Tekniikan Waiheita 3/2013
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Tekniikan Waiheita 3/13 KATSAUKSET GUNNAR LIHR – northeast of Helsinki, the seventh child of master blacksmith Berndt Lihr. The Lihrs A LEGENDARY FINNISH had been blacksmiths for generations, em- AVIATOR ployed at various ironworks in southern Finland. The first Lihr in Finland was one of several Walloon masters invited from Carl-Fredrik Geust Belgium to Finland to set up ironworks in the 17th century.2 The strong handicraft family tradition TO AIRLINER K-SALG, and his deep technical interest directed STOCKHOLM. Gunnar’s choice of profession towards avi- Helsinki 14.6.1928 21.48 PM. ation, which in his formative years was the Continue immediately from Turku to Hel- newest technical wonder, and the topic of sinki Friday [15.6] stop departure to Spitz- many exciting books stimulating the boy’s bergen same evening if possible buy maps interest. In addition, Gunnar had the ex- northern sweden, norway and arctic ocean ceptionally good health and mental qualities required by the demanding profession of aero aviator. Despite his rather modest formal education (only Myrskylä primary school) This telegram hit our calm aviator company he soon fully mastered his chosen profes- like an explosive during our dinner in Hotel sion. In 1920 he volunteered to complete Foresta in Lidingö, Stockholm. Spitzbergen! his military service in the newly formed Nobile! Finnish Air Force, and joined the Flight Battalion (Ilmailupataljoona) in Santahami- With these words Gunnar Lihr begins the na, Helsinki. After the one-year mandatory account of his dramatic search and rescue service he was enrolled in the Air Force operation of the Italian polar explorer Um- as non-commissioned officer, and served berto Nobile, whose airship Italia disap- as the responsible mechanic of a French- peared 25 May 1928 somewhere northeast made Georges Levy flying boat. Because of Spitsbergen. Lihr’s own narrative was of recurring technical failings, resulting in printed only as a serial story in the Finn- fatal accidents, these flying boats were soon ish children’s journal Pikku Matti in 1934– nicknamed “flying coffins”. The observant 1935.1 young mechanic was ne vertheless able to It should be noted that Pikku Matti was save the life of his crew and also the aircraft published by Lihr’s wife, the well-known by resolute action after an abrupt engine paediatrician Zaida Eriksson-Lihr, who fire whilst airborne. During his service in proudly wrote the introductory words: the Air Force Gunnar Lihr was also accept- ”Despite numerous requests, only this jour- ed for pilot training, thus acquired a unique nal was able to persuade Gunnar Lihr to double education: aircraft pilot as well as write down his memories of the dramatic flight mechanic. Spitsbergen rescue operation.” While still attending the pilot course, Lihr was selected as flight mechanic on the first Finnish flight to the Arctic Ocean, HO WAS UNNAR IHR W G L ? from the 22 to 26 April 1922. The Breguet Gunnar Lihr was born 26 July 1897 in Myr- 14 A 2 reconnaissance aircraft was piloted skylä (Mörskom), approximately 75 km by Major Aarne Snellman, Commander of 49 Tekniikan Waiheita 3/13 The skilled Gunnar Lihr soon became the responsible mechanic of for the French- made Georges Levy flying boats, or ‘flying coffins’. KATSAUKSET Photo: Bruno Jacobson/ C.F.G.’s collections. the Flight Battalion. During the intermedi- Air Force. In June 1924 he was recruited by ate stop in Oulu on the northbound leg Lihr the Finnish commercial airline Aero Oy and had to dismount the defective engine mag- became the first Finnish commercial pilot neto, which turned out to be irreparable. in the company.3 Thanks to Lihr’s double The spare magneto sent by train to Oulu pilot and mechanic education, he was unu- was unfortunately of a wrong type, but the sually well prepared to handle both tech- blacksmith’s son skilfully adapted the spare nical problems and unserviceable weather magneto, and Snellman was able to take off conditions, all typical disturbances of early to his destination, Petsamo at the Arctic commercial aviation that hampered traffic Ocean. Snellman most likely permitted his regularity. bright flight mechanic to pilot the aircraft Because of engine malfunctions he during the long flight legs of the trip. made several forced landings at sea or on After passing the military pilot’s exami- the ice of the Gulf of Finland on flights nation in the spring of 1923, Lihr served as from Helsinki to Stockholm or Tallinn, dur- a military flight instructor for the Finnish ing which he quickly located and repaired Intermediate stop with a Breguet 14 A 2 at Rovaniemi 26 April 1924 on the return leg from Petsamo. Photo: C.F.G.’s collections. 