million flight kilometres on the scheduled European routes and a total of 254,713 passengers and 5,288 tons of mail transported.
On 1 April 1939, Deutsche Luft Hansa launched scheduled transatlantic flights between Port Natal
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, South Africa and Santiago de Chile using Fw 200 aircraft, a route which had previously been operated by Syndicato Condor. With Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
and Taipeh, further Asian destinations were added to the route network.
During the 1930s, Luft Hansa aircraft had also been deployed on a number of experimental and survey missions, most notably for developing the best airborne crossing of the South Atlantic, and during the Third German Antarctica Expedition in 1938-39, when two Dornier Wal aircraft performed a photographic survey of 350,000 square kilometres, an area which became known as New Swabia
New Swabia
New Swabia is a cartographic name sometimes given to an area of Antarctica between 20°E and 10°W in Queen Maud Land, which within Norway is administered as a Norwegian dependent territory under the Antarctic Treaty System...
.
During World War II
With the outbreak of the war on 1 September 1939 all civilian flight operation of Luft Hansa came to an end, and the aircraft fleet came under command of the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, along with most staff as well as maintenance and production facilities. There were still scheduled passenger flights within Germany and to occupied or neutral countries, but bookings were restricted and served the demands of the warfare. During the later years of the war, most passenger aircraft were converted to military freighters.
The Luft Hansa co-operations in foreign countries were gradually dismantled: Deruluft ceased to exist in March 1940, and by November of that year, the Eurasia Corporation had to be shut down following an intervention by the Chinese government. Syndicato Condor was nationalized and renamed Cruzeiro do Sul
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul, was the second oldest airline of Brazil, tracing its origins to 1927, when it was founded as Syndicato Condor, a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa. Syndicato Condor retained rights and interests of a former German trade company, Condor Syndikat, which previously...
in 1943, in an attempt to erase its German roots.
The last scheduled flight of Deutsche Luft Hansa from Berlin to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
took place on 21 April 1945, but the aircraft crashed shortly before the planned arrival. Another (non-scheduled) flight was performed the next day, from Berlin to Warnemünde
Warnemünde
Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...
, which marked the end of flight operations. Following the surrender of Germany and the ensuing Allied occupation of Germany, all aircraft in the country were seized and Deutsche Luft Hansa was dissolved. The remaining assets were liquidated on 1 January 1951.
Legacy
LufthansaLufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
, today's German flag carrier
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
, acquired the name and logo of the 1926-1945 airline upon its foundation in 1953 and considers the former airline to be part of its history, even though there is no legal link between the two companies. Between 1955 and 1963, the newly-founded East German national airline operated under the same name but, having lost a lawsuit with the West German company, it was renamed Interflug
Interflug
Interflug was the state airline of East Germany from 1963 to 1991, when it ceased operations following German reunification...
.
European passenger flights
From 1926 until the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, Deutsche Luft Hansa built up an extensive network centred on its base at Berlin Tempelhof Airport covering many German cities and towns , as well as the major European cities. There were early interline agreements which granted Luft Hansa passengers access to the flight network of leading European airlines of that time and vice versa. The agreements were with air lines including Aerotransport, Ad Astra Aero
Ad Astra Aero
Ad Astra Aero was a Swiss airline.-Time of the pioneers:Initiated by Oskar Bider and Fritz Rihner, in July 1919 the «Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Lufttourismus» was established in Zürich...
, Adria Aerolloyd, Aero Oy
Finnair
Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest...
, Air Union
Air Union
Air Union was a French airline established 1 January 1923 as the result of a merger between the airlines Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes and Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens...
, Balair
Balair
Balair was a Swiss airline that became BalairCTA when it merged with CTA/Compagnie de Transport Aerien in 1993. Balair had its headquarters in Basel.-Company history:...
, CIDNA
CIDNA
CFRNA , later CIDNA CFRNA ("The French-Romanian Company for Air Transport"; Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne in French; Compania franceză - română pentru navigaţia aeriană in Romanian), later CIDNA CFRNA ("The French-Romanian Company for Air Transport"; Compagnie franco-roumaine de...
, CSA
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines j.s.c. , trading as Czech Airlines , is the national airline of the Czech Republic and temporary in Slovakia with its head office on the grounds of Ruzyně Airport in Ruzyně, Prague...
