Junkers Ju-88 - Technical pages - German U-boats of WWII - Kriegsmarine (2024)

The Junkers Ju 88 was one of the most versatile and effective combataircraft of World War II. Its closest counterparts on the Allied sidewere the Mosquito and Beaufighter. The German aircraft was larger and slower,but nevertheless very effective. 14,676 were built, includinga staggering 104 prototypes for its 60 different versions.

Like the Mosquito, the Ju 88 originated as a fast bomber. In 1935 theLuftwaffe had a requirement for a so-called Schnellbomber, whichshould have a speed of 500km/h with 800kg of bombs. This was much fasterthan the biplane fighters that then equipped the German fighter units;it was even faster than the first models of the Bf 109 monoplanefighter. For this ambitious goal Henschel proposed the Hs 127,Messerschmitt the Bf 162, and Junkers submitted the designs Ju 85 andJu 88. Later the Bf 162 achieved some fame when it appeared on Germanpropaganda postcards, but this was disinformation, and the real winnerwas the Ju 88.

Chief designer was Ernst Zindel. The first prototype (Ju 88V1) made itsfirst flight on 21 December 1936. The Ju 88V1 had an all-metal, stressedskin construction; Junkers hired two American engineers to acquireknowledge about the latest structural developments. The Ju 88V1 had acompact, well-streamlined co*ckpit roof and a pointed nose. It was poweredby Daimler-Benz DB 600 engines, installed in cowlings with circularradiators. The inverted V-12 engines were installed in front of the wingleading edge, not under the wing. Because of the long cowlings the Ju 88earned the nickname Dreifinger, three fingers. The Ju 88V1 was lostbefore performance tests could begin, but the type had already shown greatpromise.

From the third prototype onwards the engines were changed to JunkersJumo 211, because the scarce Daimler-Benz engines were reserved forfighters. The fourth prototype, the Ju 88V4, featured the "beetle eye"co*ckpit of the production aircraft, a four-seat co*ckpit covered with alarge number of small, flat transparencies. It also had the ventral gondolaunder the nose, from which a gunner could fire rearwards. In contrast, theJu 88V5 was completed with a maximum of streamlining, and on 9 March 1939it set a closed-circuit record by flying 1000km with 2000kg of load at anaverage speed of 517km/h. It was a sensational public debut.

Meanwhile, the general staff of the Luftwaffe made some fatefuldecisions. On the one hand the Ju 88 was given the highest possiblepriority, with increasing concern expressed as the war came nearer andproduction still remained behind schedule. On 15 October 1939 Dr. HeinrichKoppenberg was put in charge of it, and given the authority to requisitionany production facilities he needed; but the results were stilldisappointing. On the other hand the Luftwaffe had requested that the Ju 88would be converted into a dive bomber. This inevitably slowed down thedevelopment and reduced flight performance. Installing dive brakes underthe wing was the smallest problem: The need to reinforce the structure fordive bombing attacks caused a considerable increase in weight. Largerinternal bomb bays and external bomb racks for four 500kg bombs increasedthe problems, and when the first production aircraft came off the line inAugust 1939, a number of restrictions had to be imposed. Even after allnecessary modifications had been carried out, pilots did not usuallyachieve dives steeper than 60 degrees, although the excellent flyingcharacteristics and automatic dive bombing equipment of the Ju 88 did notmake such attacks particularly difficult. But there was little operationalneed 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 thecharacteristics which also made it an excellent nightfighter. A point ofcriticism for allied test pilots was the co*ckpit. The extensive framing ofthe many panels resulted in a fairly restricted view. In the bomberversions it was also rather cramped and inefficient, although the closegrouping of the crew made communication easier.

The War breaks out ...

When the war broke out the Ju 88 was an excellent bomber, but only ahandful were available and production was not more than one per week. Justone Gruppe was equipped with Ju 88s. In the third week of the war four Ju88A-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 RAFfighters, on 9 October 1939, but nevertheless the RAF recognised it as themost formidable bomber of the time. The most important bomber version wasthe Ju 88A-4, with longer span wings, a stronger airframe, and Jumo 211Jengines. It appeared in the summer of 1940. The strong points of the Ju 88were speed and a significant bomb load. Its weak points were its shortrange (this was often extended by carrying additional fuel tanks in thebomb bays), a cramped and inefficient co*ckpit, and poor defensive armament.During the Battle of Britain the Ju 88 proved that it was the best Germanbomber, but operations from bases in Norway, without fighter escort, stillresulted in heavy losses. And as the fight progressed, a shortage oftrained bomber crews became apparent.

3 Junkers Ju-88A-4 bombers.
Note the "beetle eye" co*ckpit glazing and the ventral gondola with gun position.

The more streamlined Ju 88B series did not enter production, but wasdeveloped into the Ju 188, the successor of the Ju 88. But in 1942 a newattempt was made to increase the speed of the Ju 88. The resulting Ju 88Shad a well-streamlined glass nose, and BMW 801 radial engines or Julmo 213in-line engines with more power the Jumo 211. On most aircraft no externalbomb racks were fitted, the ventral gondola was often removed, and armourwas reduced. This increased speed to 612km/h, much faster than most otherbombers of the war.

