Junkers F13

The first post-war Junkers, from the beginning conceived as an airliner, transport or business aircraft, made its first flight in 1919. It followed on from the previous J12, which was merely a modification of the J10 close-support aircraft equipped with a passenger cabin. It is generally considered the first modern airliner in the world. It was an all-metal cantilever low-wing cabin monoplane, with several safety innovations including the fitting of seat-belts. It had, of course, a period-specific fixed landing gear, it was covered with corrugated duralumin sheet metal, had a fixed-pitch wooden propeller and could be powered by various engines, most often Mercedes DIII derivatives, different BMW or Junkers versions with an output of 160-230 horsepower (119-172 kW). It was designed for 6 people. The rear cabin equipped with an entrance door accommodated 4 passengers (2 passengers and a table in some business versions). The front cockpit housed 2 pilots, or the pilot on the left and the 5th passenger on the right. It was not glazed, only equipped with small windshields. The aircraft therefore had no problems with visibility or de-icing of the windshield. A total of 322 units were produced in Germany and in the Soviet Union by 1929. 20 units were confiscated as war reparations and handed over to Britain (6 units), Belgium (2), Italy (5) and France (7). The original aircraft on display (probably production no. 609), powered by a 180 horsepower (134 kW) BMW IIIa engine, is one of the confiscated French examples. It does not sport any registration.