, DDL
Det Danske Luftfartselskab
Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S, or DDL, was Denmark's flag carrier airline since 1918, and is the oldest airline still in existence...
, Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
, KLM, Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère
Aéropostale (aviation)
Aéropostale was a pioneering aviation company. It was founded in 1918 in Toulouse, France, as Société des lignes Latécoère, also known as Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère or simply "The Line" .- History :Aéropostale founder Pierre-Georges Latécoère envisioned an air route connecting France to the...
, LOT
LOT Polish Airlines
Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. , trading as LOT Polish Airlines, is the flag carrier of Poland. Based in Warsaw, LOT was established in 1929, making it one of the world's oldest airlines still in operation. Using a fleet of 55 aircraft, LOT operates a complex network to 60 destinations in Europe,...
, ÖLAG, Malert
Malert
Malert was a Hungarian airline, founded on November 19, 1922. The airline folded in 1944, and was a fore-runner of MALÉV Hungarian Airlines....
, SABENA
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
, SANA
Societa Anonima Navigazione Aerea
Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea was an Italian airline established 1925 in Genoa, concentrating on flying boat routes in the western Mediterranean area.The initial route, Genoa, Rome, Naples, Palermo was started on April 7, 1926...
, SGTA, and Ukrvozdukhput
Ukrvozdukhput
Ukrvozdukhput was an airline based in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR during the interbellum. It operated scheduled domestic services.-History:...
, as well as Syndicato Condor
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul, was the second oldest airline of Brazil, tracing its origins to 1927, when it was founded as Syndicato Condor, a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa. Syndicato Condor retained rights and interests of a former German trade company, Condor Syndikat, which previously...
from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and SCADTA
SCADTA
The Colombian-German Air Transport Society , or SCADTA, was the world's second airline, and the first airline of the American continent, operating from 1919 until World War II. After the war, SCADTA merged with Colombian regional carrier Colombian Air Service , or SACO. Together, SCADTA and SACO...
from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
During that period, the following European destinations saw scheduled passenger flights:
Austria
- GrazGrazThe more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
- Thalerhof AirportGraz AirportGraz Airport , also known as Thalerhof, serves Graz, Austria. It is located in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf, south of Graz city centre.-Transportation:... - InnsbruckInnsbruck- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
- Reichenau Airport - KlagenfurtKlagenfurt-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
- Annabichl AirportKlagenfurt AirportKlagenfurt Airport is a small international airport in the state of Carinthia, Austria. It is located in the borough of Annabichl, only north northeast from the city centre of Klagenfurt. The airport is accessible by shuttle bus or city bus from Klagenfurt central station.- History :In 1905,... - SalzburgSalzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
- Maxglan AirportSalzburg AirportSalzburg Airport or W. A. Mozart Airport is the second largest airport in Austria.Salzburg Airport presents itself as a modern regional airport, which creates jobs and plays an ever increasing role as a strong investor in the economy and the tourist industry... - ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
- Aspern AirportAspernAspern is part of Donaustadt, the 22nd district of Vienna.In 1904, the formerly independent village was incorporated into Vienna as part of the 21st district, Floridsdorf. Only in 1946 did it become part of the newly created 22nd district, Donaustadt. The area is known because of the Battle of...
Belgium
- BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
- Haren AirportHaren, BelgiumHaren is an old municipality of Brussels in Belgium, that was merged into the municipality of the City of Brussels in 1921...
Bulgaria
- SofiaSofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
- Bozhurishte AirportBozhurishteBozhurishte is a town in western Bulgaria. It is the administrative center of Bozhurishte Municipality in Sofia Province; close to Kostinbrod and the capital Sofia. The old airport of Sofia, now a military one, is near the town. Bozhurishte was first mentioned in 1750...
Czechoslovakia
- BratislavaBratislavaBratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
- Vajnory AirportVajnoryVajnory is a small borough in the northeast of Bratislava, Slovakia.Milan Rastislav Štefánik international airport is located near Vajnory. Another airport - Vajnory Airport, which was the first airport in Slovakia - closed in 2006.-History:... - KarlsbadKarlovy VaryKarlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
- Espenthor Airport - MarienbadMariánské LázneMariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
- Sklare Airport - PiešťanyPieštanyPiešťany is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its own district. It is the biggest and best known spa town in Slovakia and has around 30,000 inhabitants.-History:...
- PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
- Kbely AirportPrague Aviation Museum, KbelyPrague Aviation Museum, Kbely is a major aviation museum located at Prague's original airport at Kbely, north-east of the town centre near Route 10 .-History of Kbely Airfield:...
Denmark
- CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
- Kastrup AirportCopenhagen AirportCopenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...
Estonia
- TallinnTallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
- Ülemiste Airport
Finland
- HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
- Malmi AirportHelsinki-Malmi AirportHelsinki-Malmi Airport is an airport in the city of Helsinki, Finland, located in the district of Malmi, north north-east of the city centre. Until the opening of the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in 1952 it was the main airport of Helsinki and all Finland. Today, the airport is still actively used in...
France
- MarseilleMarseilleMarseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
- Mariagnane AirportMarseille Provence AirportMarseille Provence Airport or Aéroport de Marseille Provence is an airport located 27 km northwest of Marseille, on the territory of Marignane, both communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région of France... - ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Le Bourget AirportParis – Le Bourget AirportParis – Le Bourget Airport is an airport located in Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, and Dugny, north-northeast of Paris, France. It is now used only for general aviation as well as air shows... - ToulouseToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
Germany
- AachenAachenAachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
- Baden-BadenBaden-BadenBaden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
- Baden-Oos Airport - BorkumBorkumBorkum is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany.-Geography:Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait , to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea, and to the south by the Wadden Sea...
- BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- Berlin Tempelhof Airport (main hub) - BraunschweigBraunschweigBraunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
- BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
- Neuenland AirportBremen AirportBremen Airport or Flughafen Bremen serves the German city of Bremen and is located south of the city. There were 2.4 million passengers in 2008.-History:The beginnings of the airport date back to the early 20th century... - BremerhavenBremerhavenBremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
- Breslau - Gandau Airport
- ChemnitzChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
- CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
- Butzweilerhof AirportCologne Butzweilerhof AirportThe Butzweilerhof is the former civil airport of Cologne. It was established as a training airfield in 1912 and saw airline service from 1922 until the 1950s. It was replaced by the Cologne Bonn Airport...
(secondary hub) - CottbusCottbusCottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
- DanzigGdanskGdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
- Langfuhr Airport - DarmstadtDarmstadtDarmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
- DessauDessauDessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
- DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
- Brackel Airport - DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
- Klotzsche Airport - DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
- Düsseldorf AirportDüsseldorf International AirportDüsseldorf International Airport is the largest airport in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the third largest airport in Germany, handling 18.99 million passengers in 2010.... - ErfurtErfurtErfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
- EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
/MülheimMülheimMülheim an der Ruhr, also called "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen...
- Mülheim Airport - FlensburgFlensburgFlensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
- Schäferhaus Airport
- FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
- Rhein-Main AirportFrankfurt AirportFrankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
(secondary hub) - Freiburg
- FriedrichshafenFriedrichshafenThis article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...
- Löwental Airport - GeraGeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
- GleiwitzGliwiceGliwice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
- GörlitzGörlitzGörlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
- GoslarGoslarGoslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...
- HalleHalleHalle is a noun that means hall in the German language. It may also refer to:-In Germany:* Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, official name Halle , also called Halle or Halle an der Saale...
/LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
- Schkeuditz AirportLeipzig/Halle AirportLeipzig/Halle Airport, sometimes called Schkeuditz Airport , is located in Schkeuditz, Saxony and serves both Leipzig, Saxony and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.It has more than two million passengers per year....
(secondary hub) - HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
- Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel AirportHamburg AirportHamburg Airport , also known as Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport , is an international airport serving Hamburg, Germany.It originally covered . Since then, the site has grown more than tenfold to . The main apron covers . The airport is north of the centre of the city of Hamburg in the Fuhlsbüttel...
(secondary hub) - HanoverHanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
- Vahrenwalder Heide Airport - HiddenseeHiddenseeHiddensee is a carfree island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Rügen on the German coast.The island, located 54°33' north longitude 13°07' east, has about 1,300 inhabitants. It was a popular vacation destination for East German tourists during German Democratic Republic times and continues to...
