Junkers Ju88 Fighter/Bomber

The Ju 88 was one of the most versatile aircraft of WWII. It began it's career in 1936, by 1939 it had been developed as a fast (dive-)bomber and reconaissance aircraft, and later was used as a torpedo-bomber, a nightfighter, a heavy day fighter and an anti-tank aircraft. The first fighter conversions of the Ju 88 were very similar to the bomber versions, with only modifications to the nose and a gondola under the forward fuselage to accomodate radar and guns. The later Ju 88G was a specialized fighter with the tail of the Ju 188. The aircraft remained a formidable opponent throughout WWII. 10774 built, of which no less than 104 prototypes and experimental versions.

Technical Details
The Ju 88A-4 bomber flew in 1939, and had a crew of four. The A series were bombers, torpedo bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. They were powered by a pair of 1007 kW Junkers Jumo 211J-1 engines. This set gave the bomber a maximum speed of 292 mph (470 km/h), a ceiling of 26,900 ft (8200 m) and a range of 1,700 mi (2730 km). It usually carried one 13 mm, three 7.92 mm and a set of twin 7,92 mm machine guns and 6,600 lbs (3,000 kg) of bombs.

The Ju 88G-6 nightfighter usually had a crew of three (pilot, radar operator and rear gunner) sometimes four. It was powered by two 1305kW Junkers Jumo 213A-1 engines. Maximum speed was 360 mph (580 km/h), with a ceiling of 31,500 ft (9600m) and a range of 1360 mi (2,195 km). It packed quite a wallop with five or six 20 mm cannons (including a set of cannons firing upwards at an anfle of 60 degrees, called Schrage Musik) and a heavy 13 mm machine gun in the rear. These armaments were required to quickly down the large Allied bombers at night, when they could be visible for only a short period of time. Later G variants carried short-range Lichtenstein radar to detect bombers after being vectored to them by Wurzberg radar operators on the ground.

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Image From: With the permission of the USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB.