“Deutsche Luft Hansa Aktiengesellschaft” was founded on January 6, 1925, at the Hotel Königshof in Berlin. The new airline was formed through the merger of several airlines. Thus, at its launch, it possessed no fewer than 162 aircraft and 19 different aircraft types. It flew under the crane logo designed by graphic artist Otto Firle for Deutsche Luft Reederei. The inaugural flight took place on April 6, 1926, with a Fokker Grulich F.II from Berlin to Zurich, with stops in Halle, Erfurt, and Stuttgart. Both dates are taken by today's Lufthansa, founded on January 6, 1953, as “Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf,” to celebrate its 100th birthday. It is being celebrated under the motto “We are the journey.”
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Zahlen, bitte!
In this section, we present amazing, impressive, informative and funny figures ("Zahlen") from the fields of IT, science, art, business, politics and, of course, mathematics every Tuesday.
The wordplay "Zahlen, bitte!" for a section about numbers is based on the ambiguity of the German word "Zahlen." On one hand, "Zahlen" can be understood as a noun in the sense of digits and numerical values, which fits the theme of the section. On the other hand, the phrase "Zahlen, bitte!" is reminiscent of a waiter's request in a restaurant or bar when they are asked to bring the bill. Through this association, the section acquires a playful and slightly humorous undertone that catches the readers' attention and makes them curious about the presented numbers and facts.
With the founding of Luft Hansa, Aero Union, Deutsche Luft Reederei, Lloyd Luftdienst, and Junkers Luftverkehr were merged at the behest of the Reich government or the Reich Ministry of Transport into a national airline modeled after the Dutch KLM (founded in 1920). Since all these companies were loss-making and dependent on state support, the formation of a state airline was a first act of consolidation.
The second act consisted of standardizing the fleet; the Junkers F13 played an important role here. The third act was delivered by technology. In 1926, aircraft began to be equipped with radios, followed by blind flying training for pilots and the establishment of night flight routes. The most important flight route was from the home airport Berlin Tempelhof to Königsberg (Kaliningrad), from which it continued to Moscow on a connecting flight. As early as the summer of 1926, Luft Hansa served 64 flight lines, including a South American airmail connection realized with the Dornier Wal flying boat.
The logo of the namesake Lufthansa crane, which also made the airline the "Crane Airline", was designed by German architect and designer Otto Firle. The logo, which actually bears little resemblance to a crane, was carefully modified over the decades but remained unmistakable.
(Image:Â Otto Firle)
For its 100th birthday, Lufthansa is not only painting some aircraft with an “XXL crane” but also opening a new exhibition space on the Lufthansa grounds at Frankfurt/Main Airport, featuring two aircraft that represent the dual history of the group. The history of the “first Lufthansa” is symbolized by the Junkers Ju 52, which entered service in 1932 and temporarily constituted half of the fleet.
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With the seizure of power by the National Socialists, the “Tante Ju” became an important mosaic piece of German expansion plans, just as Lufthansa under Hermann Göring was firmly tied to the fascist regime. The swastika moved to the tail fin, and the Tante JU became a troop transporter and auxiliary bomber. The press release on the 100th birthday states: “Lufthansa is also taking the occasion of its 100th founding anniversary to critically examine its responsibility during National Socialism and to further process it based on historical research.” As early as its 75th birthday in 2001, historian Lutz Budrass was commissioned to research the “dark history,” but the publication of his findings was canceled.
The Lufthansa aircraft casts a shadow over all of Europe: Lufthansa advertising from 1932. Pictured is a Junkers G 38, one of the largest aircraft of its time, which even offered passenger cabins partially extending into the wings.
Budrass published his investigation at his own risk under the title “Adler und Kranich.” Particularly the chapters on forced labor at Lufthansa caused a stir in 2001, even though Lufthansa had joined the forced labor fund in 1999.
With the fall of the Nazi state, the first Lufthansa also disappeared. The victorious powers banned the production, possession, and operation of military and civilian aircraft, and Control Council Law 52 confiscated Lufthansa's assets. It wasn't until 1953 that the legal basis for an airline was created with the consent of the Allies.
On January 6, 1953, “Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf” (LUFTAG) was founded in the Federal Republic of Germany, which bought the crane logo from “Lufthansa in Liquidation” for 30,000 D-Marks. LUFTAG soon renamed itself Lufthansa, but emphasized that it was a completely new company. However, the personnel continuities were undeniable. Kurt Knipfer, Göring's air raid warden, sat on the supervisory board of both the old and the new Lufthansa. Kurt Weigelt, the chairman of the supervisory board of the old Lufthansa, was a convicted Nazi war criminal and yet became the first head of LUFTAG. Gerhard Höltje, head of the technical experimental department of the old Lufthansa, became technical director of the new Lufthansa.
Artistic depiction of the Lockheed Super Constellation L-1049G in Lufthansa livery. The engines, just like in the successor model Starliner also used by Lufthansa, were very maintenance-intensive.
It was Höltje who opted for the Lockheed L-1049 “Super Constellation” for long-haul flights, the second aircraft in the Frankfurt anniversary exhibition, of which four units were initially ordered. In addition, four Convair CV 340s were ordered for short-haul flights, as well as two training aircraft from Saab. The pilots came from the American airline TWA. In March 1955, the Allies gave their OK for the operation of the eight aircraft. In April 1955, the GDR also received permission from the Soviet authorities, allowing Lufthansa of the GDR to start on July 1. (It flew until 1963 and was renamed Interflug after losing a trademark dispute in Belgrade over the crane logo).
With the Super Constellation, the Hamburg - New York route was served from June 9, 1955, and in 1956 a connection from Hamburg to Rio de Janeiro was added, as well as the “Orient Service” with a flight to Istanbul, Baghdad, and Tehran. With the Lockheed aircraft, Lufthansa maneuvered itself into a difficult position and operated at a loss. It took 17 hours to fly across the Atlantic to New York, much longer than the competitor's jet aircraft. A luxury strategy with Senator Class flights exclusively in first class and only 30 seats was intended to compensate for this, but it was clear early on that this was not a competitive approach.
Boeing 737-100 in classic Lufthansa livery, photographed in April 1980. The Lufthansa Regensburg from the then "Cityjet" series.
On November 5, 1956, Lufthansa launched the Paper Jet Operation. On paper, they simulated the flights of jet aircraft, using the performance data of the ordered Boeing aircraft along with current data from the German Weather Service and flight movement data from the Federal Air Traffic Control. So-called flight service consultants calculated the best course for the Frankfurt-New York route each time. What is calculated by computer systems today was worked out by human computers back then. By the time Lufthansa began operating jet aircraft in 1960, it had already completed thousands of flights with the “paper airplane.”
While Lufthansa was initially behind in terms of jet aircraft, it quickly became a pioneer: the Boeing 737, the most produced Boeing civil aircraft, was developed with intensive Lufthansa involvement. The airline was also the first customer for the aircraft, which had its maiden flight on April 9, 1967.
