German Aviation Maps - 1

[JohnC]

I have a few examples of German aviation maps (fliegerkarte) that might interest readers. This pattern - the series Fliegerkarte West - is the earliest and was produced by the Cartographic Department of the Royal Prussian Army. It's one of the earliest types of map designed specifically for aviators. The base map is the Topographische Ubersichtskarte des Deutschen Reiches, which was made in the decade before WW1 as a general purpose geographical map. For flyers it was overprinted with colours to emphasise landscape features of particular relevance. In addition to railways strongly printed in black, there is blue for water and red for main roads to assist navigation. Yellow indicates meadows as potential emergency landing zones, and green for woods, to be avoided. Bright orange indicates official airfields, Landeplatz. At a scale of 1:200,000 the sheets are quite small and manageable but have enough detail for cross-country navigation. This series only covers western Germany. Another series covers eastern Germany. This particular sheet was printed in 1913 but the pattern continued throughout the war. No specific military features are shown, but I imagine these maps were used by training schools and aircraft factories during hostilities.

For flying outside Germany's borders, over what became the Western front, two further series were published which I'll post separately.

John

[GreyC]

Hi,

interesting. Thanks for posting. Was there a map that covered Northern Germany, too? Especially Lower Saxony and Shleswig-Holstein?

GreyC

Edited 27 July , 2019 by GreyC

[JohnC]

Hello GreyC.

Yes, I believe the maps extend north to the coast. I have certainly seen a photo of sheet 29, Kolberg, in this format. I've not seen them comprehensively published online as per the NLS trench maps for example. This site has a few examples, and an index map.  https://www.landkartenarchiv.de/deutschland_tudr.php

If you are tempted to purchase online unseen, take care, because the base maps were published for decades, up to WW2. Only the multi-coloured versions are fliegerkarte, and some if those post-date WW1. Dealers don't always make clear what they are offering.

J

[GreyC]

Hi John,

thank you very much for your information and warning. I didn´t know such maps at that time existed. Should one of them with the North-Sea area should cross my path it will be a matter of price, if I will be interested in buying or not. It is not one of my top priorities, though.

Have a nice Sunday!

GreyC