Hermann Köhl

Hermann Köhl (15 April 1888 – 7 October 1938) was a German aviation pioneer and pilot of the first transatlantic flight by a fixed-wing aircraft from east to west.After the end of World War I, he worked for the German Police and for the Reichswehr, but in 1925, he transferred to civil aviation and became the head of the Deutsche Luft Hansa Nightflight Branch in 1926.After Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic from west to east in May 1927, the idea of flying in the opposite direction, which is more difficult because of the prevailing winds, became more and more popular.On 12 April 1928, these three left Baldonnel in the Bremen and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, landing at Greenly Island on the south coast of Labrador, Canada.A German Luftwaffe Airbus A310 MRTT medevac aircraft and the Bundeswehr barracks of the Transporthubschrauber-Regiment 30 in Niederstetten are named after Hermann Köhl.
Köhl (center) in May 1930
The Bremen after the transatlantic crossing
Neu-UlmBavariaMunichPfaffenhofen an der RothGermanaviationtransatlantic flightfixed-wing aircraftGerman Imperial ArmyWorld War ILieutenantPioneerGerman Army Air ServicePour le MériteFranceReichswehrDeutsche Luft HansaBremenCharles LindberghEhrenfried Günther Freiherr von HünefeldJunkers W 33JunkersDessauNorddeutscher LloydSS BremenSS EuropaHugo JunkersBaldonnelIrelandJames C. FitzmauriceIrish Air CorpsBaldonnel AerodromeGreenly IslandLabradorCanadaNew York Cityrigid airshipDistinguished Flying CrossCalvin CoolidgeWilliam L. ShirerBerlin DiaryCatholickidney diseaseLuftwaffeAirbus A310 MRTTmedevacBundeswehrNiederstettenMassapequa ParkLong IslandShirer, William L.Alfred A. Knopf20th Century Press Archives