Junkers Ju 88
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| Junkers Ju 88 | |
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| Ju 88A5 | |
| Type | Dive bomber/Tactical bomber/Night fighter |
| Manufacturer | Junkers |
| Designed by | Ernst Zindel |
| Maiden flight | 21 December 1936 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 15,000 |
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Among the most versatile planes of the war, it was used as a bomber, close-support aircraft, nightfighter, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft and even as a giant flying bomb in the Mistel project. [1] Despite its protracted development, the aircraft became one of the Luftwaffe's most crucial assets. There were 15,000 Ju 88s built during WWII.
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[edit] Design and development
The aircraft's first flight was made by the prototype Ju 88 V-1, which bore the civil registration D-AQEN, on 21 December 1936. When it first flew, it managed about 580 km/h (360 mph) and Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe was ecstatic. It was an aircraft that could finally fulfill the promise of the Schnellbomber, a high-speed bomber. The streamlined fuselage was modeled after its contemporary, the Dornier Do 17, but with fewer defensive guns because the belief still held that it could outrun fighters. The fifth prototype set a 1,000 km (620 mile) closed-circuit record in March 1939, carrying a 2,000 kg (4,100 lb) payload at a speed of 517 km/h (320 mph). [2] However, by the time Luftwaffe planners had had their own "pet" features added (including dive-bombing), the Ju 88's top speed had dropped to around 450 km/h (280 mph).
Production was delayed drastically with developmental problems. Although planned for a service introduction in 1938, the Ju 88 finally entered squadron service (with only 12 aircraft) on the first day of the attack on Poland in 1939. Production was painfully slow with only one Ju 88 manufactured per week, as problems continually kept cropping up. The Ju 88C series of heavy fighter was also designed very early in 1940, but kept secret from Göring, as he only wanted bombers.
[edit] Operational service
The Ju 88 A-1 series first flew anti-shipping sorties close to Norway. Ju 88 bombers based at Westerland on the island of Sylt in northern Germany carried out the first Luftwaffe raids against Britain. An attack on Rosyth on 16 October 1939 succeeded in damaging three ships, but was then attacked by Spitfires of No. 602 and No. 603. Squadrons of the RAF and two Ju 88s were shot down in the Firth of Forth. A raid on Scapa Flow the next day saw the loss of one Ju 88 to anti-aircraft fire.
All combat-ready Ju 88s (some 133), were pressed into the Blitzkrieg, but very high combat losses and accidents forced a quick withdrawal from action to re-train crews to fly this very high performance beast. By this time, major performance deficiences in the A-1 led to an all-out effort in a major design rework. The outcome was a longer wingspan that was deemed needed for all A-1s, thus the A-5 was born. Surviving A-1s were modified as quickly as possible, with new wings to A-5 specifications.
[edit] Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain proved very costly. Its faster speed did not prevent Ju 88 losses exceeding those of its Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111 stablemates, despite being deployed in smaller numbers than either. A series of field kits were made to make it less vulnerable, including the replacement of the rear machine gun by a twin barreled machine gun, and additional cockpit armour.
It was during the closing days of the Battle of Britain that the flagship Ju88 A-4 went into service. Although slower yet than the A-1, nearly all of the troubles of the A-1 were gone, and finally the Ju 88 matured into the superb warplane that it was designed to be. The A-4 actually saw additional improvements including more powerful engines, but, unlike other aircraft in the Luftwaffe, did not see a model code change. The Ju 88 C series also benefited from the A-4 changes, and when the Luftwaffe finally did decide on a new heavy fighter, the Ju 88 C was a powerful, refined aircraft.
[edit] Dive bomber
As a bomber, the Ju 88 was capable of pinpoint deliveries of heavy loads; however, despite all the modifications, dive bombing still proved too stressful for the airframe, and in 1943, tactics were changed so that bombs were delivered from a shallower, 45° diving angle. Aircraft and bomb sights were accordingly modified and dive brakes were removed. With an advanced Stuvi dive-bomb sight, accuracy remained very good for its time. Maximum bomb load of the A-4 was 2,800 kg, but in practice, standard bomb load was 1,500 to 2,000 kg. [3]
[edit] Fighter-bomber
The standard fighter version became the Ju 88C-6, applying experience acquired with the A-4 bomber, equipped with the same Jumo 211J engines. The C-6 was used mostly as fighter-bomber and therefore assigned to bomber units. As a reaction to the increasing number of attacks on German shipping, especially on U-boats in the Bay of Biscay, KG40 started flying anti-shipping patrols and escort missions from bases in France, in September 1942. They were a significant threat to the antisubmarine aircraft and operated as escort fighters for the more vulnerable Focke-Wulf Fw200 Condor bombers. After the Allied invasion in Normandy, KG40 was mauled in a number of desperate attacks on the landing beaches and in July 1944, the unit was disbanded.
