Junkers Ju 390

Ju 390
Ju 390
	Abandoned Junkers Ju 390
General information
Type	Long range transport/maritime reconnaissance/bomber
Manufacturer	Junkers
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Number built	2 (V2 never flew)
History
Introduction date	1943
First flight	20 October 1943
Retired	1945
Developed from	Junkers Ju 290

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

Design and development

Two prototypes were created by attaching an extra pair of inner-wing segments to the wings of Ju 290 airframes and adding new sections to lengthen the fuselages. The first prototype, 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 in early 1944 for six more prototypes (Ju 390 V2 to V7) and 20 examples of the intended production version. to be named Ju 390 A-1. None of these had been built by the time that the project was cancelled (along with Ju 290 production) in mid-1944.^[3]

Operational history

The Ju 390 V1 was constructed and largely assembled at Junkers' plant at Dessau in Germany and the first test flight took place on 20 October 1943.^[4] This was done by adding an additional wing section and engines and adding a fuselage section immediately aft of the wings to increase the length to 31 m (102 ft). Its performance was satisfactory enough that the Air Ministry ordered six additional prototypes (Ju 390 V2 to V7) and 20 examples of the intended Ju 390A-1 production version. On 29 June 1944, the Luftwaffe Quartermaster General noted that the RLM paid Junkers to complete the first seven Ju 390 prototypes.^[5]^[3] The contracts for the Ju 390 V2 to V7 and production aircraft were cancelled on 20 June 1944 and all work ceased in September 1944, and the Ju 390 V2 would never be built. On 26 November 1943, the Ju 390 V1 — with many other new aircraft and prototypes — was shown to Adolf Hitler at Insterburg, East Prussia.^[6] According to the logbook of former Junkers test pilot Hans-Joachim Pancherz, the Ju 390 V1 was brought to Prague immediately after it had been displayed at Insterburg and took part in a number of test flights, which continued until March 1944, including tests of aerial refueling.^[3] 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.

The Ju 390A-1 would have had a fuselage 2.5 m (8.2 ft) longer than that of the Ju 390 V1 for a total of length of 33.5 m (110 ft) and it was 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] Green (1970) wrote that the armament was four 20 mm MG 151/20s and three 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns. At a hearing before British authorities on 26 September 1945, Professor Heinrich Hertel, chief designer and technical director of Junkers Aircraft & Motor Works, asserted the Ju 390 V2 had never been completed.^[8] German author Friedrich Georg claimed in his book that test pilot Oberleutnant Joachim Eisermann flew the Ju 390 V2 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, and that a second 20-minute flight was used to ferry the prototype to Lärz.^[9] Kay (2004) stated that the second Ju 390 prototype was discarded without being flown because of a July 1944 RLM decree sanctioning an end to all large combat plane programs in Nazi Germany in favor of the Emergency Fighter Program.^[10] Pancherz himself stated in 1980 that only the first Ju 390 flew and cast doubt on all claims of the Ju 390 making a test flight to the vicinity of New York City.^[11]

Alleged flights

South Africa flight

A speculative article in the British Daily Telegraph newspaper in 1969 titled "Lone Bomber Raid on New York Planned by Hitler", in which Hans Pancherz reportedly claimed to have made a test flight from Germany to Cape Town in early 1944.^[12]^[13] Author James P. Duffy has carried out extensive research into this claim, which has proved fruitless.

New York flight

A letter published in the 11 November 1955 issue of the British magazine RAF Flying Review (of which aviation writer William Green was an editor) claimed that two Ju 390s had made a flight to America, including a one-hour stay over New York City. The magazine's editors were skeptical of the claim. 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 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]^[14] This was rejected just after the war by British authorities.^[15] Aviation historian Dr. Kenneth P. Werrell states that the story of the flight originated in General Report on Aircraft Engines and Aircraft Equipment, two British intelligence reports from August 1944, which were based in part on the interrogation of prisoners. 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 been found.^[13]

The claimed flight was mentioned in many books following the RAF Flying Review account, including Green's respected Warplanes of the Second World War (1968) and Warplanes of the Third Reich (1970) but without ever citing sources.^[1] Further authors then cited Green's books as their source for the claimed flight. Werrell told Duffy that Green had said many years later that he no longer placed "much credence" in the flight.^[16] Werrell later examined the data regarding the range of the Ju 390 and concluded that although a great circle round trip from France to St. John's, Newfoundland was possible, adding another 3,830 km (2,380 mi) for a round trip from St. John's to Long Island made the flight "most unlikely".^[17]

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 aircraft in existence, Kössler and Ott note it was nowhere near France at the time when the flight was supposed to have taken place.^[3] They also assert that the Ju 390 V1 was unlikely to have been capable of taking off with the fuel load necessary for such a long flight due to concerns about the strength of its structure; it would have required a takeoff weight of 65 t (72 short tons), while the maximum takeoff weight during its trials had been 34 t (37 short tons) though prototypes are never flown at maximum gross weight until testing can determine the aircraft's handling. According to Kössler and Ott, the Ju 390 V2 could not have made the flight since it was not completed before September/October 1944.^[3]

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 non-stop via the polar route.^[18] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Variants

Ju 390 V1

First prototype.

Ju 390 V2 to V7

Second to seventh prototypes, none completed.

Ju 390 A-1

Planned production version for long-range heavy bomber, heavy transport, maritime patrol roles.

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 A-1)

Data from The warplanes of the Third Reich^[19]

General characteristics

Crew: 10
Capacity: 10,000 kg (22,046 lb) typical freighter payload
Length: 34.201 m (112 ft 2.5 in)
Wingspan: 50.32 m (165 ft 1 in)
Height: 6.88 m (22 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 253.600 m² (2,729.73 sq ft)
Empty weight: 36,900 kg (81,350 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 75,500 kg (166,450 lb)
Fuel capacity: 34,096 L (9,007 US gal; 7,500 imp gal)
Powerplant: 6 × BMW 801E 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,470 kW (1,970 hp) each for take-off

1,300 kW (1,740 hp) at 1,970 m (6,450 ft)

1,090 kW (1,460 hp) at 6,200 m (20,340 ft)

Propellers: 3-bladed VDM constant-speed propellers

Performance

Maximum speed: 505 km/h (314 mph, 273 kn) at 6,200 m (20,340 ft)
Cruise speed: 357 km/h (222 mph, 193 kn) at 2,500 m (8,200 ft)
Range: 8,000 km (4,970 mi, 4,320 nmi) Ju 390 V1 with 10,000 kg (22,046 lb) payload and 34,096 L (9,007 US gal; 7,500 imp gal) fuel at 330 km/h (210 mph; 180 kn) and 2,000 m (6,500 ft)
Combat range: 9,704 km (6,030 mi, 5,240 nmi) (reconnaissance mission)
Combat range (bomber mission): 9,254 km (5,750 mi; 4,997 nmi) with 1,930 kg (4,255 lb) bomb load

Armament

Guns: (proposed)
- 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon 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 × MG 131 Hecklafette HL 131V quadmount manned turrets, one in tail and one in nose.
Hardpoints: 4 with a capacity of 3,968 lb (1,800 kg) each
Missiles: 4 × Henschel Hs 293 or

4 × Henschel Hs 294 or

4 × FX 1400 Fritz-X

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Green 1970, p. 519.
^ Griehl and Dressel 1998, pp. 197–199.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Kössler and Ott 1993
^ Duffy 2004, p. 54.
^ Griehl 2006 ^{[page needed]}
^ Sweeting 2001, p. 220.
^ Griehl and Dressel 1998, p. 191.
^ Georg 2000
^ Georg 2003, p. 14.
^ Kay, Anthony L. (2004). Junkers aircraft and engines, 1913-1945 (1st ed.). London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. p. 202-203. ISBN 0851779859.
^ Gunston, Bill, 1991. Giants of the Sky: The Largest Aeroplanes of All Time. Sparkford, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited.
^ Daily Telegraph, 2 September 1969.
^ ^a ^b Duffy 2004, p. 115.
^ Staerck et al. 2002, pp. 202–203.
^ Bukowski and Müller 1995 ^{[page needed]}
^ 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.
^ Green, William (1972). The warplanes of the Third Reich (1st ed.). London: Doubleday. pp. 519–520. ISBN 0385057822.

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 Publishing, 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.

External links

[green519-1] Green 1970, p. 519.

[2] Griehl and Dressel 1998, pp. 197–199.

[kossler-3] Kössler and Ott 1993

[duffy54-4] Duffy 2004, p. 54.

[5] Griehl 2006 ^{[page needed]}

[6] Sweeting 2001, p. 220.

[7] Griehl and Dressel 1998, p. 191.

[8] Georg 2000

[9] Georg 2003, p. 14.

[10] Kay, Anthony L. (2004). Junkers aircraft and engines, 1913-1945 (1st ed.). London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. p. 202-203. ISBN 0851779859.

[11] Gunston, Bill, 1991. Giants of the Sky: The Largest Aeroplanes of All Time. Sparkford, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited.

[12] Daily Telegraph, 2 September 1969.

[duffy115-13] Duffy 2004, p. 115.

[14] Staerck et al. 2002, pp. 202–203.

[15] Bukowski and Müller 1995 ^{[page needed]}

[duffy114-16] Duffy 2004, p. 114.

[17] Werrell, Kenneth P. "World War II German Long Distance Flights: Fraud or Record?" Aerospace Historian, Volume 35, Issue 2, Summer/June 1988.

[odonnell-18] O'Donnell 2001, pp. 308–309.

