While awaiting the return of the Aksum obelisk looted from Ethiopia in 1937, and listening to the endless excuses for inaction (which date back to the Italian Peace treaty of 1947) it may be appropriate to look at another Ethiopian item of loot, also still in Italy. But much easier to transport - no excuses of being too heavy to transport, the airport being too high up in the sky, etc., etc. - over half a century of it!

The item of lootin question this week is the Ethiopian aeroplane Tsehai, named by Emperor Haile Sellassie' after his beloved daughter Princess Tsehai.

The story of this aeroplane, which is now in the Italian Aviation Museum, outside Rome, is an interesting one.

First Ever

This 'plane, was the first ever to be constructed in Ethiopia.

Originally called Aethiopien I, i.e. Ethiopia I, the 'plane was assembled in Addis Ababa early in 1935, a few months prior to the Italian Fascist invasion on 3 October 1935.

The German pilot

The 'plane was built by the Emperor's German pilot Ludwig Weber, who had come to Addis Ababa in 1933, as a representative of the German firm of Junkers, and had been commissioned to assist in the establishment of Ethiopian aviation.

Weber based the design for the aeroplane Tsehai on a German model which had been built in Freiburg a year or so earlier. He began construction work in Addis Ababa on no less than three aircraft, but only one, Tsehai on account of the Fascist invasion, was ever completed.

Monoplane

The aircraft was a monoplane, with a seven cylinder Walter Venus I 115 horsepower engine, and a Schwartz propeller. Its fuselage was made of steel, its wings largely of wood, and its windscreen of plastic.

This historic 'plane was painted in the Ethiopian national colours, green, yellow and red; and was christened Tsehai by the Emperor, after his beloved daughter.

The 'plane's first flight took place at the very end of 1935, or the beginning of 1936, when Tsehai was flown by Herr Weber in person.

A Short History

The history of Tsehai was a short one. The 'plane had flown only 30 hours when the advance of the Fascist invaders obliged Weber and his staff to leave Ethiopia. They departed at the beginning of May 1936, only a few days prior to the entry into the city of Pietro Badoglio's fascist army.

The 'plane was then appropriated by the invaders, who despatched it to Italy. By 1941, it had been acquired by the Aeronautical Museum in Caserta, but was later transferred to the Italian Aviation Museum outside Rome.

Peace Treaty

The Italian Peace Treaty, of 1947, stated, in Article 37 that "within eighteen months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, Italy shall restore all works of art, religious objects, archives and objects of historical value belonging to Ethiopia or its nationals and removed from Ethiopia to Italy since October 3, 1935", i.e. the date of the Fascist invasion.

In the subsequent tardy implementation of the Treaty the question of Tsehai, the "aeroplane of the Negus", was forgotten.

"Historical Value" As the first 'plane to be assembled in Ethiopia it would seem, however, to be an "object of historical value", as specified in the Treaty. This is corroborated by the fact that the 'plane is currently in the Italian Aviation Museum: if it was not of "historical value" it would not be in the museum!.

The fact the aircraft was made under Ethiopian Government auspices, by the Emperor's pilot, and is generally referred to in Italy as "the aeroplane of the Negus", leaves furthermore no doubt that the machine belongs morally to Ethiopia, and should be returned in accordance with the Peace Treaty.

Ethiopia's Commitment to Modernisation

The Aeroplane, which synbolises pre-war Ethiopia's commitment to modernisation, as well as the country's close ties with Germany, is wanted in Ethiopia where Monsieur Jacques Dubois planned that it should form part of the decoration of the new Addis Ababa airport building. The return at this juncture of the aeroplane, which, unlike the obelisk is eminently transportable, would be welcomed as a precursor of the restitution of the Aksum Obelisk itself.