- HirschbergJelenia Góra----Jelenia Góra is a city in Lower Silesia, south-western Poland. The name of the city means "deer mountain" in Polish, Czech and German. It is close to the Krkonoše mountain range running along the Polish-Czech border – ski resorts such as Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba can be found...
- Hartau Airport - KarlsruheKarlsruheThe City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
- KielKielKiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
- Holtenau Airport - KrakówKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
- KrefeldKrefeldKrefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
- KönigsbergKönigsbergKönigsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
- Devau AirportKaliningrad Devau AirportKaliningrad Devau Airport is located 5 km northeast of Kaliningrad. Today it is a small general aviation airfield and is also used for sports aviation. There are Antonov An-2 aircraft parked on the site.... - KonstanzKonstanzKonstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
- KrefeldKrefeldKrefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
- LangeoogLangeoogLangeoog is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea, located between Baltrum Island , and Spiekeroog . It is also a municipality in the district of Wittmund in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Langeoog means Long Island in...
- LübeckLübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
/TravemündeTravemündeTravemünde is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the Danes subsequently strengthened it. It became a town in 1317 and in... - MagdeburgMagdeburgMagdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
- MannheimMannheimMannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
- Neuostheim AirportMannheim City AirportMannheim City Airport serves Mannheim, Germany. It is operated and administrated by Rhein-Neckar Flugplatz GmbH.-Location:... - MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
- Oberwiesenfeld Airport (secondary hub) - NorderneyNorderneyNorderney is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is also a municipality in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony....
- NurembergNurembergNuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
/FürthFürthThe city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
- Fürth Airport - OsnabrückOsnabrückOsnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
/MünsterMünsterMünster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland... - PlauenPlauenPlauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
- Hof-Plauen AirportHof-Plauen AirportHof-Plauen Airport is an airport serving Hof, a city in the German state of Bavaria. The airport is located southwest of Hof.- Facilities :... - PosenPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
- Lawica Airport - SaarbrückenSaarbrückenSaarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
- St. Arnual Airport - StettinSzczecinSzczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
- Am Dammschen See Airport - Stolp
- StralsundStralsund- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
- StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
- Böblingen AirportBöblingen airportBöblingen Airport was built in the mid-1920s for the city of Stuttgart in Germany. Bordered by Calwer Straße and the E41, it lies northwest of Böblingen and south of the Daimler factory in Sindelfingen. An aircraft industry developed around this airfield, which was used by the military during... - SwinemündeSwinoujscieŚwinoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
- TilsitSovetsk, Kaliningrad OblastSovetsk , known by its historical German name of Tilsit in East Prussia before 1946, is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River. Population: -History of Tilsit:...
- WangeroogeWangeroogeWangerooge is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea located close to the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It is also a municipality in the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony in Germany.Wangerooge is one of the East Frisian Islands...
- WernigerodeWernigerodeWernigerode is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,500 in 1999....
- Westerland - Westerland AirportSylt AirportSylt Airport is the airport on the island of Sylt and in the municipality of Sylt, Germany.-Airlines and destinations:- External links :*...
- WykWykWyk is a village in Poland.Wyk or WYK may also refer to:* Wyk auf Föhr, the largest town on the German island of Föhr, Schleswig-Holstein* Wah Yan College, Kowloon, a boys-only Roman Catholic secondary school in Hong Kong...
- ZwickauZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
Greece
- AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
- Dekelea AirportTatoi AirportTatoi Airport is an airport located north of Athens, in Decelea. It started operating in 1918 and now it has a single runway of 1764m . The airport is used by the Hellenic Air Force and is the base of Dekeleia Aeroclub. It has also been usen used from many other aeroclubs of Attica... - ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
- Sedes AirportSedes AirportSedes Airport is a military airport 15 km east of Thessaloniki, Greece, and 3 km northwest of Thessaloniki's Makedonia International Airport. Sedes airport started operating during the Balkan Wars and has since been exclusively used by the Hellenic Air Force. Nowadays it also houses an aviation...
Hungary
- BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
- Budaörs Airport
Italy
- Bolzano
- MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
- Taliedo AirportTaliedoTaliedo is a peripheral district of the city Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 4 administrative division, located south-east of the city centre... - RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- Littorio Airport - TrentoTrentoTrento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
- Gardolo Airport - VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
- San Nicolò Airport
Latvia
- RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
- Spilve AirportSpilve AirportSpilve Airport is a former civilian and military airport in Latvia located 5 km north of the Riga city centre, from which aircraft took off as early as the First World War. It became the first international airport of Riga in the 1930s and fell into disuse in 1980s after the new Riga...
