Planes - Germany / German Democratic Republic 1969 - 50 Pfennig

Aircraft types in the GDR The Ministry of Postal and Ferrous Diver- sity of the German Democratic Republic publishes four multicolored special postage stamps depicting types of aircraft in operation in the GDR. No special first-day envelope Aircraft on stamps The civil aviation of the German Democratic Republic has existed for almost 15 years. These 15 years are characterized by a close comradely cooperation with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union not only provided the aircraft, but also helped with pilots, technicians and instructors in the construction of the youngest and most modern mode of transport in the GDR. Civil aviation managed to build a powerful mode of transport from its difficult beginnings. Aircraft of the Interflug beat the bond of international understanding to 22 cities in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In 1968, 731,700 passengers flew with interflight throughout the world (1956: 12,500) and 15,800 tons of freight on a route network of 45,874 km in length. These achievements could only be accomplished by Soviet aircraft from the proven design offices of S.W. Ilushin, A.N. Tupolev, K.K. Antonov, and M.L. Mil. The agricultural and special flight has also been very successful in supporting Soviet agriculture and our industry (in 1968, 1,351,700 hectares of airfronts were processed). 5O Pfennig value: MI-8 The MI-8 is a turbine helicopter, which is used for a variety of tasks in the special flight (assembly, rescue and surveying flights, etc.). It has two engines TW-2 with 1,500 aPS each. The five-bladed main rotor has a diameter of 21.89 m. The take-off mass is 12,000 kg, of which 3,500 kg payload.