Brehmer, L./Werner, J. Tragödie 152. Aufbau und Absturz der Luftfahrtindustrie in der DDR

The publication deals with the reappraisal of the unfortunately short-lived aviation history in the GDR, which, as the title Tragedy 152 already announces, ended in exactly the same way. The work was compiled by two engineers, Lothar Brehmer and Jochen Werner, who experienced this last phase of aviation development in Dresden themselves, objectively assess it and write a piece of recent industrial history with this book.
Although 50 years have passed, the topic of the publication has lost none of its topicality. Legends or even myths that have arisen in the meantime are unveiled. The tense arc ranges from the development in the Junkers company in Dessau, which was patronised by the Reich Aviation Ministry, to the externally controlled work in the Soviet Union after 1945 and the unsuccessful completion of aircraft development in Dresden. The causes of the failure of an ambitious project are shown by both authors, who can still be considered contemporary witnesses to a certain extent, without emotional prejudices.
Dresden's aircraft construction was forward-looking, a promising episode which, however, only withstood the adversities of the time and the circumstances for five years. The causes of the failure are presented in a historical and technical context. Why the 152 crashed, what the resource situation was like and what the development was like worldwide at the same time, what the initial conditions were for the development of such an economy, how the specialists were dealt with and when which wrong decisions were made - answers are given to all these points.
The accessibility of documents that were once confidential now provides a deeper insight into the circumstances of the past.
In the present book, the two authors unroll the entire development of aircraft construction in Dresden, illuminate and assess the constraints and opportunities, provide well-founded calculations, documents, photographs, operating structures - in short, they paint a picture of this piece of aviation history in the former GDR.