Junkers Ju 390

Infobox Aircraft
name = Ju 390
type = trans-Atlantic heavy bomber/transport
manufacturer = Junkers



caption = Junkers Ju 390 V1
designer =
first flight = October 20 1943
introduced = 1943
retired = 1945
status =
primary user = Luftwaffe
more users =
produced =
number built = 2
unit cost =
developed from=Junkers Ju 90 and Junkers Ju 290
variants with their own articles = 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 long-range bomber. It was one of the aircraft (along with the Messerschmitt Me 264 and Focke-Wulf Ta 400) submitted for the abortive "Amerika Bomber" project.Green, p. 519]

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, (serial marking GH+UK), 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). It made its maiden 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 second prototype, the V2 (RC+DA), was longer than the V2 because it was constructed from a Ju 290 airframe (using the fuselage of Ju 290 A1 werke number J900155).

The maritime reconnaissance and long-range bomber versions were to be designated the Ju 390 B and Ju 390 C, respectively. It has been 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.Fact|date=May 2008

Operational History

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.Duffy, p. 54] It's performance was satisfactory enough that the Air Ministry ordered 26 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 that year.

On November 26, 1943, the Ju 390 V1, with many other new aircraft and prototypes, was shown to Adolf Hitler at Insterburg, East Prussia. [cite book | last = Sweeting | first = C.G. | authorlink = | co-authors = | title = Hitler's personal pilot: the life and times of Hans Baur | publisher = Brassey's | location = | date = 2001 | pages = | doi = | isbn = 1574884026]

According to former Junkers test pilot Hans-Joachim Pancherz' logbook, the Ju 390 V1 was 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.cite book | last = Kössler | first = Karl | authorlink = | co-authors = Günther Ott | title = Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, Ju 90, Ju 290, Ju 390 – Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie | publisher = Aviatic-Verlag | location = Berlin | date = 1993 | pages = | doi = | isbn = 3925505253]

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.

V2

The Ju 390 V2 was assembled in Bernburg, was first flown in October 1943, and is said to have been configured for the maritime reconnaissance role. Its fuselage had been extended by convert|8.2|ft|m, and it was equipped with FuG 200 Hohentwiel ASV (Air to Surface Vessel) radar and defensive armament consisting of 5x 20mm cannons. [cite book | last = Griehl | first = Manfred | coauthors = Joachim Dressel | title = Heinkel: He 177, 277, 274 | publisher = Stackpole Books | page = 191 | date = 1998 | isbn = 1853103640] Green notes different armament, specifically 4x 20mm cannon and 3x MG131 machine guns.

Test pilot "Oberleutnant" Eisermann recorded in his logbook that he flew the V2 prototype (RC+DA) as late as February 1944.Fact|date=June 2008 However, Kössler and Ott state that the Ju 390 V2 was only completed during June 1944, with flight tests beginning at the end of September 1944.

A Ju 390 which may or may not have been the V2 is claimed by some to have made a test flight from Germany to Cape Town in early 1944. The sole source for the story is a speculative article which appeared in the "Daily Telegraph" in 1969 titled "Lone Bomber Raid on New York Planned by Hitler", [Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | author2-link = | title = Lone Bomber Raid on New York Planned by Hitler | newspaper = Daily Telegraph | pages = p. 13 | year = | date = 2 September 1969 | url = ] in which Hans Pancherz reportedly claimed to have made the flight in question.Duffy, p. 115] Author James P. Duffy has carried out extensive research into this claim, which has proved fruitless. Kössler and Ott make no mention of this claim either, despite having themselves interviewed Pancherz.

New York flight

William Green notes that, in June 1944, Allied Intelligence learnt from prisoner interrogations that a Ju 390 had been delivered in January 1944 to FAGr 5 (Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5), based at Mont-de-Marsan near Bordeaux, and that it had completed a 32-hour reconnaissance flight to within convert|12|mi|km of the US coast, north of New York City. [Green, ibid] [cite book | last = Staerck | first = Christopher | authorlink = | co-authors = Paul Sinnott, Anton Gill | title = Luftwaffe: The Allied Intelligence Files | publisher = Brassey's | date = 2002 | pages = pp. 202-203 | doi = | isbn = 1574883879 ] This was, however, rejected just after the war by British authorities. [cite book | last = Bukowski | first = Helmut | coauthors = Fritz Müller | title = Junkers Ju 90: Ein Dessauer Riese – Erprobung und Einsatz der Junkers Ju 90 bis Ju 290 | publisher = Berlin : Brandenburgisches Verl.-Haus | date = 1995 | isbn = 389488083X ]

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 convert|12|mi|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.

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.Duffy, p. 114]

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 convert|2380|mi|km for a round trip from St. Johns to Long Island made the flight "most unlikely". [Citation | last = Werrell | first = Kenneth P. | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | author2-link = | title = World War II German Long Distance Flights: Fraud or Record? | journal = Aerospace Historian | volume = 35 | issue = 2 | pages = | date = Summer/June 1988 | year = | url = | doi = | id = ]

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 the flight to Long Island. Most importantly, it was nowhere near France at the time when the flight was supposed to have taken place. According to Hans Pancherz' logbook, the Ju 390 V1 was brought to Prague on November 26, 1943. While there, it took part in a number of test flights, which continued until late March, 1944. Secondly, they also pointed out that the Ju 390 V1 prototype was unlikely to have been capable of taking off with the fuel load necessary for a flight of such duration due to its modified structure; it would have required a takeoff weight of 72 tons, while the maximum takeoff weight during its trials had been 38 tons. According to Kössler and Ott, the Ju 390 V2 could not have made the US flight either, since they indicate that it was not completed before September/October 1944.

Ju 390 export to Japan

Design work was carried out on a bomber-reconnaissance version of the aircraft. Considerable interest was displayed in this ultra-long range aircraft by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. 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.

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.

Operators

;flag|Germany|Nazi
*Luftwaffe
**"Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5"Fact|date=May 2008

pecifications (Ju 390 V1)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Fact|date=July 2007
crew= 10
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 34.20 m
length alt= 112 ft 2 in
span main= 50.30 m
span alt= 165 ft 1 in
height main= 6.89 m
height alt= 22 ft 7 in
area main= 254 m²
area alt= 2,730 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 39,500 kg
empty weight alt= 87,100 lb
loaded weight main= 53,112 kg
loaded weight alt= 117,092 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 75,500 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 166,400 lb
more general=
engine (prop)= BMW 801D
type of prop=radial engines
number of props=6
power main= 1,272 kW
power alt= 1,730 hp
power original=
max speed main=505 km/h
max speed alt= 314 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 9,700 km
range alt= 6,030 mi
ceiling main= 6,000 m
ceiling alt= 19,700 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= 209 kg/m²
loading alt=42.8 lb/ft²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=0.17 kW/kg
power/mass alt=0.10 hp/lb
more performance=
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
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=
* Junkers Ju 89
* Junkers Ju 90
* Junkers Ju 290
similar aircraft=
* B-29 Superfortress
* Ta 400
* Messerschmitt Me 264
* Daimler Benz Project A
* Daimler Benz Project B
* Daimler Benz Project C
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
see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

*cite book | last = Duffy | first = James P. | coauthors = | title = Target America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | page = 114 | date = 2004 | isbn = 0275966844
* 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

External links

* [http://www.kheichhorn.de/html/body_junkers_ju_390.html Das Flugzeugarchiv] de icon
* [http://www.luftwaffephotos.com/lju3901.htm WarBird Photos]