Lithuania
- KaunasKaunasKaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
- Kaunas AirportS. Darius and S. Girenas AirportS. Darius and S. Girėnas Airport , also known as Aleksotas Airport , is a small airport located in Aleksotas, close to the Europa Avenue, only 3 kilometres away from the Kaunas city centre in Lithuania.S. Darius and S...
The Netherlands
- AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
- Schipol Airport - RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
- Waalhaven AirportWaalhaventhumb|right|250px|Waalhaven Airport in 1932, with the [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin|Graf Zeppelin]] in the background.The Waalhaven is one of various harbours in the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and used to be home to an airport, Vliegveld Waalhaven . It was the first civilian airport in the...
Norway
- OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
- Gressholmen AirportGressholmen AirportGressholmen Airport was the main airport serving Oslo, Norway from 1927 to 1939, until the construction of Fornebu Airport. The airport was on the islet of Gressholmen, and was only for seaplanes...
Poland
- LembergLvivLviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
- WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
- Okecie Airport
Portugal
- LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
Romania
- Bukarest - Băneasa AirportAurel Vlaicu International Airport-Terminated destinations:-See also:*Aviation in Romania*Transport in Romania*Blue Air-External links:**...
Soviet Union
- Bigosovo
- LeningradSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
- MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- Khodynka Aerodrome - Velikiye LukiVelikiye LukiVelikiye Luki is a town on the meandering Lovat River in the southern part of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is the second largest town in Pskov Oblast; population: The town is served by the Velikiye Luki Airport....
Spain
- BurgosBurgosBurgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
- BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
- MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
- SalamancaSalamancaSalamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
Sweden
- GothenburgGothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
- Torslanda AirportTorslanda AirportTorslanda Airport — served the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, as its main airport from 1923 to 1977, when the Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport was opened... - MalmöMalmöMalmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
- Bulltofta AirportBulltofta AirportBulltofta Airport was, from 1923 to 1972, the main airport serving the city of Malmö, Sweden, until it was replaced by Sturup Airport. The former airport area, in the district of Kirseberg, has been converted into, in part, a major park, in part a commercial area.The route Malmö-Copenhagen, started... - StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
- Bromma AirportStockholm-Bromma AirportStockholm-Bromma Airport is an airport in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm-Bromma Airport is located west northwest of downtown Stockholm and is the closest to the city...
Switzerland
- BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
- Birsfelden AirportBirsfeldenBirsfelden is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-History:Birsfelden is first mentioned in 1274 as minor Rinvelden. Around 1500 it was first mentioned as Birsfeld.-Geography:... - Bern - Belpmoos AirportBern AirportBern-Belp Airport is an airport serving Bern in Switzerland. The airport is within the town limits of Belp, and it is often known simply as Belp Airport....
- GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
- Cointrin Airport - ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
- Dübendorf AirportDübendorfDübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 23,000 . It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winterthur, and Uster.-History:Dübendorf is first mentioned in 946 as...
Turkey
- IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
United Kingdom
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Croydon AirportCroydon AirportCroydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
Yugoslavia
- BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
- Zemun AirportZemun Polje AirportThe Zemun Polje Airport is located on left side of the Belgrade-Novi Sad road, parallel to the railway for about 500-600 m before road turns towards Batajnica. The airport is mostly used for sport and amateur planes.- External links :*... - SkopjeSkopjeSkopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
During World War II
Due to the war and the de-facto end of commercial air transport in Germany, Luft Hansa operated scheduled passenger flights only on some trunk domestic trunk routes and international services on a limited number of routes to occupied or AxisAxis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
-affiliated countries. These routes deteriorated during the war as Germany came closer to defeat.
As of 1940/41, the following destinations were served. At that time, interline agreements were in force with Iberia, Aeroflot
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
, Malert
Malert
Malert was a Hungarian airline, founded on November 19, 1922. The airline folded in 1944, and was a fore-runner of MALÉV Hungarian Airlines....
, LARES (Romania), Aero Oy
Finnair
Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest...
