Junkers Ju 390

Ju 390

Junkers Ju 390 V1
Role	Long range transport/maritime reconnaissance/bomber
Manufacturer	Junkers
First flight	20 October 1943
Introduction	1943
Retired	1945
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Number built	2
Developed from	Junkers Ju 290

The Junkers Ju 390 was a German aircraft intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and long-range bomber, a long-range derivative of the Ju 290. It was one of the aircraft designs submitted for the abortive Amerika Bomber project, along with the Messerschmitt Me 264, the Focke-Wulf Ta 400, and by February 1943, the Heinkel He 277.^[1]^[2]

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, (bearing Stammkennzeichen code of GH+UK), was modified from the Ju 90 V6 airframe (Werknummer J4918, civil registration D-AOKD from July 1940 to April 1941, then to the Luftwaffe as KH+XC from April 1941 to April 1942, then returned to Junkers and used for Ju 390 V1 construction). It made its maiden flight on 20 October 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 V1 because it was constructed from a Ju 290 airframe (using the fuselage of Ju 290 A-1 Werknummer J900155).

The maritime reconnaissance and long-range bomber versions were to be designated the Ju 390 B and Ju 390 C, respectively.

Operational history

V1

The V1 was constructed and largely assembled at Junkers' plant at Dessau, Germany, and the first test flight took place on 20 October 1943.^[3] Its performance was satisfactory enough that the Air Ministry ordered 26 in addition to the two prototypes. On 29 June 1944, the Luftwaffe Quartermaster General notes RLM paid Junkers to complete seven Ju-390 aircraft.^[4] However, the contracts for 26 Ju 390s were cancelled on 20 June 1944 and all work ceased in September 1944.

On 26 November 1943, the Ju 390 V1 – with many other new aircraft and prototypes – was shown to Adolf Hitler at Insterburg, East Prussia.^[5]

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.^[6]

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 US Army approached.

V2

Different sources present different accounts of the history of the Ju 390 V2.

Historians Kössler and Ott state that the Ju 390 V2 was completed during June 1944, with flight tests beginning at the end of September 1944.^[6]

Historians Griehl and Dressel state that the Ju 390 V2 was assembled in Bernburg and first flown in October 1943. This would place its construction and first flight at nearly the same time as that of the Ju 390 V1. They further said that it was configured for a maritime reconnaissance role. Its fuselage had been extended by 2.5 m (8.2 ft), and it was said to be equipped with FuG 200 Hohentwiel ASV (Air to Surface Vessel) radar and defensive armament consisting of five 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon.^[7] Historian Green claims different armament, specifically four 20 mm MG 151/20s and three 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns.

Ju-390 project pilot Haupt Hans Pancherz claimed after the war that only one Ju-390 was ever flown. At a hearing before British authorities on 26 September 1945 Professor Heinrich Hertel, chief designer and technical director of Junkers Aircraft & Motor Works also asserted the Ju-390 V2 had never been completed.^[8]

German author Friedrich Georg claimed in his book that Test pilot Oberleutnant Joachim Eisermann recorded in his logbook that he flew the V2 prototype (RC+DA) on 9 February 1945 at Rechlin air base. The log is said to have recorded a handling flight lasting 50 minutes and composed of circuits around Rechlin, while a second 20-minute flight was used to ferry the prototype to Lärz.^[9]

South Africa flight

A Ju 390 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",^[10] in which Hans Pancherz reportedly claimed to have made the flight in question.^[11] Author James P. Duffy has carried out extensive research into this claim, which has proved fruitless. Authors Kössler and Ott make no mention of this claim either, despite having themselves interviewed Pancherz.

