Bremen (aircraft)

Bremen
Bremen after the transatlantic crossing
General information
TypeJunkers W 33
Construction number2504
RegistrationD-1167
History
Preserved atBremen Airport Museum
FatePreserved

The Bremen is a German Junkers W 33 aircraft that made the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west on April 12 and 13, 1928.

After weather delays lasting 17 days,:52 the Bremen left Baldonnel Aerodrome, Ireland, on April 12 with a three man crew, arriving at Greenly Island, Canada, on April 13, after a flight fraught with difficult conditions and compass problems.

Owner Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld, a wealthy German aristocrat, and pilot Captain Hermann Köhl had made an all-German attempt at the feat in 1927, but had to abandon it due to bad weather. For this new attempt, they were joined by a third crewman, Irish navigator Major James Fitzmaurice. Fitzmaurice had also previously attempted the crossing, as co-pilot of the Princess Xenia (aircraft) with Robert Henry McIntosh, but they had to abandon the attempt due to high headwinds in September 1927.:52