Modell of the month

Model of the month Juni 2025

Flying for (almost) everyone...

The Klemm Kl 25 

From original to model

An independent part of the collections of the Hanover-Laatzen Aviation Museum are the more than 1,000 scale models, primarily of the international standards 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32.

Such true-to-original miniatures enable visitors to the museum's history of technology to gain an ‘overview’ of the lines of development in aircraft construction by means of sequencing and comparison. Sometimes they complement the presentation of the originals. Their artistic quality alone is a pleasure to behold.

Today, in our ‘Model of the Month’ series, we present the various miniatures around our faithful replica of a Klemm Kl 25.

The models

In addition to a 1/6 scale model of the famous Elly Beinhorn-plane in Hall 1, our display cases in Halls 1 and 2 contain several civilian and military versions of the type and its further development Kl 35 in 1/72 scale.

The original in the museum

In Hall 1, a Klemm 25 hangs under the roof as an airworthy and realistic replica from 1989 - built by Mr Josef Kurz as a unique copy and according to company documents, it came to us from the Wasserkuppe, the cradle of gliding. Originally built from 1928 to 1938, the Kl 25 was the standard type for German air sports clubs for many years.

The history

In the meantime, the general memory of Klemm light aircraft has faded - the last Klemm, a Kl 107 C, was delivered in 1961. However, the idea of ‘flying for everyone’ went around the world from Swabia (Germany)...

The success story of the ‘weekend aeroplane’ began at the Daimler engine works in Stuttgart. The engineer Dr Hanns Klemm, born in Stuttgart in 1885, became chief designer of the aircraft design department in 1918. This came to an end the following year: the Versailles peace dictate of the victors of the First World War banned all forms of powered flight in Germany for years.

It was not until the end of 1926 that Dr Klemm was able to present the world's first practical light aircraft, his L 15, and founded ‘Leichtflugzeugbau Klemm GmbH’ in Böblingen. His idea of enabling wide sections of the people to fly technically and economically, the resulting design principles and their entrepreneurial realisation have retained their validity in light aircraft construction to this day.

Simple construction, low-cost purchase, maintenance and repair, good-natured flying and suitability for everyday use, easy (dis)assembly and low weight for simple transport - these are just the most important features of such a ‘weekend aeroplane for everyone’.

Worldwide success...

The Kl 25, a two-seater low-wing monoplane with twin controls, rigid landing gear and wooden construction, achieved its international breakthrough in 1928. Designed by Klemm chief designer Robert Lusser, licences were granted to Great Britain (British Aircraft ‘Swallow’), Sweden and the USA; the production rate at the Böblingen factory alone reached the considerable figure of 25 units per month around 1932, many of which were exported. Worldwide, the Kl 25 became one of the most widely used training and sports aeroplanes of its time, with around 650 produced.

Powered by a Daimler F 7502 or Salmson AD 9 engine until 1931, the Hirth HM 60 or HM 504 4-cylinder in-line engine became standard from then on (and for the successor model Kl 35 from the very beginning).

Show and record flights such as the ‘World Flight’ of 1932 by Elly Beinhorn made the aeroplane and its manufacturer internationally famous. Our 1/6 scale model honours this achievement, with the flags of all the countries visited on the fuselage of her aircraft.

In 1935, the Kl 35 followed as a logical further development in mixed construction with suspension monopod undercarriage and articulated wing. In addition to the civilian market, the second German air force also used both types for training and liaison tasks from 1936, while the Kl 35 with wheel, float and ski undercarriage achieved several class world records.

The Kl 36, a single-engine four-seater low-wing cabin for travelling and sport, was followed by the Kl 105 and finally the Kl 107. 20 of this last design, a multi-purpose light aircraft in a wooden half-shell construction developed to perfection by Klemm, were produced by the end of the war.

...and the end

As an avowed Christian, he was harassed by the National Socialist rulers and finally - like Hugo Junkers years earlier - banned from his own company. At the end of the war, Klemm's factory and almost all of its documents were confiscated by the French army and transported away.

After a renewed general ban on all forms of aviation in Germany from 1945, Hanns Klemm produced a revised version of the ‘107’ with his son and former colleague Willy Messerschmitt's Dr Ludwig Bölkow in the mid-1950s, but internal and external adversities brought this technically successful attempt at a new start to an economic end as early as 1961.

Data sheet Klemm Kl 25:

Cantilever low-wing monoplane in wooden construction with rigid undercarriage for training, travel and sport. Length 7.50 m, wingspan 13.00 m, empty weight 420 kg, take-off weight: 680 kg, cruising speed 140 km/h with a range of 650 km. Propulsion: 1 x Daimler F 7502 or: Salmson AD 9 or: Hirth HM 60 R with max. 80 hp, 1 pilot + 1 student pilot/guest.

Come on in!

Have we managed to arouse your curiosity? In our aviation museum on Ulmer Strasse opposite the Hanover exhibition centre, you can experience over 40 original and faithful replicas of gliders, light aircraft, transport and military aircraft, just as many engines and turbines, uniforms and equipment, vehicles and a model exhibition comprising more than 1,000 exhibits               

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ontakt zum Autor der Modell-des-Monats-Reihe können Sie hier aufnehmen: Autor-MdM