New York flight

The first public mention of an alleged flight of a Ju 390 to North America appeared in a letter published in the November 1955 issue of the British magazine RAF Flying Review, of which aviation writer William Green was an editor. The magazine's editors were skeptical of the claim, which asserted that two Ju 390s had made the flight, and that it included a one-hour stay over New York City. In March 1956, the Review published a letter from an RAF officer which claimed to clarify the account. According to Green's reporting, in June 1944, Allied Intelligence had learned 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 19 km (12 mi) of the U.S. coast, north of New York City.^[1]^[12] This was rejected just after the war by British authorities.^[13] Aviation historian Dr. Kenneth P. Werrell states that the story of the flight originated in two British intelligence reports from August 1944 which were 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. But no photos or other evidence for the existence of such photos has ever been found.^[11]

The claimed flight was mentioned in many books following the RAF Flying Review account, including Green's own 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 Kenneth P. Werrell many years later that he no longer placed much credence in the flight.^[14]

Werrell later examined the available data 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 3,830 km (2,380 mi) for a round trip from St. Johns to Long Island made the flight "most unlikely".^[15]

Authors Karl Kössler and Günter Ott, in their book Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, 90, 290, 390. Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie ("The Big Dessauers... History of an Aircraft Family"), also examined the claimed flight, and debunked the flight north of New York. Assuming there was only one such aircraft in existence, Kössler and Ott note 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 26 November 1943. While there, it took part in test flights which continued until late March 1944.^[6]

They also assert 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 strength concerns over its modified structure; it would have required a takeoff weight of 65 tonnes (72 tons), while the maximum takeoff weight during its trials had been 34 tonnes (38 tons). Another explanation for this is that prototypes are never flown at maximum gross weight for their maiden flight until testing can determine the aircraft's handling characteristics. 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.^[6]

Japan flight

In his book, The Bunker, author James P. O'Donnell mentions a flight to Japan. O'Donnell claimed that Albert Speer, in an early 1970s telephone interview, stated that there had been a secret Ju 390 flight to Japan "late in the war". The flight, by a Luftwaffe test pilot, had supposedly been nonstop via the polar route.^[16] O'Donnell is the sole source for the story. Speer never mentioned the story in any of his writings or other interviews. Kössler and Ott make no mention of the claim.

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

Germany

Luftwaffe

Some sources claim that a Ju 390 was assigned to Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5. Kössler and Ott state that it was not.

Specifications (Ju 390 V1)

Data from

General characteristics

Crew: 10
Length: 34.20 m (112 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 50.30 m (165 ft 1 in)
Height: 6.89 m (22 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 254 m² (2,730 ft²)
Empty weight: 39,500 kg (87,100 lb)
Loaded weight: 53,112 kg (117,092 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 75,500 kg (166,400 lb)
Powerplant: 6 × BMW 801G-2 radial engines, 1,250 kW (1,700 PS) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 505 km/h (314 mph)
Range: 9,700 km (6,030 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,700 ft)
Wing loading: 209 kg/m² (42.8 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.17 kW/kg (0.10 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns:
- 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in dorsal turrets
- 1 × 20 mm MG 151/20 in tail
- 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns at waist
- 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131s in gondola
- Proposed fitment of a pair of 4 x MG 131 Hecklafette HL 131V quadmount manned turrets, one in tail and one in nose.

References

Notes

1 2 Green 1970, p. 519.
↑ Griehl and Dressel 1998, pp. 197–199.
↑ Duffy 2004, p. 54.
↑ Griehl 2006
↑ Sweeting 2001, p. 220.
1 2 3 4 Kössler and Ott 1993
↑ Griehl and Dressel 1998, p. 191.
↑ Georg 2000
↑ Georg 2003, p. 14.
↑ "Lone Bomber Raid on New York Planned by Hitler." Daily Telegraph, 2 September 1969.
1 2 Duffy 2004, p. 115.
↑ Staerck et al. 2002, pp. 202–203.
↑ Bukowski and Müller 1995
↑ Duffy 2004, p. 114.
↑ Werrell, Kenneth P. "World War II German Long Distance Flights: Fraud or Record?" Aerospace Historian, Volume 35, Issue 2, Summer/June 1988.
↑ O'Donnell 2001, pp. 308–309.

