Junkers Ju 52/3m, WNr. 5489, D-AQUI
History
The Junkers Ju 52/3m was one of the most important aircraft of the pioneering era of European commercial aviation. Developed by Junkers in Germany, the three engined Ju 52 first flew in 1932 and quickly became renowned for its rugged construction, reliability and ability to operate from relatively primitive airfields. It became a standard aircraft of the emerging airline industry and was operated by more than 30 airlines in 25 countries.
One of these aircraft was Junkers Ju 52/3m Werknummer 5489, built in the mid-1930s. It entered service with Deutsche Lufthansa on 10 April 1936 as D-AQUI, carrying the name "Fritz Simon." The aircraft was used in Lufthansa's expanding European passenger network at a time when the Ju 52 represented the height of German commercial aviation.
In July 1936, WNr. 5489 was transferred to the Norwegian airline Det Norske Luftfartselskap (DNL). It received the registration LN-DAH and was named "Falken."This period illustrates the international importance of the Ju 52: despite being a German-designed aircraft, it was widely used by airlines throughout Europe.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, the aircraft's career changed again. In September 1940 it returned to German Lufthansa service and once again carried the registration D-AQUI. From 1942 it was taken over by the Luftwaffe, reflecting the widespread requisitioning of civil aircraft for wartime purposes. Following Germany's defeat in 1945, the aircraft returned to Norwegian service and was registered LN-KAF with DNL.
The post-war story of WNr. 5489 is particularly complicated. During a major overhaul in Norway, the aircraft was progressively rebuilt using components from other Ju 52s. According to the historical Junkers archive, the surviving aircraft that eventually became associated with the famous Lufthansa D-AQUI identity was assembled from components belonging to several different Ju 52s. Its fuselage was ultimately replaced by that of Werknummer 130714, while the historical identity and documentation associated with WNr. 5489 continued to play an important role in the aircraft's story.