“Springing from the old Junkers factory and design bureau, this ungainly aircraft had high-mounted wings with anhedral, two tandem double-wheel main landing gear mounted along the fuselage centerline, and outrigger wheels at the wingtips… Eventually, since this was Soviet-controlled East Germany, Mother Russia shut down the airplane and its development in 1960, preferring their own Tupolev Tu-124 jetliner to replace the 152. The first prototype 152 crashed, and all the rest were scrapped.”
According to the Aviation Safety Network, the crash that the book is referring to occurred on March 4th, 1959. The airframe with the registration DM-ZYA was preparing for a second test flight whereby the landing gear would be raised for the first time.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, while descending back to Dresden, the four occupants were supposed to add power to arrest their descent and test the aircraft’s response. Yet, the descent continued without the added power, and the crew then requested permission for “an unplanned low pass with gear and flaps up.”
The plane’s speed then dropped close to stall speed, and at an altitude of approximately 600 m (1,970 ft), the pilots set the landing gear down and added power. However, the engine spool-up time of between eight and ten seconds wasn’t sufficient, and the 152 crashed, killing all the people onboard.
Other plans
Altogether, it was only natural that the leaders of the Soviet Union sought to utilize its own productions. Along with the Tu-124, Interflug, which superseded Deutsche Lufthansa, would go on to fly the Tu-134 and Tu-154M jetliners.
From the supersonic Tu-144 to the behemoth An-225, the Soviet Union was heavily focused on the progression of jet aircraft, and not interested in dealing with the ghosts surrounding post-war German aviation.
The failure of the Baade 152 was undoubtedly an embarrassment for East German and Soviet manufacturing, which was falling far behind its Western European counterparts in terms of safety and reliability. Ultimately, the Soviets decided that the best grounds for airliner development were far away from the West back in the USSR.
