Baron F. M. Koenig Warthausen
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Karl Freiherr Koenig von und zu Warthausen, born 2 April 1906 in Warthausen
, was a German
Baron
and adventurer from the city of Berlin
credited with the first solo around the world flight. He died on 15 December 1986 in Munich.
, completed on September 28, 1924, took 175 days and involved a team of four planes and eight personnel.)
The airplane he used was an open-cockpit 560 lb (254 kg) Klemm L.20
that ran on a Mercedes-Benz
20 PS 2-cylinder engine, designed by Ferdinand Porsche
. The plane had a maximum speed of just 70 mph (31.3 m/s) and only burned a gallon of fuel in 50 miles (80 km).
From his start in Berlin, Warthausen went through Moscow
, Baku
, Calcutta, Burma and Bangkok
. While on his stop in Bangkok, Thailand
he was given a pet
Siamese cat by the King of Siam. His new friend was the mascot
for the remainder of his trip.
He is said to have only been nervous one time during his trip, and that was flying 500 miles (804.7 km) over uninhabited jungles of southern Asia
. Also in Asia, Warthausen went through Singapore
, Hong Kong
, Shanghai
, Kobe
, and then to Yokohama
. From Yokohama, he put his plane on an ocean liner
destined for San Francisco.
Warthausen stopped in many cities of the United States
while on his adventure. He stopped in Tulsa
, St. Louis
, Chicago
, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington
and New York
.
While in El Paso
, Texas
, Warthausen was riding in a taxicab
from the airport
to his hotel
when the taxi and another car collided, sending Warthausen out through the front windshield of the taxi. Warthausen ended up spending six weeks in a hospital before he recuperated enough to continue on his trip back to Berlin.
Warthausen put his plane aboard another ocean liner from New York to Cherbourg. Then finally from Cherbourg, he flew his plane back to Berlin, where he arrived on 26 November 1929.
Baron Warthausen received the Hindenburg Cup
in both 1929 and in 1930. (Wiley Post
completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe entirely by plane in 1931, taking 8 days for the journey)
Warthausen
Warthausen is a town in the district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany and birthplace of Baron F. M. Koenig Warthausen....
, was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
and adventurer from the city of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
credited with the first solo around the world flight. He died on 15 December 1986 in Munich.
Flight around the World
Warthausen left his home city of Berlin on 9 August 1928. When he left, he only had 17 hours of solo flights under his belt. He took a leisurely pace, completing his adventure in less than two years. (The first aerial circumnavigationFirst aerial circumnavigation
The first aerial circumnavigation of the world was conducted in 1924 by a team of aviators of the United States Army Air Service, the precursor of the United States Air Force...
, completed on September 28, 1924, took 175 days and involved a team of four planes and eight personnel.)
The airplane he used was an open-cockpit 560 lb (254 kg) Klemm L.20
Klemm
The Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer noteworthy for sports and touring planes of the 1930s.The company was founded in Böblingen in 1926 by Dr...
that ran on a Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
20 PS 2-cylinder engine, designed by Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche was an Austrian automotive engineer and honorary Doctor of Engineering. He is best known for creating the first hybrid vehicle , the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles...
. The plane had a maximum speed of just 70 mph (31.3 m/s) and only burned a gallon of fuel in 50 miles (80 km).
From his start in Berlin, Warthausen went through Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Calcutta, Burma and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. While on his stop in Bangkok, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
he was given a pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
Siamese cat by the King of Siam. His new friend was the mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for the remainder of his trip.
He is said to have only been nervous one time during his trip, and that was flying 500 miles (804.7 km) over uninhabited jungles of southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Also in Asia, Warthausen went through Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, and then to Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
. From Yokohama, he put his plane on an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
destined for San Francisco.
Warthausen stopped in many cities of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
while on his adventure. He stopped in Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
While in El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Warthausen was riding in a taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
from the airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
to his hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
when the taxi and another car collided, sending Warthausen out through the front windshield of the taxi. Warthausen ended up spending six weeks in a hospital before he recuperated enough to continue on his trip back to Berlin.
Warthausen put his plane aboard another ocean liner from New York to Cherbourg. Then finally from Cherbourg, he flew his plane back to Berlin, where he arrived on 26 November 1929.
Baron Warthausen received the Hindenburg Cup
Hindenburg Cup
The Hindenburg Cup was a German aviation prize, founded in 1928 and awarded annually by President and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg to recognize achievements in powered flight...
in both 1929 and in 1930. (Wiley Post
Wiley Post
Wiley Hardeman Post was a famed American aviator, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's...
completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe entirely by plane in 1931, taking 8 days for the journey)