SECOND WORLD WAR POSTCARDS

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05-Sep-2026 03:35

H / III (H/3) FLIEGER HUMOR

The fourth set of postcards was issued by Spezialverlag HORN of GOTHA and the series number is H / III. The cards are numbered. There appears to be two different series of H III. The first set includes 30 cards whereas the second series has 40 cards. Cards 1 to 4 were all drawn by Luftwaffe pilot Hannes Trautloft, and the remaining cards by artist C. P. HALFELD.



ABOVE LEFT: TYPE-I title
ABOVE RIGHT: TYPE-II title



ABOVE LEFT: TYPE-I Publisher
ABOVE RIGHT: TYPE-II Publisher



ABOVE LEFT: TYPE-I title
ABOVE RIGHT: TYPE-II title

SHORTCUTS:

No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, No. 10

1. "DIE NOTLANDUNG" - "THE EMERGENCY LANDING"

This first Trautloft "Watercolor Artist Card" was drawn in 1940. The cartoon depicts a pilot who has crash-landed his plane into a tree and is now clinging to the trunk — a comedic take on an emergency landing.

No.1 (Type I)

No.1 (Type II)

The first card features a cartoon by TRAUTLOFT in 1940.

2. "DIE BLINDFLUGSCHÜLER" - "THE BLIND FLIGHT STUDENTS"

Another humorous Trautloft, 1940 watercolor artist card. The joke is a double meaning — Blindflug literally means instrument/blind flying (flying without visual reference), but here the two student pilots are depicted with their eyes literally bandaged shut, playing on the word "blind." One looks worried, the other cheerful — a classic comedy pairing.

No.2 (Type I)

No.2 (Type II)

3. "FALLSCHIRMABSPRUNG" - "PARACHUTE JUMP"
"JAGDFLIEGER" - "FIGHTER PILOT"

There were two different designs numbered "3" for Series III cards

No.3 (Type I) "FALLSCHIRMABSPRUNG" - "PARACHUTE JUMP"

This card was a 1940 Trautloft watercolor artist card. The humor is visual — the pilot has bailed out and deployed his parachute, but it has caught in a tree, leaving him dangling helplessly just above the ground with a panicked expression. A companion piece in spirit to Die Notlandung," where things also don't go quite as planned!




ABOVE: First Version - Card Number 3 by TRAULOFT 1940

No.3 (Type II) "JAGDFLIEGER" - "FIGHTER PILOT"

The following Trautloft design was drawn in 1938. The humor is a pun on Jagdflieger — which means fighter pilot in military aviation, but Jagd also means hunting. The cartoon takes the word literally: a pilot in a red plane is hunting game from the air, shooting at rabbits and birds, while another pilot parachutes down with a rifle. The rabbits on the hill watch the chaos unfold. A clever wordplay joke predating the war.




ABOVE: Second Version - Card Number 3 by TRAULOFT 1938

No.4 (Type I)

No.4 (Type II)

5. "FLIEGER = LOSTRIN" - "FLYER = LOTTERY TICKET"

The Caption reads : "Das Flugzeug ist ein böses Tier, Es aerostat noch Dein Leben Dir!"

"The airplane is a wicked beast, It will cost you your life yet!"

This is the first card in the Horn flieger series not drawn by Trautloft. This new design was instead drawn by C.P. Halfeld in 1940. The pilot in the cockpit shakes his fist while a ground crew member looks on. The cloud banner compares being a pilot to a lottery ticket — a gamble with fate. The rhyming caption reinforces the joke with a dark humorous warning that flying may cost you your life. A wry, self-deprecating bit of aviator humor.

No.5 (Type I)

The fifth card in Series 3 was from TRAULOFT in 1940. The postally used FELDPOST example below-right was cancelled in KOBLENZ on 17th Nov 1942.

No.5 (Type II)

6. "FLIEGER = LOSTRIN" - "FLYER = LOTTERY TICKET"

Artist C.P. HALFELD also produced the following image and the caption reads "An Hand von 'Tübler-Kunstflugfiguren' Läßt sich ein Dformämal leicht verlieren."