(Finland, DDL
Det Danske Luftfartselskab
Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S, or DDL, was Denmark's flag carrier airline since 1918, and is the oldest airline still in existence...
(occupied Denmark)
Occupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
, ABA (Sweden), and CSA
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines j.s.c. , trading as Czech Airlines , is the national airline of the Czech Republic and temporary in Slovakia with its head office on the grounds of Ruzyně Airport in Ruzyně, Prague...
(occupied Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by...
).
Bulgaria
- SofiaSofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
- Bozhurishte AirportBozhurishteBozhurishte is a town in western Bulgaria. It is the administrative center of Bozhurishte Municipality in Sofia Province; close to Kostinbrod and the capital Sofia. The old airport of Sofia, now a military one, is near the town. Bozhurishte was first mentioned in 1750...
Denmark
- CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
- Kastrup AirportCopenhagen AirportCopenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...
German Reich
- BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- Tempelhof Airport (hub) - Breslau - Gandau Airport
- DanzigGdanskGdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
- Langfuhr Airport - KönigsbergKönigsbergKönigsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
- Devau AirportKaliningrad Devau AirportKaliningrad Devau Airport is located 5 km northeast of Kaliningrad. Today it is a small general aviation airfield and is also used for sports aviation. There are Antonov An-2 aircraft parked on the site.... - MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
- Riem AirportMunich-Riem AirportMunich-Riem Airport was the main, international airport of Munich until it was closed down on 16 May 1992, the day before the new airport near Freising commenced operation. It was located near the old village of Riem in the Munich borough of Trudering-Riem.-History:Construction on the airport... - PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
- Rusin Airport - StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
- Echterdingen AirportStuttgart AirportStuttgart Airport is an international airport located approximately south of Stuttgart, Germany.... - ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
- Aspern AirportAspernAspern is part of Donaustadt, the 22nd district of Vienna.In 1904, the formerly independent village was incorporated into Vienna as part of the 21st district, Floridsdorf. Only in 1946 did it become part of the newly created 22nd district, Donaustadt. The area is known because of the Battle of...
Greece
- AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
- Dekelea AirportTatoi AirportTatoi Airport is an airport located north of Athens, in Decelea. It started operating in 1918 and now it has a single runway of 1764m . The airport is used by the Hellenic Air Force and is the base of Dekeleia Aeroclub. It has also been usen used from many other aeroclubs of Attica... - ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
- Sedes AirportSedes AirportSedes Airport is a military airport 15 km east of Thessaloniki, Greece, and 3 km northwest of Thessaloniki's Makedonia International Airport. Sedes airport started operating during the Balkan Wars and has since been exclusively used by the Hellenic Air Force. Nowadays it also houses an aviation...
Hungary
- BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
- Budaörs Airport
Italy
- RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- Littorio Airport - VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
- San Nicolò Airport
Norway
- OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
- Fornebu AirportOslo Airport, FornebuOslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...
Romania
- AradArad, RomaniaArad is the capital city of Arad County, in western Romania, in the Crişana region, on the river Mureş.An important industrial center and transportation hub, Arad is also the seat of a Romanian Orthodox archbishop and features two universities, a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary, a training...
- Arad AirportArad International AirportArad International Airport is located west of Arad, in western Romania, in the historical region of Crisana. The airport is located only north of Timişoara Airport, the third largest airport in the country.-Airlines and destinations:... - Bukarest - Băneasa AirportAurel Vlaicu International Airport-Terminated destinations:-See also:*Aviation in Romania*Transport in Romania*Blue Air-External links:**...
Portugal
- LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
- Granja do Marques Airport
Soviet Union
- Belostok - Belostok AirportBiałystok-Krywlany AirportBiałystok-Krywlany Airport is an airport that serves Białystok, Poland.-History:The first plane piloted over Bialystok in 1910, Earl Michael Scipio del Campo, in the course of World War I hung over the city the German Zeppelins....
- MinskMinsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
- Minsk Airport - MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- Khodynka Aerodrome
Spain
- BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
- Muntadas Airport - MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
- Barajas Airport
Sweden
- StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
- Bromma AirportStockholm-Bromma AirportStockholm-Bromma Airport is an airport in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm-Bromma Airport is located west northwest of downtown Stockholm and is the closest to the city...
