German Aviation - 1919 Junkers T-Shirt

This early 20th centrury poster is promoting air transport with Junkers - the mid wing monoplane developed in 1915 by Junkers Flugzeug-und Motorenwerke AG (JFM) more commonly called Junkers. Junkers was a major German aircraft manufacturer from pre WWI through WWII. Junkers produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history. The history of Junkers aircraft production begins with the Junkers J1 mid-wing monoplane. Research for this aircraft began in 1914 and was interrupted by the start of the First World War. The prototype aircraft, named the Blechesel (Tin Donkey), was completed in 1915 after the outbreak of the war. This aircraft is significant in that it was the first flyable aircraft to utilize an all-metal "total structural" design. Contemporary aircraft were built around wooden frames constructed in a rib-and-stringer fashion, reinforced with wires, and covered with a stretched fabric. The J1 was a semi-monocoque design, using steel ribs and sheeting that formed both the stringers and the skin.