"With the help of 'Tübler aerobatic maneuvers,' One can easily lose one's bearings / lose [it all]."

Card features a biplane (marked Sä.K.Fl.S. — likely Sächsische Kunstflugschule, the Saxon Aerobatics School) is shown in a wild, disoriented maneuver with stars flying around the dazed pilot's head, the world inverted (the village is at the top). The joke is that fancy aerobatic figures leave the pilot completely confused and disorientated — a humorous dig at stunt flying training.

No.6 (Type I)

No.6 (Type II)

7. "FLIEGER = LOSTRIN" - "FLYER = LOTTERY TICKET"

The caption reads:

"Der Tübler landet leicht und glatt, wenn er das 'Anstands-Tüftrohr' hat!" - "The aerobat lands easily and smoothly, when he has the 'decency pole'!"

Another C.P. Halfeld, 1940 card from the same series. The joke is that the pilot is using a tall striped pole (the "decency/propriety pole") to gauge his landing height — thinking he needs to clear 1.50m but the pole is 8.00m tall. The two horrified ground crew in yellow look on as the pilot clings to the pole with his plane. A absurdist joke about pilots misjudging their landing altitude — with the "decency pole" being a comic invention suggesting pilots need such a device to land properly.

No.7 (Type I)

The seventh card in this series was another by artist C.P. HALFELD, this one dated 1940.

No.7 (Type II)

8. "FLIEGER = LOSTRIN" - "FLYER = LOTTERY TICKET"

The Caption reads : "Das Fahrgestell ist schnell zertrümmert, Wenn man zu sehr am Knüppel rümmert."

"The undercarriage is quickly smashed, When one yanks too hard on the joystick."

Another C.P. Halfeld card from the same series. The cartoon shows the landing gear has been mangled into wild curly shapes from rough handling, while the pilot in the cockpit holds up a wrench and key sheepishly, and a furious ground crewman approaches with an axe — presumably to deal with the wrecked undercarriage (or perhaps the pilot!). A rhyming joke about ham-fisted pilots destroying their aircraft by over-controlling the stick on landing.

No.8 (Type I)

Artist C.P. HALFELD was also responsible for the eighth card in the series. The postally used example below-left was cancelled in VIENNA on 2nd Dec 1940. The example below-right was a later usage in MEMMINGEN on 16th Apr 1941.

No.8 (Type II)

9. "FLIEGER = LOSTRIN" - "FLYER = LOTTERY TICKET"

Caption reads: "Das Fahrgestell ist sehr geknikt, wenn man nicht auf das Knöpfchen drückt."

"The undercarriage is badly buckled, when one doesn't press the little button."

Aircraft registration: D-OWEH — a pun! "O weh!" is a German exclamation meaning "Oh no!" / "Ouch!"

Another C.P. Halfeld, 1940 card — a companion piece to the previous undercarriage card. Here the plane has belly-landed (forgotten to lower the landing gear), crushing the undercarriage flat, while a startled rabbit flees and the embarrassed pilot peers over the side to survey the damage. The aircraft registration D-OWEH is the perfect punchline — the plane is literally named "Oh no!" A beautifully layered visual and wordplay joke.

No.9 (Type I)

No.9 (Type II)

10. "FLIEGER = LOSTRIN" - "FLYER = LOTTERY TICKET"

Caption reads: "Musst von Maschine ausgebrettet --, Da wird das Flugzeug mitgerettet!"

"Must bail out from the machine --, The airplane gets rescued along with you!"

Aircraft registration: D-EGAL — another pun! "Egal" means "doesn't matter" / "all the same"

The pilot has bailed out but is chained to the plane, so the parachute is carrying both him and the entire aircraft down together — while two bewildered little birds watch. The registration D-EGAL ("doesn't matter / whatever") perfectly fits the pilot's apparent attitude. A wonderful absurdist joke continuing the series' theme of aviation mishaps — and another brilliantly punning aircraft registration to match D-OWEH from the previous card.

No.10 (Type I)

No.10 (Type II)