JOSEF KRAUTHAEUSER COLLECTION
No. 10641. Raab-Katzenstein RK IIa Pelikan (D-1154 c/n 36)
Source unknown

Raab-Katzenstein RK IIa Pelikan

05/31/2011. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "This aircraft was produced by the Raab-Katzenstein Flugzeugwerk GmbH at Kassel, Germany on April 28, 1927. It was registered as D-1154 to the well-known producer of chocolate and cacao products Johann Gottlieb Hauswaldt at Magdeburg, trading under the name Jgeha (a contraction of the initials 'J', 'G' and 'H', in German the last two are pronounced as 'ge' 'ha') as seen on the tail and in capitals on the fuselage. It was returned to Raab-Katzenstein and resold to H. Schuhmacher of Schoneberg, and the transport was used for a variety of tasks, including as a promotion tool for the (at that time) famous circus Kaptäin Alfred Schneider.

In 1930 the aircraft was reported in emergency situation in the Netherlands no less than four times in a two-month period. On July 16 it made an emergency landing after engine failure, pilot Schuhmacher landed the aircraft in rough terrain with some trees. The aircraft was severely damaged with a broken wing and fin; a passenger suffered head injuries, the pilot was unharmed.

On September 25 the repaired aircraft was to be delivered at Groningen by a pilot of the Rheinische Luftfahrt-Industrie of Krefeld, Germany, and the pilot planned a landing at the Pruisische Veld (Prussian Field) near Enschede. However, his map of the Netherlands was outdated by almost a decade, the field no longer in use, so an emergency landing was made at a meadow, without damage. The next day the pilot continued his trip to Groningen, got lost, and made a precautionary near Daarle. Shortly thereafter he continued to Groningen to discover that the city park that had been used for aircraft demonstrations in 1920 (!) was no longer in use. Again an uneventful emergency landing was made.

Two years later, July 14, 1932, the aircraft was damaged again in the Netherlands. The day before pilot Schuhmacher and passenger van Ravenstein had departed Roosendaal, the Netherlands for Germany, over Belgium they got lost and made an emergency landing between Turnhout and Merxplas. Due to the small field only a small amount of fuel was taken, and it was planned to fly to Gilze-Rijen, the Netherlands to refuel and from there fly to Germany. Schuhmacher took off without passenger, got lost again, and due to fuel starvation made an emergency landing in a field with bushes, causing leading edge damaged and a nose stand. Eventually the aircraft was destroyed in 1934."


Created May 31, 2011