Planica 1941 was a ski flying study week, allowed only in study purposes, with main competition held on 2 March 1941 in Planica, Drava Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Around 15,000 people gathered for the competition, which was used as a propaganda tool by the Nazi regime. Two world records were set, including a jump which stood until 1948.

Schedule Date Event RoundsLongest jump of the dayVisitors26 February 1941   Official training 1 4 98 metres (322 ft) by Heinz Palme N/A27 February 1941   Official training 2 5 101 metres (331 ft) by Heinz Palme103 metres (338 ft) by Heini Klopfer (fall)101 metres (331 ft) by Paul Krauß N/A28 February 1941   Official training 3 5 106 metres (348 ft) by Paul Krauß106 metres (348 ft) by Rudi Gering N/A2 March 1941   Morning interns 1 94 metres (308 ft) by Rudi Gering98 metres (321 ft) by Gregor Höll (fall) 15,000International event 3 118 metres (387 ft) by Rudi Gering (WR)

Background An enormous ski jump was built in 1933 in Planica in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, at which a dozen world records were set in the mid-1930s. While occupying Yugoslavia during World War II, the Nazi regime enlarged the course to make it possible to set new records for propaganda purposes. A competition was held in 1941, which notably excluded the top Norwegian skiers.MacArthur, Paul J. (March–April 2011). Skiing Heritage Journal, pp. 20–25, at Google Books. International Skiing History Association. Retrieved 22 May 2015.

All jumps over 105 metres Chronological order: 106 metres (348 ft) – 28 February – Paul Krauß (4RD, Training 3) 106 metres (348 ft) – 28 February – Rudi Gering (4RD, Training 3) 108 metres (354 ft) – 2 March – Rudi Gering (WR, 2RD, Competition) 105 metres (344 ft) – 2 March – Paul Krauß (fall, 2Rd, Competition) 109 metres (358 ft) – 2 March – Heinz Palme (WR fall, 3RD, Competition) 118 metres (387 ft) – 2 March – Rudi Gering (WR, 3RD, Competition) 111 metres (364 ft) – 2 March – Hans Lahr (3RD, Competition) 112 metres (367 ft) – 2 March – Paul Krauß (3RD, Competition) 109 metres (358 ft) – 2 March – Franz Mair (fall, 3RD, Competition)

Competition On 26 February 1941, the first official training day was held. Rudi Finžgar set the Yugoslavian record at and the longest jump of the day was set by German Heinz Palme at .

On 27 February 1841, at the second official training, Heini Klopfer crashed at , the distance of the day, and Paul Krauß set the longest standing jump at .

On 28 February 1941, at the third official training, there were a total of 18 jumps which exceeded one hundred metres. Krauß and Gering both landed at , just under the world record.

There were no jumps on 1 March, during which the hill was repaired and prepared for the next day's competition.

On 2 March, a large crowd had arrived for the competition. The International Ski Federation (FIS) was very reserved toward ski flying and the dangers involved in establishing world records, and endorsed the competition for study purposes only. People have seen total of 49 jumps and two world records.

Competition was scheduled in two parts: morning interns and an afternoon round for records hunting. The run experienced melting from strong sunlight and only 17 competitors were able to complete morning runs (8 Germans and 9 Yugoslavians).

By 2 pm conditions had changed, the inrun froze and the course speed increased. After two scheduled rounds and Gering's world record distance at , organizers wished to end the event for safety concerns, but it continued on Germany's request. The fourth and final round had a series of great jumps: Heinz Palme reached but a ground touch invalidated this for a world record distance. Then Rudi Gering set the world record at , winning the official afternoon competition in the best jump battle. Other jumps were Hans Lahr (111 m), Paul Krauß (112 m) and Franz Mair (109 m with fall).

First official training 26 February 1941 – chronological order not available Bib Name Country Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4Morning jumpsN/A Rudi Finžgar 68 m — — Gregor Klančnik 72 m — — — Nedog 68.5 m — — — Albin Novšak 65 m — — — Franc Pribošek 70 m — — — Janko Mežik 58 m — — — Jože Zalokar — — —Afternon jumps, 14:00 pmN/A Rudi Finžgar 93 m — — Franc Pribošek 69 m — — — Janko Mežik 72 m 77 m — — Nedog 73 m — — — Jože Zalokar 71 m — — — Franz Mair 88 m 90 m — Heinz Palme 92 m 90 m 98 m 97 m Hans Lahr 84 m 95 m 95 m Rudi Gering 73 m 83 m 92 m 92 m Heini Klopfer 82 m 95 m — Paul Krauß 87 m 93 m 97 m 94 m

