Nicknamed
‘Dreifinger’ (Three Fingers - due to its long engine cowlings)
Manufacturer
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG
Designed by
Ernst Zindel (1935 - 1936)
Role
Tactical / dive / torpedo bomber, night / heavy fighter, reconnaissance aircraft
Crew
4 (pilot, bombardier/front gunner, radio operator/rear gunner, navigator/ventral gunner)
Engine
2 × Junkers Jumo 211J-1 or 211J-2
V-12 liquid-cooled inverted piston engines
Engine Power
Takeoff power: 1,000 kW (1,340 hp) each
790 kW (1,060 hp) at 5,200 m (17,000 ft)
Max level speed
470 km/h (290 mph) at 5,300 m (17,390 ft)
Cruising speed
370 km/h (230 mph, 200 kn) at 5,300 m (17,390 ft)
Climb rate
Initial: 6.66 m/s (1,320 ft/min)
At sea level: 7.0 m/s (1,378 feet/min)
At 3,000 m (9,843 feet): 5.1 m/s (1,004 feet/min)
At 6,000 m (1,9685 feet): 3.4 m/s (669 feet/min)
Time to altitude
5,400 m (17,700 ft) in 23 minutes
Service Ceiling
8,200 m (26,900 ft)
Range
1,790 km (1,112 miles) on internal fuel
Empty Weight
9,860 kg (21,737 lbs)
Max. Takeoff Weight
14,000 kg (30,865 lbs)
Wing Span
20 m (65ft 7.5 in)
Wing Area
54.5 m² (586.6 ft²)
Length
14.4m (47 ft 2.75 in)
Height
4.85m (15 ft 11 in)
Armament
1 × 7.92 mm MG 81J machine gun on flexible mount in front windscreen, firing forward with 1,000 rounds: velocity of 705 meters per second (2,310 feet per second)
AND 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81J machine gun on flexible mount in lower fuselage nose glazing, firing forward with 1,000 rounds: velocity of 705 meters per second (2,310 feet per second)
AND 2 × 7.92 mm MG 81J machine guns on flexible mount in the rear of the cockpit canopy, firing aft with 1,000 rounds: velocity of 705 meters per second (2,310 feet per second)
AND 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81Z twin machine gun on flexible mount in the rear ventral Bola position with 1,000 rounds: velocity of 705 meters per second (2,310 feet per second)
Up to 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) of ordnance internally in two bomb bays rated at 900 kg (2,000 lb) and 500 kg (1,100 lb) OR up to 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) externally.
Data for version
Junkers Ju 88A-4
First combat mission
The Invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939)
Final delivery (all variants)
1945
Production Variants
Ju 88A-0/A-17, Ju 88B/B-0 (bomber), Ju 88C-1, Ju C-2, Ju C-4, Ju C-5, Ju C-6a, Ju C-6b, Ju C-6c, Ju C-7a, Ju C-7b, Ju C-7c, Ju 88R-1, Ju R-2, Ju 88D-1 to D-5 (reconnaissance), Ju 88G (night fighter), Ju 88H, Ju H-1, Ju H-2, Ju 88P-1 to P-4, Ju 88S (bomber), Ju 88T (reconnaissance).
