How long did Luft Hansa's Ju 52 take to fly from Berlin to Rome?

The German airline Luft Hansa received its first Ju 52/3m in 1932 and soon found it to be extraordinarily reliable. It chose the type as its standard aircraft, and by the fourth quarter of that year had already ordered the first eleven. By 1938, around 75% of all its air traffic was flown with this trimotor, and from Berlin-Tempelhof, its operations hub, it served the whole of Europe.

One of the emblematic routes was Berlin to Rome, which required flying over the Alps. The Ju 52 could cover it in eight hours, and both that line and the London-Berlin route were frequently operated with this aircraft. In its commercial configuration, the Ju 52/3m carried 17 passengers; the version for Italy was fitted with Piaggio Stella X engines, later replaced by Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34.

Lufthansa's Ju 52 network did not stop at Western Europe. In 1934, together with Deutsch-Russische Luftverkehrs A.G., the Moscow-Barcelona route was opened. In Norway, the airline DNL first leased a Ju 52/3m from Lufthansa and later bought it; fitted with floats, it covered the coastal route from Oslo to Bergen from 1 June 1936. In total, the type flew with more than twelve airlines, including Swissair, as a passenger and cargo aircraft, before becoming the Luftwaffe's basic transport. Production continued after the war outside Germany, in France as the AAC.1 Toucan and in Spain as the CASA 352, and in the 21st century Lufthansa kept a historic Ju 52/3mg2e, serial number 5489, airworthy.