Aviation History of Switzerland

Swissair
Douglas-Fokker DC-2
HB-ITI -- HB-ITO -- HB-ISA --HB-ISI

Douglas-Fokker DC-2-115B
HB-ITI

Werknummer: 1321

Im Dienst bei Swissair
vom 04.12.1934 bis am 28.02.1936

Geschichte des Flugzeuges:

• 04.12.1934 Erstauslieferung an Swissair als HB-ITI
• 28.02.1936 Absturz in Dübendorf

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Ort:
Kennung: HB-ITI
Datum:
Publisher: Vigevano, Amsterdam
Publisher Nr.:
Format: AK - Kleinformat

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Kennung: HB-ITI
Datum: 1937
Publisher: Swissair Photo AG
Publisher Nr.: 10684
Format: Kleinformat

Verschiedene Varianten
von Schriftfarben auf
Rückseite (schwarz u. braun)

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Ort:
Kennung:
Datum: Publisher: J. Godness, Aubervilliers
Publisher Nr.:
Format: Kleinformat

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Ort:
Kennung:
Datum: Publisher: J. Godness, Aubervilliers
Publisher Nr.:
Format: Kleinformat

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Douglas-Fokker DC-2-115B
HB-ITO

Werknummer: 1332

Im Dienst bei Swissair
vom 15.02.1935 bis am 18.03.1952

Geschichte des Flugzeuges:

• 15.02.1935 ausgeliefert an Swissair HB-ITO
• 18.03.1952 verkauft an Phoenix Airlines ZS-DFX
• Airnautic-GECA F-BJHR

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Kennung: HB-ITO
Ort:
Datum:
Publisher: Swissair
Nr.:
Format: Klein

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Kennung: HB-ITO
Ort:
Datum:
Publisher: Swissair
Nr.: 8149 ?
Format: Klein

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Kennung: HB-ITO
Ort:
Datum:
Publisher: Photo Staub, Dübendorf
Photo Staub Nr.: 93
Kleinformat

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Ort: Flugplatz Basel
Datum:
Kennung:
Publisher: Aviatik beider Basel
Karten Nr.:

Swissair
Douglas DC-2
Ort:
Kennung:
Datum:
Publisher: WO10
Publisher
Format: Grossformat

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Douglas-Fokker DC-2-115B
HB-ISA

Werknummer: 1320

Im Dienst bei Swissair
vom 07.04.1936 bis am 21.10.1936

Geschichte des Flugzeuges:

• 01.11.1934 ausgeliefert an Fokker als PH-AKF
• dann Präsidentenflugzeug für Präsident Dollfus A500
• kommt in die Schweiz als CH-447
• 07.04.1936 an Swissair verkauft
• 21.10.1936 an IBERIA als EC-EBB
• Spanische Luftwaffe als EC-AGA

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair Douglas DC-2
Flughafen Wien XXI.
Ort:
Kennung: HB-ISA
Datum:
Publisher: 153
Publisher
Format: Kleinformat

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Douglas-Fokker DC-2-115B
HB-ISI

Werknummer: 1331/F9

Im Dienst bei Swissair
vom 22.07.1935 bis am 09.08.1944

Geschichte des Flugzeuges:

00.00.1935 Fokker (NV Nederlandsche Vliegtuigenfabriek) gebaut PH-AKF
22.07.1935 Zu Swissair HB-ISI
09.08.1944 Zerstört bei Bombenangriff in Stuttgart

