Deruluft


Deruluft was a joint German-Soviet airline, established on 11 November 1921. Deruluft opened its first permanent airlink between Moscow and Königsberg on 1 May 1922. It started a new route between Berlin and Leningrad 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:
YearFlown distancePersonsFreightMail
1922174.768 km33817,915 t1.047 kg
1923215.480 km38223,487 t1.589 kg
1924352.786 km55234,519 t2.382 kg
1925492.237 km1.46354,059 t5.410 kg
1926514.185 km1.19225,892 t10.733 kg
1927630.542 km1.80949,694 t25.574 kg
1928790.465 km2.51069,886 t27.992 kg
1929839.655 km2.69275,238 t16.711 kg
1930950.512 km2.94762,351 t27.244 kg
1931945.317 km3.66087,690 t29.060 kg

Fleet

Most of the aircraft used were German, and so was its organization until the 1930s. Its first aircraft were Dutch-built Fokker F.III's. Later German Junkers F13'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's were replaced by Dornier Merkur's. Early 1931 the Tupolev ANT-9 was added.