June 1930 Extracts from report from Lieutenant-Colonel Percy C.A. Dodd, Military Attaché: Junkers Persia claims to be the only airline in the world to operate without Government subsidy. However, they receive 100% of all airmail surcharges, and financial assistance from Junkers headquarters in Berlin. It is possible that Junkers Berlin in turn receives financial assistance from the German Government. Kurt Weil stated that in the Junkers Russian factory a completed aeroplane cost four times as much to make as an identical one did in Germany. The factory was therefore closed down. Eight Junkers aircraft are employed in Persia: Four standard W.33 - Bremen type. This is essentially a freight machine and is uncomfortable for passengers. Four standard F.13 - L type, one of which is leased to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (pilot Wanderheim). These aircraft can quickly be altered into seaplanes by fitting floats. This has been done once or twice for service on the Caspian Sea. There are six German pilots: Paul Achilles – Joined Junkers Luftverkehr Persien 20 April 1929. Averbach Robert Mossbacher – Joined Junkers Luftverkehr 1925, crashed 1931. Stame Venheim Wanderheim. And one Russian pilot: Peter Kudriavtsev (on Teheran-Pahlevi-Baku route) – Joined Junkers Luftverkehr Persien 1928, died 1938. Achilles, Stame, Venheim, Wanderheim and Kudriavtsev are wartime pilots. The record to date flown by Junkers in one month is 70,000 kilometres. The average is 60,000 per month. The record for a single pilot is 23,000 per month. Junkers assumes that each pilot is capable of flying 20,000 kilometres per month. Junkers therefore has the capacity, without increasing their aircraft or personnel, to deal with nearly double the traffic they have at present. Due to the weather conditions and the state of the aerodromes (none of which are up to European standards), minor accidents are comparitively frequent, although there has been no injury to any passenger, nor any damage to freight. The worst accident recorded was between Teheran and Meshed, when a wing tip touched ground whilst landing and broke. There were 17 forced landings on the Teheran-Shiraz route last winter. The pilots find flying conditions very bad; on the plains, dust storms and haze; on the plateau, storms, clouds and very bad visibility in the winter and spring.
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