Deruluft
AirlineDeruluft
Founded24 November 1921 (age 104)
Commenced1 May 1922 (age 104)
Ceased31 March 1937 (age 89)

Deruluft (Deutsch-Russische Luftverkehrs A.G., or Deruluft) was a joint German-Soviet airline, established on 11 November 1921.[1] Deruluft opened its first permanent airlink between Moscow and Königsberg (via Kaunas and Smolensk) on 1 May 1922.[1] It started a new route between Berlin and Leningrad (via Tallinn) on 6 June 1928, and maintained both routes until 31 March 1936. Deruluft was a successful business, but terminated on 31 March 1937 due to the changed political situation.

Business

Deruluft handled mainly post and freight. An overview of transported persons, mail and freight from 1922 to 1931:[2]

YearFlown distancePersonsFreightMail
1922174.768 km33817,915 t1.047 kg
1923215.480 km38223,487 t1.589 kg
1924352.786 km55234,519 t2.382 kg
1925492.237 km1.46354,059 t5.410 kg
1926514.185 km1.19225,892 t10.733 kg
1927630.542 km1.80949,694 t25.574 kg
1928790.465 km2.51069,886 t27.992 kg
1929839.655 km2.69275,238 t16.711 kg
1930950.512 km2.94762,351 t27.244 kg
1931945.317 km3.66087,690 t29.060 kg

Fleet

Most of the aircraft used were German, and so was its organization until the 1930s. Its first aircraft were Dutch-built Fokker F.III's. Later German Junkers F13's were added to the fleet. At first, Deruluft carried only mail and officials, but on 27 August 1922 the service was opened to the public. From 1929 onwards the early Fokker F.III's were replaced by Dornier Merkurs. Early 1931 the Tupolev ANT-9 was added.

Accidents and incidents

  • In October 1924, LVG C.VI RR-14 crashed in Russia.[3]
  • In December 1926, Grulich V.1 D-902 crashed in Russia.[4]
  • In June 1927, Fokker F.III RR-7 crashed in Russia.[5]
  • On May 16, 1928, Fokker F.III D-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tempelhof Airport due to engine failure; the pilot survived. THe aircraft was operating a cargo flight to Cologne.[6]
  • On 15 October 1929, Junkers F.13 URSS-308 Koenigsadler crashed in Estonia and broke in two; no casualties.[7]
  • In 1933, Dornier Merkur CCCP-D306 crashed in Russia.[8]
  • On 22 October 1934, Tupolev ANT-9 D-2831 struck trees and crashed while on approach to Moscow Airport in poor weather; all three on board survived.[9]
  • On 31 January 1935, Junkers Ju 52/3mge D-AREN struck a hillside in poor weather near Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland) due to icing, killing all 11 on board.[10][11][12]
  • On 7 March 1935, Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland II D-AJYP Schönberg crashed at Schievelbein, Germany (now Świdwin, Poland) due to structural failure; all three on board survived.[13][14]
  • On 16 May 1936, Junkers J.13FLE D-OKES crashed in Russia.[15]
  • On 6 November 1936, Tupolev ANT-9 URSS-D311 Yastreb struck trees and crashed upside-down near Nemirovo, Volokolamsky District (27 km (17 mi) southwest of Volokolamsk) after several navaids failed, killing all nine on board. The aircraft was operating the Velikiye Luki–Moscow leg of a Königsberg (now Kaliningrad)–Moscow passenger service.[16][17][18]

References

  1. ^ Allaz, Camille. History of Air Cargo and Airmail from the 18th Century.Christopher Foyle Publishing, 2005. p. 139. ISBN 9780954889609
  2. ^ Karl-Heinz Eyermann, Wolfgang Sellenthin: Der Luftverkehr der UdSSR. Gesellschaft für DSF, 1967, S. 6
  3. ^ "Crash of a LVG C.VI in Russia". B3A Archives
  4. ^ "Crash of a Grulich V.1 in Russia". B3A Archives
  5. ^ "Crash of a Fokker F3 in Russia". B3A Archives
  6. ^ "Crash of a Fokker F.III in Berlin". B3A Archives
  7. ^ "Crash of a Junkers F.13 in Estonia". B3A Archives
  8. ^ "Crash of a Dornier Merkur in Russia". B3A Archives
  9. ^ "Crash of a Tupolev ANT-9 in Moscow". B3A Archives
  10. ^
  11. ^ "D-AJYP accident description". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Crash of a Junkers JU.52/3mge in Szczecin: 11 killed". B3A Archives
  13. ^ "Accident Rohrbach Ro VIII D-AJYP". Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Crash of a Rohrbach Ro.VIII Roland II in Świdwin". B3A Archives
  15. ^ "Crash of a Junkers F.13FLE in Russia". B3A Archives
  16. ^ "CCCP-D311 accident description". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  17. ^ "Tupolev production list". oldwings.nl. Soviet Transports. Archived 2017-03-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Crash of a Tupolev ANT-9 in Nemirovo: 9 killed". B3A Archives

Bibliography

  • Cooksley, Peter (September–October 1996). "Celestial Coaches: Dornier's Record Breaking Komet and Merkur". Air Enthusiast. ' (65): 20–24. ISSN 0143-5450
  • Davies, R.E.G. Aeroflot: An Illustrated History of the World's Largest Airline, 1992.