Tag: Germany

History of Russia: the graphic novel Tsar Bomba.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 28 November 2025
No Comments on History of Russia: the graphic novel Tsar Bomba.

The graphic novel “Tsar Bomba” recounts, through the testimony of Andrei Sakharov, the competition between the major powers to create the most devastating atomic weapon.

The author Fabien Grolleau states that he does not wish to use his book for propaganda purposes, and I must say that I quite agree. Although the book focuses mainly on the USSR’s nuclear tests, it also provides information about France and the United States. When recounting the various stories that unfolded throughout the development of “Tsar Bomba,” it is essential to at least provide the reader with the context of the USSR at the time. We are dealing with a totalitarian regime that eliminates its own citizens, even if they have done nothing wrong. I saw the results of Stalin’s purges in the book “Les alpinistes de Staline.”

The graphic novel Tsar Bomba (in French)

Soviet scientists worked in what was known as “the Facility.” They did not know exactly where it was located, due to military secrecy. They did also ignore for how long they would work in these nuclear research laboratories. And it is clear that, given the context of the time, no scientist dared to openly criticize the Kremlin. But Sakharov was an exception.

Realizing the significance of his research, Andrei Sakharov began to “denounce Stalin’s crimes, the dangers of thermonuclear war, current and future ecological threats, and above all, the lack of democracy in his country! This was unheard of in the Soviet Union.” He had now become a dissident.

Below is a graph showing the difference in intensity between an atomic bomb created in 1945 and the Tsar Bomba of 1961.

Comparison of the strength of nuclear bombs

The Germany-Japan alliance during World War II upset the balance of power and pushed the United States to invent an unthinkable weapon to end the hostilities. The nuclear age began with the Manhattan Project and Hiroshima. The major powers recognized the devastating effect of atomic weapons and embarked on an arms race to establish a policy of nuclear deterrence. No single country could be allowed to possess the bomb! Humanity now had to come to terms with the idea that the balance of terror-maintained peace.

The author highlights the impact of radiation on residents living in areas surrounding nuclear test sites. Whether due to shifting winds, stronger-than-expected nuclear reactions, or a lack of transparency towards villagers, many citizens die as a result of these supposedly “controlled” tests. National security and territorial sovereignty take precedence over all other considerations.

On a Personal Note

A new race is now consuming all the energy of researchers working for the major powers: artificial intelligence. We hear about the ethical use of these technological advances, but this is more smoke and mirrors than anything else.

All that matters now for a major power is to ensure that it is ahead of the others. An article from the January/February edition of Foreign Affairs magazine mentioned that the country that has a real lead over its competitors in artificial intelligence will control the world. In this context, I do not believe that a major power will agree to limit itself and slow down its research because of an ethical issue.

In conclusion, here is a quote from Albert Einstein that appears in the graphic novel: “I don’t know how World War III will be fought, but I know how World War IV will be fought: with sticks and stones.”

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Title: Tsar Bomba (in French)

Authors: Fabien Grolleau and Cyril Elophe

Edition: Glénat, 2025

ISBN: 978-2-344-05319-5/001

Graphic novels and comics

WWII Comic book: Les derniers corsaires.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 19 October 2025

The Quebec comic book “Les derniers corsaires” tells what appears to be true stories, although it is difficult for me to verify every detail in the book. There may also be some inventions on the part of the authors.

The events are said to have taken place during World War II aboard various British submarines, including the Thorn. Their officers learn on the job and sometimes narrowly avoid making critical mistakes.

For example, Lieutenant Woolf of the Royal Navy wants to quickly defeat the Germans, despite his relative inexperience and flawed strategies. His desire to rack up trophies and earn the rank of captain puts the submarine in danger. In a naval battle, haste is a poor advisor.

This officer redeems himself in a big way as he learns to use all the tools at his disposal to improve his risk management and make brilliant and courageous decisions. Sailors who were previously hesitant to follow him now support him to the death if necessary.

The story is surprising in its intensity and the amount of information it contains. It gives a better understanding of some of the qualities and knowledge required to gain an advantage over an opponent while avoiding costly mistakes. The comic book is a page-turner. You want to know everything, even though that’s obviously not possible.

The content of the correspondence between Captain Woolf and his brother provides a powerful conclusion to this comic book. While researching the content of the comic book, the authors discovered a website (www.walterwoolf.letters.org) which was blocked three days later. The correspondence downloaded during this short period of time reveals interesting information.

