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18.06.2002 19:50:00
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Прочее;
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"фактов", говорите?
The Junkers Ju-88
prepared by Emmanuel Gustin
The Junkers Ju 88 was one of the most versatile and effective combat aircraft of World War II. Its closest counterparts on
the Allied side were the Mosquito and Beaufighter. The German aircraft was larger and slower but nevertheless very
effective. 14676 were built including a staggering 104 prototypes for its 60 different versions.
Like the Mosquito the Ju 88 originated as a fast bomber. In 1935 the Luftwaffe had a requirement for a so-called
Schnellbomber which should have a speed of 500km/h with 800kg of bombs. This was much faster than the biplane
fighters that then equipped the German fighter units it was even faster than the first models of the Bf 109 monoplane
fighter. For this ambitious goal Henschel proposed the Hs 127 Messerschmitt the Bf 162 and Junkers submitted the
designs Ju 85 and Ju 88. Later the Bf 162 achieved some fame when it appeared on German propaganda postcards but
this was disinformation and the real winner was the Ju 88.
Chief designer was Ernst Zindel. The first prototype (Ju 88V1) made its first flight on 21 December 1936. The Ju 88V1
had an all-metal stressed skin construction Junkers hired two American engineers to acquire knowledge about the latest
structural developments. The Ju 88V1 had a compact well-streamlined cockpit roof and a pointed nose. It was powered
by Daimler-Benz DB 600 engines installed in cowlings with circular radiators. The inverted V-12 engines were installed in
front of the wing leading edge not under the wing. Because of the long cowlings the Ju 88 earned the nickname
Dreifinger three fingers. The Ju 88V1 was lost before performance tests could begin but the type had already shown
great promise.
From the third prototype onwards the engines were changed to Junkers Jumo 211 because the scarce Daimler-Benz
engines were reserved for fighters. The fourth prototype the Ju 88V4 featured the "beetle eye" cockpit of the production
aircraft a four-seat cockpit covered with a large number of small flat transparencies. It also had the ventral gondola
under the nose from which a gunner could fire rearwards. In contrast the Ju 88V5 was completed with a maximum of
streamlining and on 9 March 1939 it set a closed-circuit record by flying 1000km with 2000kg of load at an average
speed of 517km/h. It was a sensational public debut.
Meanwhile the general staff of the Luftwaffe made some fateful decisions. On the one hand the Ju 88 was given the
highest possible priority with increasing concern expressed as the war came nearer and production still remained behind
schedule. On 15 October 1939 Dr. Heinrich Koppenberg was put in charge of it and given the authority to requisition any
production facilities he needed but the results were still disappointing. On the other hand the Luftwaffe had requested
that the Ju 88 would be converted into a dive bomber. This inevitably slowed down the development and reduced flight
performance. Installing dive brakes under the wing was the smallest problem: The need to reinforce the structure for dive
bombing attacks caused a considerable increase in weight. Larger internal bomb bays and external bomb racks for four
500kg bombs increased the problems and when the first production aircraft came off the line in August 1939 a number
of restrictions had to be imposed. Even after all necessary modifications had been carried out pilots did not usually
achieve dives steeper than 60 degrees although the excellent flying characteristics and automatic dive bombing equipment
of the Ju 88 did not make such attacks particularly difficult. But there was little operational need for dive-bombing except
for anti-shipping missions.
The Ju 88 was certainly an excellent aircraft. It was easy to fly gentle responsive and manoeuverable without vices.
These were the characteristics which also made it an excellent nightfighter. A point of criticism for allied test pilots was
the cockpit. The extensive framing of the many panels resulted in a fairly restricted view. In the bomber versions it was
also rather cramped and inefficient although the close grouping of the crew made communication easier.
The War breaks out ...
When the war broke out the Ju 88 was an excellent bomber but only a handful were available and production was not
more than one per week. Just one Gruppe was equipped with Ju 88s. In the third week of the war four Ju 88A-1s
attacked British warships at Scapa Flow but they caused no damage. A Ju 88 had the dubious honour to be the first
German victim of RAF fighters on 9 October 1939 but nevertheless the RAF recognised it as the most formidable
bomber of the time. The most important bomber version was the Ju 88A-4 with longer span wings a stronger airframe
and Jumo 211J engines. It appeared in the summer of 1940. The strong points of the Ju 88 were speed and a significant
bomb load. Its weak points were its short range (this was often extended by carrying additional fuel tanks in the bomb
bays) a cramped and inefficient cockpit and poor defensive armament. During the Battle of Britain the Ju 88 proved that
it was the best German bomber but operations from bases in Norway without fighter escort still resulted in heavy
losses. And as the fight progressed a shortage of trained bomber crews became apparent.
3 Junkers Ju-88A-4 bombers.
Note the "beetle eye" cockpit glazing and the ventral gondola with gun position.
The more streamlined Ju 88B series did not enter production but was developed into the Ju 188 the successor of the Ju
88. But in 1942 a new attempt was made to increase the speed of the Ju 88. The resulting Ju 88S had a well-streamlined
glass nose and BMW 801 radial engines or Julmo 213 in-line engines with more power the Jumo 211. On most aircraft no
external bomb racks were fitted the ventral gondola was often removed and armour was reduced. This increased speed
to 612km/h much faster than most other bombers of the war.
Meanwhile a very different line of development had begun. The Reichsluftfahrtsministerium (RLM) had granted Junkers
permission to pursue at low priority the development of a heavy fighter-bomber version. This became the Ju 88C. The
transparent bomber nose was replaced by a metal nose cap containing at first three 7.92mm machineguns and one 20mm
cannon -- a relatively modest armament but many models could carry two more 20mm cannon in the gondola under the
nose. There also were a lot of variations in defensive armament. The Jumo 211 engines were retained because the Ju 88C
had too low a priority to get the desired BMW 801 radials. The first production model Ju 88C-2 retained bomb bays and
it operated as a long-range coastal patrol aircraft initially flying anti-shipping strikes from bases in Norway. Soon the Ju
88C-4 appeared and its roles were extended to include night attacks on British airfields ground attack missions flying
escort for transport aircarft and providing air cover for convoys.
Supporting the U-boats
The standard fighter version became the C-6 including experience acquired with the A-4 bomber and the same Jumo
211J engines. The C-6 was used mostly as fighter-bomber and therefore assigned to bomber units. As a reaction to the
increasing number of attacks on German shipping especially on U-boats in the Bay of Biscay KG40 started flying
anti-shipping patrols and escort missions from bases in France in September 1942. They were a significant threat to the
antisubmarine aircraft much more efficient than the mixture of Ar 196 floatplanes short-range fighters and Ju 88
bombers which had earlier operated over the Bay of Biscay. But aircraft such as the Sunderland flying boat although slow
and operating alone were not easy targets. The Germans attacked them in small formations not alone and even then
they found that the sturdy well-armed flying boats were hard to shoot down. On the other hand the Ju 88s had to
escort Fw 200 patrol aircraft until they were beyond the reach of land-based fighters. Allied losses increased and the
British countered by sending out Beaufighters over the Bay of Biscay and later Mosquitos the Germans threw
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat fighters in the battle with long-range fuel tanks. The fight was most intense in the summer
of 1943. However the Germans were on the losing side. And after the allied invasion in Normandy KG40 was quickly
destroyed in a number of desparate attacks on the landing beaches and in July 1944 the unit was disbanded.
A Ju 88P anti-tank aircraft.
For a fighter the Ju 88C had a more than generous size but this enabled it to carry both powerful armament and
extensive electronic equipment. Hence it was an obvious candidate for conversion to a nightfighter. Initial operations
were conducted without radars but in late 1942 some Ju 88C-6 fighters received the Lichtenstein BC radar later replaced
by Lichtenstein C-1 and in late 1943 by Lichtenstein SN-2. Althought the Messerschmitt Bf 110 remained the most
numerous nightfighter the Ju 88C took an increasing part it was well-liked but actually too slow for this role. In early
1943 enough BMW 801 engines were finally available and version of the Ju 88C with these was known as the Ju 88R. On
9 May 1943 a Ju 88R-1 defected to Britain landing near Aberdeen. Allegedly it was carrying an important agent but the
secrets of its Lichtenstein BC radar were also extremely valuable. This Ju 88R-1 in the RAF museum at Hendon is one of
the two surviving Ju 88s the other being a Ju 88D-1 in the USAF museum.
A more extensive nightfighter development produced the Ju 88G with extended wingtips rectangular tail surfaces BMW
801D engines and four 20mm MG151/20 cannon in a a small ventral gondola. Often two more cannon were put in the
fuselage firing diagonally upwards this so-called SchrДge Musik installation was extremely effective because the British
bombers had no ventral gun positions. The Ju 88G replaced the C and R on the production lines and became the most
effective German nightfighter. This type was given high priority and the Ju 88 production lines now delivered more
fighters than bombers: In 1944 the numbers were 2518 vs. 716. But again the Luftwaffe had bad luck: On 13 July 1944 a
Ju 88G-1 landed on a RAF base after a navigation error and gave away all the secrets of its Lichtenstein SN-2 radar
and Flensburg and Naxos radar detectors. The Ju 88G-6 had Jumo 213 engines and this model entered service in the late
1944.
The Ju 88D Ju 88H and Ju 88T were reconnaissance versions. The Ju 88D was based on the A-series and the T on the
S-series but the Ju 88H was more extensively modified. The fuselage was elongated from 14.40m to 17.65m to carry
more fuel for operation far over the Atlantic. The Ju 88H-1 was intended for long-range naval reconnaissance carrying
radar. The Ju 88H-2 was a more offensive version with six forward-firing MG151/20 cannon. The Ju 88H-3 was further
extended to achieve an even longer range. Small numbers of these were built and the Ju 88P was also rare. The Ju 88P
was an anti-tank version armed with two 37mm cannon a 50mm cannon or even a 75mm cannon in a ventral gondola.
These aircraft were too unwieldy and the recoil was too large.
The weirdest use of the Ju 88 was as the lower half of the Mistel combinations. These used Ju 88s airframes new-built or
war-weary of which the cockpit was removed. An enormous shaped-charge warhead was installed instead. A
single-engined fighter usually an Fw 190A was put on top. The pilot of the fighter was to fly the entire contraption to its
target aim it then release the Ju 88 for a dive onto its target. The fighter would fly home its fuel tanks still full because it
drew fuel from the Ju 88 on the outbound leg. The original target was the British Fleet at Scapa Flow later it was changed
to Russian powerstations. But both plans fell through and the Misteln were expended against bridges over the Oder and
Neisse in a desperate attempt to stop the Russian advance. A variation of this principle was tried with a Ju 88H-4 which
was stretched to 20.38m for long-range reconnaissance flights.
Specifications
Ju 88A-4
Ju 88C-6c
Ju 88G-7
Engines
2 Junkers
Jumo 211J-1
2 Junkers
Jumo 211J
2 Junkers
Jumo 213E
Power
1350hp
1340hp
1750hp
Wing
Span
20.00m
20.08m
20.08m
Length
14.40m
14.36m
15.55m
Height
4.85m
5.07m
4.85m
Wing Area
54.50m2
54.50m2
54.50m2
Empty
Weight
9060kg
9860kg
Loaded Weight
12350kg
13110kg
Max.
Weight
14000kg
14674kg
Max.
Speed
470km/h at 5300m
494km/h at 5300m
626km/h at 9100m
435km/h at S/L
Ceiling
8200m
8850m
Climb
9850m in 26.4min
Range
2730km
2940km
Armament
One 13mm MG131 or two 7.92m
MG81 in the nose two MG81 in
the rear of the cockpit two
MG81 in the ventral gondola. Up
to 2000kg of bombs.
Three 7.92mm and three 20mm MG FF
cannon in the nose. Two
rearwards-firing MG131 or MG81 guns.
Up to 500kg of bombs.
Four 20mm MG 151/20 cannon in
ventral pod two upward firing
MG151/20 one aft-firing 13mm
MG131.
Sources
Wings of the Luftwaffe
Eric M. Brown
Pilot Press 1977.
Junkers Ju 88 in action part 2
Brian Filley
Squadron/Signal Publications 1991.
Tangmere Summer
Roland Beamont
in Aeroplane Monthly October 1993.
The Ones That Got Away
Chris Goss
in Flypast October 1995.
Uncle Sam's Baksheesh
Danut Vlad
in Air International October 1994
Airplane Nr.56
http://uboat.net/technical/ju88.htm Немного фактов про Ю 88