(Netherlands) KLM @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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KLM

Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (Royal Dutch Airlines), best known by its initials KLM, is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM's headquarters is in Amstelveen near its hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. KLM operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 130 destinations worldwide. It is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name. As of 2013 it had 32,505 employees.

The merger of KLM with Air France in May 2004 formed the Air France-KLM Group, which is incorporated under French law with headquarters at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Both Air France and KLM continue to fly under their distinct brand names as subsidiaries of the group. Air France and KLM are part of the SkyTeam alliance, the second largest in the world behind only the Star Alliance.

Formation and early years

In 1919, a young aviator lieutenant named Albert Plesman sponsored the ELTA aviation exhibition in Amsterdam. This aviation exhibition was a great success, and, after closure, several Dutch commercial interests had the intention to establish a Dutch airline. Plesman was nominated to head this new airline. In September 1919, Queen Wilhelmina awarded the yet to be founded KLM its "Royal" ("Koninklijke") predicate. On October 7, 1919, KLM (which is the abbreviation for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij which literally means Royal Airlines in English) was founded by Albert Plesman in The Hague as one of the world's first commercial airline companies.

The first KLM flight took place on 17 May 1920. KLM's first pilot, Jerry Shaw, flew from Croydon Airport, London to Amsterdam. The flight was flown using a leased Aircraft Transport and Travel De Haviland DH-16, registration G-EALU, and was carrying two British journalists and a number of newspapers. In 1920, KLM carried 440 passengers and 22 tons of freight. In April 1921, after a winter hiatus, KLM resumed its services using its own pilots and aircraft: Fokker F.II and Fokker F.III. In 1921, KLM started scheduled services.

KLM's first intercontinental flight was initiated on the 1st of October 1924. This flight had Batavia (Colonial Jakarta) on the island Java in the Dutch East Indies as the final destination and was flown by a Fokker F.VII with registration H-NACC and was piloted by Van Der Hoop. In September 1929, regular scheduled services between Amsterdam and Batavia commenced. Until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, this was the world's longest-distance scheduled service by airplane.

By 1926, it was offering flights to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, Bremen, Copenhagen, and Malmö, using primarily Fokker F2 & Fokker F.III.

In 1930, KLM carried 15,143 passengers. The Douglas DC-2 was introduced on the Batavia service in 1934.

The first experimental transatlantic KLM flight was between Amsterdam and Curaçao in December 1934 using the Fokker F-XVIII "Snip". The first of the airline's Douglas DC-3 aircraft were delivered in 1936, and these replaced the DC-2s on the service via Batavia to Sydney. KLM was the first airline to serve Manchester's new Ringway airport, starting June 1938. KLM was the only civilian airline to operate the Douglas DC-5, using four of them in the Dutch East and West Indies between May 1940 and late 1941.

Second World War

When German military forces invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, a number of KLM aircraft (mostly DC-3s and a few DC-2s) were en route to or from the Far East or operating services in Europe. Five DC-3s and one DC-2 managed to escape to England. During the war, these KLM planes and crew members would fly the Bristol-Lisbon scheduled passenger flights under BOAC registration.

The Douglas DC-3 PH-ALI 'Ibis', then registered as G-AGBB, was attacked three times by the Luftwaffe: on 15 November 1942, 19 April 1943, and finally on 1 June 1943 (fatal to passengers and crew, see BOAC Flight 777). Some KLM aircraft with their crews ended up in the Australia-Indonesia region, where they aided in transporting people who were escaping the Japanese aggression in that area.

Post-World War II

After the ending of the Second World War in the fall of 1945, KLM immediately started to rebuild its network. Since the Dutch East Indies were in a state of revolt, Plesman's first priority was to reestablish KLM's route to Batavia. This service was reinstated by the end of 1945. Domestic and European flights resumed in September 1945, initially with a fleet of Douglas DC-3s and Douglas DC-4s. On 21 May 1946, KLM was the first continental European airline to start transatlantic scheduled flights between Amsterdam and New York City using Douglas DC-4 aircraft. By 1948, KLM had reconstructed its network and service resumed to Africa, North and South America, and the Caribbean. Long range pressurized Lockheed Constellations and Douglas DC-6s joined KLM's fleet in the late 1940s; the Convair 240 short range pressurized twin engined airliner began European flights for the company in late 1948.

