D 
A 
T 
A 
F 
I 
L 
E 
S

Caspar C 32 "Germania"

Type
Agricultural aircraft modified for crossing the Atlantic

Country (Land)
Germany (Deutschland)

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Caspar-Werke AG, Travemünde

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 3

Power plant (Antrieb)
1 x Junkers L 5
Power (Leistung): 310 PS (227,85 kW)

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 9,10 m
Height (Höhe): 3,90 m
Span (Spannweite): 15,0 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 53 sq m

Weights (Massen)
Operating weight empty (Leermasse): 1400 kg
Max. payload (max. Nutzlast): 2400 kg
Max. take-off weight (max. Startmasse): 3800 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. speed (max. Fluggeschwindigkeit): 170 km/h
Range (Reichweite): 7500 km (equals roughly 50 hours of flighttime)

Customers (Kunden)
Grafs Solms-Laubach owned the one-off "Germania". Caspar built three other C-32s that were owned by other private individuals.

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
Junkers W-33 "Bremen" und "Europa"

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
Caspar originally developed the C 32 as an agricultural plane to cope with the insects that were destroying the Prussian woods in the early twenties. The C 32, equipped to carry 350 kg of poisonous dust, was first demonstrated to officials on March 4th, 1927, and proved to be very reliable. Unfortunately Caspar could not compete with the more effective Junkers company and had to go out of business in 1928. Meanwhile the former WW I fighter pilot Otto Koennecke searched for a suitable plane to cross the Atlantic with in the east-west direction. He chose a C 32 that was intensively modified and christened "Germania". Koennecke intended to start his epic flight in Cologne-Butzweilerhof. But bad weather over Europe contstanly prevented a take-off. Therefore Koennecke decided to try to reach America in a flight in eastern direction via India and Japan. On the 20th of September 1927 the "Germania" took off from Cologne. The flight was hampered by many unpleasant events and technical problems. Though Koennecke reached Calcutta in India the followinmg year, he had to quit because of problems with both plane and crew, and returned to Germany.

Last updated August 13, 1997

FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany