Junkers Ju 88

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Junkers Ju 88 A-5, Werk Nr. 0886146/CV+VP LuftwaffeJunkers Ju 88 A-5, Werk Nr. 0886146/CV+VP Luftwaffe

Posted By: Jeroen Vogelaar mei 27, 2015

The Junkers Ju 88 was a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. It was used successfully as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and even, during the closing stages of the conflict in Europe, as a flying bomb.

  • Role: Multirole combat aircraft
  • National origin: Germany
  • Manufacturer: Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke
  • First flight: 21 December 1936
  • Introduction: 1939
  • Status: 5 aircraft in museums
  • Number built: 15,183

Operators

  • Bulgarian Air Force
  • Finnish Air Force
  • Armée de l’Air (France)
  • French Navy
  • Luftwaffe
  • Royal Hungarian Air Force
  • Regia Aeronautica Italy
  • Royal Romanian Air Force
  • Royal Air Force operated at least five captured aircraft
  • Soviet Air Force
  • Spanish Air Force

Specifications Ju 88 A-4

General characteristics

  • Crew: 4 (pilot, bombardier/front gunner, radio operator/rear gunner, navigator/ventral gunner)
  • Length: 14.36 m (47 ft 2⅞ in)
  • Wingspan: 20.08 m (65 ft 10½ in)
  • Height: 5.07 m (16.63 ft)
  • Wing area: 54.7 m2 (587 ft2)
  • Loaded weight: 8,550 kg (18,832 lb)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (30,865 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Junkers Jumo 211J liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 1,044 kW (1,420 PS, 1,401 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 510 km/h (317 mph) at 5,300 m (17,389 ft) without external bomb racks or 433 km/h (269 mph) at 4,500 m (14,765 ft) at 14,000 kg (30,865 lb)
  • Range: 2,430 km (1,429 mi) maximum internal fuel
  • Service ceiling: 9,000 m (29,500 ft) at average weight, without bombs
  • Rate of climb: 235 m/min (770 ft/min)

Armament

  • Guns:
    • 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81J machine gun on flexible mount in front windscreen, firing forward with 1,000 rounds.
    • 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81J machine gun on flexible mount in lower fuselage nose glazing, firing forward with 1,000 rounds.
    • 2 × 7.92 mm MG 81J machine guns on flexible mount in the rear of the cockpit canopy, firing aft with 1,000 rounds each.
    • 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81Z twin machine gun on flexible mount in the rear ventral Bola position, firing aft with 1,000 rounds.
  • Bombs: Up to 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) of ordnance internally in two bomb bays rated at 900 kg (2,000 lb) and 500 kg (1,100 lb) or up to 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) externally. Carrying bombs externally increased weight and drag and impaired the aircraft’s performance. Carrying the maximum load usually required rocket-assisted take-off.
Armament options
  • Additional option for a pair of 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine guns on flexible “Donut” mountings firing laterally, one on each side of the cockpit canopy.
  • A single 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine gun was sometimes used instead of the 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81J or MG 81Z machine guns in the A-Stand, B-Stand or ventral Bola positions.
  • Aircraft may carry one 20 mm MG FF cannon in the nose for ground attack purposes, with 90 rounds of ammunition, in place of the Lotfernrohr 7 bombsight
  • A modification of the Ju 88 A-4, the Ju 88 A-13 could mount the Waffenbehälter WB 81A or WB 81B (firing with 15° downwards deflection) gun pods on the external bomb racks for ground attack duties, each “watering can” containing three 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81Z twin machine guns, for strafing enemy troops.

Specifications Ju 88 G-1 Night Fighter

Ju 88 G-1 Night Fighter

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3
  • Length: 15.50 m (without radar) (50.85 ft)
  • Wingspan: 20.08 m (65.88 ft)
  • Height: 5.07 m (16.63 ft)
  • Wing area: 54.7 m2 (587 ft2)
  • Empty weight: 9,081 kg (20,020 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 13,100 kg (28,880 lb)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 14,690 kg (32,385 lb) (overload)
  • Powerplant: 2 × BMW 801G-2 double-row radials, 1,250 kW (1,700 PS, 1,677 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 550 km/h (342 mph) at 8,500 m (27,890 ft)
  • Range: 2,500 km (1,553 mi)
  • Service ceiling: 9,900 m (32,480 ft)
  • Wing loading: 240 kg/m2 (49.2 lb/ft2)
  • Power/mass: 0.18 kW/kg (0.12 hp/lb)
  • Endurance: 4 hours

Armament

  • Guns:
    • 4 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons, firing forwards from an integral ventral gun pod.
    • 1 or 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns in the rear cockpit, firing rearwards.
    • 1 or 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20s as Schräge Musik, firing forwards and upwards at an 30- to 45-degree angle, Optional.
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