Meanwhile, a very different line of development had begun. TheReichsluftfahrtsministerium (RLM) had granted Junkers permissionto pursue, at low priority, the development of a heavy fighter-bomberversion. This became the Ju 88C. The transparent bomber nose wasreplaced by a metal nose cap, containing at first three 7.92mmmachineguns and one 20mm cannon -- a relatively modest armament, butmany models could carry two more 20mm cannon in the gondola under thenose. There also were a lot of variations in defensive armament. TheJumo 211 engines were retained, because the Ju 88C had too low apriority to get the desired BMW 801 radials. The first production model,Ju 88C-2, retained bomb bays, and it operated as a long-range coastalpatrol aircraft, initially flying anti-shipping strikes from bases inNorway. Soon the Ju 88C-4 appeared and its roles were extended toinclude night attacks on British airfields, ground attack missions,flying escort for transport aircraft, and providing air cover forconvoys.

Supporting the U-boats

The standard fighter version became the C-6, including experienceacquired with the A-4 bomber, and the same Jumo 211J engines. The C-6 wasused mostly as fighter-bomber, and therefore assigned to bomber units. As areaction to the increasing number of attacks on German shipping, especiallyon U-boats, in the Bay of Biscay, KG40 started flying anti-shipping patrolsand escort missions from bases in France, in September 1942. They were asignificant threat to the antisubmarine aircraft, much more efficient thanthe mixture of Ar 196 floatplanes, short-range fighters and Ju 88 bomberswhich had earlier operated over the Bay of Biscay. But aircraft such as theSunderland flying boat, although slow and operating alone, were not easytargets. The Germans attacked them in small formations, not alone, and eventhen they found that the sturdy, well-armed flying boats were hard to shootdown. On the other hand the Ju 88s had to escort Fw 200 patrol aircraftuntil they were beyond the reach of land-based fighters. Allied lossesincreased, and the British countered by sending out Beaufighters over theBay of Biscay, and later Mosquitos; the Germans threw Focke-Wulf Fw 190single-seat fighters in the battle, with long-range fuel tanks. The fightwas most intense in the summer of 1943. However, the Germans were on thelosing side. And after the allied invasion in Normandy, KG40 was quicklydestroyed in a number of desparate attacks on the landing beaches; and inJuly 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 enabledit to carry both powerful armament and extensive electronic equipment.Hence it was an obvious candidate for conversion to a nightfighter. Initialoperations were conducted without radars, but in late 1942 some Ju 88C-6fighters received the Lichtenstein BC radar, later replaced byLichtenstein C-1 and in late 1943 by Lichtenstein SN-2.Although the Messerschmitt Bf 110 remained the most numerous nightfighter,the Ju 88C took an increasing part; it was well-liked, but actually tooslow for this role. In early 1943 enough BMW 801 engines were finallyavailable, and version of the Ju 88C with these was known as the Ju 88R. On9 May 1943 a Ju 88R-1 defected to Britain, landing near Aberdeen. Allegedlyit was carrying an important agent, but the secrets of its LichtensteinBC radar were also extremely valuable. This Ju 88R-1, in the RAF museumat Hendon, is one of the two surviving Ju 88s, the other being a Ju 88D-1in the USAF museum.

A more extensive nightfighter development produced the Ju 88G, withextended wingtips, rectangular tail surfaces, BMW 801D engines, and four20mm MG151/20 cannon in a a small ventral gondola. Often two more cannonwere put in the fuselage, firing diagonally upwards; this so-calledSchräge Musik installation was extremely effective, becausethe British bombers had no ventral gun positions. The Ju 88G replacedthe C and R on the production lines, and became the most effectiveGerman nightfighter. This type was given high priority, and the Ju 88production lines now delivered more fighters than bombers: In 1944 thenumbers were 2518 vs. 716. But again the Luftwaffe had bad luck: On 13July 1944 a Ju 88G-1 landed on a RAF base, after a navigation error, andgave away all the secrets of its Lichtenstein SN-2 radar, andFlensburg and Naxos radar detectors. The Ju 88G-6 had Jumo213 engines, and this model entered service in the late 1944.

The Ju 88D, Ju 88H, and Ju 88T were reconnaissance versions. The Ju88D was based on the A-series and the T on the S-series, but the Ju 88Hwas more extensively modified. The fuselage was elongated from 14.40m to17.65m, to carry more fuel for operation far over the Atlantic. The Ju88H-1 was intended for long-range naval reconnaissance, carrying radar.The Ju 88H-2 was a more offensive version, with six forward-firingMG151/20 cannon. The Ju 88H-3 was further extended to achieve an evenlonger range. Small numbers of these were built, and the Ju 88P was alsorare. The Ju 88P was an anti-tank version, armed with two 37mm cannon, a50mm cannon, or even a 75mm cannon in a ventral gondola. These aircraftwere too unwieldy and the recoil was too large.

The weirdest use of the Ju 88 was as the lower half of theMistel combinations. These used Ju 88s airframes, new-built orwar-weary, of which the co*ckpit was removed. An enormous shaped-chargewarhead was installed instead. A single-engined fighter, usually an Fw190A, was put on top. The pilot of the fighter was to fly the entirecontraption to its target, aim it, then release the Ju 88 for a diveonto its target. The fighter would fly home, its fuel tanks still fullbecause it drew fuel from the Ju 88 on the outbound leg. The originaltarget was the British Fleet at Scapa Flow; later it was changed toRussian powerstations. But both plans fell through and theMisteln were expended against bridges over the Oder and Neisse,in a desperate attempt to stop the Russian advance. A variation of thisprinciple was tried with a Ju 88H-4, which was stretched to 20.38m, forlong-range reconnaissance flights.

Specifications

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