Thus, as the war was about to end in favour of the Allies, the SS based in the North Atlantic intended to launch a bacteriological war. They transported Hagen’s bacillus (possibly Hansen’s bacillus) to France by sea on the sailing ship Göteborg.

Although the mission failed and the bacillus did not reach its destination, its discovery on the sailboat raises several questions that have yet to be answered. The crew set off for a desolate spot in Greenland to await nature’s verdict. Were those who discovered the bacillus infected? Where did the entire crew disappear?

The authors write: “In 2001, Denmark declared part of Greenland’s west coast and hinterland a military exclusion zone, which remained in place until 2009. It can be assumed that intensive research is being carried out there.”

This is a well-crafted comic book that will leave no one indifferent.

Title: Les derniers corsaires (The Last Corsairs)

Authors: Jocelyn Houde and Marc Richard

Publisher: La Pastèque, 2012

ISBN: 978-2-923841-14-4

Click on the link for more comic books and graphic novels on my blog.

Tags Alliés, biological warfare, comic book, France, Germans, Germany, Great-Britain, Hagen’s bacillus, Les derniers corsaires, maritime transport, North Atlantic, risk management, Royal Navy, sailors, SS, strategy, submarine, true stories, World War II

Flight Simulation

Explore the Planet in Flight Simulation (12)

Post author By Stanley
Post date 7 March 2025

Airbus H160 helicopter leaving Helgoland (EDHX) for an oil platform in the North Sea

This twelfth leg of the round-the-world flight simulation trip features a precision landing. Indeed, there is a stopover on an oil platform in the North Sea. The code name of this facility in the Netherlands is EHFD F3-FB-1A. As usual, we’re using the MSFS flight simulator.

Airbus virtual H160 helicopter in flight towars the EHFD F3-FB-1A oil platform in flight simulation.

We are airborne in the evening from the island of Düne, in Germany. We shall reach the oil platform around dusk.

Virtual H160 helicopter approaching a wind farm in the North Sea with MSFS.

The photo above shows a wind farm straight ahead in the North Sea. In the event of a ditching, the H160 helicopter is equipped with floats that can be activated by the captain.

The night approaches as the H160 approaches the oil platform in MSFS

The virtual flight takes place in real weather conditions. As the day draws to a close, the sky takes on superb hues.

A few minutes later, the rig becomes visible.

Very windy for an H160 landing at EHFD F3-FB-1A oil platform in the North Sea with MSFS

Generally, the winds remain at a fairly high speed for the approach to the helipad. In addition, the crane constantly moves from left to right not too far from the landing zone. As a result, the helicopter needs to be in the appropriate place. Moreover, turbulence near the building complicates manoeuvres. Therefore, two approaches become necessary before landing safely.

H160 helicopter landed on the EHFD F3-FB-1A oil platform in flight simulation

The helicopter will finally spend the night on the platform. Crew and passengers will certainly enjoy a well-deserved rest. Tomorrow, our mandate is to make the connection to a second drilling rig. This one is located further north, in the territory of Norway. For flight simulation fans who’d like to try it out, the code name is ENXB Eldfisk B.

Click on the link for more flight simulator flights around the world on my blog.

Tags around the world in flight simulation, EHFD F3-FB-1A, explore the planet, flight simulation, flight simulator, Germany, H160, helicopter, hélipad, MSFS, night flight, Norway, oil platform, virtual flights

Flight Simulation

Explore the planet with MSFS flight simulator (11)

Post author By Stanley
Post date 21 February 2025

For this eleventh leg of the flight simulation world tour, we depart from Padderborn Lippstadt Airport (EDLP) for Helgoland, Germany.

As our sponsor has an unlimited budget, we’ll be flying in an Airbus H160 Luxury helicopter. En route to the destination, we’ll be stopping off at Bremen airport (EDDW).

Airbus H160 helicopter over Bremen airport in MSFS 2020

For aviation buffs, the route from Bremen reads: EDDW DCT DO DCT DW271 DCT DW285 DCT WSN DCT NDO DCT EDXH (Helgoland). I use the following software: Navigraph, Simbrief, FSLTL and the MSFS 2020 flight simulator. The flight is carried out in real weather (injected via the Internet).

After take-off, we fly over some of Bremen’s industrial facilities.

H160 Airbus helicopter over Bremen industrial installation in MSFS2020

I have a co-pilot to help me with the job when I’m taking photos. I can’t say she’s very chatty, but the main thing is to get to the airport safely.

