The Whale, a photo from Baden-Wurttemberg, West

Photographer's Note

Dornier Wal (= whale) was the most successful seaplane of Dornier, 250 of them were built between 1922 and 1933. There were civil as well as military versions, some of them served as mail planes which crossed the South Atlantic. The restrictions of the Versailles treaty were detoured by producing in Italy.
This here is a replica of the Wal with Norwegian registration N25, employed by Roald Amundsen on his unlucky 1925 flight with two planes to the North Pole. N25 was forced down by motor problems 250 km south from the target, while N24 made a hard landing and had to be given up. After hard work on repairs and a provisional airstrip, both crews managed to take off in their overloaded plane and reach Svalbard. The pilots and passengers sat in the open, as can be seen. The original plane became an exhibit of Deutsches Museum, Munich, and was destroyed an an allied bomb raid in 1944.
Dornier Museum, Friedrichshafen.

pajaran, ikeharel, jean113, Royaldevon has marked this note useful

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jean113 (22047) 2020-07-09 2:47

Hello Sven, a very strange looking plane, it can’t have been comfortable flying in a plane like this.Your notes are interesting and informative.
Good shot as you were obviously in a confined space.
Thanks for sharing, kind regards, Jean.

Royaldevon (75378) 2020-07-09 5:58

Hello Sven,

This is an excellent, clear photograph of the plane, it's shiny textures almost palpable.

I just cannot imagine how cold it must have been, flying to the North Pole, sitting in the open! We are talking about true adventurers!

Thanks for sharing this,
Bev :-)