Bibliography

Bukowski, Helmut and Fritz Müller. Junkers Ju 90: Ein Dessauer Riese – Erprobung und Einsatz der Junkers Ju 90 bis Ju 290 (in German). Berlin : Brandenburgisches Verl.-Haus, 1995. ISBN 3-89488-083-X.
Duffy, James P. Target America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. ISBN 0-275-96684-4.
Georg, Friedrich. Hitlers Siegeswaffen Band 1 Luftwaffe und Marine, Berlin: Jung Verlag & Amun Verlag Schleusingen, 2000. ASIN: B005RIIA6G
Georg, Friedrich. Hitler's Miracle Weapons. Solihull, UK: Helion, 2003. ISBN 978-1-8746-2291-8.
Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
Griehl, Manfred. Luftwaffe over America: The Secret Plans to Bomb the United States in World War II. London: Greenhill Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7607-8697-0.
Griehl, Manfred and Joachim Dressel. Heinkel: He 177, 277, 274. London: Stackpole Books, 1998. ISBN 1-85310-364-0.
Horn, Steve. The Second Attack on Pearl Harbor: Operation K And Other Japanese Attempts. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 978-1-59114-388-8.
Kössler, Karl and Günther Ott. Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, Ju 90, Ju 290, Ju 390 – Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie (in German). Berlin: Aviatik-Verlag, 1993. ISBN 3-925505-25-3.
Nowarra, Heinz J. Junkers Ju 290, Ju 390 etc.. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History, 1997. ISBN 0-7643-0297-3.
O'Donnell, James P. The Bunker. New York: da Capo Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-306-80958-3.
Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 978-0-684-82949-4.
Staerck, Christopher, Paul Sinnott and Anton Gill. Luftwaffe: The Allied Intelligence Files. London: Brassey's, 2002. ISBN 1-57488-387-9.
Sweeting, C.G. Hitler's Personal Pilot: The Life and Times of Hans Baur. London: Brassey's, 2001. ISBN 1-57488-402-6.
Wagner, Ray and Heinz Nowarra. German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1971.

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Junkers aircraft

Company	J 1 J 2 J 3 J 4 J 5 J 6 J 7 J 8 J 9 J 10 J 11 J 12 F 13 J 15 K 16 K 17 J 18 T 19 A 20 H 21 / J 21 / T 21 J 22 T 23 G 23 F 24 / G 24 A 25 T 26 T 27 J 28 T 29 K 30 G 31 A 32 W 33 W 34 A 35 S 36 K 37 G 38 K 39 K 47 A 48 A 50 K 51 K 53

Idflieg	CL.I D.I E.I J.I

RLM	Ju 46 Ju 49 Ju 52 Ju 60 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ju 160 Ju 187 Ju 188 Ju 248 Ju 252 Ju 268 Ju 287 Ju 288 Ju 290 Ju 322 Ju 352 Ju 388 Ju 390 Ju 488 Ju 635

"EF" (experimental)	EF 61 EF 126 EF 127 EF 128 EF 131 EF 132 EF 140 EF 150

Reich Air Ministry aircraft designations

1 to 100	B 9 Gö 9 Do 10 Do 11 Wn 11 Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Wn 15 Do 16 Wn 16 Do 17 Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Kl 25 Do 26 Kl 26 M 27 Do 29 Kl 31 Kl 32 W 33 L 33 W 34 Kl 35 Kl 36 HD 37 HD 38 G 38 DFS 39 BV 40 DFS 40 A 40 Fw 42 He 42 Fw 43 HD 43 Fw 44 He 45 He 46 Ju 46 Fw 47 Ju 47 K 47 A 48 He 49 Ju 49 He 50 A 50 He 51 K 51 Ju 52 K 53 NR 54 Fw 55 NR 55 Fw 56 Fw 57 Fw 58 He 58 He 59 He 60 Ju 60 Fw 61 He 61 Fw 62 He 62 He 63 Ar 64 He 64 Ar 65 He 65 Ar 66 He 66 Ar 67 Ar 68 Ar 69 He 70 He 71 He 72 He 74 Ar 76 Ar 77 Ar 79 Ar 80 Ar 81 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ar 95 Ar 96 Fi 97 Fi 98 Fi 99 He 100