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Swissair
Douglas DC-2

Fotos HB-ISI

Erster Direktflug London - Samedan mit der Douglas DC-2-115-D, HB-ISI

ETH-Bibliothek Zürich
ETHBIB_Bildarchiv_LBS_SR01-00900-01_238266

Erster Direktflug London - Samedan mit der Douglas DC-2-115-D, HB-ISI

ETH-Bibliothek Zürich
ETHBIB_Bildarchiv_LBS_SR01-00901-01_238267

Passagiere beim Ausstieg aus der Douglas DC-2-115-D, HB-ISI in Dübendorf

ETH-Bibliothek Zürich
ETHBIB_Bildarchiv_LBS_SR01-00969_238303

Diverses

Douglas-Fokker DC-2-115B

Veteran DC-2s
SIR,—That rare photograph of the DC-2 currently registered
F-BJHR and owned by the French independent Airnautic-
GECA {Flight, October 5, 1961) gave me more than ordinary
pleasure because of the very long and colourful career of this
truly veteran aircraft, still going strong after no less than 27
years since she w as originally delivered to Swissair as HB-ITO.
Back in October 1952 this same DC-2 and her veteran
sister (ZS-DFW, ex-HB-ITE) were both involved in crash
landings in the Sudan, amazingly enough within forty-eight
hours of each other. It so happened that I was flying in the
Southern Sudan at the time of ZS-DFW's crash at Kosti
Airfield and was able to see the ill-fated aircraft. No passengers
were aboard, the machine being on a cargo charter
between South Africa and Luxembourg. Although both the
pilot and co-pilot survived, the radio officer was killed.
Shortly after these two accidents in the Sudan, Phoenix
Airlines went into liquidation and the two DC-2s (ZS-DFW
having been declared a write-off, whilst ZS-DFX suffered only
slight damage) were purchased by Mr John Nash, an aircraft
broker in Johannesburg. Mr Nash also purchased the
considerable stock of DC-2 spares which Phoenix had
acquired from Swissair early in 1952.
1 next heard of ZS-DFX in April J 956 as a result of seeing
an advertisement stating that a DC-2 was for sale, the price
being £15,000. Guessing that the aeroplane was, in fact,
ZS-DFX, 1 wrote to the advertisers expressing my long
interest in the DC series and asking if they could furnish me
with details of the aircraft's career since 1952. I received a
most informative reply from the same Mr Nash, whose
company (unknown to me at the time I wrote about the
advertisement) had been operating ZS-DFX since he acquired
the aeroplane. The company, Astra Aircraft Corp Ltd, had
in Mr Nash's own words, "found it to be a wonderful
machine." He added: "We based her in Basutoland for
carrying large quantities of freight from primitive highaltitude

airstrips within the Basutoland Protectorate to the
airfields situated near the Railways Administration stations
at Quthing and Mount aux Sources. Chiefly on account of
the unhelpful attitude of the authorities we were eventually
compelled to withdraw these all-cargo flights and regretfully
decided we must sell the lone DC-2 as our company could no
longer afford to conduct these operations."
Knowing that a Mr Marshall of Bankstown, near Sydney,
Australia, had been operating a DC-2 for many years,
chiefly on local sightseeing flights, I took the liberty of passing
on this information to Mr Nash, suggesting that he might
care to contact Mr Marshall, who might possibly have been
interested in buying another DC-2. The result of this
proposal came to nothing and ZS-DFX remained in storage
until 1958, when it was sold to Silver City Airways. For
reasons unknown to me, the aeroplane never appeared on
the UK Civil Register; but according to British Civil Aviation
News (December 26, 1959, issue) it was sent to Libya to carry
out photographic surveys with a Silver City crew. Political
complications arose there because the crews' passports bore
Israeli visas. Eventually both aeroplane and crew were
"released" by the Libyans, and ZS-DFX was flown back to
South Africa, remaining in storage until April 1960, when it
was again sold, this time to its French owners.
Despite the vicissitudes encountered by this 27-year-old
Douglas, it seems that it continues to live up to its builders'
well-known slogans. Let us hope that when F-BJHR does
finally go into retirement it will be presented to an aviation
museum in France or elsewhere. It would be a pity if its fate
were the scrap-heap, because there are no DC-2s in museums
and only about five examples are still flying.

Kenya, East Africa DENNIS M. POWELL

FLIGHT Internutionul, 4 January 1962

Links

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Douglas DC-2

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Douglas-Fokker DC-2
2.