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Germany's Junkers Ju 188 medium bomber1,2,3
Junkers Ju 188 medium bomber:
Junkers Ju 188 medium bomber:
Junkers Ju 188 medium bomber:
Design
In 1939 the German air ministry issued a "Bomber B" requirement for a replacement for the Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 86.1 Junkers proposed the Ju 288 as an advanced design.1 However, the Ju 288 was delayed and the Ju 188 was more conventional.1,2
Cockpit
The cockpit was encased in glass.3 The dorsal turret was located above the cockpit.3
Engines
The German air ministry wanted the Ju 188 to have interchangeable engines.1 It would be able to use the Jumo 213 or BMW 801 depending on availability.1
The engines had MW50 methanol-water injection to increase performance.1
Bomb Bay
In the reconnaissance version the bomb bay was converted to carry a fuel tank.1
Wings
The wings had extended wingtips to increase performance.1,3
Prototype
The first Ju 188 prototypes flew in early 1940.3
The pre production Ju 188B-0 was completed in February 1943.2
Production
Production ceased in the spring of 1944 as production priorities shifted to fighters.2
- Total: 1,0762, ~1,1003
Variants
- Ju 188V1: Was the Ju 88 V44 prototype.1 Had a dorsal turret and squared tail.1
- Ju 188V2: Was under test in January 1943.1
- Ju 188?: At least a single Ju 188E was converted to a transport for senior officers.1
- Ju 188A: Appeared in mid 1943.3
- Ju 188A-1: Bomber.3 Had Junkers Jumo 213A-1 water methanol boosted engines (2,240 HP).2 Appeared in January 1944.2
- Ju 188A-2: Night operations.3
- Ju 188A-3: Torpedo bomber.1,2,3 Could carry two torpedos.1
- Ju 188B-0: Pre production version.2 Had BMW 801 radial engines (1,600 HP).2 Wings were sharply pointed.2
- Ju 188C: Experimental variant.3 Had remote control tail turret.3
- Ju 188D: Photo reconnaissance.2,3
- Ju 188D-2: Had search radar.3
- Ju 188E: Used often over Britain as a path finder from 1943 to 1944.3
- Ju 188E-2: Torpedo bomber.1,2,3 Had the FuG 200 maritime radar.1 Could carry two torpedoes under the wings.1,3
- Ju 188F: Reconnaissance version.1,2,3
Used the BMW 801 or Jumo 213 engine.1
Used BMW 801D engine (1,700 HP).2 - Ju 188G: Experimental bomber.3 Had tail turret.3
- Ju 188R: Night fighter version that only progressed as far as evaluation.1,3
- Ju 188S: High altitude intruder version.1,3 Had pressurized cabin.3 Engines were water methanol boosted.3 Could go 435 mph / 700 kph at altitude.3
- Ju 188T: Reconnaissance version.1,2,3 Had Junkers Jumo 213E-1 three speed two stage supercharged and nitrous oxide boosted engines (2,168 HP).2 Could go 435 mph / 700 kph at altitude.3
Usage
The Ju 188 was used by Germany.3
Crews liked the good handling that the Ju 188 had.1
On August 18, 1943, the first sortie was flown from a French base.1,2 It was a pathfinder mission over northern England.1
Units
About six Luftwaffe Gruppen were equipped with Ju 188s.3
Operation Steinbock
In January 1944 the Ju 188s were used in the 400 bomber raid on London.1,2
After World War II
After World War II the French Aéronavale used 30 ex-German and 12 SNCASE built Ju 188Es and Ju 188Fs.1
| Junkers Ju 1883 | Junkers Ju 188A3 | Junkers Ju 188D3 | Junkers Ju 188D-21 | Junkers Ju 188E3 | Junkers Ju 188E-12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Bomber3 Reconnaissance3 |
Maritime reconnaissance1 | Bomber2 | |||
| Crew | 4 - 53 | 31 Pilot, flight engineer, radar/radio operator.1 |
52 | |||
| Engine (Type) | 2: Junkers Jumo 213A3 | 2: Junkers Jumo 213A3 | 2: Junkers Jumo 213A-11 | 2: BMW 801D/G3 | 2: BMW 801ML piston2 | |
| Cylinders | Inverted V 123 | Inverted V 123 | Inline 121 | Radial 143 | Raidal2 | |
| Cooling | ||||||
| HP | 1,776 each3 | 1,776 each3 | Takeoff: 1,700 each1 MW50 injection: 2,240 each1 |
1,700 each3 | 1,600 each2 | |
| Propeller blades | 3 each3 | 3 each3 | 3 each1 | 3 each3 | ||
| Fuel capacity | ||||||
| Dimensions | ||||||
| Span | 72' 2"3 22 m3 |
72' 2"1 22 m1 |
72' 2"2 22 m2 |
|||
| Length | 49' 0.5"3 14.95 m3 |
49'1 14.95 m1 |
49' 0.5"2 14.95 m2 |
|||
| Height | 14' 7"3 4.44 m3 |
14' 7"1 4.44 m1 |
14' 6.75"2 4.44 m2 |
|||
| Wing area | 603 ft2 1 | 602.8 ft2 2 56 m2 2 |
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| Weight | ||||||
| Empty | 21,780 lb1 9,900 kg1 |
21,737 lb2, 21,825 lb3 9,860 kg2, 9,900 kg3 |
||||
| Loaded | 33,430 lb1 15,195 kg1 |
31,989 lb2,3 14,510 kg2,3 |
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| Performance | ||||||
| Speed @ 19,685' / 6,000 m |
311 mph3 500 kph3 |
311 mph2 500 kph2 |
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| Speed @ 20,000' / 6,096 m |
334 mph1 539 kph1 |
|||||
| Speed @ 20,500' / 6,250 m |
325 mph3 523 kph3 |
|||||
| Cruising speed | 233 mph3 375 kph3 |
|||||
| Climb to 19,685' / 6,000 m |
17.6 minutes2 | |||||
| Service ceiling | 33,000'3 10,058 m3 |
32,800'1 10,000 m1 |
30,665'3 9,346 m3 |
31,510'2 9,300 m2 |
||
| Range | 1,550 miles3 2,495 km3 |
1,210 miles3 1,947 km3 |
1,211 miles2 195 km2 |
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| Range @ 20,000' / 6,096 m with drop tanks |
2,100 miles1 3,395 km1 |
|||||
| Armament | ||||||
| Nose | 1: 20 mm3 | |||||
| Nose turret | 1: 20 mm MG 151/202 | |||||
| Dorsal turret | 1: 13 mm MG3 | 1: 20 mm MG 1511 | 1: 20 mm MG 151/202 | |||
| Rear dorsal position | 1: 13 mm MG 1312 | |||||
| Rear ventral position | 1: 13 mm MG 1312 | |||||
| Rear cockpit | 1: 13 mm MG3 | 1: 13 mm MG 131 MG1 | ||||
| Ventral step | 2: 7.92 mm MG3 | 1: 7.9 mm MG 81z twin MG1 | ||||
| Bomb load | 6,614 lb3 3,000 kg3 |
6,614 lb2 3,000 kg2 |
Sources:
- Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
- Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
- Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998