101 to 200	Al 101 Al 102 Al 103 Fi 103 Fh 104 Kl 105 Kl 106 Kl 107 Bf 108 Bf 109 Bf 110 He 111 He 112 He 113 He 114 He 115 He 116 Hs 117 He 118 He 119 He 120 Hs 121 Hs 122 Hs 123 Hs 124 Hs 125 Hs 126 Hs 127 Hs 128 Hs 129 Hs 130 Bü 131 Hs 132 Bü 133 Bü 134 Ha 135 Ha 136 Hü 136 Ha 137 BV 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 BV 141 BV 142 BV 143 BV 144 Go 145 Go 146 Go 147 Ju 147 Go 149 Go 150 Kl 151 Ta 152 Kl 152 Ta 153 Ta 154 BV 155 Fi 156 Fi 157 Fi 158 Fw 159 Ju 160 Bf 161 He 162 Bf 162 Bf 163 Me 163 Me 164 Fi 166 FK 166 Fi 167 Fi 168 He 170 He 172 He 176 He 177 He 178 Bü 180 Bü 181 Bü 182 Ta 183 Fl 184 Fl 185 Fw 186 Ju 186 Fw 187 Ju 187 Ju 188 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Ao 192 DFS 193 DFS 194 Ar 195 Ar 196 Ar 197 Ar 198 Ar 199 Fw 200

201 to 300	Si 201 Si 202 DFS 203 Si 204 Fw 206 Me 208 Me 209 Me 209 (1943) Me 210 Hü 211 Do 212 Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217 Hs 217 He 219 He 220 BV 222 Fa 223 Fa 224 Ao 225 Fa 225 BV 226 Ho 226 FGP 227 DFS 228 Ho 229 DFS 230 Ar 231 Ar 232 Ar 233 Ar 234 Do 235 BV 237 BV 238 Fw 238 Ar 239 Ar 240 Go 241 Go 242 Go 244 BV 246 Ju 248 BV 250 Fw 250 Ho 250 Ho 251 Ho 252 Ju 252 Fi 253 Ho 253 Ta 254 Ho 254 Fi 256 Sk 257 Fw 261 Me 261 Me 262 Me 263 Me 264 Fl 265 Me 265 Fa 266 Ho 267 Ju 268 Fa 269 He 270 We 271 Fw 272 He 274 He 275 He 277 He 278 He 280 Fl 282 Fa 283 Ta 283 Fa 284 Fl 285 Ju 286 Ju 287 Ju 288 Ju 290 Me 290 As 292 Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Ar 296 Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Fw 300

301-	Me 309 Me 310 Do 317 Do 318 He 319 Me 321 Ju 322 Me 323 Me 328 Me 329 Fa 330 DFS 331 DFS 332 Fi 333 Me 334 Do 335 Fa 336 Fl 339 E.340 WNF 342 He 343 Rk 344 So 344 Go 345 DFS 346 Rk 347 Ba 349 Ju 352 Me 362 Me 364 Ju 388 Ju 390 Fw 391 Ar 396 Ta 400 Me 409 Me 410 Do 417 He 419 ZMe 423 Ar 430 Ka 430 Ar 432 Do 435 Ar 440 Ju 452 Me 462 Ju 488 Fw 491 Me 509 Me 510 He 519 ZSO 523 Ar 532 Do 535 E.555 Me 609 Ar 632 Do 635

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