50 Tekniikan Waiheita 3/13 KATSAUKSET the fault in the engine or device, and then hero Roald Amundsen in the airship Norge took off for the route destination. Informa- in 1927. After this trip, Nobile and Amund- tion about Lihr’s successful forced landings sen fell out. Nobile decided to show who was quickly spread amongst Aero’s custom- was number one in arctic research, and ers by word of mouth, and gradually also finally eliminate all of the white spots on via enthusiastic articles in the Scandinavian the globe. Nobile planned every detail of press. The smart-looking and reliable flight his trip, recruited an international team of captain soon became a symbol of flight scientists (including the Czech physicist safety during Aero’s pre-war expansion pe- František Behounek and the Swedish mete- riod. orologist Finn Malmgren, who had already Lihr’s activity as a commercial pilot participated in Nobile and Amundsen’s started in June 1924 with an introductory joint airship flight in 1927) to join the crew course at the Junkers factory in Dessau, of his airship Italia (like Norge also designed Germany, after which he was able to coop- by Nobile). The PR-minded Nobile ac- erate with Aero’s German flight mechan- tively kept the international press informed ics without difficulty. The pilot and flight about his plans and preparati ons. Even the mechanic were sitting side by side in the Pope solemnly presented Nobile with an aircraft’s open cockpit, and had to commu- oak cross to be erected upon the planned nicate with each other seamlessly. Although landing of Italia at the North Pole. But re- the main owner and president of the Jun- gardless, Nobile did not enjoy unanimous kers company, Professor Hugo Junkers, support in his own country. His main op- generally required that new pilots should ponent was the Italian Air Force General pass a six month course before being al- and Deputy Minister Italo Balbo, who saw lowed to pilot one of ‘his’ aircraft, Lihr the airship enthusiasm backed by Nobile as was accepted as a Junkers pilot after only a endangering the development of conven- week in Dessau. He was soon also trusted tional or “heavier-than-air” long-distance by Aero to accept and ferry-fly new airlin- aviation. Nevertheless Nobile’s research ers from the Junkers factory in Germany to trip became a well-publicised media story Finland. Lihr accumulated a rich experience from the start. of the problems and challenges of regular On the third research trip from Long- wintertime airline traffic. As heated hangars yearbyen in Spitsbergen Italia was unable were seldom available, the blacksmith’s son to land as planned at the North Pole. The skilfully designed and constructed an en- Pope’s cross was dropped from the cock- gine heater, which facilitated engine start- pit, and Italia struggled to make its way back up in sub-zero temperatures significantly. to base in an icy snowstorm. It never ar- rived. Search expeditions were immediately organised after the last radio message was THE NOBILE RESCUE OPERATION TO received 25 May 1928, but to no effect. SPITSBERGEN SUMMER 1928 Only on 3 June 1928 a radio amateur in The greatest event of Lihr’s career was no Archangelsk, Russia, was able to hear faint doubt the rescue operation of Umberto SOS-signals, after which interest in organ- Nobile northeast of Spitsbergen in the ising rescue operations spread internation- summer of 1928. The renowned Italian ally. In Finland as well, young and active Air Polar researcher and airship designer had Force officers were keen to send a rescue undertaken a much discussed research voy- team to Spitsbergen, but the Finnish Air age together with the Norwegian national Force had no suitable aircraft. However, 51 Tekniikan Waiheita 3/13 KATSAUKSET Gunnar Lihr and Uuno Backman are already in the cockpit of Junkers F.13 Turku, and Lt. Olavi Sarko climbs into the cabin before take-off from Helsinki to Spitsbergen in the early morning of 16 June 1928. Photo: Soile Petersen/ C.F.G.’s collections. At Spitsbergen no hangars were available. The crew had to keep watch day and night to ensure that Turku would not be crushed by drifting ice. Photo: C.F.G.’s collections. 52 Tekniikan Waiheita 3/13 KATSAUKSET it was well known that Gunnar Lihr, chief AVIATOR AND SPECIALIST PHYSICIAN pilot of Aero, had a few weeks earlier ferry- flown the new Junkers F.13 (named Turku, Gunnar Lihr found his great love on the registration code K-SALG) from Dessau Åland Islands – the energetic doctor, Zaida to Finland, the longest non-stop flight by a Eriksson, daughter of a merchant captain. Finnish pilot until then. Already at school Zaida’s motto was ”To After quick negotiations between the have the will is to have the skill”. She was military authorities and Aero, including one of the first female doctors in Finland, consultation with Italian diplomats, it was and she presented her dissertation on chil- decided that Finland would send in a res- dren’s diseases in Germany in 1925.6 cue operation, consisting of Gunnar Lihr Despite Zaida’s excellent academic as pilot, Lt.