Ukrvozdukhput and Zakavia

An Airline for the Ukraine

In the Ukraine, the spirit of republican independence mani­fested itself by the formation of an airline. On 1 June 1923, less than three months after the formation of Dobrolet, Ukrainskoe Obschestvo Vozduzhnyk Shoobshcheniy (The Ukrainian Airline Company) (abbreviated to Ukrvozdukhput) was founded. Headquarters were at Kharkov, a potential hub for air services throughout the European part of the U. S.S. R.

Dornier Establishes a Presence

Ukrvozdukhput opened for business on 15 April 1925, when it started to operate from Kharkov to Odessa and Kiev. Two months later, on 15 June, routes to Moscow and Rostov-on-Don completed a commendable spoke network centered on Kharkov. The Kalinin aircraft factory was in that city, and a cooperative arrangement was forged with the Dornier company. This latter had connections with the German Lloyd transport group which, in turn, was a partner in Deruluft. Ukrvozdukhput’s first fleet consisted of four-passenger Dornier Komet IIs, and a half a dozen six-seat Dornier Komet Ills.

Recognition of the Soviet Union (see page 15) had given Germany a doorway for trade, and effective control of the airlines provided a pathway through that door. Aside from being a strong influence on the airline operation, Dormer’s methods of construc­tion could clearly be detected on the first Kharkov-based Kalinin aircraft, the K-l, K-2, K-3, and K-4. None went into service with Ukrvozdukhput, but were later to see service with Dobrolet.

Zakavia

A small airline was also established, on 10 May 1923, at Tiflis (Tbilisi) in Georgia. Its name
was Zakavia, derived from Zakavkazie, or Trans-Caucasus, and there were also plans to form an airline called Kakavia, but this never happened. Zakavia operated one route, to Baku, Azerbaijan, probably with a Junkers Ju 13. Late in the year, it was associated with Azerbajdzhanskogo dobro – vol’nogo vozdushnogo flota, or Azdobrolet, which existed for a few months. Beset by political upheaval, civil wars, and surrounded by high mountains, Zakavia had the odds stacked against it from the start, and after about two years of frustrated effort, it combined with Ukrvozdukhput.