Junkers Ju 188
Encyclopedia
The Junkers
Ju 188 was a German
Luftwaffe
high-performance medium bomber
built during World War II
, the planned follow-on to the famed Ju 88
with better performance and payload. It was produced only in limited numbers, due both to the presence of improved versions of the Ju 88, as well as the deteriorating war condition and the resulting focus on fighter
production.
and Ju 88
into competition for the new standardized Luftwaffe high-speed tactical bomber
, known as the Schnellbomber
(fast bomber
). The two designs were almost identical, differing only in that the Ju 85 used a twin-rudder
and the Ju 88 a single fin
. At the same time, they offered modified versions of each as the Ju 85B and Ju 88B, again similar to the original designs, but using an "egg shaped" stepless cockpit forward fuselage
design that was essentially one large window, another example of the "bullet-nose" design philosophy that almost all new German bomber designs exhibited from the time of the Heinkel He 111P
onwards. The new nose design for the Ju 88B also tightly integrated the undernose Bola ventral gondola defensive gun position into the newer nose design, when compared to the "added-on" Bola unit pioneered on the Ju 88 V7 prototype and standardized on the Ju 88A, which offered the Ju 88B somewhat lower drag
, and better visibility. At the time, this was considered too radical, and eventually the Ju 88A with its simpler fighter-like "stepped" cockpit
won the contest.
By 1939, the original Ju 88 had itself evolved with considerably more window area, but in a fashion that was not well streamlined, with a "beetle's eye" faceted bombardier's glazed nose, and a well-framed two-part "greenhouse" canopy for the cockpit, the two assemblies of well-framed cabin glazing separated by the sheetmetal of the upper fuselage nose. The Reich Air Ministry
(RLM) was in the process of ordering a "second generation" bomber in a project known as "Bomber B
", but this was extensively delayed due to the non-delivery of the large 2,500 PS (1,840 kW, 2,470 hp)-class engines, like Junkers' own Jumo 222 inline engine
, that the designs would rely on. Although Junkers' own Ju 288
was currently leading the contest, there was no delivery date on the engines and the Ju 88B project was re-submitted as a stop-gap measure. For this version, they used the latest short-wing Ju 88 A-1 airframe
as a baseline with the new stepless cockpit design, but added the new Junkers Jumo 213
engine, which had recently started bench testing and was expected to deliver 1,500 PS (1,100 kW, 1,480 hp). The Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM - Air Ministry) also stipulated that the aircraft should also be able to accept the BMW 801
radial engine
in a Kraftei (power-egg) unitized installation, with no modification to the existing engine nacelles.
The RLM was not impressed with the new design, as it offered only small improvements over the existing Ju 88A model then in service. However, they did suggest that Junkers continue with the prototype work anyway, but asked that they consider fitting the design with the BMW 139 radial instead. This engine was cancelled only a few weeks later, and all designs based on it moved to the newer and more powerful BMW 801.
could fit. An additional external shackle was then added to each wing well outside the engines, although using the rack would seriously hamper performance.
During the summer, a pre-production run of 10 Ju 88 B-0 based on the pre-production Ju 88 A-4 airframes were delivered. The A-4 used a longer wing of 18 m (65 ft 10½ in) span from new rounded wingtips for better altitude performance, when compared to the initial Ju 88A-1's shorter 18.26 meter (59 ft 10.75 in) span, but attention to streamlining and new "pointed" wing tip
s, somewhat resembling those fitted to the British Spitfire Mks.VII and VIII for their own intended high-altitude flight requirements, kept drag to about what it was earlier. The airframe changes moved the center of gravity
slightly, so the glazed "cockpit
" area was made slightly longer to re-balance the aircraft, while also offering better visibility for other members of the crew.
Service tests were all successful, and the pilots generally lauded the new cockpit design. However, the RLM still remained unconvinced that the small improvement in performance over the existing A-5's and future A-4's was worth investing time in. Instead, the pre-production models were modified as long-range reconnaissance
aircraft by removing the guns, bombsight
s and external bomb shackles, and fitting fuel tank
s into the bomb bay.
Several of the airframes were retained by Junkers for further development. One of these was fitted with the slightly updated 801L engines and a small power-operated turret
on the extreme top of the cockpit mounting a 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine gun
.
VVS
. The RLM finally decided that even the small gains in performance in the Ju 88B were worth considering, and asked Junkers for a series of upgrades as the Ju 188.