View from the cockpit in the Airbus H160 helicopter

As we approach the North Sea, the coastline is briefly laden with low cloud and visibility diminishes. A few raindrops fall, while a double rainbow forms and a little turbulence is felt.

Precipitation isn’t really a problem, as it doesn’t last long. But with an outside temperature of -5 C, we have to watch out for icing.

Rainbow and updrafts before reaching the North Sea from Bremen in flight simulation

The weather returns to VFR and we head out over the water towards Helgoland.

Airbus H160 Luxury helicopter over Germany heading to Helgoland aiport

Helgoland has changed ownership many times over the decades, as a result of armed conflicts. The site has belonged to Great Britain, Denmark and is now part of Germany. It was a strategic military site whose installations were dynamited (and solidly!) by the British at the end of the Second World War.

H160 helicopter arriving to Helgoland in flight simulation

We look out over the cliffs of Helgoland before heading for the destination of our trip, the small island of Düne, in the background in the photo below.

The cliffs of Lummenfelsen at Helgoland, Germany, in flight simulation

Although not sporty, the landing requires a few precautions due to gusts of 23 knots. On landing, the aircraft floats for a few seconds, behaving like a boat on rough water. But in the end, all goes well.

Landing of a virtual Airbus H160 at Helgoland, Germany with MSFS

The next virtual flight will be to an oil platform located in Denmark in the North Sea. For those who’d like to try the landing, the code name is EHFD F3-FB-1A.

Click on the link for more flight simulator flights around the world on my blog.

Flight Simulation

Around the world in flight simulation (10).

Post author By Stanley
Post date 22 November 2024
4 Comments on Around the world in flight simulation (10).

Leg 10 of this round-the-world flight simulation trip takes place between Poland and Germany. Two very different aircraft will be used to complete the journey during this day of VFR flying: an old Junkers Ju 52/3m and a modern business helicopter, the Airbus H160.

Junkers JU 52 airborne from the Lublin airport (EPLB) in Poland.

Departure is from Lublin airport (EPLB) in Poland. The Junkers Ju 52/3m takes off without a hitch over a short distance. The big three-engine tailwheel is as predictable as the Cessna C-170B I used in real life to cross Canada in 1981. Above, one can see the cultivated fields of Poland.

Junkers JU 52 and the Moritzburg Castle in Germany in flight simulation

It’s shaping up to be a beautiful morning, weather-wise. The first leg of the trip takes us over Moritzburg Castle (Schloss Moritzburg), northwest of Dresden. Built in 1542, it was originally the hunting lodge of the Duke of Saxony.

Junkers JU 52 enroute to the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle in Germany

On the way to Halle is a large wind farm. Germany, like Europe, is rapidly developing its green energy. Russia’s recent attitude to Europe’s natural gas supply has drastically changed energy planning in neighboring countries.

A Junkers JU 52 flying over the State Museum of Prehistory Halle in Germany in flight simulation

Above, in the center of the photo, is a partial view of the National Museum of Prehistory in Halle (Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle), not far from Leipzig. It is one of Central Europe’s leading archaeological museums.

Fly-by of the Kyffhaüser-Denkmal in Germany by a Junkers Ju 52 in flight simulation

Before reaching Calden airport to change aircraft, we gaze at the Kyffhaüser monument (Kyffhaüser Denkmal). Once in Calden, we jump into a modern Airbus-built H160 helicopter and head for Göttingen, more precisely over the Münchhausenstrasse.

We’ve obtained permission to fly over this thoroughfare at very low altitude, just long enough to say hello to an old acquaintance. This dubious authorization will probably cost Germany’s Minister of Transport his job.

Streets of Göttingen, Germany, in flight simulation

A flyover of this Göttingen street is necessary to verify the extent of the traffic.

Helicopter descending on Münchhausenstrasse, Göttingen, Germany, in flight simulation.

The descent is gradual between the buildings. We hover just above the cars. Pedestrians seem to wave at us, but we may misinterpret the gesture. Our friend is at the window and takes the time to stop his reading of an excellent comic strip to wave at us. We then continue on our way to Padderborn Lippstadt Airport (EDLP), our destination for today.

Helicopter H160 landing at the Padderborn Lippstadt (EDLP) in Germany in flight simulation.

Still, there’s a fair amount of activity at the airport. Immediately after landing, we’ll start planning leg 11 of this round-the-world flight simulation and real weather trip.

Click on the link for more flight simulator flights around the world on my blog.

