Junkers Ju 49 - Historical Significance

Historical Significance

The late 1920s and the 1930s had seen an increased interest in the attainment of high altitudes and a stream of new absolute altitude records ensued. There were three approaches.

Use oxygen via a face mask, and endure hypoxia and extreme cold. Flyers like Cyril Uwins - 13,408 m (43,990 ft) in a Vickers Vespa in September 1932 - and Renato Donati - 14,433 m (47,385 ft) in a Caproni Ca 114 in late 1933 - took this route, sitting in open cockpits. Necessarily, these were up and down flights; continuous flight at high altitudes with this approach would not have been survivable.

Pressure suits: these were pioneered by Wiley Post in his Lockheed Vega 5b from September 1934 onwards. He was able ultimately to sustain flights of several hours at over 15,000 m (49,000 ft). Others used pressure suits to set records with up and down flights, like F.R. Swain (15,230 m or 49,970 ft) in the Bristol 138 in September 1936 and Mario Pezzi (17,083 m or 56,047 ft) in a Caproni Ca 16bis in October 1938. Post's work showed sustained high-altitude flight was possible, but pressure suits were uncomfortable and restrictive.

Ultimately, the pressure cabin, insulated from the cold or heated was the way to allow crew and, eventually, passengers to travel in a normal environment.