During the immediate postwar period, the Dutch government expressed interest in gaining a majority stake in the airline and thus nationalizing KLM. Plesman, however, wanted KLM to remain a private company under private control and thus only allowed the Dutch government a minority stake in KLM.

In 1950, KLM carried 356,069 passengers. The expansion of the network continued in the 1950s with the addition of several destinations in western North America. KLM's fleet expanded as well with the addition of new versions of the Lockheed Constellation and Lockheed Electra, of which KLM was the first European airline to fly.

On 31 December 1953, the founder and president of KLM, Albert Plesman, died at the age of 64. Fons Aler succeeded Albert Plesman as KLM's president. After the death of Plesman, the company and other airlines entered a difficult economic period. The conversion to jet airplanes placed a further financial burden on KLM. Besides all this, the Dutch government increased its ownership of the company to two-thirds, and thus hereby nationalized the airline. The board of directors, however, remained under the control of the private shareholders.

On 25 July 1957, the airline introduced its flight simulator for the Douglas DC-7C – the last KLM aircraft with piston engines – which opened the transpolar route from Amsterdam via Anchorage to Tokyo on 1 November 1958. Each crew flying the transpolar route over the Arctic was equipped with a winter survival kit, including a 7.62 mm selective-fire AR-10 carbine for use against polar bears, in the event the plane was forced down onto the polar ice.

Jet age

Beginning in September 1959, the airline introduced the four-engine turboprop Lockheed Electra onto some of its European and Middle Eastern routes. In March 1960, KLM introduced the first Douglas DC-8 jet into its fleet. In 1961, KLM reported its first year of losses. In 1961, the president of KLM, Fons Aler, was succeeded by Ernst van der Beugel. This change of leadership, however, did not lead to a reversion of KLM's financial difficulties. Van der Beugel resigned as president in 1963 due to health reasons. Horatius Albarda was appointed to succeed Ernst van der Beugel as president of KLM in 1963. Alberda initiated a reorganization of the company, which led to the reduction of staff and air services. In 1965, Alberda died in an air crash. Dr. Gerrit van der Wal succeeded Alberda as president of KLM. Van der Wal forged an agreement with the Dutch government that KLM would be run once again as a private company without interference of the government. By 1966, the stake of the Dutch government in KLM was reduced to a minority stake of 49.5%. In 1966, KLM introduced the Douglas DC-9 on European and Middle East routes.

The new terminal buildings at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol opened in April 1967 and in 1968, the stretched Douglas DC-8-63 entered service. With 244 seats, it was the largest airliner at the time. KLM was the first airline to put the higher gross-weight Boeing 747-200B into service, starting in February 1971, powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines, thus beginning the airline's era of widebody jets. In March 1971, KLM opened its current headquarters in Amstelveen. In 1972, KLM purchased the first of several Douglas DC-10 aircraft. This jet was McDonnell Douglas's response to Boeing's 747.

In 1973, Sergio Orlandini was appointed to succeed Gerrit van der Wal as president of KLM. At the time, KLM, as well as other airlines, had to deal with overcapacity. Orlandini proposed to convert KLM 747s to "combis" that could carry a combination of passengers and freight. In November 1975, the first of these Boeing 747-300B Combi aircraft were added to the KLM fleet.

The oil crisis of 1973, which caused difficult economic conditions, led KLM to seek government assistance in arranging debt refinancing. KLM issued additional shares of stock to the government, in return for its money. In the late 1970s, the government's stake had again increased to a majority stake of 78%. KLM thus, again, was nationalized. The company management, however, remained under control of the private stakeholders.

1980s and 1990s

In 1980, KLM carried 9,715,069 passengers. In 1983, it reached an agreement with Boeing to convert some of its Boeing 747-200s to stretched upper deck configuration. The work started in 1984 at the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington and finished in 1986. The converted aircraft were called Boeing 747-200SUD, which the airline operated in addition to Boeing 747-300s. In 1983 as well, KLM took delivery of its first (of ten) Airbus A310 passenger jets. Sergio Orlandini retired in 1987 and was succeeded by Jan de Soet as president of KLM. In 1986, the share of the Dutch government in KLM was reduced to 54.8 percent. It was expected that this share would be reduced further during the decade. The Boeing 747-400 was introduced into KLM's fleet in June 1989.

