Junkers Ju 388

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_388

The Junkers Ju 388 Störtebeker is 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 Ju 388 was introduced very late
in the war, and production problems along with the deteriorating war conditions
meant that few were built.

The Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM, or Reich Aviation Ministry) first learned
of the American B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber in late 1942. Serious concerns
as to B-29 capability developed in early 1944, when YB-29 "Hobo Queen" made a
well-publicised appearance at RAF Bovingdon, which had been cryptically
hinted-at in an American-published Sternenbanner German language propaganda
leaflet from Leap Year Day in 1944, meant to be circulated within the Reich.

The performance estimates of this aircraft were a cause for great unease in the
Luftwaffe. The B-29 had a maximum speed of around 560 km/h (348 mph), and would
attack in a cruise at about 360 km/h (224 mph) at 8,000-10,000 m (26,247-32,810
ft), an altitude where no current Luftwaffe aircraft was effective, and for
which the only effective Wehrmacht anti-aircraft gun was the rarely-deployed
12.8 cm FlaK 40, which could effectively fire to an altitude of 14,800 metres
(48,600 ft).

To counter the B-29, the Luftwaffe would need new day fighters and bomber
destroyers with greatly enhanced performance at extreme altitude. The fighter
chosen was the Focke-Wulf Ta 152H. This was based on the Fw 190D with longer
wings and the new high-altitude "E" model of the Junkers Jumo 213 engine. An
alternative was the Messerschmitt Me 155B, a long-winged development of the Bf
109 which had already undergone several stages of design and would ultimately be
built in prototype form by Blohm & Voss. The centre-line thrust twin Dornier Do
335, powered with two of the competing Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines also offered
a service ceiling of some 11,400 m (37,500 ft), but the promising Dornier heavy
fighter and Zerstörer was still under development solely with prototype
airframes flying, and the first production examples expected to enter
operational service late in 1944.

For the bomber destroyer and night fighter roles, the all-wood Focke-Wulf Ta 154
and metal-structured Heinkel He 219 had the performance needed to catch the
bomber; however, both designs only gained that performance by mounting low
aspect ratio wings which were inadequate for flight at high altitude and
resultingly produced too high a wing loading. The Junkers Ju 88 had already been
modified for high-altitude use as the S and T models, but these did not have the
performance needed. Similar high-altitude modifications to the Ju 188, with its
complex stepless cockpit glazing comprising some three dozen framed window
panels in all, were being looked at as the projected Ju 188J, K and L models,
which included a simplified "stepless" pressurized cockpit that fully enclosed
the entire nose using fewer glazed panels in comparison to the Ju 188's glazing
design, and wing and elevator deicing equipment for extended flights at very
high altitude. These were selected for development, and renamed Ju 388.

In order to improve performance, the Ju 388 was stripped of almost all defensive
armament. Whereas the Ju 88 included a number of hand-swung guns in ports all
over the cockpit area, on the Ju 388 they were replaced by a single
remote-control turret in the tail containing two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine
guns, aimed via a periscope in the cockpit, mounted one-above-the-other, as had
been done experimentally with a few Heinkel He 177A heavy bombers' manned tail
defensive gun positions. The Ju 388's remote tail turret had an excellent field
of fire and could shoot directly to the rear, so the gunner's Bola streamlined
casemate-style ventral defensive armament emplacement beneath the nose of Ju 88s
and 188s was omitted, improving the aerodynamics.


Role
heavy fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, night fighter

Manufacturer
Junkers

First flight
22 December 1943

Introduction
Late 1944

Retired
1945

Primary user
Luftwaffe

Number built
approximately 100

Developed from
Junkers Ju 188

Deliveries started in August 1944 but few Ju 388s were completed. About 47 L
models seem to have been built, the majority as -1s with the BMW 801J engine,
and just three -3s with the Jumo 213E. Fifteen K-1s were built; and only three
J-1 models were produced.

Specifications (Ju 388K-1)

General characteristics
Crew: 3
Length: 15.2 m (49 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 22 m (72 ft 2 in)
Height: 4.35 m (14 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 56 m2 (600 sq ft)
Max takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (30,865 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × BMW 801J 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,350 kW
(1,810 hp) each
Propellers: 4-bladed Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke
(VDM)-Verstell-Luftschrauben, 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) diameter constant-speed
proellers

Performance
Maximum speed: 520 km/h (320 mph, 280 kn) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft)

Boost speed: 655 km/h (407 mph; 354 kn) at 9,080 m (29,790 ft) with MW 50
water-methanol boost (Junkers Jumo 213E only)
Cruise speed: 490 km/h (300 mph, 260 kn)

Landing speed: 175 km/h (109 mph; 94 kn)
Range: 2,250 km (1,400 mi, 1,210 nmi)
Service ceiling: 13,100 m (43,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 6.3 m/s (1,240 ft/min)

Armament


Ju 388J: 2 × 20 mm (0.787 in) MG 151/20 cannons and 2 × 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 103
cannon or MK 108 cannon in an under-fuselage pod and 2 × 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131
machine guns in a remotely-controlled Hecklafette tail turret.
Ju 388K: 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) of bombs internally and 2 × 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131
machine guns in a remotely-controlled Hecklafette tail turret
Ju 388L: 2 × 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine guns in a remotely-controlled
Hecklafette tail turret




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