Crash of a Junkers JU.52/3m in Steinreich: 18 killed
Date & Time:
Apr 20, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
D-ANAJ
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Prague – Vienna – Munich
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
17
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
18
Circumstances:
The three engine aircraft left Berlin-Tempelhof in the evening on a flight to Munich with intermediate stops in Prague and Vienna. While cruising about 60 km south of Berlin, the aircraft was shot down by the pilot of a Soviet fighter and crashed in flames in a field located in Steinreich. Two passengers were seriously injured while 18 other occupants were killed, among them the German filmmaker Hans Steinhoff. This was the last flight for Lufthansa from Berlin before the end of the WWII.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the pilot of a Soviet fighter.
