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59-500: The Si 204 was planned as a small all-metal passenger aircraft with two crew and eight passengers for German airline Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH). Development was initiated in 1938. The contractor was, as usual, the RLM, but the development was conducted in close collaboration between DLH and Siebel in Halle . After the beginning of the war, the aircraft was redesigned as a trainer aircraft with

118-471: A Fokker F.II took off on 6 April 1926 for the first scheduled 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

177-743: A disruptive period of business, having lost a major portion of the market for its jet trainers. Sales noticeably declined during the 1990s in Eastern Europe as well as in NATO countries as a result of the peace dividend . Between 1998 and 2004, Aero Vodochody was controlled by the American aerospace company Boeing . During October 2006, the company was privatised once again, being bought by Czech-Slovak investment group Penta Investments for roughly 3 billion CZK . Aero Vodochody continues to manufacture both whole aircraft and aerostructures for

236-511: A full "stepless" glass cockpit, as had been initiated with the He 111P in early 1938, with no separate flat windscreen for the pilot (much as almost all German bomber aircraft of the time were being designed), which seemed to be better for instrument flying in the Si 204's case. The first two prototypes only were delivered as passenger aircraft with the old cockpit. The maiden flight of the first prototype

295-857: A further 44 D-0 preseries aircraft. The D-1 series was begun in March 1943 by Aero , also in the Protectorate, and by BMM in June or July 1943. In August 1943, SNCAN also delivered their first D-1. Production of the D-3 was started in October 1944 by Aero Vodochody. The D-3 had wooden wings and a tail-plane made of wood and metal. French production of the D-1 was ended in August 1944 after the Liberation . SNCAN produced

354-616: A number (110?) of passenger NC.702 Martinets. The NC.701 was distinguished by three-blade propellers and was powered by 440 kW (590 hp) Renault 12S-00 engines. The NC.702 had a modified nose. Data from Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933–1945 Vol.4 – Flugzeugtypen MIAG-Zeppelin , German Aircraft of the Second World War General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Note: Official RLM designations had

413-594: 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 . With the outbreak of the war on 1 September 1939 all civilian flight operations of Luft Hansa came to an end, and

472-700: A result, Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord ( SNCAN ) in France produced the A-0 preseries and A-1 production passenger aircraft between April 1942 and November 1943. Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk (ČKD, called Böhmisch-Mährische Maschinenfabrik AG [BMM] in German) in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia delivered the first instrument flight trainer D-0 in January 1943 followed by production of

531-511: A single Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 cannon mounted underneath the fuselage in addition to the four hardpoints and strengthening of the L-39ZO, made its maiden flight. According to aerospace publication Flight International , roughly 200 L-39s were being sold each year upon the jet trainer market during the late 1980s. Sales of the L-39 declined during the 1990s. This downturn has been attributed to

590-419: A total of 168 units of the Si 204. BMM produced the aircraft until October 1944 and then changed to producing spare parts for the Si 204. The Aero company was scheduled to cease production of the D-1 in March 1945 after building 486 aircraft and then switch to D-3 only. The aircraft, however, was only built until January 1945 with 541 completed. Therefore, total production was 1,216 (until January 1945) including

649-642: 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 )

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708-788: The Embraer 170 and Embraer 190 airliners, the cockpit of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, gun bay doors for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter, subassemblies and various elements of the Airbus A320 family airliner, and fixed leading edge kits for the Boeing 767 airliner. The company is reportedly likely to upgrade the runway at its Vodochody Airport near Prague to international airport standards, allowing it to better serve

767-843: The L-29 Delfin and L-39 Albatros . It also developed derivatives of the L-39, the L-59 Super Albatros and the L-159 Alca military light combat jet. Aero Vodochody is believed to have handled the biggest aircraft industrial programme to take place across any of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) countries except for the Soviet Union itself. Following the fall of the communist government in Czechoslovakia during 1989, Aero Vodochody experienced

826-495: The Nazi Party . Although Deutsche Luft Hansa was the forerunner of modern German airline Lufthansa (founded in 1953) and both airlines share the same logo, there is no legal connection between the two. However, the new Lufthansa took over staff from the old airline and claims DLH's legacy. For this reason it is controversial in the historical reappraisal to what extent the modern Lufthansa should confess to crimes committed by

885-526: The North American market. The L-39NG is being developed and marketed in two stages. The L-39NG upgrade program (Stage 1) contains an installation of FJ44-4M engine and optionally the Stage 2 avionics to existing L-39 Albatros. The second phase (Stage 2) represents newly built L-39NG aircraft with the possible use of components from the previous upgrade to Stage 1, once the original airframe reaches

