Model of Heinkel HD 24 (hydroplane)

• Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke A.G., Rostock 1928, wingspan: 97 cm

With the Heinkel HD 24 W hydroplane that was built in Rostock-Warnemünde Günther Plüschow, who grew up in Schwerin, explored the Tierra del Fuego in South America.

The aeroplane was sent by ship from Rostock to Chile in 1927. In 1928 Plüschow and Ernst Drebelow built the biplane together. The first major flight led them to Ushuaia in Argentina. On board was a postbag – the first air mail sent from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia. Over the following months Plüschow and Drebelow were the first to fly over the Cordilerra Darwin, Cape Horn and the Torres del Paine in Patagonia.

In July 1929 Plüschow returned to Germany and published the book and film “Silver condor over the Tierra del Fuego.” Plüschow and Drebelow died during a second expedition to South America in 1931.