Dornier DO-X Propeller @museum.de

M: In August 1932, the red carpet was rolled out for a major event in Wyk on Föhr. The arrival of the largest flying boat in the world, the Dornier DO-X had been announced! The commander, Friedrich Christiansen, was a native of Föhr. So it went without saying that he would honour his native island with a flying visit.

F: Twelve radial engines powered the twelve propellers mounted above the wings. Since the Dornier DO-X was a flying boat, it always landed and took off on the water. And the craft was designed for transatlantic flight. The six dozen passengers were to travel in the same luxury as on board the ocean liners of the day – except they’d be going by air.
But unfortunately, although travelling by flying boat may have been comfortable; it was also noisy ... and ineffective. One repair or breakdown followed another, and as a result, the Dornier DO-X soon went from being a status symbol to being grounded and transferred to the "German Aviation Collection" in Berlin. There, it was destroyed by fire in a bombing raid in November 1943. This propeller is the last undamaged part of that legendary flying boat.

M: Under the Nazis, the commander of the DO-X carved out a successful career. Friedrich Christiansen was promoted to Major General, then Lieutenant General, and General der Flieger – General of the Aviators. In May 1940, he was appointed to the post of Commander of the Wehrmacht in the Netherlands. In October 1944, acting in this capacity, he ordered the destruction of the village of Putten and the deportation of the male residents to various concentration camps, including the Ladelund camp near Niebüll. After the war, Christiansen was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the Netherlands, but released early after serving just a few years.