Second official training 27 February 1941 – chronological order not available Bib Name Country Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5N/A Albin Novšak 50 m 81 m 81 m 85 m 86 m Gregor Klančnik 61 m 69 m 84 m — — Franc Pribošek 60 m 75 m — — — Rudi Finžgar 82 m — — — — Janko Mežik 72 m 80 m — — — Tone Razingar 52 m 50 m 51 m 70 m — Jože Zalokar 58 m 52 m 71 m 73 m — Zupan 62 m 63 m 79 m 82 m — Franz Mair 83 m 81 m — — Heinz Palme 90 m 100 m 101 m — — Hans Lahr 92 m 99 m 98 m — — Paul Schneidenbach 75 m 85 m 93 m 91 m — Rudi Gering 85 m 96 m 99 m 97 m — Heini Klopfer 93 m 100 m 94 m 103 m — Paul Krauß 96 m 99 m 99.5 m 101 m — Gregor Höll 72 m 82 m — — —

Third official training 13:00 pm – 28 February 1941 – chronological order Bib Name Country Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 51 Gregor Höll 102 m 94 m — — —2 Heinz Palme 90 m 100 m 104 m — —3 Heini Klopfer 92 m 90 m 100 m 102 m 101 m4 Hans Lahr 98 m 103 m 101 m — —5 Paul Krauß 98 m 104 m 102 m 106 m 101 m6 Rudi Gering 97 m 102 m 104 m 106 m —7 Jože Javornik 68 m 72 m — — —8 Franc Pribošek 73 m — — — — 9 Tone Razingar 63 m 69 m — — —10 Nedog 72 m 76 m — — —11 Franz Mair 91 m 95 m 100 m 101 m —12 Paul Schneidenbach 88 m 98 m 93 m 101 m —13 Jože Zalokar 69 m 71 m — — —14 Albin Novšak 83 m 90 m 85 m 92 m — 15 Zupan 87 m 85 m 96 m — —

Ski Flying Study competition 11:45 am – 2 March 1941 – One round – chronological order Bib Name Country Dist.1 Albin Novšak 67 m2 Heinz Palme 87 m3 Heini Klopfer 87 m4 Zupan 75 m5 Rudi Gering 94 m6 Paul Schneidenbach 84 m7 Rudi Finžgar 71 m8 Hans Lahr 91 m9 Paul Krauß 94 m10 Tone Razinger 63 m11 Gregor Höll 98 m12 Franz Mair 87 m13 Janko Mežik 71 m14 Jože Zalokar 76 m15 Nedog 66 m16 Franc Pribošek 81 m17 Jože Javornik N/AAfternoon event; 2:00 PM, chronologicalFirst round1 Albin Novšak 86 m2 Heinz Palme 91 m3 Heini Klopfer 90 m4 Zupan N/A5 Rudi Gering 98 m6 Paul Schneidenbach 7 Rudi Finžgar 81 m8 Hans Lahr 95 m9 Paul Krauß 101 m10 Tone Razinger 72 m11 Franz Mair 100 m12 Janko Mežik 87 m13 Jože Zalokar N/A14 Nedog 80 m15 Franc Pribošek 81 mSecond round16 Albin Novšak 93 m17 Heinz Palme 103 m18 Heini Klopfer 101 m19 Rudi Gering 108 m20 Paul Schneidenbach 100 m21 Rudi Finžgar 101 m22 Hans Lahr 107 m23 Paul Krauß 105 m24 Franz Mair 99 mThird round25 Albin Novšak 103 m26 Heinz Palme 109 m27 Heini Klopfer 103 m28 Rudi Gering 118 m29 Paul Schneidenbach 101 m30 Hans Lahr 111 m31 Paul Krauß 112 m32 Franz Mair 109 m Not recognized. Crash at WR! Yugoslavian national record! World record! Fall or touch!

Official results 2 March 1941 – 2:00 pm – best jump Rank Name Dist.1 Rudi Gering 118 m2 Paul Krauß 112 m3 Hans Lahr 111 m

Ski flying world records DateNameCountryMetresFeet2 March 1941   Rudi Gering 1083542 March 1941   Heinz Palme 1093582 March 1941   Rudi Gering 118387 Not recognized! Touch ground at world record distance.

References