POSTCARD N.240 - GERMANY

Postcrossing postcard dated of 23 July; received on the 7th August 2026

Postcard image: A Lufthansa Junkers W38 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Another great postcard with a photo of one of the fabulous aircraft of the golden age of aviation. What's not to like? Vielen Dank, Karl-Heinz!

It was once the world's biggest aircraft. Serviced by a crew of 7, the Junkers W.38, which first  took to the air in 1929, could accommodate 34 passengers in its fuselage and wing cabins... just imagine the view from the nose cabin or from the wing leading edge with a propeller constantly cutting the air in front of you and the noise from one of the V-12 engines right on your side.....oh how I would love to have a ride in it.....

Only two were made by Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke AG (D-AZUR and D-APIS) and they both served with Deutsche Lufthansa from 1930 till 1936, when the D-AZUR  crashed at Dessau, being irrecoverable.

D-APIS would fly on, only to be requisitioned by the Luftwaffe during World War II. Its history would come to a sad end during the invasion of Greece in May, 1941, when it was destroyed on the ground by an RAF bombing, 

Karl-Heinz used a 0,75 € self-adhesive stamp, illustrated with a photo of the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Regensburg, part of a set of two stamps (0,55 + 0,75 €) issued on 03MAR2011 as a joint issue with Japan dedicated to UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Postage was completed with a 0,50 €  stamp from the "flowers" definitive series initiated in 2005. The  stamp, illustrated with  an Autumn Aster (Aster novae), was initially issued on 02JUN2005, but has been reprinted in 2017.

The Postmark is illegible.