Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстың неміс ұшағы: Junkers Ju 88

German twin engine multirole combat aircraft

The Junkers Ju 88 is 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 Schnellbomber ("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. Like a number of other Luftwaffe bombers, it served as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and at the end of the war, as a flying bomb. Despite a protracted development, it became one of the Luftwaffes most important aircraft. The assembly line ran constantly from 1936 to 1945 and more than 15,000 Ju 88s were built in dozens of variants, making it the second most produced bomber of all time, behind the four engined Consolidated B 24 Liberator, and the most produced twin engine German aircraft of the period. Throughout production the basic structure of the aircraft remained unchanged.

In August 1935, the German Ministry of Aviation submitted its requirements for an unarmed, three seat, high speed bomber with a payload of Design of the Ju 88 began with a study (EF59) which evolved into two parallel designs, Ju 85 and Ju 88. The Ju 85 was a twin engined bomber aircraft prototype, designed by Junkers in 1935. The Ministry of Aviation requested the aircraft, which differed from the Ju 88 due to the use of a twin fin tail unit. The aircraft was never put into service. The design was started by Junkers chief designer Ernst Zindel. He was assisted by Wilhelm Heinrich Evers and American engineer Alfred Gassner. Evers and Gassner had worked together at Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America where Gassner had been Chief Engineer. Junkers presented their initial design in June 1936, and were given clearance to build two prototypes (Werknummer 4941 and 4942). The first five prototypes had conventionally operating dual strut leg rearwards retracting main gear, but starting with the V6 prototype, a main gear design debuted that twisted the new, single leg main gear strut through 90° during the retraction sequence, much like that of the American Curtiss P 40 Warhawk fighter. This feature allowed the main wheels to end up above the lower end of the strut when fully retracted and was adopted as standard for all future production Ju 88s, and only minimally modified for the later Ju 188 and 388 developments of it. These single leg landing gear struts also made use of stacks of conical Belleville washers inside them as their main form of suspension for takeoffs and landings. By 1938, radical modifications from the first prototype began to produce a "heavy" dive bomber. The wings were strengthened, dive brakes were added, the fuselage was extended and the number of crewmen was increased to four. Due to these advances, the Ju 88 was to enter the war as a medium bomber. The choice of annular radiators for engine cooling on the Ju 88, which placed these radiators immediately forward of each engine and directly behind each propeller, allowed the cooling lines for the engine coolant and oil cooling radiators (integrated within the annular design) to be as short as possible, with integral port and starboard air intakes for cooling the exhaust headers, the starboard inlet also supplying the inlet air for the supercharger. As the outbreak of WWII in Europe approached, by the time Luftwaffe planners like Ernst Udet had their opportunities to have their own "pet" features added (including dive bombing by Udet), the Ju 88's top speed had dropped to around The Ju 88 V7 was fitted with cable cutting equipment to combat the potential threat of British barrage balloons, and was successfully tested in this role. The V7 then had the Ju 88 A 1 "beetle's eye" faceted nose glazing installed, complete with the Bola undernose ventral defensive machine gun emplacement, and was put through a series of dive bombing tests with bombs, and in early 1940, with bombs. The Ju 88 V8 (Stammkennzeichen of DG+BF, Wrk Nr 4948) flew on 3 October 1938. The A 0 series was developed through the V9 and V10 prototypes. The A 1 series prototypes were Wrk Nrs 0003, 0004 and 0005. The A 1s were given the Jumo 211B 1 or G powerplants. Dr. Heinrich Koppenberg (managing director of Jumo) assured Göring in the autumn of 1938 that 300 Ju 88s per month was definitely possible. Göring was in favour of the A 1 variant for mass production. Production was delayed drastically by developmental problems. Although planned for a service introduction in 1938, the Ju 88 finally entered squadron service (with only 12 aircraft) on the first day of the invasion of Poland in 1939. Production was painfully slow, with only one Ju 88 manufactured per week, as problems kept cropping up. The Ju 88C series of heavy fighter was also designed very early in 1940, but kept secret from Göring, as he wanted only bombers.

In October 1937, Generalluftzeugmeister Ernst Udet had ordered the development of the Ju 88 as a heavy dive bomber. This decision was influenced by the success of the Ju 87 Stuka in this role. The Junkers development centre at Dessau gave priority to the study of pull out systems and dive brakes. The first prototype to be tested as a dive bomber was the Ju 88 V4 followed by the V5 and V6. These models became the planned prototype for the A 1 series. The V5 made its maiden flight on 13 April 1938, and the V6 on 28 June 1938. Both the V5 and V6 were fitted with four blade propellers, an extra bomb bay and a central "control system". Junkers later used the A 4 airframe for the A 17 torpedo carrier, which did not have the undernose Bola gondola for a ventral gun position. V./Kampfgeschwader 40 being formed to operate the C 6. The aircraft of V./KG 40 (which was redesignated I./Zerstörergeschwader 1 in 1943) were a significant threat to antisubmarine aircraft and operated as escort fighters for the more vulnerable Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol bombers. Between July 1942 and July 1944, the Ju 88s of KG 40 and ZG 1 were credited with 109 confirmed air to air victories, at a cost of 117 losses. They were finally deployed against the Allied Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, incurring heavy losses for little effect before being disbanded on 5 August 1944. Some Ju 88 variants were also used as radio controlled bombs in the Mistel composite aircraft configuration, by coupling a bomber filled with explosive with a fighter such as the Focke Wulf Fw 56 or the Messerschmitt Bf 109E.

The Ju 88P was a specialized variant for ground attack and to function as a bomber destroyer, designed starting from 1942 and produced in small numbers, using examples of the Bordkanone heavy calibre aviation autocannon series, which required the omission of the Bola undernose gondola for clearance. The prototype, derived from a standard Ju 88 A 4, was armed with a anti tank gun derived from the 7.5 cm PaK 40 installed in a large conformal gun pod under the fuselage. This was followed by a small batch of Ju 88 P 1, which standardized the solid sheet metal nose of the C version for all known examples of the P series, and used the new PaK 40L semi automatic gun, also known as the Bordkanone BK 7,5, which was also meant for use in both the later Henschel Hs 129B 3 dedicated anti armor aircraft, and a never achieved production version of the He 177A 3/R5 ground attack Flak suppression Stalingradtyp field improvised version. The Ju 88P 1 was produced in some 40 units, but with the massive cannon installation resulting in a slow and vulnerable aircraft, The preserved aircraft is on exhibit at the RAF Museum, as one of the first two intact Ju 88s in aviation museums. The Luftwaffe learned of this defection only the following month when members of the crew, pilot Oberleutnant Heinrich Schmitt (son of the former secretary to the ministry for foreign affairs (1923–1929) Gustav Stresemann) and Oberfeldwebel Paul Rosenberger made broadcasts on British radio. The third crew member, Erich Kantwill, refused to co operate with the British and was treated as a normal prisoner of war.

All previous night fighter versions of the Ju 88 used a modified A series fuselage. The G series fuselage was purpose built for the special needs of a night fighter, with the A series' Bola ventral under nose defensive gun position omitted for lower aerodynamic drag and less weight, and adding the enlarged squared off vertical fin/rudder tail unit of the Ju 188. G 1 aircraft possessed more powerful armament and like the earlier R 1, used a pair of BMW 801 radial engines, the G 1 using the later BMW 801G 2 version. Electronic equipment consisted of the then standard FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN 2 90 MHz VHF radar using eight dipole Hirschgeweih antennas, which could include fitment of the borderline SHF band FuG 350 Naxos radar detector with its receiving antenna housed in a teardrop shaped streamlined fairing above the canopy, or FuG 227 Flensburg radar detector homing devices that had their own trio of twin dipole antennae: one on each wing leading edge and one under the tail. One Ju 88G 1 of 7. Staffel/NJG 2 was flown by mistake to RAF Woodbridge in July 1944, giving the Royal Air Force its first chance to check out the VHF band Lichtenstein SN 2 radar and Flensburg radar detector gear. G 6 versions were equipped with Jumo 213A inverted V 12 engines (using the same redesigned annular radiator cores as the Ju 188s powered by them), enlarged fuel tanks and often one or two MG 151/20 cannons in a Schräge Musik ("Jazz Music", i. e. slanted) installation. These guns were pointed obliquely upwards and forwards from the upper fuselage – usually at an angle of 70°. Some of the final G series models received updates to the engines, using a pair of high altitude Jumo 213E inverted V 12s with the same revised annular radiator design as the 213As already used, or to the radar, using the mid VHF band FuG 218 Neptun AI radar with either the standardized Hirschgeweih aerials with shorter dipoles to suit the higher frequencies used, or more rarely the advanced Morgenstern 90° crossed element, six dipole Yagi form antenna. Only a very few Ju 88G 6 night fighters were ever fitted with the semi experimental FuG 240 Berlin N 1 cavity magnetron based, 3 GHz band (centimetric) radar, whose dish antenna was housed in a smoothly contoured radome on the G 6's nose. Only about 15 of the Berlin systems were completed before V E Day. Many Luftwaffe night fighter aces, such as Helmut Lent (110 victories) and Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein (87 victories) flew Ju 88s during their careers.

