Junkers Ju 390
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| Ju 390 | |
|---|---|
 Junkers Ju 390 V1 |
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| Type | trans-Atlantic heavy bomber/transport |
| Manufacturer | Junkers |
| Maiden flight | October 20 1943 |
| Introduced | 1943 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 2 |
| Developed from | Junkers Ju 90 and Junkers Ju 290 |
The Junkers Ju 390 was a long-range derivative of the Junkers Ju 290, and was intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and bomber.
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[edit] Design and Development
Two prototypes were created by attaching an extra pair of inner-wing segments onto the wings of basic Ju 90 and Ju 290 airframes, and adding new sections to lengthen the fuselages. The first prototype, the V1, made its first flight on October 20, 1943 and performed well, resulting in an order for 26 aircraft, to be designated Ju 390 A-1. None of these were actually built by the time that the project was cancelled (along with Ju 290 production) in mid-1944. The maritime patrol version and bomber were to be designated the Ju 390 B and Ju 390 C, respectively. It was suggested that the bomber could have carried the Messerschmitt Me 328 parasite fighter for self-defense and some test flights are believed to have been performed by a Ju 390 prototype equipped with the anti-shipping Fritz X guided glide bomb.[citation needed]
[edit] Numbers Controversy
There is some debate as to whether both the Ju 390 prototypes were completed, since there are no known photographs of the V2, all existing photos of the Ju 390 having been identified as showing the V1. It is known that the first prototype, the V1 (serial marking GH+UK), was shorter because it was modified from a Ju 90 V6 airframe (werke number J4918, civil registration D-AOKD from July 1940 to April 1941, then to the Luftwaffe as KH+XC, from April 1941 through April 1942, then returned to Junkerswerke and used for Ju 390 V1 construction), while the second prototype, the V2 (RC+DA), was longer because it was built from a Ju 290 airframe (adapted from the fuselage of Ju 290 A1 werke number J900155).
[edit] Operational History
[edit] V1
The V1 was constructed and largely assembled at Junkers' plant at Dessau, Germany, and the first test flight took place on October 20 1943.[1] Its performance was satisfactory enough that the Air Ministry ordered 26 to be built in addition to the two prototypes, however the contracts for the 26 Ju 390s were cancelled in June 1944 and all work ceased in September of the same year.
On November 26 1943 the Ju 390 V1, amongst many other new aircraft and prototypes, was shown to Adolf Hitler at Insterburg, East Prussia.[2]
According to test pilot Hans Pancherz' log book the Ju 390 V1 was then brought to Prague immediately after it had been displayed at Insterburg, and while there took part in a number of test flights, which continued until March 1944, including tests of inflight refueling.[3]
The Ju 390 V1 was returned to Dessau in November 1944, where it was stripped of parts and finally destroyed in late April 1945 as the American Army approached.
[edit] V2
The Ju 390 V2 was assembled in Bernburg, was first flown in October 1943, and was said to have been configured for maritime reconnaissance tasks. Its fuselage had been extended by 11 feet (3.4 m), and it was equipped with FuG 200 Hohentwiel ASV (Air to Surface Vessel) radar and defensive armament consisting of 5 x 20mm cannons.[4] A Rechlin test pilot, Oberleutnant Eisermann records in his logbook that he flew the V2 prototype (RC+DA) as early as February 1944.[citation needed]
However, Kössler and Ott state that the Ju 390 V2 was only completed during June 1944, with flight tests to begin at the end of September 1944.[3]
[edit] New York flight
According to some sources, in June 1944 Allied Intelligence learnt from prisoner interrogations that a Ju 390 had been delivered in January 1944 to FAGr 5 (Fernaufklarungsgruppe 5), based at Mont-de-Marsan near Bordeaux, and that it had completed a 32 hour reconnaissance flight to within 12 miles (19 km) of the US coast, just north of New York City.[5] This was, however, refuted just after the war by British authorities.[6]
The first public mention of the alleged flight occurred in the November 11 1955 issue of the British magazine RAF Flying Review. The editors of the magazine were sceptical of the claim, which claimed that two Ju 390s had made the flight, and in March 1956 they published a letter from a reader which claimed to clarify the account. This letter stated that one aircraft had made the flight and that it had reached a point about 12 miles (19 km) miles off the US east coast, just north of NYC. According to aviation historian Dr. Kenneth P. Werrell, the story of the flight originated in two British intelligence reports from August 1944. Based in part on the interrogation of prisoners, and titled General Report on Aircraft Engines and Aircraft Equipment, the reports claimed that the Ju 390 had taken photographs of the coast of Long Island. These photos have never been discovered.[1]
The claimed flight was mentioned in many books following the RAF Flying Review account, including William Green's respected Warplanes of the Second World War (1968) and Warplanes of the Third Reich (1970) but without ever citing reliable sources. Further authors then cited Green's books as their source for the claimed flight. Green himself told Werrell many years later that he no longer placed much credence in the flight.[1]
The British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph published an article in September 1969 with the sensationalistic title, Lone Bomber Raid on New York Planned by Hitler, which quoted former Luftwaffe test pilot Hans Pancherz who claimed that the Ju 390 had been built especially to bomb New York and also that he had flown one of the Ju 390s on a test flight from Germany to Cape Town in early 1944.[1]
Kenneth P. Werrell later went on to examine the available details regarding the Ju 390's range and concluded that although a great circle round trip from France to St. Johns, Newfoundland was possible, adding another 2,380 miles (3,830 km) for a round trip from St. Johns to Long Island made the flight "most unlikely".[7]
Karl Kössler and Günter Ott, in their book Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, 90, 290, 390. Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie ("The Big Ones from Dessau...History of an Aircraft Family"), also examined the claimed flight, and thoroughly debunked it. Most importantly, it was nowhere near France at the time when the flight was supposed to have taken place: according to Hans Pancherz' log book the Ju 390 V1 was brought to Prague on November 26 1943 and while there took part in a number of test flights, which continued until late March 1944. Secondly, they also pointed out that the Ju 390 V1 was unlikely to have been capable of taking off with the fuel load necessary for a flight of such long duration (unless assisted by rockets on take off - a fairly standard Luftwaffe proceedure), which would have required a takeoff weight of 72 tons, while the maximum takeoff weight during its trials had been 38 tons. The Ju 390 V2 could not have made the US flight either, since it was not completed before September/October 1944.[3]
[edit] Ju 390 export to Japan
Design work was carried out on a bomber-reconnaissance version of the aircraft, the Junkers Ju 390A. Considerable interest was displayed in this ultra-long range monster by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and in the autumn of 1944, the Japanese government acquired a manufacturing license for the Junkers Ju 390A-1. Under the licensing agreement, detailed manufacturing drawings were scheduled to be handed over to the Imperial Japanese Army's representative, Major-General Otani, by February 28, 1945. There is no record of this part of the agreement having been fulfilled.
[edit] Variants
- Ju 390 V1
- First prototype.
- Ju 390 V2
- Second prototype.
- Ju 390 A-1
- Planned heavy transport version.
- Ju 390 B
- Planned maritime patrol version.
- Ju 390 C
- Planned long-range heavy bomber version.
[edit] Operators
- Luftwaffe
- Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5[citation needed]
[edit] Specifications (Ju 390 V1)
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
- Crew: 10
- Length: 34.20 m (112 ft 2 in)
- Wingspan: 50.30 m (165 ft 1 in)
- Height: 6.89 m (22 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 254 m² (2,730 ft²)
- Empty weight: 39,500 kg (87,100 lb)
- Loaded weight: 53,112 kg (117,092 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 75,500 kg (166,400 lb)
- Powerplant: 6× BMW 801D radial engines, 1,272 kW (1,730 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 505 km/h (314 mph)
- Range: 9,700 km (6,030 mi)
- Service ceiling 6,000 m (19,700 ft)
- Wing loading: 209 kg/m² (42.8 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.17 kW/kg (0.10 hp/lb)
Armament
- Guns: ** 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in dorsal turrets
- 1 × 20 mm MG 151/20 in tail
- 2 × 13 mm MG 131 machine guns at waist
- 2 × 13 mm MG 131 in gondola
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Duffy, James P. (2004). Target America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group, 114. ISBN 0275966844.
- ^ Sweeting, C.G. (2001). Hitler's personal pilot: the life and times of Hans Baur. Brassey's. ISBN 1574884026.
- ^ a b c Kössler, Karl (1993). Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, Ju 90, Ju 290, Ju 390 – Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie. Berlin: Aviatic-Verlag. ISBN 3925505253.
- ^ Griehl, Manfred; Joachim Dressel (1998). Heinkel: He 177, 277, 274. Stackpole Books, 191. ISBN 1853103640.
- ^ Staerck, Christopher (2002). Luftwaffe: The Allied Intelligence Files. Brassey's, pp. 202-203. ISBN 1574883879.
- ^ Bukowski, Helmut; Fritz Müller (1995). Junkers Ju 90: Ein Dessauer Riese – Erprobung und Einsatz der Junkers Ju 90 bis Ju 290. Berlin : Brandenburgisches Verl.-Haus. ISBN 389488083X.
- ^ Werrell, Kenneth P. (Summer/June 1998), “World War II German Long Distance Flights: Fraud or Record?”, Aerospace Historian 35 (2)
[edit] References
- Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
- Nowarra, Heinz J. Junkers Ju 290, Ju 390 etc.. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History, 1997. ISBN 0-7643-0297-3.
- Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich
[edit] External links
- Das Flugzeugarchiv (German)
- WarBird Photos
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
- List of military aircraft of Germany
- List of World War II military aircraft of Germany
- List of WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft prototype projects
- List of bomber aircraft
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