944-636: The Soviet Union itself. During the course of the programme, in excess of 3,000 L-29s were produced; of these, around 2,000 were reported to have been delivered to the Soviet Union, where it served as the standard trainer for the Soviet Air Force . Of the others, which included both armed and unarmed models, many aircraft were delivered to the various COMECON countries while others were exported to various overseas nations, including Egypt , Syria , Indonesia , Nigeria and Uganda . Reportedly,

1003-409: The Škoda 150 truck between 1946 and 1947 under licence . During the 1950s, Aero Vodochody developed the L-29 Delfin trainer aircraft ; it was Czechoslovakia's first indigenously designed jet-powered aircraft. The L-29 is believed to have likely been the biggest aircraft industrial programme to take place across any of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) countries except for

1062-744: The Agricultural Survey, was retired in 1951. Production figures of the Si 204 until 31 January 1945: Sources: Files from Federal Archive/Military Archive Freiburg and from Lufthansa-Archive, Cologne After the war, a production of Si 204 continued in Czechoslovakia and France. In Czechoslovakia Aero Vodochody produced 179 Si 204D, developed into military trainer variants Aero C-3A and C-3B (the latter for bombardier training), passenger variant C-103 and military transport variant Aero D-44 until 1949. In France SNCAC ( Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Centre ), commonly known as Aérocentre , produced 240 transport NC.701 Martinets and

1121-484: The Eurasia Corporation had to be shut down following an intervention by the Chinese government . Syndicato Condor was nationalised 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

1180-684: The L-159 in partnership with Elbit, but the Czech Ministry of Defense instead selected Rockwell Collins to partner on the program. During the 2010s, Aero Vodochody was engaged in the manufacture of the L-159 advanced light combat aircraft and the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. It has also an active presence in the aerostructures sector, producing the center wing box of the Alenia C-27J Spartan airlifter, door subassemblies for

1239-555: The L-39 to take its place, and has continued extensive support and overhaul operations for existing L-39 customers. The L-59 Super Albatros was derived from the L-39, being originally designated as the L-39MS . Aero only produced a handful of L-59s before discontinuing production. Another derivative of the L-39 Albatros was the L-159 Alca , a modernised combat-oriented version. Originally, Aero Vodochody had intended to develop

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1298-563: 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. The Nazi party used footage of those flights for their propaganda efforts and gained an advantage in being able to hold events featuring Hitler in different places in far quicker succession than other parties which relied largely on rail transport. Erhard Milch , who had served as head of

1357-804: The NDL liner Bremen during her maiden voyage crossing the Atlantic in 1929, shortening the mail delivery time between Europe and North America. Both the Bremen and her sister ship Europa launched mail planes on their scheduled North Atlantic crossings until 1935. Even though the early years of the decade saw a difficult financial situation due to the Great Depression , Deutsche Luft Hansa further expanded its international route network in South America, and launched scheduled flights from Germany to

1416-750: The North Atlantic Ocean (from Baldonnel Aerodrome in Ireland to Greenly Island, Canada ) was made by the Luft Hansa pilot Hermann Köhl , 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

1475-637: The Western Front. At 8 p.m. on May 8, 1945, 2nd Lt. K. L. Smith of the 9th Air Force's 474th Fighter Group, flying a P-38 Lightning , downed a Siebel 3 miles southeast of Rodach , Bavaria . At the end of the war, one Si 204D remained in Berlin-Tempelhof (named "Rhein"). One flew to Enns in Austria, where it was captured by the Allies. Captured Si 204s flew in a variety of civil roles in

1534-601: The aerospace industry. During the 2014 Farnborough Airshow , it announced the launch of the Aero L-39 Skyfox , an upgraded and modernised version of its ubiquitous L-39. In year 2021 Penta Investments sold their business share to the HSC Aerojet Zrt. Aero Vodochody has been active since its founding in 1919. Between 1929 and 1951, its subsidiary, Aero , manufactured a range of small and medium-sized cars with two-stroke engines , it also briefly produced

1593-658: The aircraft fleet came under command of the Luftwaffe , along with most staff. The company focused on aircraft maintenance and repair. There were still scheduled passenger flights within Germany and to occupied or neutral countries, but bookings were restricted and served the demands of 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,