Only 12 Ju 88s saw action during the invasion of Poland. The unit Erprobungskommando 88 (Ekdo 88) was responsible for testing new bomber designs and their crews under hostile conditions. They selected 12 aircraft and their crews and attached them to 1./Kampfgeschwader 25. As a result of its small operational numbers, the type made no impact.

The Luftwaffe committed II./Kampfgeschwader 30 to the campaign under X. Fliegerkorps for Operation Weserübung. The unit was equipped with Ju 88s and engaged Allied shipping as its main target. On 9 April 1940, Ju 88s of KG 30 dive bombed, in cooperation with high level bombing Heinkel He 111s of KG 26, and helped damage the battleship and sink the destroyer However, the unit lost four Ju 88s in the action, the highest single loss of the aircraft in combat throughout the campaign.

The Luftwaffe's order of battle for the French campaign reveals all but one of the Luftwaffe's Fliegerkorps (I. Fliegerkorps) contained Ju 88s in the combat role. The mixed bomber units, including the Ju 88, of Kampfgeschwader 51 (under the command of Luftflotte 3) helped claim between 233 and 248 Allied aircraft on the ground between 10 and 13 May 1940. The Ju 88 was particularly effective at dive bombing. Between 13 and 24 May, I. and II./KG 54 flew 174 attack against rail systems, paralysing French logistics and mobility. On 17 June 1940, Junkers Ju 88s (mainly from Kampfgeschwader 30) destroyed a "10,000 tonne ship", the 16,243 grt ocean liner , off Saint Nazaire, killing some 5,800 Allied personnel. Some 133 Ju 88s were pressed into the Blitzkrieg, but very high combat losses and accidents forced a quick withdrawal from action to re train crews to fly this very high performance aircraft. Some crews were reported to be more scared of the Ju 88 than the enemy, and requested a transfer to an He 111 unit. By this time, major performance deficiencies in the A 1 led to an all out effort in a major design rework. The outcome was a longer, wingspan, from extended rounded wing tips that had already been standardised on the A 4 version, that was deemed needed for all A 1s; thus the A 5 was born. Surviving A 1s were modified as quickly as possible, with new wings to A 5 specifications.

By August 1940, A 1s and A 5s were reaching operational units just as the battle was intensifying. The Battle of Britain proved very costly. Its higher speed did not prevent Ju 88 losses from exceeding those of its Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111 stablemates despite being deployed in smaller numbers than either. Ju 88 losses over Britain in 1940 totaled 303 aircraft between July and October 1940. Of all the losses suffered by the Ju 88 at that time, however, a number were due to the tricky behavior of the plane, especially when compared with the proven He 111, and to the crews' lack of experience on the type – many having converted to the Ju 88 only shortly before. Of the 39 losses recorded for July 1940, for example, only 20 were due to enemy action. The others being written off in training accidents, crashes, or malfunctions over mainland Europe. A series of field modifications were made to make the Ju 88 less vulnerable, including the replacement of the single MG 15 rear machine gun by a twin barreled MG 81Z machine gun and the fitting of additional cockpit armour. One incident involved ground fighting between the crew of an A 1 and soldiers from the London Irish Rifles during the Battle of Graveney Marsh on 27 September 1940. It was the last action between British and foreign military forces on British mainland soil. The flagship Ju 88 A 4 went into service during the closing days of the Battle of Britain. Although slower than the A 1, it solved nearly all of the troubles of the A 1. The A 4 actually saw additional improvements including more powerful engines but, unlike other aircraft in the Luftwaffe, did not see a model code change. The Ju 88 C series also benefited from the A 4 changes.

The Ju 88 was used by VIII Fliegerkorps during the German invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Ju 88s were also used during the German invasion of Greece (Operation Marita) in April 1941 and during the German invasion of Crete in May 1941. Following the Italian surrender in 1943, Ju 88s were also used during the German invasion of the Italian held Dodecanese Islands, which took place between September and November 1943.

By the summer of 1941, most of the units equipped with the Dornier Do 17 were upgrading to the Ju 88. With a few exceptions, most of the German bomber units were now flying the He 111 and Ju 88. The Ju 88 was to prove a very capable and valuable asset to the Luftwaffe in the east. The Ju 88 units met with instant success, attacking enemy airfields and positions at low level and causing enormous losses for little damage in return. 3./Kampfgeschwader 3 attacked Pinsk airfield in the morning of the 22 June 1941. It caught, and claimed destroyed, 60 Soviet bombers on the ground. The 39 SBAP Regiment of the 10 Division SAD actually lost 43 Tupolev SBa and five Petlyakov Pe 2s. Ju 88s from Kampfgeschwader 51 destroyed over 100 aircraft after dispatching 80 Ju 88s to hit airfields. In general the Soviet aircraft were not dispersed and the Luftwaffe found them easy targets. A report from the Soviet 23rd Tank Division of the 12th Armoured Corps described a low level attack by Ju 88s on 22 June, resulting in the loss of 40 tanks. However, the Ju 88s were to suffer steady attritional losses. At 0415 on 22 June 1941, III./KG 51 attacked the airfield at Kurovitsa. Despite destroying 34 Polikarpov I 153s, the Ju 88s were intercepted by 66 ShAP I 153s. Six Ju 88s were shot down before the German fighter escort dealt with the threat. By the end of the first day of the campaign, Ju 88 losses amounted to 23 destroyed. Due to the lack of sufficient numbers of Ju 87 Stukas, the Ju 88 was employed in the direct ground support role. This resulted in severe losses from ground fire. Kampfgeschwader 1, Kampfgeschwader 76 and Kampfgeschwader 77 reported the loss of 18 Ju 88s over enemy territory on 23 June. and KG 77 reported the loss of a further four Ju 88s, of which 12 were 100% destroyed. In the north, the VVS North Western Front lost 465 aircraft on the ground, 148 of them bombers, to the Ju 88s of KG 1. A further 33 were damaged. Out of a total of 1,720 aircraft deployed by the VVS Northern Front on 22 June, it lost 890 and a further 187 suffered battle damage in eight days. The Ju 88s units helped virtually destroy Soviet airpower in the northern sector. Again, the Ju 88 demonstrated its dive bombing capability. Along with He 111s from KG 55, Ju 88s from KG 51 and 54 destroyed some 220 trucks and 40 tanks on 1 July, which helped repulse the Soviet South Western Front's offensive. The Ju 88s destroyed most rail links during interdiction missions in the area, allowing Panzergruppe 1 to maintain the pace of its advance. Ju 88 units operating over the Baltic states during the battle for Estonia inflicted severe losses on Soviet shipping, with the same dive bombing tactics used over Norway, France and Britain. KGr 806 sank the Soviet destroyer Karl Marx on 8 August 1941 in Loksa Bay Tallinn. On 28 August the Ju 88s had more success when KG 77 and KGr 806 sank the 2,026 grt steamer Vironia, the 2,317 grt Lucerne, the 1,423 grt Atis Kronvalds and the ice breaker Krišjānis Valdemārs (2,250 grt). The rest of the Soviet "fleet", were forced to change course. This took them through a heavily mined area. As a result, 21 Soviet warships, including five destroyers, struck mines and sank. On 29 August, the Ju 88s accounted for the transport ships Vtoraya Pyatiletka (3,974 grt), Kalpaks (2,190 grt) and Leningradsovet (1,270 grt) sunk. In addition, the ships Ivan Papanin, Saule, Kazakhstan and the Serp i Molot were damaged. Some 5,000 Soviet soldiers were lost.

Ju 88s first arrived in Sicily in 1940, from which they attacked allied shipping in the Mediterranean and took part in the bombing of Malta during the Siege of Malta.

Ju 88s were used in the North African campaign, where they flew operations in support of the Axis forces in North Africa.

On 2 December 1943, 105 Ju 88 A 4s, armed with bombs and motobomba circling torpedoes, attacked the Allied held port of Bari, Italy. The attacking force achieved complete surprise and sunk over 20 Allied ships in the overcrowded harbour, including the U. S. Liberty ship John Harvey, which was carrying mustard gas. About 1,000 people were killed and another 1,000 wounded; many fatalities and injuries were as a result of the release of mustard gas. The attacking force lost one aircraft; the Allies had not assigned any fighters to guard Bari as they thought the Luftwaffe incapable of striking in this strength at this stage of the war. The port was completely closed for three weeks from the damage of the raid, and only resumed full operation in February 1944.

Only two complete aircraft exist. They were both flown into British hands by defecting crews during the war. Ju 88 D 1/Trop, Werk Nr. 430650
This is a long range, photographic reconnaissance aircraft that was in the service of the Royal Romanian Air Force. On 22 July 1943, it was flown from Mariupol, Ukraine, to Cyprus by a Romanian pilot who wanted to defect to the Allied side. His original intention had been to fly to Syria, but strong winds blew him off course. In the US, it was registered as FE 1598 and used for examination and test flying from 1943 to 1944 at Wright Field. Ju 88 R 1, Werk Nr. 360043
This aircraft is thought to have been built in mid–1942 as a model A bomber, before being converted to a model R–1 fighter in early 1943. It was flown to Scotland by its defecting crew in May 1943; two of the three crew on board (who may have been British agents) had taken the decision to defect after being ordered to shoot down a civilian BOAC Mosquito courier flight from Sweden to the UK. The aircraft took off from Aalborg, Denmark on 9 May, landing at Kristiansand, Norway for refuelling, it then took off again, supposedly for a mission over the Skagerrak. The defecting crew instead flew west to Scotland while holding the third crewmember at gunpoint. The aircraft was detected by British radar as it approached the Scottish coast and two Spitfires from 165 Squadron were scrambled. They intercepted 360043 one mile inland, whereupon the Ju 88 lowered its undercarriage, dipped its wings and dropped flares, signalling the crew's intent to surrender. The Spitfires escorted 360043 to RAF Dyce, where it received slight damage from the airfield's anti aircraft guns while attempting to land. The Spitfire pilots (an American and a Canadian) were mentioned in dispatches for taking the risk not to open fire on the Ju 88 upon interception. The surrender of this aircraft was of great intelligence value at the time, as it was fitted with the latest UHF band FuG 202 Liechtenstein BC A. I radar, for which a new form of the Window radar interference method, set up for UHF band airborne radar jamming, was developed soon afterwards. The Ju 88R 1 was operated by the RAF's No. 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight and evaluated in depth by various British groups, including the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the Fighter Interception Unit. It was used to assist in teaching enemy aircraft recognition skills prior to the D Day landings, and was last flown in May 1945. In September 1954 and again in September 1955, it was displayed on Horseguards Parade for Battle of Britain week. The aircraft was restored in 1975 and fitted with a replica of its characteristic Matratze 32 dipole radar antenna array, as all its radar equipment had been removed during the war. In August 1978, it was moved to the RAF Museum, its present home. Towards the end of April, warmer weather made the frozen lake surface unusable for flying operations and a number of aircraft were abandoned on the ice, sinking into the lake when it melted completely. Ju 88 A 4, Werk Nr.0881478 4D+AM (ex Stammkennzeichen of BH+QQ)
This aircraft, formerly of 4. Staffel/Kampfgeschwader 30 is displayed at the Norwegian Aviation Museum at Bodø Airport. On 13 April 1942, it was returning from an attack on Soviet ships when it ran out of fuel. The crew bailed out in the vicinity of Snefjord but the aircraft continued its flight and, remarkably, was left comparatively intact after crash landing on a hillside at Garddevarre in Finnmark in the far north of Norway. It remained there until recovered by the Norsk Luftfartsmuseum in 1988. Ju 88 A 5, Werk Nr. 0886146 with Stammkennzeichen of CV+VP
This aircraft is held at the Deutsches Technikmuseum near Berlin. In June 1942, it was serving with a training unit, Kampffliegerschule 3 based on the German Baltic coast. One man drowned but the other, Willi Voss, was rescued by Norwegian civilians. However, he was subsequently captured, returned to Germany and executed in January 1943, even though some accounts claim Voss was forced by the other man to fly at gunpoint. The aircraft was recovered in August 2000.