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One of the most important pioneering works in the field of air transport in 1937 was the flight over the Pamir Mountains, the highest mountain range in the world, to China, organized by Deutsche Lufthansa. The readers of "Flugsport" still remember the events (see "Flugsport" 1937, pp. 500, 528 and 598). When the D-ANOY with its crew Dir. Frhr. v. Gablenz, Flugkpt. Untucht and Oberfunkmasch. Kirchhoff was overdue, a gloomy silence fell over the German aviation world and people still secretly hoped that the capable men would escape with their lives.
On the order of the Reich Minister of Aviation, an extensive search operation was initiated. Two Junkers Ju 52s, D-AEHE and D-AOLO, under the command of the captains Graf Castell and von Gössel, had covered the distance between Berlin and Kabul in 28 hours without the crews taking a night's rest. The planes were at Kabul airfield and had already carried out extraordinarily difficult search flights lasting up to 10 hours. Suddenly, a telegram came from Kabul that the D-ANOY had landed with its crew.
After a long imprisonment in Chotan, from which they were only able to free themselves after long efforts, they had
succeeded in overcoming the Pamir Mountains, the roof of the world, and flying back to Kabul under their own power, despite the poorly running left engine. The well-behaved Ju 52, although it had stood outdoors for several weeks without supervision, had made this feat of violence possible after all.
The significance of the reconnaissance flight of the D-ANOY crew can only be understood when one has read the book "D-ANOY conquers the Pamir" by Frhr. v. Gablenz (cf. Literature, p. 25). The layman cannot imagine the enormous achievement in flying over this huge mountain range and the great distance.
Attached is an overview map*), from which you can get an approximate picture of this route to the final exploration point Sian.