With the liberalization of the European market, KLM started with the development of its hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by feeding its network with traffic from affiliated airlines. A major step in the development of a worldwide network was the acquisition of a 20% stake in Northwest Airlines in July 1989.

In 1990, KLM carried 16,000,000 passengers. KLM president Jan de Soet retired at the end of 1990 and was succeeded in 1991 by Pieter Bouw. In December 1991, KLM was the first European airline to introduce a frequent flyer loyalty program, which was called Flying Dutchman.

Joint-venture

In January 1993, the US Department of Transportation granted KLM and Northwest Airlines antitrust immunity, which allowed the two airlines to intensify their partnership. As of September 1993, the partners operated all their flights between the US and Europe as part of a joint venture. In March 1994, KLM and Northwest Airlines introduced World Business Class on intercontinental routes. KLM's stake in Northwest Airlines was increased to 25% in 1994.

KLM introduced the Boeing 767-300ER in July 1995. In January 1996, KLM acquired a 26% share in the flag carrier of Kenya, Kenya Airways. In 1997, Pieter Bouw resigned as president of KLM; he was succeeded by Leo van Wijk. In August 1998, KLM repurchased all regular shares from the Dutch government to make KLM, once again, a private company. On November 1, 1999, KLM founded AirCares, a communication and fundraising platform supporting worthy causes and focusing on underprivileged children around the world.

KLM renewed its intercontinental fleets by replacing the Boeing 767s, Boeing 747-300s, and eventually the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 with Boeing 777-200ERs and Airbus A330-200s. Some 747s would be first to retire. The MD-11s will remain in service until 2014. The first Boeing 777 was received on 25 October 2003, entering commercial service on the Amsterdam–Toronto route, while the first Airbus A330-200 was introduced on 25 August 2005 and entered commercial service on the Amsterdam–Washington Dulles route.

Air France–KLM merger

On 30 September 2003, Air France and KLM agreed to a merger plan in which Air France and KLM would become subsidiaries of a holding company called Air France-KLM. Both airlines would retain their own brands and both Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol would become the key hubs. In February 2004, the European Commission and US Department of Justice approved the proposed merger of Air France and KLM. In April 2004, an exchange offer took place in which KLM shareholders exchanged their KLM shares for Air France shares. The merger of Air France and KLM was approved by the shareholders in April 2004. By exchanging the KLM shares for Air France shares, the merger was therefore fulfilled. On 4 May 2004, the exchange offer was called successful. As of 5 May 2004, the merger of Air France and KLM was a done deal. Since 5 May 2004, Air France – KLM has been listed on the Euronext exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam and New York. In September 2004, the merger was completed by creation of the Air France-KLM holding company. The merger of Air France and KLM resulted in the world's largest airline group. The merger should lead to an annual total cost-saving of between 400 and 500 million euros.

It did not appear that KLM's longstanding joint venture with Northwest Airlines (since merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008) was affected by the merger with Air France. Both KLM and Northwest joined the SkyTeam alliance in September 2004.

In March 2007, KLM started to use the Amadeus reservation system, along with partner Kenya Airways. Furthermore, after 10 years, Leo van Wijk resigned from his position as president of KLM, being succeeded by Peter Hartman.

Recent developments

In January 2010, Northwest Airlines was merged to Delta Air Lines, ending their 21-year long alliance with KLM (but Delta Air Lines remains a key member of the SkyTeam and maintains a strong partnership with KLM's sister carrier Air France). Beginning in September 2010, KLM integrated the passenger division of Martinair into KLM. All personnel and routes were transferred to KLM. By November 2011, Martinair consisted of only the cargo and maintenance division.

In March 2011, KLM and InselAir reached an agreement for mutual interline cooperation on InselAir destinations, thus expanding its services to its passengers. Beginning 27 March 2011, KLM passengers could also fly to all InselAir destinations, through InselAir's hubs in Curacao and Sint Maarten.

