Junkers Ju88

[Erich]

Agaian for my English freidns young and old alike, I really must stress strongly that you check the web for RAF squadrons...........

http://www.rafcommands.com

as an example. Both fighter and bomber squadrons/groups listed. Find out by just type the unit name in yoursearch engine and see what comes up. If you get a favourable link pass it on here maybe in a seperate thread as it might generate interest for all of us. If a e-mail addy is listed for the web-master, write them either he or she and who knows with some knowledgeable questions you may just hit the "jack-pot" and get in touch with some veterans. Again I repeat check your local airshows this spring/summer/fall and attend. hang around as we would say in the states, and get close to the WW2 age guys as they explain their stories/missions to the younger generation. Again don't let things like this pas you up. I repeat within the enxt 10 years these brave souls of WW 2 age will be gone forever....................

surf's up !

 

[plan_D]

I doubt within the next 10 years, there's still 26 WW1 vets alive in Britain, and that started 90 years ago. Yes, we all forget that war, 1914 - 1918.
Anyway, I just might go do it.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

what does your siggy mean Erich??

 

[Gemhorse]

You got to meet Paul Tibbets...Wow ! - Not many chaps around who've dropped an A-Bomb, eh ? - In reading Leonard Cheshire's story, I was impressed in his reaction to watching the Nagasaki blast, having been Bomber Command's Top pilot - He became a very humble man, helping Invalid Aircrew and such, after the War....

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i'd have hated to have lived so long with the knowledge of what i'd done if i were him.............

 

[cheddar cheese]

yeah but if we hadnt done it then the results would probably be even worse.

 

[Erich]

Lanc:

My siggy is thus :

in memory of my fallen cousin on 26 November 1944................

"Only those, which one forgets, are really dead."

the other one from my Opa .............

"God helps all the time"

~Erich ~

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

that first one's really sweet, do you know who said it??

 

[Erich]

my famile; is is an old tradiotnal saying that in this day and age is good for all veterans of both sides of the conflict that gave their lives for their country not regimes. both my Luftwaffe cousins were not sympathetic nazi scum, and besdies I had three other cousings serving in the Wehrmacht and the same saying goes for them as well..........

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

my grandad was in the hitler youth, that's why i get annoyed when people start slating the germans.............

 

[Erich]

Ju 88G-6 fitted with late war FuG 220d enclosed in a wooden nose cone. a familiar photo after capture. this reported to be a NJG 4 machine

 

[Gemhorse]

In my reading Erich, I've somewhere read that the fastest version of the Ju 88 was the 'T' model, used I believe, in the MTO. The 'S' model, according to the book I mentioned to you as my current reference, was also pretty brisk....How do these details sound to you ? - Being a believer that the Ju 88 was very much the Luftwaffe's backbone bomber, in fact , their best multi-role aircraft, I'm keen to establish exactly what their fastest variant was, considering one can't believe all books written on the War...

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

surely the mossie was the better alronder, yes the 88 was more versatile, but it wasn't as good as the mossie in terms of performance............

 

[Lightning Guy]

Are you trying to say 'all-rounder?' And if the Ju-88 was more versatile than the Mossie wouldn't that make the Ju-88 the better 'All-around' plane?

 

[Gemhorse]

Considering the designs for the Ju 88 were started around 1936, it had plenty of time to be tried in all it's various roles...but to end up as a flying-bomb in the Mistel configuration would hardly give it a compliment of being the 'Best Allrounder'...Sure, it was multi-role, and as that, I have great respect [as it's crews did] for it as an Aircraft...The Mosquito must surely take the compliment though, to have done so much in it's much shorter combat-span, and to have continued on into Post-war service, multi-nationally.....

 

[Erich]

I think it is fair to say that the Ju 88 was a tried and true a/c, as mentioned it served in a multitiude of capactities, some not so well known or turely deserving of this hard working craft. Same could almost be said of the He 11 in it's many variants. since the German techs had such a hard time improving on a suitable 4 engine for the hopes of long range duties the lighter twin engines had to take the role but on a much shorter scale. although perofming well the Ju 88 was a slow craft that could easily be picked up by Allied single engine fighters including the twin engine Mossie.

One thing of course we know and although it was made up of light wood in collaboration with metal inerds, the Mossie was just plain fast and e4ven the German single engines at night had a very hard time catching the Mossie strike forces over Berlin even when they knew the routes of the Mossie bombers. the only a/c that was on even keel to speed that might overtake the Mosquito was the Me 262 jet.

As to the fastest Ju 88 variant I am not really sure. Would think one of the recon types as number 1 though the Ju 88G-6 with over 375mph cannot be laughed at either..............

 

[Gemhorse]

The Ju 88 itself was to be a template for the Ju 188, 288 and the 388, and that really interesting variant, the Ju 488, possibly a fast German ' B-29 ' equivilant...- They were cooking-up some quick aircraft, the Ju 188 R,S T variants were being juggled for serious production as Nightfighter, Recon/Intruder models, speeds of 420-435 mph being reached at around 37,000ft. - But as you say, they used the Ju 88 as medium-bomber, but these successive variants all held keys to the development of better and bigger bombers, but they vacillated too much and it was too late....

 

[Erich]

The Ju 3388J was suppose to be the replacement for the Ju 88G-1 but the engines with the 4 bladed props seem to have problems along with the wings. Pointed as they were and it was suppose to be a high latitiude version of the capable series. Odd that the 3cm Mk 103 ground attack weapon was considered for the under-fuselage armament. In any case the a/c was dropped............

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

one question ragarding the Ju-88, why was the 75mm belly mounted gun on the P-1 jettisonable?? was it to save weight if the plane had to make a quick get away??

 

[Erich]

good question and you are probably correct in your thoughts, although not sure if it was ever used on ops. experimented with .......yes and the vibration and inaccuracy was terrible. The Ju 88 was not a good ground attack platform. the Bf 110G was better but still not well suited.