The sole Ju 88 E-0 was modified with several additional guns, another 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 firing rearward just below the turret, one firing forward through the nose, and the twinned 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81Z machine gun
in the integrated ventral Bola gondola firing rearward. Two other airframes had their engines and outer wings removed to act as testbeds for water ditching, as it was planned to use the Ju 188 in long overwater flights against British shipping. A second Ju 188 test airframe was also built up from another Ju 88 A-4, this one including a larger, more trapezoidal vertical tail surface set to provide more directional control at higher altitudes, a feature also used on future Ju 88 models, such as the Ju 88G night fighters. Originally known as Ju 88 V44, this airframe was later designated Ju 188 V1.
In October 1942, the program was given the go-ahead to start planning for production. A second prototype was delivered in January, which moved the outer bomb shackles to a position inboard of the engines. Both started testing the dive bombing system installed in the 88 A-4 in February. The RLM then asked for another change, allowing the aircraft to mount either the BMW 801 or Jumo 213 engines as a complete Kraftei, or "power egg" unitized engine installation, that would simply be bolted on and hooked up. Concerns about the Jumo 213, now years overdue, were offset by this engine's better altitude performance, so it made sense to delay the aircraft slightly if that meant it could switch to the 213 as soon as they became available. The second Ju 188 V1 prototype was flown in at Rechlin
between September and November 1943.
The first three production Ju 188 E-1 machines were delivered with the BMW engines in February 1943, another seven in March, and eight in April. A conversion testing unit was formed up in May, and after testing were attached to an operational unit, with the first mission, an attack by three Ju 188E-1s on a factory in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
taking place on 18 August 1943. By the end of the year, 283 Ju 188s had been delivered (including Ju 188Fs), and two new factories were added to the production effort. Most operational machines differed from the prototypes only in having a 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon
in the nose and dorsal turrets in place of the 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131. The MG 131 I was intended to be used in the Ju 188 E-1 or the G-2. But the heavy armament in the A and E series was the MG 151/20. The Ju 188 E-2 was built as a torpedo-bomber, but was identical to the Ju 188 A-3.
Although the A and E models were to have been delivered at the same time, the Jumo engine was still having difficulties getting into production. Nevertheless, the first Jumo powered Ju 188 A-1 versions were shipped only shortly after the BMW versions, albeit at a much slower rate. By the time delivery rates were finally picking up in late 1943, the Jumo was available in a new MW 50
methanol-water injection "boosted" version that delivered 1,648 kW (2,241 hp) for takeoff. With this engine, the planes were known as the Ju 188 A-2, and started deliveries in early 1944.
A modified version mounting a small FuG 200 Hohentwiel sea-search radar
set under the nose and shackles for a torpedo
for naval strike missions was delivered as the Ju 188 E-2, and with the Jumo as the Ju 188 A-3. The only other difference was the removal of the outer pair of wing bomb shackles.
For all its good points, the Ju 188 was only a small improvement over the Ju 88 it was supposed to replace. The bombload and bomb bay was no larger than the earlier plane, so although it could handle a larger load by mounting externally, doing so hurt performance. Even then the performance was rather poor considering all the effort - only 523 km/h (325 mph) or less. The dorsal turret had only one gun in it, yet the type retained the single-gun flexible position only a few centimeters away from it. In the meantime, the various projects to finally provide the plane with real tail armament were all abandoned.
Delivery problems of the Jumo were never entirely sorted out, and the only model to be built in large numbers were the E series with the BMW 801. Even then so few were available that they were generally given out to Ju 88 units, who flew them on "special" missions where the longer range or better performance would be helpful.
Some 500 Ju 188A and E variants were built up until the summer of 1944, when production ceased.
The C series was built to the extent of a single example, by modifying one of the few A-1 machines. To this, they added the new power-operated FA 15 turret in the tail. The turret mounted two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131s, aimed with a double-periscope (top and bottom) system mounted in the cockpit.
This modification would have greatly improved defensive firepower, always lacking on German designs, but reliability was so poor it was decided to abandon the system.
This modification also left enough room at the tail to fit a manned turret in place of the C model's remote-control one. However this system proved to be just as limited as the remote-control FA 15, being so small that only gunners could fit into it, and had basically no ability to escape in an emergency. The RLM rejected the manned design and planned on mounting the FA 15 even if it were unreliable. Oddly, the designs still had the nose area extended under the plane for a rear gunner, when this would no longer be needed and its removal would have greatly cleaned up the lines of the plane.