On 20 February 2013, KLM announced that Peter Hartman would resign as president and CEO of KLM on 1 July 2013. He was succeeded by Camiel Eurlings. Peter Hartman will remain employed by KLM until he retires on 1 January 2014.

KLM received the award for "Best Airline Staff Service" in Europe at the World Airline Awards 2013. This award represents the rating for an airline's performance across both Airport Staff and Cabin Staff combined, and were first introduced in 2010. It is the second consecutive year that KLM won this award; in 2012 it was awarded with this title as well.

On 15 October 2014, KLM announced that Camiel Eurlings had decided in joint consultation with the supervisory board to immediately resign as president and CEO of KLM. As of this date, he is succeeded by Pieter Elbers.

KLM Asia

KLM Asia (Chinese: Hélán Yàzhōu Hángkōng Gōngsī) is a wholly KLM owned subsidiary registered in Taiwan. The airline was established in 1995 in order to operate flights to Taipei, Taiwan, without compromising the traffic rights held by KLM for destinations in the People's Republic of China. KLM Asia was one of a number of airline subsidiaries flying under the "Asia" name with the same purpose of flying to Taiwan. These included Japan Asia Airways (a Japan Airlines subsidiary), Air France Asie, British Asia Airways, Swissair Asia, and Australia Asia Airlines (a Qantas subsidiary).

The livery of KLM Asia does not feature Dutch national symbols, such as the flag of the Netherlands, nor does it use KLM's stylised Dutch Crown logo. Instead, it features a special KLM Asia logo. KLM Asia has 3 Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft (included in the KLM fleet as 747-400M), 7 Boeing 777-200ER, and 2 Boeing 777-300ER all included in the KLM fleet. KLM Asia initially operated the Amsterdam-Bangkok-Taipei route with a B747-400 Combi or a B747-400 non-combi aircraft. Since March 2012, KLM Asia has operated the revised Amsterdam-Taipei-Manila route with Boeing 777-200ER/-300ER aircraft.

Incidents and accidents

The most notable accident involving a KLM aircraft was the 1977 Tenerife disaster. Although this accident led to a lot of fatalities, KLM has one of the best safety records in the world since operating since 1919 and after this accident no KLM flight has led to fatalities.

Fatal accidents

1920s-1930s

  • On 24 April 1923, Fokker F.III H-NABS departed Lympne for Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The aircraft was not heard from again. It was presumed to have crashed into the sea, killing the pilot and both passengers.
  • On 22 August 1927, Fokker F.VIII H-NADU crashed near Sevenoaks, England. One crewmember was killed.
  • On 20 December 1934, KLM Douglas DC-2 PH-AJU "Uiver" crashed at Rutbah Wells, Iraq, killing all occupants. It participated in the Mac Robertson Air Race in October 1934 and won the handicap division. It was on its first flight after return from the race and was en route to the Netherlands Indies carrying the Christmas mail when it crashed.
  • On 14 July 1935, KLM Fokker F.XXII PH-AJQ "Kwikstaart" crashed and burned just outside Schiphol, killing four crew and two passengers. 14 other occupants survived.
  • On 20 July 1935, KLM Douglas DC-2 PH-AKG "Gaai" crashed near the San Bernardino Pass near Pian San Giacomo, killing all three crew and all ten passengers.
  • On 9 December 1936, KLM Douglas DC-2 PH-AKL "Lijster" crashed into a house after taking off from Croydon Airport, London. The accident killed 15 of the 17 on board the aircraft.
  • On 3 April 1937, KLM Douglas DC-3 PH-ALP "Pluvier" was being delivered to KLM when it struck Mount Baldy, Arizona, killing all eight on board.
  • On 28 July 1937, KLM Douglas DC-2 PH-ALF "Flamingo" crashed in a field near Beert, Belgium due to an in-flight fire, killing all 15 on board.
  • On 6 October 1937, KLM Douglas DC-3 PH-ALS "Specht" crashed on takeoff from Talang Betoetoe Airport, killing three crew and one passenger; the co-pilot and seven passengers survived.
  • On 14 November 1938, KLM Douglas DC-3 PH-ARY "IJsvogel" struck terrain and crashed near Schiphol Airport for reasons unknown, killing six on 19 on board.
  • On 9 December 1938, KLM Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra PH-APE "Ekster" crashed on takeoff from Schiphol Airport due to engine failure while on a training flight, killing the four crew.

