Model of a hydroplane inv. no. 2709/P 3019

Material: steel

Dimensions: length 19 cm; height 10 cm; width 21.5 cm

On the left wing there is a freehand Slovenian inscription: Spomin iz Hidroaviatike; 1929-31 (top) Melanšek Anton (bottom)

 

Model of a Dornier wal hydroplane of the Royal Yugoslav Navy, souvenir of Naval Aviation Petty Officer Anton Melanšek. Anton Melanšek, born in 1908 in Šoštanj, first served in the Navy and then from 1929 to 1931 at the Naval Air Base at Divulje. He built a model of a Dornier Wal hydroplane himself to commemorate his life at the Naval Air Base at Divulje. Smaller metal models of seaplanes were built by many non-commissioned officers at naval air bases in their free time, either for themselves or for others. The Dornier Wal was a metal reconnaissance aircraft and bomber with one pair of wings, two engines and a boat-shaped fuselage. It had an open cockpit and carried a crew of five.