With the Jumo 213s now being sent to fighter production, the Ju 188 G-2 was to use the BMW 801 only, with the reconnaissance conversion known as the Ju 188 H-2. Neither entered production before the war ended.
s with the addition of radar and either four 20 mm MG 151/20s or two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon
s in the nose. However, the added visibility of the 188 was not useful in the night role, and because the added drag of the radar washed out any speed difference, the Ju 188 R-0 was not ordered.
, Ju 188K bomber, and the Ju 188L reconnaissance version. All three did away with the under-slung gunner's compartment, leading to a cleaner nose profile, and the bomber and recce versions mounted their loads in a long pannier under the middle of the plane instead of the deeper fuselage of the G and H models.
Simpler versions of these with no defensive armament and even longer wings became the Ju 188S fighter and Ju 188T intruder. With Jumo 213E-1 engines 2,050 PS (1,510 kW, 2,020 hp) at take-off and 1,690 PS (1,240 kW, 1,670 hp) at 9,500 m (31,400 ft), the Ju 188T could reach 700 km/h (440 mph). Operating at this altitude, the Ju 188S could carry only 800 kg (1,760 lb) of bombs.
Before any of these could start production, the entire lineup was renamed the Ju 388
, the vastly improved performance warranting this change in name.
Hungary
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
Ju 188 was a German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
high-performance medium bomber
Medium bomber
A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; the name serves to distinguish them from the larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers...
built during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the planned follow-on to the famed Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
with better performance and payload. It was produced only in limited numbers, due both to the presence of improved versions of the Ju 88, as well as the deteriorating war condition and the resulting focus on fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
production.
Background
In 1936, Junkers submitted proposals for the Ju 85Junkers Ju 85
The Junkers Ju 85 was a twin-engined attack aircrsft prototype, designed by Junkers, designed in parallel with the Junkers Ju 88 bomber. The Reich Air Ministry requested the aircraft, which differed from the Ju 88 through the twin fin tail unit. The aircraft was never put into service....
and Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
into competition for the new standardized Luftwaffe high-speed tactical bomber
Tactical bomber
A tactical bomber is a bomber aircraft with an intended primary role of tactical bombing—attacking tactical targets, such as enemy's troops and military equipment. This implies that either aircraft's range or ordnance is insufficient to use it effectively as a strategic bomber.All light bombers,...
, known as the Schnellbomber
Schnellbomber
A Schnellbomber is a high-speed bomber. The concept developed in the 1930s when it was believed that a very fast bomber could simply outrun its enemies....
(fast bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
). The two designs were almost identical, differing only in that the Ju 85 used a twin-rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
and the Ju 88 a single fin
Vertical stabilizer
The vertical stabilizers, vertical stabilisers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip. It is analogical to a skeg on boats and ships.On aircraft, vertical stabilizers generally point upwards...
. At the same time, they offered modified versions of each as the Ju 85B and Ju 88B, again similar to the original designs, but using an "egg shaped" stepless cockpit forward fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
design that was essentially one large window, another example of the "bullet-nose" design philosophy that almost all new German bomber designs exhibited from the time of the Heinkel He 111P
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
onwards. The new nose design for the Ju 88B also tightly integrated the undernose Bola ventral gondola defensive gun position into the newer nose design, when compared to the "added-on" Bola unit pioneered on the Ju 88 V7 prototype and standardized on the Ju 88A, which offered the Ju 88B somewhat lower drag
Drag (physics)
In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...
, and better visibility. At the time, this was considered too radical, and eventually the Ju 88A with its simpler fighter-like "stepped" cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
won the contest.
By 1939, the original Ju 88 had itself evolved with considerably more window area, but in a fashion that was not well streamlined, with a "beetle's eye" faceted bombardier's glazed nose, and a well-framed two-part "greenhouse" canopy for the cockpit, the two assemblies of well-framed cabin glazing separated by the sheetmetal of the upper fuselage nose. The Reich Air Ministry
Reich Air Ministry
thumb|300px|The Ministry of Aviation, December 1938The Ministry of Aviation was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany...
(RLM) was in the process of ordering a "second generation" bomber in a project known as "Bomber B
Bomber B
Bomber B was a German military aircraft design competition dating to just before the start of World War II to develop a second-generation high-speed bomber that would both be a direct successor to the Schnellbomber design philosophy, and to replace all medium and heavy bombers then in service with...
", but this was extensively delayed due to the non-delivery of the large 2,500 PS (1,840 kW, 2,470 hp)-class engines, like Junkers' own Jumo 222 inline engine
Inline engine (aviation)
In aviation, an inline engine means any reciprocating engine with banks rather than rows of cylinders, including straight engines, flat engines, V engines and H engines, but excluding radial engines and rotary engines....
