Ukrpovitroshliakh (Ukrainian Society of Airways, ''Ukrains'kyi povitrianyi shliakh'
) was an
airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
based in
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.[Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...]
during the
interbellum
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...
. It operated scheduled domestic (
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
) services. It was the first civil aviation company of Ukraine.
History
The airline was founded on 1 June 1923. Ukrpovitroshliach began operating on 15 April 1925, offering service from
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.[Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...]
and
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
. From 15 June 1925, the company also offered flights to
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 millio ...
and
Rostov-on-Don, completing its network centered in Kharkiv.
In 1926,
Konstantin Kalinin
Konstantin Alekseevich Kalinin (russian: Калинин Константин Алексеевич; born 17 December (Old Style and New Style dates, 29) 1889 in Warsaw, Russian Empire; died 1938 or 21 April 1940 in Voronezh) was a World War I avia ...
became a Chief Designer.
By 1928, Ukrpovitroshliach was carrying more than 3,000 passengers a year. But the Soviet central government's "Five-Year Plan" called for all air service in the Soviet Union to be controlled by one government agency. In 1929, Ukrpovitroshliach was absorbed into the newly formed national airline
Aeroflot along with the other Soviet operators --
Zakavia Zakavia (Transcaucasian Society of Air Transport, russian: Закавиа, Закавказское общество воздушных сообщений) was an airline in Georgia and later in Azerbaijan, formed in 1923 and ceased in 1929. Zakavia ...
and
Deruluft
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 permanen ...
.
Fleet
*
Dornier Komet
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 ...
*
Kalinin K-4
The Kalinin K-4 was an airliner built in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s which was also adapted for use as a photographic survey aircraft and as an air ambulance. A further development of the K-1, it was a conventional high-wing, strut-braced ...
Accidents and incidents
;12 September 1929
:Dornier Merkur CCCP-211 crashed while returning to Sukhumi due to loss of control following engine problems, killing both pilots. The aircraft was being tested following repairs from a previous accident two months earlier at the same airport.
References
Bibliography
*{{cite journal , last1=Cooksley, first1=Peter, title=Celestial Coaches: Dornier's Record Breaking Komet and Merkur , journal=Air Enthusiast , date=September–October 1996 , issue=65 , pages=20–24 , issn=0143-5450
Defunct airlines of Ukraine
Airlines established in 1923
Airlines of the Soviet Union
Former Aeroflot divisions
Airlines disestablished in 1929
1923 establishments in Ukraine
Aviation history of Ukraine