Hermann Köhl 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...

 Aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

 pioneer and pilot of the first trans-atlantic flight in the East-West direction.

Köhl was born in Neu-Ulm

Neu-Ulm

Neu-Ulm is a town in Bavaria, capital of the Neu-Ulm district. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 51,110 .-History:...

, Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 as one out of eight children. In the age of 19 he joined the German Imperial Army to become an officer like his father. In the beginning of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he was a Lieutenant in the Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr.13 (Engineer Bataillon) and was wounded at his legs, which disqualified him to serve in the engineer troops any more. He volunteered to the German Army Air Service, became a pilot and later on commander of a Bomber Squadron, where he received the Pour le Mérite

Pour le Mérite

The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....

 in 1918. He crashed down with his plane behind the frontlines and was captured as a POW in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, but managed to escape and returned to Germany.

After the end of World War I he worked for the German Police and for
the Reichswehr

Reichswehr

The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....

, but in 1925 he transferred to civil aviation and became the head of the Deutsche Luft Hansa

Deutsche Luft Hansa

Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...

 Nightflight Branch in 1926.

After Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

 crossed the Atlantic in West-East direction in May 1927, the idea of starting in Europe to cross in East-West direction, which is more difficult because of the dominating wind conditions, became more and more popular. In 1927 Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld

Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld

Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld was a German aviation pioneer and initiator of the first trans-atlantic flight in East-West direction....

 bought two Junkers W33 planes of Junkers (Aircraft) in Dessau

Dessau

Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...

, naming them after the two North German Lloyd Flagship projects "Bremen

SS Bremen (1929)

The SS Bremen was a German-built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd line to work the transatlantic sea route. The Bremen was notable for her bulbous bow construction, high-speed engines, and low, streamlined profile. At the time of her construction, she and her sister ship were...

" and "Europa

SS Europa (1930)

The SS Europa was a German built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line to work the transatlantic sea route...

". His plans were supported by Hugo Junkers

Hugo Junkers

Hugo Junkers was an innovative German engineer, as his many patents in varied areas show...

 and Hermann Köhl joined this project as an experienced and well-trained pilot.

After some test flights, breaking the record of flight duration, Hünefeld and Köhl started in April 1928 and flew to Baldonnel

Baldonnel, Ireland

Baldonnel , is a townland, and industrial/agricultural area near Clondalkin Tallaght, Lucan, Saggart and Naas, in west County Dublin. It is chiefly known as the location of the headquarters of the Irish Air Corps at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, which has been in operation for over 90 years in...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, where they met James C. Fitzmaurice

James Fitzmaurice (pilot)

James Fitzmaurice DFC was an Irish aviation pioneer. He was a member of the crew of the Bremen, which made the first successful Trans-Atlantic aircraft flight from East to West on 12–13 April 1928.-Early life:...

, the Irish Air Corps

Irish Air Corps

The Air Corps is the air component of the Defence Forces of Ireland providing support to the Army and Naval Service, together with non-military air services such as search and rescue and the Ministerial Air Transport Service...

 Commandant of the Baldonnel Airodrome

Casement Aerodrome

Casement Aerodrome or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a military airbase to the south west of Dublin, Ireland situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole base of the Irish Air Corps, and is also used for other government purposes...

. On April 12, 1928 these three men left Baldonnel with the Bremen

Bremen (aircraft)

The Bremen is a German Junkers W33 type aircraft that made the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west between April 12 and April 14, 1928....

 and managed to cross the Atlantic Ocean, landing on Greenly Island off the south coast of Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Even though they missed their initial aim, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, they were the first to cross the Atlantic from Europe to America.
For his feat, Köhl was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross

Distinguished Flying Cross

The Distinguished Flying Cross may refer to:*Distinguished Flying Cross , including Commonwealth countries*Distinguished Flying Cross...

 by the president of the United States of America.
In 1935 William L. Shirer

William L. Shirer

William Lawrence Shirer was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany read and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years...

 took the Tempelhof apartment of Koehl who had lost his job with Luft Hansa; a fervent Catholic and a man of strong character, he retired to his little farm in the south of Germany rather than curry favour with the Nazis

Köhl died in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 in 1938 and was buried in Pfaffenhofen an der Roth

Pfaffenhofen an der Roth

Pfaffenhofen an der Roth is a municipality in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria in Germany. Its most famous son is Hermann Köhl, an aviation pioneer of the 1920s.-Geography:...

.

A German Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 Airbus A310 MRTT Medevac

MEDEVAC

Medical evacuation, often termed Medevac or Medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being evacuated from the battlefield or to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of an accident to receiving medical facilities using...

 and the Bundeswehr

Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

 Barracks of the Transporthubschrauber-Regiment 30 in Niederstetten

Niederstetten

Niederstetten is a town and a municipality in the Main-Tauber district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Bad Mergentheim, and 19 km west of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.-Sights:...

are named after Hermann Köhl.

Literature

• Hermann Kohl: The Three Musketeers Of The Air. Putnam,1928
• Michael Hofbauer, Dieter Leder, Peter Schmelzle: Die Welt der Überflieger – 75 Jahre Nordatllantikflug Ost-West. Deutsche Post AG, 2003
• Fred W. Hotson: DIE BREMEN. NARA-Verlag, ISBN 3-925671-22-6
• Karl-August Blendermann: Atlantikflug D 1167. Verlag Hauschild, ISBN 3-929902-71-0