Junkers G.38

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G.38

The D-2000 was later marked D-AZUR
Type Transport
Manufacturer Junkers
Maiden flight 1929
Primary users Lufthansa
Luftwaffe
Number built 2
Variants Mitsubishi Ki-20

The Junkers G.38 was a large German four-engined transport airplane which first flew in 1929.[1] Two prototypes were constructed in Germany. Both airplanes flew as commercial transport within Europe in the years leading up to World War II.

During the 1930s, the design was licensed to Mitsubishi which constructed and flew a total of six aircraft, in a military bomber / transport configuration, designated Ki-20.[2]

The G.38 carried a crew of seven. On board mechanics were able to service the engines, in flight,[1] due to the G.38's blended wing design which afforded access to all four power plants.

The first Junkers prototype - 3301 and marked as D-2000 - first flew on 6 November 1929 with four diesel engines: two L55 12 cylinder V-motors and two 294 kW L8 6 cylinder inline motors with combined power rating of 1470 kW (1971 hp).[3] The Reich Air Ministry purchased the D-2000 for demonstration flights,[4] and took delivery on 27 March 1930.[5] In flight tests, the G.38 set four world records including speed, distance and duration for airplanes lifting a 5000 kg payload.[1] On 2 May 1930 Lufthansa put the D-2000 into commercial service for both scheduled and special flights.[5]

On 2 February 1931 the Leipzig-based Junkers' yard re-engined the D-2000 with two L8 and two L88 motors giving a total power rating of 1764 kW (2366 hp) and increasing passenger capacity from 13 to 19.[3] On 1 July 1931 Lufthansa initiated regularly scheduled service between Berlin and London on flights carrying up to 13 passengers.[1]

This London-Berlin service was halted in October 1931 to retrofit the airplane and expand the passenger cabin of the D-2000. Construction lasted from this time until the summer of 1932, during which a second deck was built within the D-2000's fuselage - enabling an increased cargo capacity and seating for up to 30 passengers. Additionally the D-2000's engine were again upgraded to four L88s, giving a combined power total of 2352 kW (3154 hp). Also at this time the D-2000's certificate number was changed to D-AZUR.

Meanwhile, a second G.38 - factory number 3302 and c/n D-2500, later changed to D-APIS - was built with a double deck fuselage and capacity for 34 passengers. These passengers were carried in two compartments in the leading edge of each wing, six per wing, and the rest, on two levels, in the main fuselage. Lufthansa used D-APIS on a scheduled service covering the cities Berlin, Hannover, Amsterdam and London.

In 1934 the D-2000/D-AZUR had its engines upgraded, this time with Jumo 4 engines, giving a total power rating of 3000 kW (4023 hp). Both planes were in service simultaneously until 1936, when the D-AZUR crashed in Dessau during a post-maintenance test flight. Lufthansa had to write off this plane due to the extensive damage, but test pilot Wilhelm Zimmermann survived the crash, and there were no other casualties.

The second G.38 - marked D-2500 and later D-APIS - flew successfully within the Lufthansa fleet for nearly a decade. With the outbreak of World War II the D-2500/D-APIS was pressed into military service as a transport craft by the Luftwaffe. It met its demise on 17 May 1941 when it was destroyed on the ground during a RAF air raid on Athens.[1][6]

The G.38, during its early life, was the largest land plane in the world.[1] Passenger accommodations were sumptuous by today's standards and were meant to rival those offered by the competing Zeppelin service offered by DELAG. The plane was unique, both in its time and today, in that passengers were seated in the wings. In fact, the leading edge of each wing was fitted with sloped wind screens enabling these passengers the forward facing view,[1] typically reserved only for pilots. In design terms, it foreshadowed the Blended Wing Body design currently being developed by both NASA and Boeing as an alternative to traditional tube and wing aircraft configurations.

Contents

[edit] Specifications (G.38)

General characteristics

  • Crew: Seven
  • Capacity: 30 (D-2000/D-AZUR) and 34 (D-2500/D-APIS) passengers[3]
  • Length: 23, 21 Meters[3] (75, 69 ft)
  • Wingspan: 44 Meters (144 ft)
  • Height: 7.2 Meters[1] (24 ft)
  • Wing area: 290 square metre[1] (3,122 sq. ft)
  • Empty weight: 14,920 kg[3] (32,893 lbs)
  • Loaded weight: 24,000 kg (52,900 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 21,240 kg[1][3] (46,826 lbs)
  • Powerplant: 4× diesel, see below () each
  • Total engine power: 1470 kW (1871 hp) in 1929; 2352 kW (3154 hp) in 1932; 2200 kW (2950 hp) in 1934[3]
  • Powerplants: diesel, mixed inline six-cylinders and V-12s evolving to four V-12s:
    • two L55 and two L8 a in 1929;
    • two L8 a and two L88 a in 1931;
    • four L88 a in 1932;
    • two Junkers Jumo 204 in 1934

Performance

[edit] Operators

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j EADS
  2. ^ Schnaedelbach
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Junkers
  4. ^ G38 Special, translated: "ten hour flight with press on board over Germany; a round Europe flight to eleven capitals and showing the airplane to prominent business people and politicians"
  5. ^ a b german wikipedia
  6. ^ Junkers, G38 Special

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

Junkers, List of RLM aircraft designations
Related development Mitsubishi Ki-20
Comparable aircraft Tupolev ANT-20

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