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An aircraft imported to
the UK was the Junkers F 13, WNr 2047 (WNr stands for Werknummer
and equals constructor’s number) that in April 1929 was
registered as G-AAGU (CofR No 1962). It was flown on May 26 from
Berlin to London/Croydon and its Certificate of Validation (CofV)
No 12 was issued on May 30, 1929. The Trost Brothers used the
aircraft for joy ride flights and managed to sell the aircraft
in 1930 to the small Croydon based airline company Walcot Air
Line Ltd that took delivery of the aircraft on May 31. At the
same time a second Junkers F 13 for Walcot Air Line Ltd was imported:
the WNr 2052. It was registered on May 26, 1930 as G-AAZK (CofR
No 2609). Latter aircraft saw a tragic end. Col. Henderson had
departed for a flight from the French village of Le Touquet to
London/Croydon. On board were beside Col. G L P Henderson as
pilot, second pilot Mr Charles D’Urban Shearing, the Marques
of Dufferin and Ava, Viscountess Ednam, Sir Edward Ward and Mrs
Henrik Loeffler (1). After three hours flight the aircraft crashed
near the small village of Meopham, Kent (some five miles south
of Gravesend). In the press it was said that the aircraft exploded
in the air because of the lightning of gas in the empty petrol
tank and there was also a theory of a mid-air explosion, but
these theories were generally not accepted in England. It is
for a fact that the aircraft certainly did not explode in the
air. The Head of the Aeronautical Research Commission –ACR
(responsible for the investigation of the accident) Major Cooper
was told that the lost of the cover of the engine might well
be the reason for the accident. It had happened once before with
the German pilot Bapekul and another Junkers F 13 and Jfa had
instructed the users of the Junkers F 13 to use extra straps
around the hood of the engine. Air Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker
was informed about this as well during a visit to Jfa on August
26, 1930. In September the German DVL e.V. desired to be represented
at the ACR investigating Junkers’ accident if possible by
an observer and nominated Mr Trost. But this never happened.
Later that month it was clear that the English press was not
too nice about the use of foreign aircraft in England. By mid-September
it was however clear that the Air Ministry officially declared
that the accident could not be blamed on structural failure.
Without doubt the accident made a tremendous impact on the public
opinion about air traffic. The final conclusion of the commission
was that the tail plane “buffing” (shaking strongly). |
