Junkers Ju 290

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Junkers Ju 290

Type	Maritime Patrol
Manufacturer	Junkers
Maiden flight	July 16 1942 (Ju 290 V1)
Introduced	august 1942
Status	retired
Primary users	Luftwaffe Spain (Post war).

The Junkers Ju 290 was a long-range transport, maritime patrol aircraft and bomber used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II. The Ju-290 was the only four-engined heavy-duty aircraft used by the Luftwaffe in World War II and was the forerunner of the subsequent transatlantic civil aircraft.

The Junkers 290 was a direct development of the Junkers Ju 90 airliner, versions of which had been evaluated for military purposes. By 1941, two further prototype militarised Ju 90s were deemed to be different enough from their predecessors to warrant a new designation. These flew in mid 1942 and were quickly accepted into service and the type ordered into production. These two (Ju 290 A-0), plus the first five production aircraft (Ju 290 A-1), were completed as heavy transports, equipped with loading ramps in their tails and defensive gun turrets. Some of these aircraft participated in the Stalingrad Airlift in December 1942.

Production lines were set up at the Letov factory in Prague for the combat versions of the aircraft, commencing with the Ju 290 A-2, which carried a search radar for its patrol role. Minor changes in armament distinguished the A-3 and A-4, leading to the definitive A-5 variant.

The German army encountered the problem of maintaining supplies in sufficient quantities to the combat units in Russia during the winter of 1941. The only immediate solution was the development of available 4-engined Junkers Ju 90 civilian airliners into a larger and more up-to-date military transport under the designation Ju 290 A. Equipped with loading ramps in their tails and defensive gun turrets, the first five production aircraft as well as two prototype aircraft participated in the Stalingrad Airlift.

Meanwhile, the necessity of a long-range maritime reconnaissance airplane of long reach became indispensable to maintain adequate surveillance of the allied convoys. The Ju 290 A-2 carried search radar; the 200 FuG Hohentwiel, had a range of over 3,000 km and could remain airborne for over 20 hours. For its patrol role it was well-equipped and was soon replacing Folke Wulf 200 Condors. Minor changes in armament distinguished the A-3 and A-4, leading to the definitive A-5 variant that introduced a system of self sealing fuel tanks and better shielding for the crew cabin. Only 65 were built, as bombers, long-range reconnaissance aircraft, and transports but there were never more than 20 in service at any given time. The first series of aircraft were painted RLM 65/70/71 and any aircraft used in Naval recon were painted in RLM 65/72/73.

Junkers Ju 290

The later versions of the aircraft had exhibited very promising characteristics though, with ever-increasing range and heavier armament, including the capability to carry the various guided anti-shipping missiles under development. Three Ju 290s, carrying extra fuel tanks, made a non-stop flight to Manchuria to exchange technical data with the Japanese. They returned with rare metals needed by Germany for special alloys. According to historian Horst Zöller, a postwar German newspaper article in the 1950s reported that three Ju 290 aircraft were converted to civilian airframes with extra fuel capacity and these were transferred to Deutsche Lufthansa (DLH) during the war. These aircraft flew from Bulgaria to Yin-ch'uan also known as Ninghsia, which is 540nm west of Beijing. (Remark by Horst Zoeller: These Flights were planned and were even under work, but they were not performed until the end of WWII).

Three Ju 290 A-7 aircraft were completed with special bomb-bays in their bellies for export to Japan as "nuclear bombers." During the war Japan was developing an atomic bomb in what is now North Korea. Japan lacked long range aircraft with which to bomb the US mainland. These "A-7" aircraft were apparently never delivered to Japan owing to the loss of airfields in Bulgaria by Soviet occupation.

A Ju 290 A-9, number 0185, unit was prepared as a personal transport for Adolph Hitler. It had a pressurized cabin and was designed to seat 50. This aircraft flew with the I/KG200 from Finsterwalde and made one flight to Barcelona (Spain) 23 April, 1945 under the command of the Captain Braun, first commander of LTS 290.

The "long legs" of the Ju 290 made it an excellent candidate for the Amerika Bomber project, and prototypes of an even longer-range version were ordered as the Junkers Ju 390. As Germany lost access to the ocean, their role soon evaporated. By October 1944 all production was stopped.

There is confusion as to how many Ju 290s flew to Spain at the end of the war. One aircraft said by one Herr Baires, a correspondent to the German U-Boot website, Parsimony.net, to have been evacuating an SFM 43 kurier cypher system and a considerable weight of signals records, reached Barcelona by night in the morning of 6 April 1945 at 3:28 am. It was a foggy morning and the plane did not touch down until 3:40 am. It bounced heavily and ran off the runway through two ditches damaging the undercarriage (said by Herr Baires to be the tailwheel). This was one of many clandestine missions up until then, but by morning the wreck lay off the side of the runway for all to see. This led to diplomatic protests from the British who threatened to declare war on Spain for breach of neutrality. Thereafter Spain demanded only aircraft in civil markings from Germany could land in Spain. That aircraft which crashed at Barcelona on 6. April 1945 was sold for scrap two years later to the Bilbao Industrialist Heliodoro Eliorreta, who used it to fly merchandise cargo and often leased it to the airline, Iberia.

Other airframes were also civilianised during the war to fly discreet missions to Barcelona. Some of the last missions to Barcelona were at the directions of Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz to evacuate records of U-boat movements into hiding before the collapse of Nazi Germany. One civilianised Ju 290 aicraft flew a number of Nazi officers from Prague to Barcelona in late April 1945. Its passengers may have included SS Lt General Hans Kammler who disappeared from Prague about the same time. Kammler was the head of the V-2 rocket project and other secret technologies. There is also a possibility that the mission was sanctioned by the OSS as a part of Operation Paperclip (to recruit Nazi scientists for USA) and Operation Sunrise (the secret surrender of Nazi Germany to US forces)

A number of Ju 290s survived the war. The Allies evaluated at least three. The one the US got (an A-4, number 0165, with a bulbous nose from Letov/Prague and the FuG 203 from Dornier) was used on night operations so it was painted black underneath. The British also received two for evaluation. An A-5, number 0178, was acquired by the Spanish and used as a government transport of personnel for the Superior School of Flight in Salamanca. It was retired from service due to an accident in the mid 1950’s.

One final Ju 290 was built by Letov after the war, utilising parts intended for the Ju 290 B high-altitude prototype. It was completed as an airliner, designated Letov L.290 Orel.

[edit] Specifications (Ju 290 A-5)

General characteristics

Crew: 9
Length: 93 ft 11 in (28.64 m)
Wingspan: 137 ft 9 in (42.00 m)
Height: 22 ft 5 in (6.83 m)
Wing area: 2,191 ft² (203m²)
Empty weight: 72,611 lb (33,005 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 99,141 lb (44,970 kg)
Powerplant: 4× BMW 801G/H 14-cylinder radial engines, 1700 hp () each

Performance

Maximum speed: 273 mph (440 km/h)
Range: 3,843 miles (6,150 km)
Service ceiling: 19,680 ft (6,000 m)

Armament

2x 20 mm MG 151/20 in dorsal turrets
1 x 20 mm MG 151/20 in tail
2x MG 151/20 at waist
1x MG 151/20 in gondola
2x 13 mm MG 131 in gondola
radar FuG 200 Hohentwiel

Related content
Related Development:	Ju 89 - Ju 90 - Ju 390
Similar Aircraft:	FW 200
Designation Series:	Ju 286 - Ju 287 - Ju 288 - Ju 290 - Me 290 - As 292 - Hs 293
Related Lists:	List of military aircraft of Germany - List of bomber aircraft