Graphic novels and comics

Graphic novel : Deux filles nues.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 15 November 2024

German painter Otto Mueller created the painting “Deux filles nues (Two nude girls)” in 1919. Through an artwork which survived turbulent times, the reader follows a changing Germany. He also gets to know the different art dealers.

At the beginning of the book, the author uses a great deal of imagination to introduce us to the life of the Mueller couple. The painter died in 1930 and the painting changed hands for the first time three years later. At that time, inflation was raging in Germany, and the dissatisfaction of the population led to the appointment of Adolf Hitler to the chancellorship by Hindenburg.

Between 1933 and 1946, the painting miraculously survived censorship and the destruction of works deemed degenerate by the Nazis. Thousands of works of modern German art were set on fire by the authorities.

Pogroms spread across Germany. Jewish-owned paintings were seized. When the Gestapo forced part of Ismar Littmann’s (German link, English link) collection to be auctioned off , it selected 64 works, 53 of which were immediately burned.

During the same period, a traveling exhibition entitled “Entartete Kunst” (“Degenerate Art”) was commissioned by Joseph Goebbels, and 730 works traveled between Munich and other major German cities. Ironically, this degenerate art ended up attracting three times as many visitors as acceptable German craftsmanship, whose works were displayed in nearby buildings.

A page from the graphic novel "Deux filles nues" by Luz edited by Albin Michel. — A page from the graphic novel “Deux filles nues” by Luz edited by Albin Michel.

Until 1946, the painting “Deux filles nues” changed ownership several times, and continued to survive the bombings, organized destruction and art thefts carried out by the Nazis.

After the war, the painting’s name was changed from Zwei Mädchenakte (“Two Nude Girls”) to Zwei weibliche Halbakte (“Two Female Half-Nudes”) and toured Germany and the world. In 1976, it was exhibited at the Ludwig Museum in Cologne. Former owners Ruth and Chaim Haller were finally reunited with their painting in 1999. Ruth is the daughter of Ismar Littmann, mentioned at the beginning of this article.

The museum officially returned the work to the owners, but in the same year made an offer to buy it back, which was accepted by the Hallers. Today, the painting can be found in the Expressionist section of Cologne’s Ludwig Museum.

Through his considerable research and the publication of his graphic novel, the author underlines the importance of remaining alert to the political and cultural censorship that regularly resurfaces.

The book ends with a chronology of events and biographies of the main characters. The author goes to great lengths not to show us what the painting “Two Naked Girls” looks like, until we’re practically at the end of the story! A very clever way of keeping our curiosity alive.

Click on the link for more graphic novels and comics on my blog.

Title: Deux filles nues

Author: LUZ

ISBN: 978-2-226-48957-9 (French)

Graphic novels and comics

Graphic novel: “L’expert”.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 19 April 2024

The story takes place in 1977 in West Germany. A road accident that claims the lives of a woman and her child attracts the attention of a morgue employee, a man with high standards of professionalism and who is well regarded by his general manager.

This employee is Monsieur Martin, a former soldier who once fought in the Second World War and for whom the word “responsibility” weighs heavily in his existence as an older man. He conducts his own investigation, and naturally upsets people in high positions who have decided to look the other way to preserve their reputations.

Such a theme will always be relevant, as it affects not only German society but all nations across the planet, where individuals who have the most to lose in a given situation choose to disregard their obligations, despite the injustices.

The graphic novel “L’expert” is very well done. I like the drawings, the scenario, the choice of colours, the period and the location where the story takes place. The Germans must certainly have appreciated its publication in 2022.

Click on the link for more graphic novels in my blog.

Title: The Expert (original German version as “Das Gutachten”)

Author: Jennifer Daniel

ISBN: 978-2-203-28080-9

Tags books, drug and alcool abuse, Europe, fiction, Germans, Germany, graphic novels, human behaviour, l'expert, psychology, Second World War

Novels

A new novel by Régis Jauffret : « Dans le ventre de Klara ».

Post author By Stanley
Post date 30 March 2024

Novel cover "Dans le ventre de Klara" by Régis Jauffret — Novel cover “Dans le ventre de Klara” by Régis Jauffret

[For the presentation of this book published in French, I did my best to translate some sentences in English, but a professional translation would have better reflect the quality of Régis Jauffret’s writing].

