Junkers G 24

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Junkers G 24
Image:G 24 2.JPG A Luftwaffe G 24, captured 1941 in Greece
Type	Transport
Manufacturer	Junkers
Designed by	Ernst Zindel
Maiden flight	13 October 1930
Introduced	1931
Primary users	Lufthansa Luftwaffe Spain Soviet Union
Produced	1925-1929 (German production) 1924- (Sweden)
Number built	Germany: ~72 Sweden: 20 + 23 K 30s

The Junkers G 23 and G 24 was a German three-engine, low-wing monoplane nine-passenger aircraft manufactured by Junkers from 1925.

1 History
- 1.1 Military versions
2 Record flights with the G 24
3 Versions
4 Operators
5 Specifications (G 24ba)

[edit] History

The increased German air traffic in the 1920s led to a requirement for a larger passenger transport aircraft. The G 23 was an enlarged further development of the F 13. It was originally designed by Ernst Zindel as a single-engined aircraft, but due to the requirement for more power, two more engines were added to provide the needed power for the aircraft. The aircraft was manufactured in 3 main batches, with different engine alternatives. Between 1925 and 1929 at least 72 aircraft were manufactured, with 26 for Lufthansa This aircrft managed to set a number of aviation records involving pay loads. Fritz Horn flew 2,020 km with a payload of 1,000 kg on 14 h 23 min, having an average speed of 140 km/h. Setting a new world record.

On 24 July 1926, two G 24s became famous after having flown the 20,000 km route between Berlin and Peking in just 10 stops. This flight ended on 8 September. It was initially meant that they would fly all the way to Shanghai, but they were prevented by military conflicts. On 26 September 1926, the two aircraft landed again in Berlin. Later during the year, a trans-Euro-Asiatic line is created.

Lufthansa, who operated the largest G 24 fleet in the world, decided to modify their G 24s to a single engine standard. The first modifications were done in March 1928. The wing was shortened and the center engine was replaced with a BMW VIU engine. Junkers called this aircraft F 24ko. A total of 11 G 24s were modified to F 24 standard between 1928 and 1930. By July 1933 most of these BMW-equipped F24s were again modified with the new Jumo 4 and designated as F 24kay. Most of these F 24s remained in service at the beginning of the second World War in 1939. Most of them were used as freighter transport aircraft by Lufthansa.

The Soviet-German aircraft cooperation in the 1920s let to a Soviet request for a new bomber aircraft.

Junkers then designed the Junkers Ju 25 as a twin engined bomber aircraft. But the development of this aircraft was too expensive for Junkers, especially since there were som difficulties with his Russian partners. Junkers then advised his lead designers Ernst Zindel and Hermann Pohlmann to design a military derivate of the G 24. By November 1924 the new aircraft was ready, and given the designation G3S1 24 and it was a direct modification of the G 24ba. The aircraft was said to be an ambulance aircraft. Junkers followed up this design with several reconnaissance designs e.g. the G1Sa 24 which was a modified G 24 with only a single engine. The next design, the G2sB 24 was also a bomber aircraft, directly derivated from the G 24he. This aircraft had a new center wing section and a new nose section, to allow an open shooting area to the forward areas. Junkers decided to produce this design as the general military version of the G 24 and gave it the designation K 30 in 1926.

In 1926, the Finnish airlines Aero O/Y acquired a Junkers G 24, which went into service on the Stockholm route. The aircraft was equipped with floats, but not skis, and so could be used in summer only. It remained in service until 1935.

A Swedish G 24 also participated in the rescue of the unfortunate Italian Umberto Nobile expedition to the North pole. This was the first time an aircraft had flown over the Arctic Sea without stops.

[edit] Military versions

Image:K 30 L.JPG

Junkers K 30 in Swedish markings

Junkers offered the K 30 design to the Soviet forces, which ordered a total of 23 K 30 aircraft in 1925 and 1926. A production line for the military version K 30 was set up at A.B. Flygindustri at Limhamn in Sweden as the German aviation industry was prevented from building military aircraft in 1926. The parts for the K 30 aircraft were built at Dessau and then shipped to Limhamn, where A.B. Flygindustri built the K30 under the designation R 42. Some of the R 42s were equipped with machine gun towers and bomb mountings. But several of the R 42s were also shipped without military equipment to Russia. These were later fitted with military equipment at Junker's factory in Fili, Moscow. The R 42/K 30 was designated JuG-1 in the Soviet Union. They received five 7.62 mm machine guns and could carry a bomb load of 500 kg.

Six more R 42s were delivered to Chile during 1926 plus three K 30s to Spain and two K 30s to Yugoslavia until 1931. The Spanish and Yugoslavian aircraft were produced at Dessau. The K 30 was equipped with either wheels, skis or floaters. With the successful conversion of the G 24 into the single engined aircraft F 24, Junkers was also thinking about a single engined K 30 in 1931. Like the F24, this K30do was to be equipped with the Jumo 4 engine and was similar to the initial G1Sa 24. However, no single engined K 30s were built.