, that the designs would rely on. Although Junkers' own Ju 288
Junkers Ju 288
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Hitchcock, Thomas H. Junkers 288 . Acton, MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1974. ISBN 0-914144-02-2.-External links:...
was currently leading the contest, there was no delivery date on the engines and the Ju 88B project was re-submitted as a stop-gap measure. For this version, they used the latest short-wing Ju 88 A-1 airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...
as a baseline with the new stepless cockpit design, but added the new Junkers Jumo 213
Junkers Jumo 213
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7-External links:*...
engine, which had recently started bench testing and was expected to deliver 1,500 PS (1,100 kW, 1,480 hp). The Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM - Air Ministry) also stipulated that the aircraft should also be able to accept the BMW 801
BMW 801
The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German military aircraft of World War II. The engine's cylinders were in two rows of seven cylinders each, the bore and stroke were both 156 mm , giving a total capacity of 41.8 litres...
radial engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
in a Kraftei (power-egg) unitized installation, with no modification to the existing engine nacelles.
The RLM was not impressed with the new design, as it offered only small improvements over the existing Ju 88A model then in service. However, they did suggest that Junkers continue with the prototype work anyway, but asked that they consider fitting the design with the BMW 139 radial instead. This engine was cancelled only a few weeks later, and all designs based on it moved to the newer and more powerful BMW 801.
Prototypes, Ju 88 B-0
The prototype Ju 88B V1, D-AUVS, flew for the first time with the 801A/B engines in early 1940. The fuselage was identical to the Ju 88 A-1, which presented a problem: with the extra power, 1,560 PS (1,150 kW, 1,540 hp), the design could now carry considerably more load than the small bomb bayBomb bay
The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the target or at a specified launching point.Large-sized...
could fit. An additional external shackle was then added to each wing well outside the engines, although using the rack would seriously hamper performance.
During the summer, a pre-production run of 10 Ju 88 B-0 based on the pre-production Ju 88 A-4 airframes were delivered. The A-4 used a longer wing of 18 m (65 ft 10½ in) span from new rounded wingtips for better altitude performance, when compared to the initial Ju 88A-1's shorter 18.26 meter (59 ft 10.75 in) span, but attention to streamlining and new "pointed" wing tip
Wing tip
A wing tip is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft.Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of shapes, including:* Squared-off...
s, somewhat resembling those fitted to the British Spitfire Mks.VII and VIII for their own intended high-altitude flight requirements, kept drag to about what it was earlier. The airframe changes moved the center of gravity
Center of gravity
In physics, a center of gravity of a material body is a point that may be used for a summary description of gravitational interactions. In a uniform gravitational field, the center of mass serves as the center of gravity...
slightly, so the glazed "cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
" area was made slightly longer to re-balance the aircraft, while also offering better visibility for other members of the crew.
Service tests were all successful, and the pilots generally lauded the new cockpit design. However, the RLM still remained unconvinced that the small improvement in performance over the existing A-5's and future A-4's was worth investing time in. Instead, the pre-production models were modified as long-range reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
aircraft by removing the guns, bombsight
Bombsight
A bombsight is a device used by bomber aircraft to accurately drop bombs. In order to do this, the bombsight has to estimate the path the bomb will take after release from the aircraft. The two primary forces during its fall are gravity and air drag, which makes the path of the bomb through the air...
s and external bomb shackles, and fitting fuel tank
Fuel tank
A fuel tank is safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled or released into an engine...
s into the bomb bay.
Several of the airframes were retained by Junkers for further development. One of these was fitted with the slightly updated 801L engines and a small power-operated turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
on the extreme top of the cockpit mounting a 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine gun
MG 131 machine gun
The MG 131 was a German 13 mm caliber machine gun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig and produced from 1940 to 1945...
.
Ju 188
By 1942, it was becoming clear that the Ju 288 was not going to be ready any time soon, and at the same time the Ju 88's were increasingly at the mercy of a rapidly-improving RAF and SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
VVS
VVS
VVS is a three letter acronym which may refer to:* Very Very Slightly Included, a way of describing the clarity of a diamond* Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome, a syndrome of vulvodynia associated with chronic disease* V. V. S...
. The RLM finally decided that even the small gains in performance in the Ju 88B were worth considering, and asked Junkers for a series of upgrades as the Ju 188.
