Junkers-Larsen JL-6 (Junkers F13)

Junkers-Larsen JL-6 (Junkers F13)

On June 25, 1919, the first F 13 took off on its maiden flight. On September 13 of the same year, the prototype set a new altitude world record after reaching an altitude of 6,750 meters. This altitude record also attracted the attention of American businessman John Larsen, who wanted to market the revolutionary aircraft in the United States and even have it built locally under license. Initially, Junkers provided two company demonstrators, the first reached American soil by ship on March 4, 1920. Before shipping, John Larsen had the first aircraft repainted, as the silver-grey seemed too inconspicuous for the planned advertising flights: on the one hand, the nose was painted black, which would later become the standard for other F 13s as well as later Junkers aircraft; The fuselage and wings were painted green. On the sides of the fuselage, the pennant of the Aero Club of America was also applied. To disguise their German origin, the aircraft were designated JL-6: "JL" could be read as "Junkers-Larsen" but also as "John Larsen", and the "6" stood for the number of seats. Despite initial and promising sales to the U.S. armed forces and the U.S. Postal Service, the adventure on American soil ended after a short time. Nevertheless, this was but a bump in the road to the success of the F 13 around the globe as a co-founder of commercial aviation.