Junkers Motorenbau and Junkers Aircraft Factory

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“The flying man” , the logo of the Junkers aircraft works designed by F. P. Drömmer in 1924

The Junkers engine GmbH and the Junkers aircraft factory AG were companies of the German entrepreneur, inventor, designer and pioneer of aircraft construction Hugo Junkers , of the Junkers aircraft factory AG in 1919 Dessau founded. In 1913 he opened an engine factory in Magdeburg , which only existed until 1915. The Junkers engine GmbH , headquartered Dessau was established in 1923.

During the time of National Socialism , Junkers aircraft and engine construction were merged into Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG in mid-1936 .

Junkers-Flugzeugwerk AG bond for 1000 marks from May 1920

World War I and early 1920s

Junkers works in Dessau, 1928

As early as 1915 he developed the Junkers J 1, the first all-metal airplane, which was manufactured in his company Junkers & Co. , a factory for hot water and heating devices, founded in 1895 . However, since this aircraft was quite heavy and therefore it was not a great success as a fighter aircraft, the all - metal one -and-a-half-decker Junkers J 4 was built in larger numbers as an infantry aircraft . In October 1917, the aircraft division was by under pressure from the military authorities Junkers & Co. forcibly with the Fokker Aeroplanbau in Schwerin for Junkers-Fokker Werke AG (Jfa) based Dessau merged .

After the First World War and the relocation of Anthony Fokkers Flugzeugwerk to the Netherlands, Jfa was renamed Junkers Flugzeugwerk AG in April 1919 . In the same year, they built the Junkers F 13 , the world's first all-metal airliner . Since the Versailles Peace Treaty initially provided for a construction ban on aircraft, which even after its relaxation in 1922 still contained performance restrictions, Junkers tried, like other German aircraft companies, to continue aircraft construction abroad in branches or through cooperation. Junkers Flugzeugwerke therefore founded the branch “Junkers-Werke Dessau, Headquarters for Russia” in Fili near Moscow in 1922 and AB Flygindustri in Sweden in 1924 . The Junkers Ju 20 and Junkers Ju 21 were developed and built in Russia . The contract with Soviet Russia was designed for thirty years, but was terminated after four years by the USSR and Junkers had to end the cooperation in 1926 with a loss of 10 million Reichsmarks .

Junkers Luftverkehr AG

Junkers Luftverkehr AG's route network from April 20, 1925

In 1921 its own airline was founded, Junkers Luftverkehr AG, with routes such as B. to Turkey, Persia and South America. The Junkers aircraft proved themselves in many areas thanks to their robustness and flight stability. So should z. For example, the Persian Crown Treasure was exhibited in London and a means of transport was needed. There was often a threat of robbery on the Persian roads, which is why the Shah personally ordered the transport in two Junkers F 13s from Tehran to the Persian Gulf. A British warship was waiting there for onward transport to London. The crown treasure came back to Tehran this way without any problems (Blunck, p. 190). During this time, two F 13 aircraft were also the first to cross the Andes. At that time Junkers Luftverkehr AG was the most important airline in the world. Around 1925 40% of the world air traffic network was flown by Junkers aircraft (Blunck, p. 155).

However, the air traffic business was uneconomical because of the few passenger seats (four in an F 13), which is why Junkers Luftverkehr AG became increasingly dependent on state subsidies. After the unsuccessful deal in Russia, the German Reich demanded the transfer of the shares in Junkers Luftverkehr AG in return for assuming the debt. Junkers had to meet this requirement and so Junkers Luftverkehr AG merged with Deutsche Aero Lloyd to form Deutsche Luft Hansa in January 1926 .

The late 1920s and 1930s

The first three-engine aircraft was the Junkers G 23 from 1925. In 1929 the four-engine Junkers G 38 was built , which had passenger cabins in the wings. The most famous Junkers aircraft are the Junkers F 13 (with their further developments Junkers W 33 and Junkers W 34 ) and the Junkers Ju 52 / 3m (also known as "Tante Ju").

Junkers Ju 52 / 3m of Lufthansa at take-off

In April 1928 Hermann Köhl , Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld and James Fitzmaurice managed the first non-stop Atlantic crossing from east to west in a Junkers W 33 .

On May 26, 1929, works pilot Willy Neuenhofen set an absolute high-altitude record with the Junkers W 34 be / b3e (registration number "D 1119") with 12,739 m.

Junkers Motorenbau developed the first aviation diesel engines in the 1920s. It was a 6-cylinder two-stroke opposed piston engine .

At the beginning of the 1930s, the Junkers factories ran into economic difficulties that resulted in bankruptcy in 1932 . After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Hugo Junkers was forced to transfer the privately held patents to his company and to surrender 51% of his company shares to the Reich Ministry of Aviation (RLM) without compensation. The participation was administered by the Luftfahrtkontor GmbH, which was specially founded by the RLM as a cover company . At the same time, Hugo Junkers was banned from entering his works and was placed under house arrest in his summer residence in Bayrischzell . After Junkers' death in 1935, his widow and heiress Therese Junkers left the remaining shares to Luftfahrtkontor GmbH for a payment of around 30 million RM. Under the leadership of the new Junkers General Director Heinrich Koppenberg , Junkers Motorenbau GmbH and Junkers Flugzeugwerk AG were merged to form Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG on July 5, 1936 , and expanded into one of the largest armaments companies in the German Reich as part of the armament of the Wehrmacht .

Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG, Dübendorf (Switzerland)

In 2015, Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG was founded in Dübendorf, Switzerland (Canton Zurich). According to the commercial register, the purpose of the company is the “overall care, manufacture, construction and maintenance of nostalgic aircraft such as the Junkers F 13 ” and “planning, construction, operation and repairs of such aircraft”. In 2013, the new company began building the Junkers F 13, which will be manufactured and sold again in a small series. On September 19, 2016, the first aircraft with the registration HB-RIM had its maiden flight.

In 2019, Junkers Flugzeugwerke also took over European sales for the American WACO Aircraft Corporation. Entrepreneur Dieter Morszeck and JU-Air founder Kurt Waldmeier are behind the "new" Junkers aircraft factories. Morszeck has been the sole head of Junkers Aircraft Works since April 2020.

See also

literature

  • Richard Blunck, Hugo Junkers, the human being and the work. Wilhelm Limpert-Verlag, Berlin 1943.
  • Kurt W. Streit, John WR Taylor: History of Aviation. Sigloch Edition, Künzelsau 1975, ISBN 3-8003-0101-6 .
  • Günter Schmitt: Junkers and his planes. 2nd Edition. transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-344-00065-9 .
  • Wolfgang Wagner: Hugo Junkers aviation pioneer - his aircraft. From the series: Die deutsche Luftfahrt, Volume 24, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 1996, ISBN 3-7637-6112-8 .

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