Thursday, October 30, 2008

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Zeppelin Coin

Obverse of German 3 Reichsmark silver coin,
struck in 1930 to commemorate LZ127 round-the-world flight.
See a bit more here

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Olympia

LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin over the Olympic stadium
Berlin, 1936

The flight was televised - believe it or not!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Globe, Dresden

Dresdner Kugelhaus, by Peter Birkenholz, 1928
Erected by M.A.N. AG for German Work Exhibition
Demolished in 1938
See more here
All pictures from Kugelhaus Website

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Beaverbrook Empire

Daily Express office, Manchester
by Sir Owen Williams
1939
Originally uploaded by Seadipper @ Flickr

Futuristic Junkers

Dobrolet poster by Alexander Rodchenko, 1923
Dobrolet, established on March 14 (or 17) 1923, was a joint-stock Soviet airline, owned by the state and small shareholders. It used Junkers F.13 transport, shown above.
Large F.13 photo and another Dobrolet poster here

French Skies

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Against all stereotypes

German travel brochures, 1933-1938
Nothing in common with Riefenstahl movies or much-overhyped 'Aryan Art'.
Mostly Art-Deco, very much similar to British, French or Dutch.
See more here
All pictures from © David Levine Collection

Friday, October 17, 2008

Berlin tower

150-meter radio transmission tower was erected in Berlin just in time for 1926 All-German communications exhibition. Since 1929 it was used for experimental TV broadcasting. First regular broadcast started here in March 22, 1935. Preserved as a historic monument and important observation point.
More info here (Structurae)
More pictures here (my LJ)

Renault des records

Renault 40CV, 1926
Established world speed/endurance record - (average 173.65 kph at 4167.5 km distance)
See more here

Once there was an airline...

SABENA timetable, winter 1938-1939
The airplane is Italian Savoia-Marchetti Model 83.
Four 10-passenger SM.83s were purchased by Belgian airline SABENA, found in 1923, for its African route Bruxelles-Leopoldville.
SABENA went bankrupt in 2001.

Leica & Chrysler

New Leica is here - with interchangeable lenses and classic M39 screwmount.
Basic model is shown. It's the cheapest, of course, but in a year or two more complicated model with built-in rangefinder and expanded exposure range will prove to be much more popular among wealthy and demanding customers.
Chrysler building is only two years old.
It's 1932. Election year, btw

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Pusher

Miles M.35 Libellula made its maiden flight in 1942
This unusual experimental fighter, designed with carrier service in mind, wasn't a perfect match for more conventional warplanes of the day.
Production never started.
See more pictures here

Mussolini Airlines

Created in 1934, state-owned Ala Littoria was the most important Italian air carrier.
See its planes and routes here

Sea Eagle

Dornier Do.26
Designed as a high-speed Trans-Atlantic mailplane, served as a military transport during the WWII.
See more here

Monday, October 6, 2008

Green Bus

BOC C2736 LHY 976 2004-09-26, originally uploaded by Coradia1001949 Bristol L number C2736 (LHY 976)

Info 

Originally uploaded by Pimlico Badger, on Flickr

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Two-Hulled Flying Fish


Soviet MK-1 flying boat made its maiden flight on August 16, 1934
MK stands for "sea cruiser'.
This record-breaking aircraft was supposed to carry two 20-mm cannons, six 0.3-in MGs, 6000 kg bombs or 4 torpedoes.
Wingspan - 51,6 m. Two hulls. Six 830 HP engines.
Only one built.
See more @ sad_rascko's LJ