1940s

  • On 28 December 1941, KNILM Douglas DC-3 PK-ALN "Nandoe" (formerly KLM PH-ALN) was destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters at Medan, North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, killing all crew members and passengers.
  • On 1 June 1943, KLM Douglas DC-3 PH-ALI "Ibis" (which had escaped the Dutch occupation and was operating under lease to BOAC), operating BOAC Flight 777, was shot down by eight German Junkers Ju 88 fighters over the Gulf of Biskay while on the scheduled Lisbon-Bristol route. All thirteen passengers and four KLM crewmembers perished. The same aircraft survived two previous attacks in November 1942 and April 1943.
  • On 14 November 1946, a KLM Douglas C-47 crashed at Schiphol Airport during a failed landing in bad weather. All 21 passengers, including the Dutch writer Herman de Man, and the 5 crew were killed.
  • On 26 January 1947, KLM Douglas Dakota PH-TCR crashed after takeoff from Copenhagen, killing all 22 on board, including Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden.
  • On 20 October 1948, KLM Lockheed Constellation PH-TEN "Nijmegen" crashed near Prestwick, Scotland, killing all 40 aboard.
  • On 23 June 1949, KLM Lockheed Constellation PH-TER "Roermond", piloted by Hans Plesman (the son of CEO Albert Plesman), crashed into the sea off Bari, killing 33 occupants.
  • On 12 July 1949, KLM Lockheed Constellation PH-TDF "Franeker" crashed into a 674-foot (205 m) tall hill in Ghatkopar near Bombay, India, killing all 45 aboard. Thirteen of those killed were American news correspondents.

1950s-1970s

  • On 22 March 1952, KLM Douglas DC-6 PH-TBJ "Koningin Juliana" crashed in Frankfurt, killing 42 of the 47 occupants.
  • On 23 August 1954, KLM Douglas DC-6B PH-DFO "Willem Bontekoe" crashed between Shannon and Schiphol in the North Sea, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from IJmuiden. All 21 passengers and crew died.
  • On 5 September 1954, KLM Lockheed Super Constellation PH-LKY "Triton" operating KLM Flight 633 ditched in the River Shannon after takeoff from Shannon Airport, Ireland. 28 of the 56 people on board (46 passengers and 10 crew) were killed.
  • On 14 July 1957, KLM Super Constellation PH-LKT "Neutron" operating KLM Flight 844 crashed in the sea near Biak, after takeoff from Mokmer Airport at Biak on its way to Manila. The pilot made a low farewell pass over the island, but the aircraft lost altitude, crashed into the sea and exploded. Nine crew and 49 passengers died; there were 10 survivors.
  • On 14 August 1958, KLM Lockheed Super Constellation PH-LKM "Hugo de Groot" operating KLM Flight 607-E from Amsterdam to New York via Shannon Airport crashed into the ocean 180 kilometres (110 mi) off the coast of Co. Galway, Ireland. 91 passengers and 8 crew members died.
  • On 25 October 1968, KLM Aerocarto Douglas C-47A PH-DAA flew into Tafelberg Mountain, Suriname, following an engine failure whilst on a survey flight. The aircraft collided with the mountain in cloudy conditions, killing three of the five people on board.
  • On 27 March 1977, KLM Boeing 747-206B PH-BUF operating KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Boeing 747–121 N736PA operating Pan Am Flight 1736 collided at Tenerife North Airport, Canary Islands, killing 583 people. The incident has the highest number of on-board fatalities of any single accident in aviation history.

Notable incidents without fatalities

  • On 17 July 1935, KLM DC-2 PH-AKM "Maraboe" crashed near Bushehr, Iran. All occupants were rescued.

  • On 15 November 1942, KLM DC-3 PH-ALI "Ibis" (which had escaped the Dutch occupation and was operating under lease to BOAC as G-AGBB, and later destroyed in the crash of Flight 777-A) was attacked by a single Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter. The DC-3 was able to land in Lisbon where repairs were carried out. The damage sustained by cannon and machine gun fire included the port wing, engine nacelle and fuselage.