[edit] Record flights with the G 24

[edit] 1926

May 1 - the first passenger night flights. Lufthansa starts the first passenger night flights from Berlin to Konigsberg.
July 24 - The Peking expedition flight. A Lufthansa expedition flew to Peking, a flight of over 20,000 km. Two G 24s, the D-901 and D-903 participated

[edit] 1927

April 1 - World distance record with 2,000 kg payload. Waldemar Roeder achieved a new world distance record with a G 24L with 2,000 kg payload with 1013,18 km in 7 hours and 52 minutes.
April 4 - World distance record with 1,000kg payload. Fritz Horn achieved a new distance record with a G 24L with 1,000 kg payload with 2026,36 km in 14 hours and 23 minutes.
April 10 - World speed record with 2,000 kg payload over 500 km. Hermann Roeder achieved a new speed record with a G 24L with 2,000 kg payload over 500 km with 175,75 km/h. During the same flight the record for 2,000 kg over 100 km was also achieved with 179,24 km/h
June 1 - World speed record with 2,000 kg payload over 100 km. The Junkers pilot Zimmermann achieved a new speed record with a G 24L with 2,000 kg payload over 100 km with 207,26 km/h. The record flight was performed between the turning points at Dessau and Leipzig.
June 28 - World speed record. Zimmermann achieved the speed record with 1,000 kg payload with 209,115 km/h
August 4 - The South Atlantic expedition flight. A G 24h1e belonging to Severa took off from Norderney to the Azores from where it was planned to cross the South Atlantic as the first aircraft from East to West. But the operation had to be stopped due to a crash at the Azores.
August 6 - a K 30 seaplane performed FAI World Record Flights. Over a distance of 1,000 km and with a payload of 1000 kg, the K 30 reached a speed of 171 km/h. The flight time of 10 h 42 min 45 sec was also a FAI Record, as well as the flight distance of 1,176 km.

[edit] 1928

June 23 - The Afghanistan expedition flight. One G 24 and two F 13 aircraft started started an Afghanistan expedition flight

[edit] Versions

G 23 - design designator for prototype with 1 BMW IIIa and 2 Mercedes D1 in 1924
G 24 - improved version with one Junkers L2 and two Mercedes DIIIa engines in 1925
G 24a - three Junkers L2 engines, attachment on wings, smaller engine cowlings, sometimes also a Junkers L5 as a central engine. Two aircraft destined for Italy were fitted with Isotta Franchini central engines of 221 kW.
G 24ba - with three Junkers L2, strengthened attachments and engine mountings
G 24b1a - seaplane version of the G 24ba for Aero O/Y
G 24bi - with one Junkers L5 center engine and two L2 engines
G 24ce - with three Junkers L5, enlarged wing attachment since 1926
G 24e - with three Junkers L5
G 24de - strengthened attachments, smaller engine cowlings
G 24fe - enlarged center wing attachments
G 24ge - further enlarged wing attachments
G 24g1e - seaplane version of G 24ge, used for torpedo experiments
G 24gu - one Junkers L5G central engine and two Junkers L5
G 24gn - Junkers L5 center engine with 310 kW, one built
G 24he - with modified wing, separate undercarriage, aerodynamic cockpit, 14 passengers
G 24h1e - seaplane version of G 24he
G 24hu - with three BMW Va engines, one built
G 24li - modified G 24a/b with Junkers L5 center engine
G 24mai - modified G 24e with a Isotta Frachini center engine for Italy
G 24nao - with three Rhone Jupiter engines, prototype for the K 30
G 24L - with three Junkers L5G engines

F 24kae - was a single test bench for DB600/601 engine.
F 24kai - a single test bench for the Jumo 211 engine
F 24kau - with BMW VIau
F 24kay - test bench for Jumo 4 in October 1933 (c/n 839)
F 24ko - with a single BMW VIU engine

G3 S1 24 - a projected ambulance aircraft from 1924, three Junkers L2 engines
G1 Sa 24 - a projected reconnaissance aircraft from 1924, single-engined
G2 Sb 24 - a projected bomber aircraft with several three engined approaches
K 30 - military G 24 version of 1926
K 30b - a fictive Russian designation for the land version of the K 30 (not the official Junkers designation)
K 30c - a fictive Russian designation for the seaplane version of K 30 (not the official Junkers designation)
K 30do - single engined version of the K 30 with Jumo 4 of 1931, not built
TB2 - Soviet military designation for the K 30 (not the official Junkers designation)
JuG-1 - designation for Fili military conversions of the K 30/R 42