Stettin 1927 - Carl Meurling & Yngve Larsson

Deruluft (, or Deruluft) was a joint German-Soviet airline, established on 11 November 1921.Allaz, Camille. ''History of Air Cargo and Airmail from the 18th Century''.Christopher Foyle Publishing, 2005. p. 139. Deruluft opened its first permanent airlink between

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

(via

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

and

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

) on 1 May 1922. It started a new route between

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(via

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

) 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:

Fleet

Most of the aircraft used were German, and so was its organization until the 1930s. Its first aircraft were Dutch-built

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

F.III's. Later German

Junkers F13 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. 322 planes of the type were manufa ...

'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 The Fokker F.III was a single-engined high-winged monoplane aircraft produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It could carry five passengers. The aircraft was also built under licence in Germany as the Fokker-Grulich F.III ...

's were replaced by Dornier Merkurs. Early 1931 the

Tupolev ANT-9 The Tupolev ANT-9 (russian: Туполев АНТ-9) was a Soviet passenger aircraft of the 1930s. It was developed as a reaction to the demand for a domestic airliner. At this time Deruluft, one of the forerunners of Aeroflot, flew only with for ...

was added. *

Albatros L 58 __NOTOC__ The Albatros L 58 was a German airliner of the 1920s. It was a single-engine cantilever monoplane which accommodated the pilot in an open cockpit at the top of the fuselage, and seated five-six passengers within it. Variants * L 58 ...

Dornier Merkur The Dornier ''Komet'' ("Comet"), ''Merkur'' ("Mercury"), Do C, Do D, and Do T were a family of aircraft manufactured in Germany during the 1920s, originally as small airliners, but which saw military use as well. The earliest aircraft in the ser ...

Fokker F.II The Fokker F.II was the first of a long series of commercial aircraft from the Fokker Aircraft Company, flying in 1919. In a biplane age, it presented a distinct clean, high-wing monoplane style that sold successfully across Europe and North Amer ...

Junkers F.13 The Junkers F 13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Weimar Republic, Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced Cantilever#Aircraft, cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passenge ...

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...

Rohrbach Roland The Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland was an airliner produced in Germany during the 1920s. It was a conventional strut-braced, high-wing monoplane, based loosely on the Zeppelin-Staaken E-4/20 that Adolf Rohrbach designed in 1920. It had a fully enclosed ...

Accidents and incidents

* On 31 January 1935, a Junkers Ju 52/3mge (D-AREN) crashed into a hill in rain and fog near Stettin, Germany (now

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

, Poland) en route to Moscow from Berlin, killing all 11 on board. * On 7 March 1935, a Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland II (D-AJYP, ''Schönberg'') crashed at Schievelbein, Germany (now

Świdwin Świdwin (german: Schivelbein; csb, Skwilbëno) is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship of northwestern Poland. It is the capital of Świdwin County established 1999, previously having been in Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998), and the adminis ...

, Poland) due to structural failure, killing both pilots. * On 6 November 1936, a

(URSS-D311, ''Yastreb'') struck trees and crashed upside-down near Nemirovo, Volokolamsky District ( southwest of Volokolamsk) after several navaids failed, killing all nine on board. The aircraft was operating the Velikiye Luki–Moscow leg of a Königsburg (now Kaliningrad)–Moscow passenger service.

References

Bibliography

* *Davies, R.E.G. ''Aeroflot: An Illustrated History of the World's Largest Airline'', 1992.

External links

* {{Airlines of Germany Former Aeroflot divisions Airlines of the Soviet Union Defunct airlines of Germany Germany–Soviet Union relations Airlines established in 1921 Airlines disestablished in 1937 Defunct seaplane operators