  • On 19 April 1943, KLM DC-3 PH-ALI "Ibis" was again attacked by a swarm of six Bf 110 fighters. Captain Koene Dirk Parmentier evaded the attackers by dropping to 50 feet above the ocean and then climbing steeply into the clouds. The aircraft again sustained damage to the port aileron, shrapnel to the fuselage and a fuel tank. A new wingtip was flown to Lisbon to complete repairs. Despite these attacks, BOAC continued to fly the Lisbon–Whitchurch route.
  • On 6 November 1946, KLM Douglas DC-3 PH-TBO crashed near Shere as the flight was on approach to Croydon Airport after a flight from Amsterdam. None of the 20 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.
  • On 23 March 1952, KLM Lockheed Constellation PH-TFF "Venlo" suffered a propeller failure and subsequent engine fire during landing in Bangkok. All 44 passengers and crew escaped shortly before the fire completely consumed the plane. A Thai ground crewman ran into the burning aircraft and returned with an infant who had been left behind.
  • On 25 November 1973, KLM Boeing 747-206B PH-BUA "Mississippi" operating KLM Flight 861 was hijacked over Iraq by Palestinian terrorists. The plane took off in Amsterdam and was bound for Tokyo. After 70 hours the plane made its final landing in Dubai. The passengers were released earlier in Malta. Everyone survived the hijacking.
  • On 15 December 1989, KLM Boeing 747-400 PH-BFC operating KLM Flight 867 flew through a volcanic plume causing nearly $80 million worth of damage to the then brand-new aircraft. The plane landed in Anchorage, Alaska, with no reported injuries or fatalities.
  • On 28 November 2004 KLM Boeing 737-400, PH-BTC operating KLM Flight 1673 had a birdstrike upon rotation from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The plane continued onwards to Barcelona International Airport, where the nose gear collapsed. No injuries or casualties were reported. The aircraft was written off.

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Source : Article KLM of Wikipedia ( authors )
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    To continue providing the Service for free, the Webmaster reserves the right to insert advertising or promotional messages on any page of the Site. In the same idea, any donations will only by used to cover the running costs of the site, such as hosting, connection fees, hardware and software necessary for the development and maintenance of the Website.

    Links and other websites

    Administrators shall in no case be liable for the non-availability of websites operated by third parties to which users would access through the Website.

    Administrators assume no liability for any content, advertising, products and/or services available on such third party websites. It is reminded that those sites are governed by their own terms of use.

    Placing a link to third party sites or authorize a third party to include a link on their website refering to this Website does not mean that the Administrators recommend in any way the products or services offered by these websites.

    Modifications

    The Webmaster reserves the right to modify at any time without notification the present terms of use as well as all content or specific functionality that the Website offers.

    The modified terms and conditions immediately apply to the using Visitor when changes come online. Visitors are invited to consult the site regularly on the most current version of the terms and conditions

    Governing Law and Jurisdiction

    These general conditions are governed by Belgian law.

    In case of dispute regarding the interpretation and/or execution of the above terms, the parties agree that the courts of the district of Nivelles, Belgium shall have exclusive jurisdiction power.

    Credits page

    Wikipedia.org

    Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia.

    Youtube

    YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos.

    Special thanks to all Youtube quality aviation vids providers, specially (Those I forgot, please excuse me or report) :

    Airboyd
    Andys Video
    Aviation videos archives
    Bomberguy
    Classic Aviation TV
    Historical Aviation Film Unit
    Horsemoney
    Jaglavaksoldier
    Joluqa Malta
    Just Planes
    Koksy
    Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
    Memorial Flight
    Octane130
    Okrajoe
    SDASM archives
    Spottydog4477
    The Aviators TV
    Valentin Izagirre Bengoetxea
    Vexed123
    VonBerlich
    Zenos Warbirds

    Bundesarchiv

    The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany.

    FAQ

    I don't see my comments any more!

    Please note that each page has it's own comment entry. So, if you enter a comment i.e. on the B-747, you will only see it on that related page.