“In July 1888, around Saint James’s Day, Uncle made me pregnant”. So begins Régis Jauffret‘s novel “Dans le ventre de Klara” (In Klara’s Belly) , that master of punchlines and synthesis. The Klara in question is Klara Hitler, who at the time of the story is carrying within her an Adolf Hitler already capable of infusing her on occasion with visions of the disaster he would orchestrate years later.

The author has found a unique way to position Klara’s terrible premonitions in the text. They are suddenly imposed in the midst of the mother-to-be’s daily reveries, often right in the middle of a paragraph or sentence.

In this tale of fact and fiction, the wife must stay in her place and hope for nothing. The writer has Klara say: “I’m afflicted with the mania of hoping for something other than my fate“. The husband decides everything. The local church’s confessor would love to have as much control as the spouse, but this proves more difficult than expected. The husband and abbot are a good example of the excessive power they wield over women in this era. A military officer with little combat experience who dictates his conduct to his wife as if she were a soldier, and a fanatical abbot who imposes the arbitrary rules of a sickening religion, enslaving women and imposing his dogmas on couples from a distance.

Back cover of the novel "Dans le ventre de Klara" by Régis Jauffret — Back cover of the novel “Dans le ventre de Klara” by Régis Jauffret

Speaking of God and women, the author writes: “A Christian woman must bear children, help to populate the Earth He has given us as a theater for our sins”. And when Klara finds herself back in the confessional and being chastised by the priest: “Far from the voice of Christ gone, it was now Abbé Probst who was busy putting me through the wringer of language. Sentences as long as straps. Words as heavy and blunt as bludgeons. Subtle, sharp words, in places bristling with reddened spikes. Punctuation like broken glass […].” You get the idea…

I particularly appreciate Régis Jauffret’s writing, having read many of his works, including “La ballade de Rikers Island“, “Le dernier bain de Gustave Flaubert“, “Papa” and the three volumes entitled Microfictions, published respectively in 2007, 2018 and 2022. He even won the Goncourt short story award for the 2018 edition.

Régis Jauffret explains the intention behind his latest novel in a video on Youtube, if you’re interested in digging deeper into the subject.

Happy reading!

Click on the link for other novels on my blog.

Title: Dans le ventre de Klara

Author: Régis Jauffret

Publisher: Récamier

ISBN : 978-2-38577-057-0

Graphic novels and comics

Graphic novel : Le piège américain (The American Trap).

Post author By Stanley
Post date 20 January 2024

The graphic novel "Le piège américain". — The graphic novel “Le piège américain”.

Frédéric Pierucci is a senior executive at Alstom, a gigantic French energy company. Thanks to a US extraterritorial law (FCPA Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) which allows the US government to prosecute any foreign firm targeted for corruption, he was arbitrarily arrested in 2013 as he got off the plane in New York.

Pierucci had not received any money from these operations, but he was aware that Alstom was targeted for embezzlement and that the company used “intermediaries” to secure contracts. He was incarcerated for months, and Alstom finally abandoned him, believing that the Americans would be satisfied with the imprisonment of this high-ranking executive. Pierucci must now try to extricate himself from the quagmire into which he has been plunged.

A page of the graphic novel "Le piège américain". — A page of the graphic novel “Le piège américain”.

Even if he is not directly implicated in the bribes, the American justice system wants to pressure Pierucci into revealing details that would incriminate Alstom’s management, including CEO Patrick Kron. Pierucci’s harsh judicial treatment is also intended to intimidate the firm’s other top executives, showing them what awaits them if they do not cooperate in rectifying past mistakes.

The primary aim seemed to correct unfair schemes that were damaging American companies and, by the same token, to obtain very substantial monetary compensation. The operation was a success: the effects of Pierucci’s arbitrary arrest paved the way within a few years for the sale of a strategic Alstom subsidiary to General Electric, its main competitor.

Back cover of the graphic novel "Le piège américain". — Back cover of the graphic novel “Le piège américain”.

The maneuvers also allow to obtain information that would otherwise remain confidential. This U.S. extraterritorial law works well and is used to attack numerous corporations around the world, including the German international group Siemens. Each time, the offender is obliged to pay substantial fines and must submit internal documents considered confidential or even secret to the prosecutor.

It’s hard to know who exactly will have access to these documents. Is it possible that agents (we won’t call them “spies” for the sake of politeness) are passing on trade-secret information to people working outside the U.S. Justice Department? Such actions would enable American companies to improve their competitiveness at little cost. But these are questions that the executives of the targeted companies are asking themselves.

