Three Hungarian Ju 88 A-4 in flight.
Junkers Ju 88 was a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called fast bomber that would be too fast for fighters of its era to intercept. It suffered from technical problems during its development and early operational periods but became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war.
Background[ | ]
A mainstay of the Luftwaffe's arsenal, the Junkers Ju 88 was a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft introduced in 1939. The design suffered from numberous technical problems in its early years, primarily as a result of feature creep and constant piling of new features onto the plane. Most of the issues were rectified by 1941, and by summer of 1941, the Ju 88 became the durable war horse it's remembered as, evenetually becoming one of the most important aircraft designs of Nazi war machine, serving as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and at the end of the war, as a flying bomb. Nearly 16,000 air frames were built in dozens of variants, but the basic structure of the aircraft remained unchanged.
Models[ | ]
Ju 88A[ | ]
The Ju 88A is the main bomber type with Jumo 211 engines.
A-4[ | ]
The A-4 is an improved variant with longer wingspan (due to redesigned wingtips), stronger defensive armament, reinforced undercarriage, and provision for four external bomb racks. Power provided by Jumo 211 J-1 or J-2 engines (1410 hp) driving wooden bladed propellers.
- Ju 88 A-4 Heavy Bomber 50kg (Fin, Hun)
- Ju 88 A-4 Heavy Bomber 250kg (Fin, Hun)
- Ju 88 A-4 Heavy Bomber 500kg (Fin, Hun)
Ju 88C[ | ]
The Ju 88C is a heavy fighter (Zerstörer), fighter-bomber and night fighter, based on A-series, but with sheet metal nose.
C-6[ | ]
Ju 88C Zerstörer specialized for air combat. The C-6 variant is a heavy fighter and night fighter, based on A-4, Jumo 211J engines with 1420 PS.
Ju 88D[ | ]
The Ju 88D is the long-range photo-reconnaissance variants, based on the Ju 88 A-4/A-5.
D-1[ | ]
The D-1 variant is a long-range photo-reconnaissance variant based on Ju 88 A-4.
Ju 88G[ | ]
The Ju 88G is a night fighter, a new fuselage with A-series' ventral Bola (Bodenlafette) gondola omitted, tail section from Ju 188, an aerodynamically improved conformal gun pod for a quartet of forward-firing 20 mm calibre, and MG 151/20 autocannons below the former bomb bay.
G-1[ | ]
The G-1 is equipped with BMW 801 radial engines with 1700 PS, and FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar.
Ju 88S[ | ]
The Ju 88S is a high-speed bomber series based on Ju 88 A-4 but with ventral Bola gondola omitted, smoothly glazed nose with radial-ribbed supports instead of the "beetle's eye" of the A-version, and GM-1 nitrous-oxide boost, fastest of all variants.
S-1[ | ]
The S-1 variant is fitted with two BMW 801 G-2 engines, the GM-1 boost system and could carry two SD-1000 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bombs externally.
- Ju 88 S-1 Heavy Bomber (2kg) (SD2): This particular bomber carries a complement of Sprengbomben Dickwandig 2 kg: Butterfly Bombs. These were canister-deployed anti-personnel munitions, sending 250 pieces of cast iron shrapnel upon explosion and capable of killing anyone in a ten meter radius.
- Ju 88 S-1 Heavy Bomber (50kg)
- Ju 88 S-1 Heavy Bomber (70kg) (SD2)
- Ju 88 S-1 Heavy Bomber (500kg) (SD2)
- Ju 88 S-1 Napalm Bomber