[edit] Night fighter
[edit] Ju 88C
First night fighter version of Ju 88 was C-2, based on A-1 and armed with one 20 mm MG FF cannon and three 7.92 mm MG 17 machine-guns placed in new metal nose. These planes entered service in Zerstörerstaffel of KG 30 and unit was renamed II./NJG 1 in July 1940.
C-6b version was C-6 Zerstörer plane equipped with FuG 202 Lichtenstein BC radar. The first four C-6b fighters were tested in early 1942 in NJG 1. The trials were successful and the aircraft was ordered into production. In October 1943, many C-6bs were upgraded with new radar systems. The first new radar equipment was the FuG 212 Lichtenstein C-1 and, in 1944, the FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2.
[edit] Ju 88R
Ju 88 R-series was basically similar to the Ju 88 C-6bs but were powered by BMW 801 G-2 engines.
[edit] Ju 88G
All previous night fighter versions of Ju 88 were rebuilt bombers but G-series were specialised night fighter from the beginning. G-1 planes were fitted with the enlarged squared-off tail unit of the Ju 188, more powerful armament and 1,700 PS BMW 801 G-2 radial engines plus additional FuG 350 Naxos or FuG 227 Flensburg homing devices as well as the now-standard FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar.
G-6 1750 PS Jumo 213A inline-V12 engines, enlarged fuel tanks and often one or two MG 151/20 cannons in a Schräge Musik installation. Guns were firing obliquely upwards and forwards from the upper fuselage - usually at an angle of 70 degrees.
Some of the final G-series models received updates to the engine, a high-altitude Jumo 213E or to the radar, FuG 218 Neptun V/R or the even newer FuG 240 Berlin N-1 centimetric radar. Only about 10-20 of those were completed, before the VE day.
Many of the Luftwaffe night fighter aces, such as Helmut Lent (110 victories) and Heinrich von und zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (87 victories) flew Ju 88s during their careers.
The Japanese Navy ordered the specifications of an antisubmarine patrol/escort fleet aircraft, based on a medium bomber. The Kyūshū company closely patterned the Kyūshū Q1W Tokai ("East Sea") "Lorna" antisubmarine patrol/fleet escort aircraft after the Ju 88.
[edit] Operators
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Bulgaria
Finland: Finnish Air Force
France (post-war captured)
Germany: Luftwaffe
Hungary
Italy: Regia Aeronautica
Romania
Soviet Union (captured)
Spanish State
[edit] Specifications (Junkers Ju 88)
General characteristics
- Crew: 4
- Length: 14.2 m (46 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan: 18 m (59 ft 0 in)
- Height: 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
- Wing area: 47.8 m² (515 ft²)
- Empty weight: 3,900 kg (8,600 lb)
- Loaded weight: 7,700 kg (16,980 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: kg (lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Junkers Jumo 211A (or a BMW 801 in some cases) liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 900 kW (1,200 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 510 km/h at 4,750 m (317 mph at 15,600 ft)
- Range: 2,108 km (1,310 mi)
- Service ceiling: 9,080 m (29,800 ft)
- Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
Armament
- 7x 7.92 mm machine guns
- 2,500 kg (5511 lb) of bombs
[edit] References
- Feist, Uwe. Junkers Ju 88 in action. Carrollton,Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1974. ISBN 3-79090-026-5.
- Taylor, John W.R. "Junkers Ju 88." Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
- Winchester, Jim. Junkers Ju 88. "Aircraft of World War II." London: Grange Books, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-639-1.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
[edit] Related content
Related development
Comparable aircraft
de Havilland Mosquito - Petlyakov Pe-2 - Mitsubishi Ki-21
Designation sequence
Ju 85 - Ju 86 - Ju 87 - Ju 88 - Ju 89 - Ju 90 - Ar 95
Related lists
List of military aircraft of Germany - List of bomber aircraft
Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
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