Junkers Ju 52
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| Junkers Ju 52/3m | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Transport |
| Manufacturer | Junkers |
| Maiden flight | 13 October 1930 |
| Primary users | Luftwaffe Spain France |
| Produced | 1931-1945 (German production), 1945-1952 (Spain), 1945-1947 (France) |
| Number built | 4,845 |
The Junkers Ju 52 (nicknamed Tante Ju - "Auntie Ju" - and "Iron Annie") was a transport aircraft and bomber manufactured 1932 – 1945 by Junkers. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with well over a dozen air carriers including Swissair and Lufthansa as an airliner and freight hauler. In a military role, it flew with the Luftwaffe as a troop and cargo transport, with a secondary role as a medium bomber. The Swiss Air Force also flew the Ju 52, with three machines remaining in operation until the early 1980s.
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[edit] Design and development
The Ju 52 was similar the company's previous Junkers W33, although larger. In 1930, Ernst Zindel and his team designed the Ju 52 at the Junkers works at Dessau. The aircraft's unusual corrugated metal skin strengthened the fuselage and gave it a characteristic boxy appearance.
[edit] Operational history
In its original configuration, designated the Ju 52/1m, the Ju 52 was a single-engined aircraft, powered by a either BMW or Junkers liquid-cooled engines. in 1936, James A. Richardson's Canadian Airways received (Werknummer 4006) CF-ARM , the sixth ever-built Ju 52. The aircraft, nicknamed the "Flying Boxcar" in Canada, could lift approximately three tons and had a maximum weight of eight tons. It was used to supply mining and other operations in remote areas with equipment too big and heavy for other aircraft then in use. The Ju 52/1m was able to fly on wheels, skis or floats.[1]
However, the single-engine model was underpowered, and after seven prototypes had been completed, all subsequent Ju 52s were built with three engines as the Ju 52/3m (German drei motoren, meaning "three engines"). Originally powered by three Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial engines, later production models mainly received BMW 132 engines, a refinement of the Pratt & Whitney design. Export models were also built with Pratt & Whitney Wasp and Bristol Pegasus engines. The upgrade improved performance and load carrying abilities. As a Lufthansa airliner, the Ju 52 could seat 17, and could fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours.
The Ju 52 first saw military service in the Spanish Civil War, as both a bomber and transport aircraft. In the former role it participated in the bombing of Guernica. It was again used as a bomber during the bombing of Warsaw[1] during the Invasion of Poland of September 1939. The Luftwaffe then relied on the Ju 52 for transport roles during World War II, including paratroop drops, most notably in the Battle of Crete in May 1941. Lightly armed, and with a top speed of only 165 mph — half that of a contemporary Spitfire — the Ju 52 was very vulnerable to fighter attack and an escort was always necessary when flying in a combat zone. Many Ju 52s were shot down by anti-aircraft guns and fighters while transporting supplies, most notably during the desperate attempt to resupply the trapped German Sixth Army during the final stages of the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943.
[edit] Variants
In addition to the standard, fixed undercarriage version, there was a floatplane version, equipped with two large floats. This model served during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and later in the Mediterranean theatre. Some Ju 52 floatplanes were also used as minesweepers, fitted with a large degaussing ring under the airframe.
Most Ju 52s were destroyed after the war, but a small number were manufactured after 1945. In France the machine was manufactured by Amiot as the Amiot AAC 1 Toucan and in Spain, Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA continued production as the CASA 352. Several Ju 52s are airworthy and in regular use today.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Military operators
Argentina
Bulgaria
Colombia
Croatia
Czechoslovakia (postwar)
Ecuador
France: (postwar)
Germany: Luftwaffe
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Norway (captured)
Peru
Portugal
Romania
South Africa
Slovakia
Soviet Union: (post-war)
Spanish State
Sweden
Switzerland
United States (known as Junkers C-79)
Yugoslavia (postwar)
[edit] Civilian operators
- Cruzeiro do Sul
- Syndicato Condor
- VASP
- Canadian Airways Ltd.
- Canadian Pacific Airlines
- Det Danske Luftfartsselskab
- Aero Cargo
- Air France
- Air Ocean
- CTA Languedoc Roussillon
- Société Auxiliare de Navigation Aérienne
- Socotra
- Malert Airlines
- Ju-Air
- Swissair
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[edit] Specifications (Junkers Ju 52/3m g7e)
Data from Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3 (two pilots, radio operator)
- Capacity: 18 troops or 12 litter patients
- Length: 18.90 m (62 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan: 29.25 m (95 ft 10 in)
- Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 110.5 m² (1,190 ft²)
- Empty weight: 6,510 kg (14,325 lb)
- Loaded weight: 9,200 kg (20,270 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 10,990 kg (24,200 lb)
- Powerplant: 3× BMW 132T radial engines, 533 kW (715 hp)[3] each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 265 km/h (165 mph) at sea level
- Cruise speed: 211 km/h (132 mph)
- Range: 870 km (540 miles)
- Service ceiling: 5,490 m (18,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 17 minutes to 3,050 m (10,000 ft)
Armament
- 1× 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in a dorsal position
- 2× 7.92 mm MG 15 machine guns
- up to 455 kg (1,000 lb) of bombs (some variants)
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.richmond.edu/~wgreen/ECDwarsaw.html
- ^ Jane, Fred T. "The Junkers Ju 52/3m." Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0. p. 170-171.
- ^ Originally measured as 725 PS
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