1652-657: The aircraft was certified by the Military Aviation Authority of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. In September, 2021, Aero Vodochody sale transaction was successfully completed. Based on an agreement signed in July 2021 Hungarian company HSC Aerojet Zrt. became the 100% owner of Aero. In HSC Aerojet Zrt. majority is held by Hungarian businessman Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and minority

1711-527: The airline coincided with the lifting of restrictions on commercial air operations imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles . This allowed the route network to be quickly expanded to cover 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

1770-525: The airline since 1926, was appointed by Hermann Göring to be head of the Aviation Ministry when Hitler came to power in 1933; Milch had been a member of the Nazi party since 1929, and was later convicted of war crimes. According to a leading scholar of the history of German aviation, from this point, "Lufthansa served as a front organization for armament, which took place secretly until 1935 - it

1829-458: The base L-39 design were quickly introduced. In 1972, a purpose-built target tug variant, the L-39V, conducted its initial flight. During 1975, the first L-39ZO training/light combat model, which was equipped with four underwing hardpoints as well as a strengthened wing and modified landing gear, performed its first flight. In 1977, the first L-39ZA light combat variant, which was fitted with

Siebel Si 204 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1888-507: The country by the United States for political reasons. On 1 April 1939, Deutsche Luft Hansa launched scheduled transatlantic flights to Natal, Rio Grande do Norte 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

1947-668: The end of its life. The first stage was formally completed om 14 September 2015 with the maiden flight of the L-39NG technology demonstrator (L-39CW). On 20 November 2017, Aero Vodochody announced the completion of development of the L-39CW; on 14 March 2018, they announced that the L-39CW, equipped with both the new engine and the new avionics, had received type certification . The brand new L-39NG aircraft made first flight on December 22, 2018. in September 2020, less than two years later,

2006-562: The first aircraft not manufactured in Germany were introduced into the Luft Hansa fleet: two Boeing 247s and one Douglas DC-2 . The grip on the domestic South American markets was further tightened in 1937, when the Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aéreos (SEDTA) and Lufthansa Perú were founded as Luft Hansa co-operations in Ecuador and Peru respectively, operating Junkers W 34 aircraft. The Middle Eastern network

2065-460: 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 Ukrpovitroshliakh , as well as Syndicato Condor from Brazil and SCADTA from Colombia . During that period,

2124-424: The following European destinations saw scheduled passenger flights: Due to the war and the de facto end of commercial air transport in Germany, Luft Hansa operated scheduled passenger flights only on some domestic trunk routes and international services on a limited number of routes to occupied or Axis -affiliated countries. These routes deteriorated during the war as Germany came closer to defeat. As of 1940/41,

2183-536: 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 ). Additionally, there were scheduled sea plane flights along the Norwegian coast (from Trondheim to Kirkenes ), which was then part of the Atlantic Wall . Over

2242-617: 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 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

2301-523: The loss of the captive Warsaw Pact trainer market, to which a substantial proportion of the total aircraft manufactured had been historically sold to; allegations about Czechoslovak banks being unable to finance the defense industry and inaction on the part of the Czechoslovak government; and concerns over the quality of manufacturing standards. During 1996, production of the L-39 was terminated. Aero Vodochody has developed several improved variants of

2360-486: The low-cost air carriers and charter flights that service Prague. During July 2014, Aero Vodochody presented the L-39NG ( Skyfox ) programme at the Farnborough Airshow . By April 2015, a partnership had formed between Aero Vodochody, American defence contractor Draken International and engine manufacturer Williams International to undertake the programme and to properly prepare the L-39NG to compete on

2419-633: The newly founded East German national airline operated under the same name but, having lost a lawsuit with the West German company, it was liquidated and replaced by Interflug . From 1926 until the outbreak of World War II 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

Siebel Si 204 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2478-661: The old airline. Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin . The name of the company means "German Hansa of the Air". The Hansa or Hanseatic League dominated maritime trade in the Baltic Sea area for hundreds of years, and is well regarded in Germany to this day. The airline was created by the merger of Deutscher Aero Lloyd, formerly Deutsche Luft-Reederei (1917 to 1923) , and Junkers Luftverkehr (c. 1919) in 1926. The two companies, Germany's largest airlines at

2537-428: The post-war USSR, serving with Aeroflot until 1949, being particularly successful in Tajikistan regional services. Soviet Polar Aviation flew seven Si 204s, equipped with skis, in Siberia. Major engine deficiencies in the extreme climate conditions, with four aircraft lost, caused local aircrew to nickname the Si 204 Giebel , Russian for disaster , before withdrawal from the region. The last Soviet Si 204, flying with