The sole Ju 88 E-0 was modified with several additional guns, another 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 firing rearward just below the turret, one firing forward through the nose, and the twinned 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81Z machine gun
MG 81 machine gun
The MG 81 was a German belt fed 7.9 mm machine gun, used in flexible installations in World War II Luftwaffe aircraft, replacing the older drum magazine-fed MG 15....
in the integrated ventral Bola gondola firing rearward. Two other airframes had their engines and outer wings removed to act as testbeds for water ditching, as it was planned to use the Ju 188 in long overwater flights against British shipping. A second Ju 188 test airframe was also built up from another Ju 88 A-4, this one including a larger, more trapezoidal vertical tail surface set to provide more directional control at higher altitudes, a feature also used on future Ju 88 models, such as the Ju 88G night fighters. Originally known as Ju 88 V44, this airframe was later designated Ju 188 V1.
In October 1942, the program was given the go-ahead to start planning for production. A second prototype was delivered in January, which moved the outer bomb shackles to a position inboard of the engines. Both started testing the dive bombing system installed in the 88 A-4 in February. The RLM then asked for another change, allowing the aircraft to mount either the BMW 801 or Jumo 213 engines as a complete Kraftei, or "power egg" unitized engine installation, that would simply be bolted on and hooked up. Concerns about the Jumo 213, now years overdue, were offset by this engine's better altitude performance, so it made sense to delay the aircraft slightly if that meant it could switch to the 213 as soon as they became available. The second Ju 188 V1 prototype was flown in at Rechlin
Rechlin
Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs during the Third Reich....
between September and November 1943.
Ju 188 A & E
The Ju 188 was designed to be fitted with either the 1,750 PS (1,290 kW, 1,730 hp) Jumo 213A or 1,700 PS (1,250 kW, 1,680 hp) BMW 801 G-2 engines without any changes to the airframe. It was originally intended that both would be known as A models, but the naming was later changed: the Ju 188A model powered by the 213, and the Ju 188E by the 801.The first three production Ju 188 E-1 machines were delivered with the BMW engines in February 1943, another seven in March, and eight in April. A conversion testing unit was formed up in May, and after testing were attached to an operational unit, with the first mission, an attack by three Ju 188E-1s on a factory in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
taking place on 18 August 1943. By the end of the year, 283 Ju 188s had been delivered (including Ju 188Fs), and two new factories were added to the production effort. Most operational machines differed from the prototypes only in having a 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon
MG 151 cannon
The MG 151 was a 15 mm autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser starting in 1940. It was in 1941 developed into the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon which was widely used on many types of German Luftwaffe fighters, fighter bombers, night fighters, ground attack and even bombers as part of or as...
in the nose and dorsal turrets in place of the 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131. The MG 131 I was intended to be used in the Ju 188 E-1 or the G-2. But the heavy armament in the A and E series was the MG 151/20. The Ju 188 E-2 was built as a torpedo-bomber, but was identical to the Ju 188 A-3.
MW 50
MW 50 was a 50-50 mixture of methanol and water that was often sprayed into the supercharger of World War II aircraft engines primarily for its anti-detonant effect, allowing the use of increased boost pressures.Secondary effects were cooling of the engine and charge cooling...
methanol-water injection "boosted" version that delivered 1,648 kW (2,241 hp) for takeoff. With this engine, the planes were known as the Ju 188 A-2, and started deliveries in early 1944.
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
set under the nose and shackles for a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
for naval strike missions was delivered as the Ju 188 E-2, and with the Jumo as the Ju 188 A-3. The only other difference was the removal of the outer pair of wing bomb shackles.
For all its good points, the Ju 188 was only a small improvement over the Ju 88 it was supposed to replace. The bombload and bomb bay was no larger than the earlier plane, so although it could handle a larger load by mounting externally, doing so hurt performance. Even then the performance was rather poor considering all the effort - only 523 km/h (325 mph) or less. The dorsal turret had only one gun in it, yet the type retained the single-gun flexible position only a few centimeters away from it. In the meantime, the various projects to finally provide the plane with real tail armament were all abandoned.
Delivery problems of the Jumo were never entirely sorted out, and the only model to be built in large numbers were the E series with the BMW 801. Even then so few were available that they were generally given out to Ju 88 units, who flew them on "special" missions where the longer range or better performance would be helpful.
Some 500 Ju 188A and E variants were built up until the summer of 1944, when production ceased.