    General comments are accessed via the "BLOG En" button.

    Comments are moderated, so please allow some delay before they appear, specially if you are outside Europe.

    Menus are developing below the page, because they are too long!

    But they remain accessible, for example by scrolling the mouse wheel, or with your finger (on the menu) on a smartphone or tablet.

    I see adds on all videos.

    Use a good free add remover software.

    The site is loading random pages at startup.

    We think it is a good way to bring back the memory of aircraft, persons or events sometimes quite forgotten.

    HELP PAGE

    Why this site?

    Discovery

    This website is dedicated to one's aeronautical passion (which I hope we share) and was realised mainly as an educationnal tool. Knowing that, you'll notice that each new visit brings random topics for the purpose of making new discoveries, some achievements or characters certainly not deserving the oblivion into which they have sometimes fallen.

    By these pages, we also want to pay tribute to all those who gave at one time or another, their lives or health in the name of freedom, aeronautical security or simply our comfort.

    Centralisation

    Internet is full of websites dedicated to aviation, but most are dedicated to subjects or periods that are very limited in space or time. The purpose of this site is to be as general as possible and thus treats all events as well as characters of all stripes and times while putting much emphasis on the most significant achievements.

    The same years saw birth of technologies like photography and cinema, thus permitting illustration of a large part of important aeronautical events from the start. Countless (and sometimes rare) media recently put online by enthousiasts finally give us access to these treasures, but the huge amount of information often makes things a little messy. A centralization effort is obviously most needed at this level.

    All persons who directly or indirectly contributed to the achievement or posting of such documents are here gratefully acknowledged.

    General

    Fluid website

    This site automatically fits the dimensions of your screen, whether you are on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

    Bilingual website

    You can change the language by clicking on the flag in the upper left or via "Options" in the central menu. Of course, the videos remain in the language in which they were posted ...

    Browser compatibility

    The site is not optimized, or even designed to run on older browsers or those deliberately deviating from standards. You will most probably encounter display issues with Internet Explorer. In this case, it is strongly recommended installing a modern (and free!) browser that's respecting the standards, like Firefox, Opera, Chrome or Safari.

    Cookies and Javascript

    This site uses cookies and JavaScript to function properly. Please ensure that your browser is configured accordingly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Site for the retention or disclosure of personal information about its Visitors. See the "Legal" page for more on this subject.

    Website layout

    Left menus

    Because of the lack of space on smartphones and small tablets, these menus are hidden. Everything is nevertheless accessible via the main menu option, located between the video and photo sections. This menu is placed there for compatibility reasons with some browsers, which play the videos over the menus.

    "Search" and "Latest" :
    The link "In Titles" restricts the search to the titles of different forms. Use this option if you are looking for a plane, a constructor, a pilot or a particular event that could have been treated as a subject.

    The link "In Stories" will bring you to a search in all texts (the "Story" tab) and will take more time. The search term will appear highlighted in green when opening the corresponding story.

    Would you believe, "Timeline" will show all subjects in chronological order.

    "Random" will reload the entire page with a new random topic.

    The bottom section keeps you abreast of the latest five entries. New topics are added regularly. Don't hesitate to come visit us often : add bookmark.

    Blogs and Comments central section

    Under the photos section comes the comments tabs window :

    You can enter general comments in your own language via one of the two buttons on the left (BLOG EN and BLOG FR). Note that these buttons are accessible regardless of the language to allow some participation in the other language.

    All comments are subject to moderation and will be published only if they comply with the basic rules of decorum, while remaining relevant to the purpose of this site.

    The third tab allows you to enter comments on the shown topic and is bilingual. Personal anecdotes, supplements and other information questions will take place here.

    The "Story" tab shows the explanatory texts. They are most often taken from Wikipedia, a site where we participate regularly.

    The "Data" tab is reserved for list of features and specifications.

    Right menus

    On a smartphone, the lack of space is growing and this menu is moved to the bottom of the page to give priority to videos and pictures.

    The top right icons are links to videos posted by third parties (on their own responsabilities) or by ourselves. The link below these icons will take you to the channel of the one who posted the video. Feel free to suggest other videos if you think they are of some interest (Use the BLOG button or the "Contact" link).