2596-416: The pre-series Si 204 E-0. However, no evidence shows that these aircraft were ever used in combat situations. Luft Hansa received at least four Si 204s: The first prototype, D-AEFR, was evaluated from March to May 1941 by Luft Hansa Prague. From spring 1942 to spring 1943, the second prototype, D-ASGU, was used on regular routes as a freight carrier. An Si 204 was likely the last German aircraft shot down on

2655-427: The prefix "8-", but this was usually dropped and replaced with the manufacturer's prefix. 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. It served as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout Nazi Germany , when it had close links to

2714-665: The prototypes; some production in other countries continued after the war ended. The Si 204D was used mainly in B- and C-Schools (advanced schools) and in FÜG 1 (delivery wing of the Luftwaffe), probably as a taxi aircraft for crews who had delivered other aircraft to fighting units. Its use in instrument flight schools was sporadic; for radio schools, no evidence of use has been found. The Si 204A flew mainly with communications squadrons and flying services for senior officers, but also with schools. In July 1944, five Si 204 were destined to be converted to night-combat aircraft, but no further aircraft were allotted. They were probably intended for

2773-401: The scheduled European routes and a total of 254,713 passengers and 5,288 tons of mail transported. From 1936 Deutsche Luft Hansa carried out route proving flights to carry mail across the North Atlantic. This service was intended to replace the mail planes launched by catapult from trans-Atlantic steamers. However this never materialized, as German planes were denied the right to carry mail into

2832-466: The time, were forced to merge by the German government, while all other airlines were shut down. This reorganization was intended to reduce the amount of financial support the government provided to the airline industry. Like many other countries, Germany subsidized the airlines, which also gave the German government control over them. The stylised flying crane symbol predates Luft Hansa and had been used by DLR and Deutscher Aero Lloyd. The foundation of

2891-529: The trans-Atlantic leg 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,

2950-399: The type has been used in active combat during several instances, perhaps the most high-profile being the Nigerian Civil War of the late 1960s and of Egyptian L-29s against Israeli tanks during the brief Yom Kippur War of 1973. The L-39 Albatros was designed during the 1960s as a replacement for the Aero L-29 Delfín as a principal training aircraft. Several specialised variants of

3009-459: The years of its existence, Deutsche Luft Hansa operated the following aircraft types: Aero Vodochody Aero Vodochody (commonly referred to as Aero ) is a Czech aircraft company. Its main production facilities are located at Vodochody Airport in the Prague-East District , on the municipal territories of Vodochody and Odolena Voda . During the Cold War era, the firm was well known for its range of jet-powered trainer aircraft ,

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3068-400: Was an air force in disguise." The historian Norman Longmate reported that during its peacetime flights in the 1930s, the airline had secretly photographed the entire British coastline as preparation for a possible invasion. 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

3127-408: Was before September 1940, possibly on 25 May 1940, that of the second prototype before February 1941. The third prototype was redesigned as a trainer aircraft for instrument flying. As a result of this, the maiden flight was not earlier than the end of 1941 or the beginning of 1942. At that time, Siebel produced the Junkers Ju 88 under licence, so only 15 prototypes were able to be built in Halle. As

3186-456: 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, a scheduled postal route between Europe and South America was inaugurated in 1934. This was the first regularly scheduled airline service across an ocean in the world. Wal flying boats were used, catapult launched for

3245-443: 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

3304-408: 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 six million flight kilometres, transporting a total of 56,268 passengers and 560 tons of freight and mail. Over

3363-407: Was particularly used from 1940 to 1942. Forced laborers were used to install and maintain radar systems and to assemble, repair, and maintain aircraft, including military aircraft. Forced laborers were lodged in barracks run by Luft Hansa on the Tempelhof site and elsewhere in Berlin were surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by authorities with machine guns; sanitation in these camps, was poor, as

3422-473: 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. During World War II, Deutsche Luft Hansa employed more than 10,000 forced laborers, including many children, from occupied countries; forced Jewish labor

3481-403: Was the level of medical care and nutrition. In 2012, a team of archaeologists excavated the site of the camp run by Luft Hansa on Tempelhof airport. Lufthansa , today's German flag carrier , acquired the name and logo of the 1926–1945 airline upon its foundation in 1953 and claims DLH's history as its own. However, there is no legal link between the two companies. Between 1955 and 1963,

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