Switzerland
- ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
- Dübendorf AirportDübendorfDübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 23,000 . It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winterthur, and Uster.-History:Dübendorf is first mentioned in 946 as...
Turkey
- IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
- Yeşilköy AirportAtatürk International AirportAtatürk International Airport is the major international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Opened in 1924 and located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is west of the city centre. In 1980, the airport was renamed to Atatürk International Airport in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the...
Yugoslavia
- BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
- Zemun AirportZemun Polje AirportThe Zemun Polje Airport is located on left side of the Belgrade-Novi Sad road, parallel to the railway for about 500-600 m before road turns towards Batajnica. The airport is mostly used for sport and amateur planes.- External links :*...
Additionally, there were scheduled sea plane flights along the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
coast (from Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
to Kirkenes
Kirkenes
is a town in the municipality of Sør-Varanger in the county of Finnmark in the far northeast of Norway...
), which was then part of the Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
.
Fleet
Over the years of its existence, Deutsche Luft Hansa operated the following aircraft types:
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arado V I Arado V I |-References:*... |
1929 | 1929 | 1 only, cargo, lost in crash |
| BFW M.20 | 1929 | 1943 | 14 |
| Blohm & Voss Ha 139 | 1938 | 1940 | cargo floatplane |
| Blohm & Voss BV 142 | 1939 | 1940 | cargo |
| Boeing 247 Boeing 247 The Boeing Model 247 was an early United States airliner, considered the first such aircraft to fully incorporate advances such as all-metal semi-monocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing and retractable landing gear... |
1935 | ||
| Dornier Do 18 Dornier Do 18 The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the Luftwaffe, but Lufthansa got 5 aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and on their mail route over the South Atlantic from 1937 to 1939.27–29 March 1938 a... |
1937 | 1939 | cargo flying boat |
| Dornier Do R Dornier Do R -External links:** article on Dornier R 2 Superwal September 1927 Popular Mechanics... |
1928 | 1932 | flying boat |
| Dornier Komet III Dornier Komet -External links:... |
1926 | ||
| Dornier Wal | 1926 | 1940 | cargo flying boat |
| Douglas DC-2 Douglas DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247... |
1935 | ||
| Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made... |
1940 | 1944 | |
| Focke-Wulf A 32 Focke-Wulf A 32 |-References:*... |
1934 | from NOBA | |
| Focke-Wulf A 33 Focke-Wulf A 33 |-References:*... |
1937 | 1 only | |
| Focke-Wulf A 38 Focke-Wulf A 38 |-References:*... |
|||
| Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner... |
1938 | 1945 | |
| Fokker-Grulich F.II Fokker F.II |-References:*Anderson, J.D. A History of Aerodynamics . Cambridge University Press. ISBN 1521 66955 3*de Leeuw, R. Fokker Commercial Aircraft . Fokker Publications... Fokker-Grulich F.III Fokker F.III -Bibliography:* de Leeuw, Rene. Fokker Commercial Aircraft: From the F. I of 1918 Up to the Fokker 100 of Today .* Weyl, A.R. Fokker: The Creative Years. London: Putnam, 1965. ISBN 0-85177-817-8.... |
1926 | 1935 | |
| Heinkel He 12 Heinkel HE 12 -External links:* Air Classics, Mar 2002 by Cook, John C* photo of Heinkel 12 on Bremen catapult* Popular Mechanics, September 1930... |
1929 | cargo | |
| Heinkel He 58 | 1930 | cargo | |
| Heinkel He 70 Heinkel He 70 The Heinkel He 70 was a German mail plane and fast passenger aircraft of the 1930s, that also saw use in auxiliary bomber and reconnaissance roles. It had a relatively brief commercial career before it was replaced by types which could carry more passengers... |
1934 | 1938 | cargo |
| Heinkel He 116 Heinkel He 116 -See also:-Bibliography:* Smith J. R. and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972. ISBN 0-370-00024-2.... |
1938 | cargo | |
| Junkers F.13 Junkers F.13 The Junkers F.13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers. Over 300 were sold... |
1926 | 1938 | |
| Junkers G 24 Junkers G 24 The Junkers G 24 was a German three-engine, all-metal low-wing monoplane passenger aircraft manufactured by Junkers from 1925. Junkers F 24 was the designation for single-engine versions of the same aircraft.-Design and development:... |
1926 | 1938 | |
| Junkers G 31 Junkers G 31 |-See also:-External links:* * * *... |
1928 | 1936 | 8 aircraft |
| Junkers G.38 Junkers G.38 -Bibliography:* junkers.de * junkers.de - External links :* * Popular Mechanics, February 1930* article includes photo and cutaway drawing* cutaway drawing of G.38 better than 1931 article... |
1931 | 2 only, one written off after crash in 1936. | |
| Junkers Ju 46 Junkers Ju 46 |-See also:-Bibliography:... |
1933 | 1939 | cargo |
| Junkers Ju 52 Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler... |
1932 | 1945 | |
| Junkers Ju 60 Junkers Ju 60 |-References:* *... |
1934 | 1940 | |
| Junkers Ju 90 Junkers Ju 90 The Junkers Ju 90 was a 40-seat, four-engine airliner developed for and used by Deutsche Luft Hansa shortly before World War II. It was based on the rejected Ju 89 bomber... |
1938 | 1940 | |
| Junkers W33 Junkers W34 |
cargo |
1928 | |
| Rohrbach Ro VIII Rohrbach Roland -External links:*http://www.eads.com/1024/en/eads/history/airhist/1920_1929/Rohrbach_Ro_VIII_Roland.html... |
1931 | ||
| Rumpler C1/5A2 | 1926 | ||
| Udet U-11 Udet U 11 Kondor The Udet U 11 Kondor was a German four-engined airliner designed and built by Udet Flugzeugbau, only one was built.-Design and development:The U 11 Kondor was a high-wing monoplane powered by four Siemens-Halske Sh 12 piston engines. It had a crew of three and room for eight passengers. The only U... |
1926 | 1929 | 1 only |
Accidents and incidents
- On 6 November 1929, a Deutsche Luft Hansa Junkers G 31Junkers G 31|-See also:-External links:* * * *...
(registrationAircraft registrationAn aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
D-903, named Oberschlesien) en route from Croydon to Schipol crashed in thick fog1929 Luft Hansa Junkers G 31 crashThe 1929 Luft Hansa Junkers G 31 crash occurred on 6 November 1929 when a Junkers G 31 of Luft Hansa crashed at Godstone, Surrey, United Kingdom whilst on an international scheduled flight from Croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, the Netherlands...
at GodstoneGodstoneGodstone is a village in the county of Surrey, England. It is located approximately six miles east of Reigate at the junction of the A22 and A25 major roads, and near the M25 motorway.-History:...
, SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, resulting in the deaths of seven of the eight people on board. - On 29 October 1932, a Deutsche Luft Hansa Junkers W33 (registered D-2017, named MarmaraSea of MarmaraThe Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
) was on a freight flight from Croydon AirportCroydon AirportCroydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
to CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
when it crashed off the Kent coast. - During the war, on 27 September 1944 at 20:30 local time, a Luft Hansa Focke-Wulf Fw 200Focke-Wulf Fw 200The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
(registered D-AMHL) was shot down by a Bristol BeaufighterBristol BeaufighterThe Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
near DijonDijonDijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
. The aircraft had been on a scheduled passenger flight from StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
to BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
with five passengers and four crew members on board, all of which were killed. - On 16 October 1944, a Luft Hansa Junkers Ju 52Junkers Ju 52The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
(registered D-ADQU) crashed into a mountain in Telemark countyTelemarkis a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in poor visibility conditions, killing the 15 people on board. - 29 November 1944 at 10:25 local time, a Deutsche Luft Hansa Focke-Wulf Fw 200Focke-Wulf Fw 200The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
(registered D-ARHW) was accidentally shot down by a German "patrol boat" off the SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
coast during a flight from BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, killing the six passengers and four crew members on board. - On 21 April 1945, during the Battle of BerlinBattle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
, a Deutsche Luft Hansa Fw 200 (registered D-ASHH, Hessen) escaped from Berlin for a flight to MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, but crashed near ObertraublingObertraublingObertraubling is a municipality in Bavaria, Upper Palatinate , in the district of Regensburg.-Geographically Location:Obertraubling ist located directly on the southend of the City of Regensburg, the capital of Upper Palatinate....
in BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, killing the sixteen passengers and five crew members. The loss was the worst accident involving an aircraft of that type and also for the airline.