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 permanent airlink between

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

(via

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

and

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

) on 1 May 1922. It started a new route between

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(via

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) on 6 June 1928, and maintained both routes until 31 March 1936. Deruluft was a successful business, but terminated on 31 March 1937 due to the changed political situation.

Business

Deruluft handled mainly post and freight. An overview of transported persons, mail and freight from 1922 to 1931:

Fleet

Most of the aircraft used were German, and so was its organization until the 1930s. Its first aircraft were Dutch-built

Fokker Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

F.III's. Later German

Junkers F13 The Junkers F 13 is the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers. Produced shortly after the end of the First World War, it was a cantilever-wing monoplane with enclosed accom ...

's were added to the fleet. At first, Deruluft carried only mail and officials, but on 27 August 1922 the service was opened to the public. From 1929 onwards the early

Fokker F.III The Fokker F.III was a single-engined high-winged monoplane aircraft produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It could carry five passengers. The aircraft was also built under licence in Germany as the Fokker-Grulich F.III ...

's were replaced by

Dornier Dornier may refer to: * Claudius Dornier (1884–1969), German aircraft designer and builder ** Dornier Flugzeugwerke, German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1914 by Claudius Dornier * Dornier Consulting, international consulting and project manag ...

Merkurs. Early 1931 the

Tupolev ANT-9 The Tupolev ANT-9 () was a Soviet passenger aircraft of the 1930s. It was developed as a reaction to the demand for a domestic airliner. At this time Deruluft, one of the forerunners of Aeroflot, flew only with foreign models, which were mainly ...

was added. * Albatros L 58 * Dornier Merkur *

Fokker F.II The Fokker F.II was the first of a long series of commercial aircraft from the Fokker Aircraft Company, flying in 1919. In a biplane age, it presented a distinct clean, high-wing monoplane style that sold successfully across Europe and North Amer ...

* Junkers F.13 *

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted int ...

* Rohrbach Roland *

Accidents and incidents

* In October 1924, LVG C.VI RR-14 crashed in Russia. * In December 1926, Grulich V.1 D-902 crashed in Russia. * In June 1927, Fokker F.III RR-7 crashed in Russia. * On May 16, 1928,

D-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tempelhof Airport due to engine failure; the pilot survived. THe aircraft was operating a cargo flight to Cologne. * On 15 October 1929, Junkers F.13 URSS-308 ''Koenigsadler'' crashed in Estonia and broke in two; no casualties. * In 1933, Dornier Merkur CCCP-D306 crashed in Russia. * On 22 October 1934,

D-2831 struck trees and crashed while on approach to Moscow Airport in poor weather; all three on board survived. * On 31 January 1935, Junkers Ju 52/3mge D-AREN struck a hillside in poor weather near Stettin, Germany (now

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Poland) due to icing, killing all 11 on board. * On 7 March 1935, Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland II D-AJYP ''Schönberg'' crashed at Schievelbein, Germany (now

Świdwin Świdwin (; ) is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship of northwestern Poland. It is the capital of Świdwin County, and the administrative seat - though not part - of the Gmina Świdwin. Świdwin is situated in the historic Pomerania region on t ...

, Poland) due to structural failure; all three on board survived. * On 16 May 1936, Junkers J.13FLE D-OKES crashed in Russia. * On 6 November 1936, Tupolev ANT-9 URSS-D311 ''Yastreb'' struck trees and crashed upside-down near Nemirovo, Volokolamsky District ( southwest of Volokolamsk) after several navaids failed, killing all nine on board. The aircraft was operating the Velikiye Luki–Moscow leg of a Königsberg (now Kaliningrad)–Moscow passenger service.

References

Bibliography

* *Davies, R.E.G. ''Aeroflot: An Illustrated History of the World's Largest Airline'', 1992.

External links

* {{Authority control Former Aeroflot divisions Airlines of the Soviet Union Defunct airlines of Germany Germany–Soviet Union relations (1918–1941) Airlines established in 1921 Airlines disestablished in 1937 Defunct seaplane operators