being flown on three flights. The design of the first prototype was largely derived from the OKB-1 150, an early jet bomber designed by former Junkers engineers in the Soviet Union. It included a tandem landing gear and glazed nose for the navigator, which was a common feature in many Eastern Bloc aircraft. The 152's landing gear was unusual for a passenger plane in that the main gear was housed along the centerline of the fuselage with outrigger wheels in the wing-tips, similar to the better-known Boeing B-47. The tail of the airplane was tested on a VEB 14. On 4 December 1958, the maiden flight of the first prototype V1/I (DM-ZYA) took place, which lasted for 35 minutes. Tragedy struck during its second flight, the aircraft being lost in a crash at Ottendorf-Okrilla on 4 March 1959, killing the entire crew. It is believed that the pilots, having lacked experience with operating jet-propelled aircraft, may have been unfamiliar with the slow response time of such engines, contributing to a stall and subsequent crash. The reasons for the crash were never fully investigated and the results of the limited investigation were only made public in 1990. The loss has been attributed as having been a major setback to the programme and later having played a factor in its termination. Following the accident, test flights continued using the second prototype V4/II (DM-ZYB), although this aircraft did not fly until 1960. It would be the first to be powered by the indigenously-developed Pirna 014 turbojet engine. Other changes made on the second prototype included a different landing gear configuration, involving an unusual configuration of the main landing gear that shared the same pylon as the engines, as well as the glazed nose for the navigator being dispensed with. The third prototype, V5/II (DM-ZYC), would never be flown, being solely used for ground-based testing. The flight test programme was abruptly terminated after conducting only three flights; reportedly, a serious malfunction involving the fuel tanks, which interrupted sufficient fuel supply during a steep descent, had been discovered. The question of whether this design flaw had contributed to the crash of the first prototype remains unanswered. There were still about 20 aircraft in production for the East German state airline Deutsche Lufthansa until mid-1961. On 28 February 1961, the East German government issued an order for the dissolution of its national aeronautical industry; this decision