Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld
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Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld (1 May 1892 – 5 February 1929) was a German
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...
pioneer and initiator of the first transatlantic aeroplane flight from East to West.


Early life

Hünefeld was born in
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 name ...
, East Prussia, the son of the owner of Braxeinswalde near
Preußisch Eylau Bagrationovsk (russian: Багратио́новск; german: Preußisch Eylau; pl, Pruska Iława or '; lt, Ylava or ') is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located close to the borde ...
, where he grew up. He was blind on his left eye and
near-sighted Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...
on his right, and his childhood was characterized by several serious diseases. After attending school in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, he studied at
Berlin University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
and came in contact with the first flight pioneers at Berlin's
Johannisthal Air Field The Johannisthal Air Field, located southeast of central Berlin, between Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany's first commercial airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first airfield at Rheims, France. Ov ...
. At the beginning of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he tried to join the German Air Service as a volunteer, but was rejected due to his poor health. After that he volunteered again as a motorcyclist, and was wounded in September 1914 in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, which led to a shortened left leg. Due to his handicaps he could not return to service and joined the German Diplomatic Service, serving in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
,
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, and as an Imperial Vice Consul in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. After the end of World War I he stayed in the Netherlands for one and a half years with the German Crown Prince
Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...
, before returning to Germany, where he worked as spokesman for the
Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of t ...
shipping company in Bremen.


First east-west transatlantic flight

After
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
crossed the Atlantic from West to East in May 1927, the idea of flying in the opposite direction, which is more difficult because of the prevailing winds, became more and more popular. In 1927 Hünefeld bought two
Junkers W 33 The Junkers W 33 was a German 1920s single-engine low-wing monoplane transport aircraft that followed Junkers standard practice making extensive use of corrugated aluminium alloy over an aluminium alloy tube frame, that was developed from the s ...
aircraft from the Junkers company in Dessau, naming them after the two Norddeutscher Lloyd flagships and . His plans were supported by
Hugo Junkers Hugo Junkers (3 February 1859 – 3 February 1935) was a German aircraft engineer and aircraft designer who pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (Junkers Aircraft and ...
and
Hermann Köhl Hermann Köhl (15 April 1888 – 7 October 1938) was a German aviation pioneer and pilot of the first transatlantic flight by a fixed-wing aircraft from east to west. Biography Köhl was born in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, as one of eight children. At the ...
, a World War I pilot and head of the ''
Deutsche Luft Hansa ''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and t ...
'' Nightflight Branch. After some test flights, and breaking the record for flight duration, Hünefeld and Köhl flew to Baldonnel,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, where they met James C. Fitzmaurice, the
Irish Air Corps "Watchful and Loyal" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = ''see list of wars'' , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , fl ...
Commandant of the Baldonnel Airodrome. On 12 April 1928 these three left Baldonnel in the '' Bremen'' and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, landing at Greenly Island at the south coast of
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Even though they failed to reach their original goal,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, they were the first to cross the Atlantic from Europe to America. By a special act of the Congress of the United States on May 2, 1928, Hünefeld and his two companions were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.


Round-the-world flight attempt

On 18 September 1928 von Hünefeld and Swedish pilot Karl Gunnar Lindner took off from Berlin in the ''Europa'' in an attempt to fly around the world. In
Bushire Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antioc ...
, Iran, they met
Friedrich Karl von Koenig-Warthausen Friedrich Karl Richard Paul August Freiherr Koenig von und zu Warthausen (2 April 1906 – 15 December 1986) was a German aviator who made the first solo flight around the world in 1928–1929. His flight took him eastwards from Berlin to Moscow ...
who went on to complete the first solo circumnavigation principally by air. After they arrived in Tokyo on 20 October, the flight was abandoned because of poor weather conditions and Hünefeld's declining health. Hünefeld died in February 1929 in Berlin from stomach cancer and is buried in the ''Landeseigener Friedhof Berlin- Steglitz'' cemetery.Berlin.de
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References


Literature

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunefeld, Ehrenfried Gunther Freiherr von 1892 births 1929 deaths Aviation pioneers 20th-century German aviation German aviators Barons of Germany Military personnel from Königsberg People from East Prussia Deaths from stomach cancer German aviation record holders German Army personnel of World War I Deaths from cancer in Germany