Baade 152

The Baade 152 also known as Dresden 152, VL-DDR 152 or simply 152, was a post-war airliner designed and manufactured by East German aircraft company VEB Flugzeugwerke Dresden. The aircraft was named after German aeronautical engineer Brunolf Baade, the principal designer involved in the programme. It was the first jet airliner to be developed in Germany. The Baade 152 represents the final development in the Junkers aircraft family which ended with the "development planes" (Entwicklungsflugzeug – EF). Its development drew upon the OKB-1 150, an aborted bomber that was developed in the Soviet Union with assistance from captured German scientists. The Baade 152's basic configuration shares many similarities, including shape, size, wing-area, landing gear configuration, empty weight, range, altitude, speed, power per engine, and double-engine cowling arrangement similar to the American-built Boeing B-47 Stratojet, a bomber/aerial reconnaissance aircraft which entered service with the United States Air Force during 1951. Work on the Baade 152 formally commenced during 1955. On 4 December 1958, the maiden flight of the first prototype V1/I (DM-ZYA) took place. A total of three Baade 152s would be manufactured, two of which would participate in a test flight programme based out of Dresden Airport between 1956 and 1961. On 4 March 1959, the first prototype was lost in an accident, killing all crew on board; the cause is unclear. Testing continued using the second prototype. At one stage, there were reports that around 20 aircraft were in various stages of production on behalf of the East German state airline Deutsche Lufthansa. However, all flight tests of the Baade 152 were abandoned after a fuel supply problem was uncovered. The type failed to enter service, and production was terminated without any follow-on being produced.

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