Be that as it may, not everything in this story is squeaky clean. Author Matthieu Aron writes: “In autumn 2018, after Frédéric [Pierucci] was finally released, we finished our book. But again, it was not without difficulty. The day after we sent our manuscript to our publisher, my home was ‘visited’ and my computer disappeared. Simple burglars, spooks, or action by a foreign service? We’ll probably never know.”

The graphic novel "Le piège américain", prix littéraire nouveaux droits de l'homme 2019. — The graphic novel “Le piège américain”, prix littéraire nouveaux droits de l’homme 2019.

My view on the subject.

China is watching and learning.

The effectiveness of this American extraterritorial law has not escaped the attention of China, which is planning to devise a similar law that would allow it to lay its hands on otherwise inaccessible information and archives.

Faced with these two behemoths, the United States and China, Europe has fallen behind, and it too will have to create its own law enabling it to extend its judicial power outside the continent. For no one is fooled: bribes to obtain contracts involve multiple countries. Prosecutions under extraterritorial legislation give access not only to large sums of money, but also to documents containing important data and possibly industrial secrets.

Another book on the graphic novel "Le piège américain". — Another book on the graphic novel “Le piège américain”.

The Alstom experience will at least have had the effect of better preparing France for the moment when, a little later, the giant Airbus was targeted for malfeasance by the same American law. Airbus manufactures not only airplanes, but also many strategic military products protected by secrecy. This time, the widespread collection of the company’s confidential information was refused, without a French citizen being named as intermediary and the documents handed over to the Americans being reviewed to ensure that they did not contain military secrets or other information not directly related to the corruption charges.

Today, Airbus is a great success, selling more aircraft each month than Boeing, which is experiencing difficulties with the way it builds its aircraft. And we have every right to believe that senior management at Airbus has improved its business practices.

Click on the link for more graphic novels and comics on my blog.

Title: Le piège américain — Les dessous de l’affaire Alstom (The American Trap, in the English version)

Authors: Matthieu Aron, Frédéric Pierucci

Drawing and color: Hervé Duphot

ISBN : 978-2-413-03738-5

Flight Simulation

The Dornier DO X in flight simulation.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 2 December 2023

Dornier DO X stops its engines on a Swiss lake with Microsoft's flight simulator — Dornier DO X stops its engines on a Swiss lake with Microsoft’s flight simulator

Microsoft has made the famous German Dornier DO X seaplane available to flight simulation enthusiasts. Designed in 1929 by Claude Dornier, this seaplane far surpassed anything else on the market at the time, in terms of weight, length and power.

Unfortunately, the Germans couldn’t make a commercial success of it, as the aircraft was really too heavy to cover long distances at high altitude in an economical way. What’s more, bad experiences were piling up during the various stopovers: the left-wing canvas caught fire in Portugal, there was some problems with tropical weather, the tail was torn off during a poorly-planned ditching in Passau. What remains of the empennage after the accident can now be seen in the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen.

The Germans built the three DO X models at Altenheim, on the Swiss side of Lake Constance, to get round the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles.

Inside the flyingboat Dornier DO X with Microsoft flight simulator

One crew member was in charge of controlling and monitoring the engines. He obeyed the captain’s instructions.

Dornier DO X engine room with Microsoft flight simulator

The layout of the engines caused headaches for the mechanics. Six propellers pulled the aircraft forward, while another six pushed the DO X. The engines driving the rear propellers received less air than those in front of the aircraft. This led to cooling problems, which reduced reliability on long-distance flights.

Dornier DO-X flyingboat over the Atlantic ocean with MSFS 2020 flight simulator.

The seaplane made its first test flight from Lake Constance (Bodensee) in 1929. Below, a screenshot of the flight near Lake Brienz in Switzerland.

Dornier DO X flyingboat over Lake Brienz in Switzerland with Microsoft flight simulator.

On its international routes, the DO X made stopovers in several European countries, Africa, South America, Miami, New York and Newfoundland. At the time, Newfoundland was not yet part of Canada. Newfoundlanders issued a stamp to commemorate the plane’s passage through Hollyrod. Naturally, those who kept a copy of the stamp have seen its value rise sharply over the years.

trans-atlantic-west-to-east-per-dornier-do-x-may-1932-air-mail-newfoundland-stamp

This legendary seaplane is still admired by aviation enthusiasts today. It’s available as a glue-on model, a desktop model and even as a remote-controlled model.

The Dornier DO X 1929 desktop flyingboat.

Small-scale radiocontrolled Dornier DO-X

Click on the link for flight simulation articles on my blog.