Ju 188 C
It was planned all along to skip over a "B model" to avoid confusion with the original Ju 88 B, but in the original planning the A and E models would both be called A's. The Ju 188 C would thus be the next model in line.The C series was built to the extent of a single example, by modifying one of the few A-1 machines. To this, they added the new power-operated FA 15 turret in the tail. The turret mounted two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131s, aimed with a double-periscope (top and bottom) system mounted in the cockpit.
This modification would have greatly improved defensive firepower, always lacking on German designs, but reliability was so poor it was decided to abandon the system.
Ju 188 D & F
In early 1944, it was decided to focus on reconnaissance versions of the A and E models The airframe was modified with the removal of the bomb aimer and the forward gun, and additional fuel cells were added to extend the range to 3,400 km (2,110 mi). The Ju 188 D-1 was otherwise similar to the A-1, and the Ju 188 D-2 fitted nose radar for naval reconnaissance. Similar conversions of the E models were the Ju 188 F-1 and Ju 188 F-2.Ju 188 G & H
One problem with the Ju 88 that carried into the 188 was the lack of internal room for bomb storage. Both carried the majority of their bombload on the outside of the plane on racks under the wing, where it greatly affected performance. This was to have been addressed in the G and H models, which extended the fuselage downward for more room with the addition of a wooden pannier.This modification also left enough room at the tail to fit a manned turret in place of the C model's remote-control one. However this system proved to be just as limited as the remote-control FA 15, being so small that only gunners could fit into it, and had basically no ability to escape in an emergency. The RLM rejected the manned design and planned on mounting the FA 15 even if it were unreliable. Oddly, the designs still had the nose area extended under the plane for a rear gunner, when this would no longer be needed and its removal would have greatly cleaned up the lines of the plane.
With the Jumo 213s now being sent to fighter production, the Ju 188 G-2 was to use the BMW 801 only, with the reconnaissance conversion known as the Ju 188 H-2. Neither entered production before the war ended.
Ju 188 R
In the summer of 1944, three E models were modified as night fighterNight fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
s with the addition of radar and either four 20 mm MG 151/20s or two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon
MK 103 cannon
The Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 103 was a German 30 mm caliber autocannon that was mounted in German combat aircraft during World War II. Intended to be a dual purpose weapon for anti-tank and air-to-air fighting, it was a development of the heavy MK 101. Compared to the MK 101, it was lighter,...
s in the nose. However, the added visibility of the 188 was not useful in the night role, and because the added drag of the radar washed out any speed difference, the Ju 188 R-0 was not ordered.
High-altitude versions
In 1943, it was planned to upgrade the entire lineup with even more wing area and a pressurized cockpit for high-altitude work. A single basic airframe would be offered in three versions, the Ju 188J heavy fighterHeavy fighter
A heavy fighter is a fighter aircraft designed to carry heavier weapons or operate at longer ranges. To achieve acceptable performance, most heavy fighters were twin-engined, and many had multi-place crews....
, Ju 188K bomber, and the Ju 188L reconnaissance version. All three did away with the under-slung gunner's compartment, leading to a cleaner nose profile, and the bomber and recce versions mounted their loads in a long pannier under the middle of the plane instead of the deeper fuselage of the G and H models.
Simpler versions of these with no defensive armament and even longer wings became the Ju 188S fighter and Ju 188T intruder. With Jumo 213E-1 engines 2,050 PS (1,510 kW, 2,020 hp) at take-off and 1,690 PS (1,240 kW, 1,670 hp) at 9,500 m (31,400 ft), the Ju 188T could reach 700 km/h (440 mph). Operating at this altitude, the Ju 188S could carry only 800 kg (1,760 lb) of bombs.
Before any of these could start production, the entire lineup was renamed the Ju 388
Junkers Ju 388
The Junkers Ju 388 Störtebeker was a World War II German Luftwaffe multi-role aircraft based on the Ju 88 airframe by way of the Ju 188. It differed from its predecessors in being intended for high altitude operation, with design features such as a pressurized cockpit for its crew...
, the vastly improved performance warranting this change in name.
Operators
- Aviation NavaleAviation NavaleFrench Naval Aviation of the French Navy includes 206 aircraft and 6,800 men, both civilians and military personnel. They operate from six airbases, five of them in Metropolitan France and one overseas....
operated several captured Ju 188s post war.
- LuftwaffeLuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
Hungary
- Royal Hungarian Air Force
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
operated at least two captured machines post war, an A-2 and A-3 (Wrk Nr 190335 of 9./KG 26). The A-3 surrendered to British forces after landing at Fraserburgh on 2 May 1945.