World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
14 Jan 2011 05:41:13 PM

Junkers Ju88 of KG.54 this gruppe operated in Europe, Norway, Sicily with operations
against Malta, North Africa, anti-shipping in the Mediterranean and Russia.
At wars end surviving aircraft of KG54 were found abandoned in Prague and Germany.
KG54 also operated Heinkel He 111s

2.  Bill says:
26 Jan 2011 02:57:41 PM

Another Junkers bomber was the Ju-86 this was a pre-war 1930s design, that started out as a civilian airliner.

Junkers built a military variant for the Luftwaffe, as a medium bomber with a crew of four and was powered by diesel engines,later models by radial powerplants.
Operated over Spain but was inferior to the Heinkel He 111 It was used during the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and was withdrawn from front-line used as transport and transfered to bomber training schools.

NEW LIFE FOR AN OLD BIRD:

Junkers modified a Ju-86 for high altitued reconnaissance missions, the Ju-86P had longer wings, pressuried cabin, and junkers
jumo turbo-charged diesel engines it was capable of operating at altitudes of 40,000ft

HIGH FLIERS:

The Ju-86P flew reconnaissance missions over
Russia and England during 1940 at altitudes
of 41,000ft or 12,500 meters.

Another vairant was the Junkers Ju-86R modified with new radial engines driving four
blade propellers and could operate at altitudes of 52,500ft! fantastic for that time. Production was limited ot one prototype aircraft.
Proposed variants were the Ju-186 four-engine, and the Ju-286 six-engine aircraft both were not built.

3.  Bill says:
26 Jan 2011 05:17:00 PM

HIGH FLYING DIESELS:

Special reconnaissance missions by Junkers
Ju-86R-1, one aircraft of 2.F/Aufl.Gr(F)123 code 4U+RK flew at altitudes over 40,000ft.
It was one of forty Ju-86s that were modified for reconnaissance missions.
The aircraft were modified having increased wing span of over 104ft. and powered by super-charged diesel engines driving four-blade propellers.

STRATOSPHERE BATTLE:

They were beyond the interception of fighters
However, intercepts did take place one was over Scotland by a Spitfire Mk VI that was
able to reach the Ju-86 at altitude, later
the Ju-86s operated over the Eastern and
Southern Fronts.

FIGHTER CLOSING IN, ITS A SPIRFIRE!...

Another interception took place a Spitfire
Mk X that was stripped down and armed with
2x12.7mm machine guns caught a Ju-86 at
40,000ft attacks were made and hits on the Ju-86s starboard engine set it on fire, last seen diving away and was lost, ditched at sea, crew was rescued.

The Spitfire pilot flying at 40,000ft in a
unpressured aircraft, breathing pure oxygen
would have suffered physiological problems,
his altimeter could have been misread or was in error, but nevertheless the attack did take place and after the Ju-86s could be intercepted they were withdrawn from service
A total of forty aircraft were converted for
special reconnaissance missions.


SOLE SURVIVOR:

One Ju-86 exists today, one of 16 aircraft that were built in Sweden by SAAB on display
at the Flygvapenmuseum, Sweden

Other Operators:
Germany, Austria, Bolivia, Chile, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Sweden and South Africa.

Special Missions Operated by KG/200

Japan:
Transporting secret and paramilitary troops operating in Manchukuo

4.  Bill says:
26 Jan 2011 05:37:26 PM

OLDIE BUT GOODIE:

Junkers designed the Ju-49 single-engine
aircraft to investigate high-altitude flight
with pressure cabin in 1935. The aircraft
flew to an altitude of 41,000 feet or
12,500 meters.

Powered by a 12-cylinder engine two stage super-charger, driving a four blade propeller, that carried a crew of two. Aircraft was retired in 1937 one prototype was built written-off due to crash. Experienced gained from test flights of the Ju-49 led to the development of the Ju-86P and R aircraft.

5.  Bill says:
29 Jan 2011 06:43:01 PM

Another project was the Junkers Ju EF 132
jet bomber, powered by six-Jumo 012 jet engines, the aircraft was of advanced design with swept wings and tail plane.
The landing gear had a main nose wheel, with
the main landing gears in tandem beneath the center rear fuselage and out-rigger type wheels under each wing the cockpit was fully glazed. Armament: 2x20mm remote-control cannons in turrets, and 2x20mm cannons in the tail.

This was the last bomber project by Junkers
a wind tunnel model was made, but the war ended its development in Germany.

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING:

In 1946 the complete Junkers factory, along with the design team, data, documents and blueprints were sent to the USSR to continue work, at the State Experimental Plant Number One, the project was cancelled in 1948.
The design of the Ju EF 123 and continued research led the way for development of many
post war Russian jet bomber design.

POST WAR DEVELOPMENT COLD WAR WARRIORS:

The Junkers design was very similar, to the post war Boeing B-47 Stratojet, the Boeing design was also swept wing and tail plane but had its six jet engines mounted in pods under the wings and a bubble cockpit canopy for the pilot and co-pilot the third crew member navigator/bombardier was stationed in the nose section.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was another
jet bomber that was similar in design to the
Ju EF 123.

THE BISON OR MOLOT (HAMMER)

The Russian Myasishchev M-4 design shows its
influence from wartime German design and research, its four jet engines, were buried in the wings, much like the Ju EF 123 with many of the advanced layouts of the Junkers
aircraft.

The Bison (NATO code word) was the USSRs answer to the U.S. B-52, powered by four-jet engines but it didn't prove satisfactory as a Strategic bomber.
Capable of carring free falling, or nuclear bombs. Later duties saw it used as a cruise missile and air to surface missile carrier, and in its twilight years, the Bison saw duty as a in-flight refueling tanker.

BEFORE I FLY INTO THE SUNSET:

Of interests the Bison was modified to carry
the Russian Space Shuttle Buran, piggy back
and its launch components, before the Antonov
An-225 became available.

6.  Bill says:
19 Dec 2013 01:03:03 PM

THE BOMBER THAT NEVER WAS:

The Junkers Ju-288 was a twin-engine bomber that was a company project designed to replace the Junkers Ju-88 that was undergoing flight tests in 1937.
A proposal to the RLM Reichsluftfahrtministerium
don't you just like those German compound words,
for a bomber that could reach targets anywhere in England. The first flight was in 1940 with the planned production in 1942 the Ju-288 was powered by 2 x Junkers Jumo inline liquid-cooled engines of 2500hp each.
Between fifteen to twenty-two prototypes were built and flown by 1943 However, RLM requirements had changed for this type of aircraft and fighter production for the defense of the Reich was more important. As an interim, the RLM ordered the Junkers Ju-188. The program was closed down and what Ju-288's that were on the production line were scrapped.

In 1944 several of the prototype Ju-288's were fitted with 75mm gun pods to be sent to the Russian front but details of operations have never surfaced, if any operations were carried out at all. Most likely the Ju-288's were used for high speed reconnaissance until the lack of spare parts grounded them, but this is just my guess...

PROPOSED ARMAMENT:

4 x 13mm MG/131 machine guns
1 x 15mm MG/151 cannon, or 1 x 20mm MG/151 cannon.
3,000kgs/6,610lbs of bombs