[Green-19] Green, William (1972). The warplanes of the Third Reich (1st ed.). London: Doubleday. pp. 519–520. ISBN 0385057822.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

v t e Junkers aircraft
Company designations	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 J 49 A 50 K 51 K 53 K 85
Company EF designations (experimental aircraft)	EF 29 EF 31 EF 52 EF 61 EF 72 EF 73 EF 74 EF 77 EF 94 EF 126 EF 127 EF 128 EF 130 EF 131 EF 132 EF 140 EF 150
Idflieg designations	CL.I CLS.I D.I E.I E.I (2) J.I
RLM designations	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 452 Ju 488 Ju 635

v t e Reich Air Ministry (RLM) aircraft designations (list)
1 to 100	8-1¹ Fi 2 8-3¹ 8-4¹ Fi 5 DFS 6 8-7¹ Gö 8 Gö 9 Do 10 Do 11/Wn 11 8-12⁴/Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Do 16/Wn 16 Do 17 Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 8-21¹ Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Do 25³/Kl 25 Do 26/Kl 26 8-27/Do 27³/Kl 27⁵ 8-28¹ 8-29/Do 29 Fw 30 Kl 31 Kl 32 Ju 33 Ju 34 Kl 35 Kl 36 He 37³ He 38/Ju 38 DFS 39 BV 40/DFS 40 He 41³ Fw 42/He 42 Fw 43 Fw 44 He 45 He 46/Ju 46 Fw 47/He 47 Ju 48 He 49/Ju 49 He 50/Ju 50 He 51 He 52/Ju 52 Ju 53 DFS 54/NR 54 Fw 55/NR 55 Fw 56 8-57⁴/Fw 57 Fw 58/He 58 He 59 He 60/Ju 60 Fa 61/Fw 61/He 61 Fw 62/He 62 8-63⁴/He 63 Ar 64/He 64 Ar 65/He 65 Ar 66/He 66 Ar 67 Ar 68 Ar 69 He 70 8-71⁴/He 71 He 72 He 73³ He 74 Al 75 Ar 76/FZG 76⁶ Ar 77 Ar 78³ Ar 79 Ar 80 Ar 81 8-82⁴ 8-83¹ Al 84 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ju 91³ Ju 92 Ju 93³ Ju 94³ Ar 95 Ar 96 Fi 97 Fi 98 Fi 99 Fi 100³/He 100
101 to 200	Al 101 Al 102 Al 103/Fi 103 R Fh 104 Kl 105 Kl 106 Kl 107 Bf 108 Bf 109/Bf 109R⁶ Bf 110 He 111/He 111U⁶ He 112 He 113⁶ He 114 He 115 He 116 He 117³/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 Bü 132³/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 148³ Go 149 Go 150 Kl 151 Kl 152/Ta 152 Kl 153³/Ta 153 Kl 154³/Ta 154 BV 155/Kl 155³/Me 155 Fi 156 Fi 157 Fi 158 Fw 159 Ju 160 Bf 161 Bf 162/He 162 Bf 163/Li 163/Me 163 Me 164/MeC 164 Bf 165 Fi 166/FK 166 Fi 167 Fi 168 Fi 169³ He 170 He 171³ He 172 He 173³ He 174³ 8-175⁴ He 176 He 177 He 178 He 179⁵ Bü 180/He 180 Bü 181 Bü 182 Bü 183³/Ta 183 Fl 184 Fl 185 Fw 186/Ju 186 Fw 187/Ju 187² Fw 188³/Ju 188 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Ao 192 Ao 193³/DFS 193 DFS 194/Me 194 Ar 195 Ar 196 Ar 197 Ar 198 Ar 199 Do 200^4,6/Fw 200
201 to 300	Si 201 Si 202 DFS 203 Si 204 8-205¹ Fw 206 8-207¹ Me 208 Me 209 (I)/Me 209 (II) Me 210 Hü 211 8-212⁴/Do 212 8-213¹ Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217/Hs 217 Do 218³ He 219 He 220 Do 221³ BV 222 Fa 223 Fa 224 Ao 225/Fa 225 BV 226/Ho 226 FGP 227 DFS 228 Go 229/Ho 229 8-230/DFS 230 Ar 231 Ar 232 Ar 233 Ar 234 Do 235⁵ Fa 236³ BV 237 BV 238 8-239¹ Ar 240 Go 241 Go 242 Me 243³ Go 244 Go 245³ BV 246 8-247¹ Ju 248 BV 250/Ho 250 Ho 251 Ho 252 Ju 252 Fi 253/Ho 253 Ho 254/Ta 254 8-255¹ Fi 256 SK 257 8-258¹ Fw 259 8-260¹ Me 261/Me 261w Me 262 Me 263 (1941)/Me 263 (1942)/Me 263 (1945) Me 264 Fl 265/Me 265 Fa 266/Go 266³ Ho 267 Ju 268 Fa 269 He 270 We 271 He 272³ He 273³ He 274 He 275⁵ He 276³ He 277 He 278 He 279³ He 280 He 281³ Fl 282 Fa 283 Fa 284 Fl 285 Ju 286 Ju 287 Do 288^4,6/Ju 288 Ju 289³ Ju 290 Hs 291 As 292/Hs 292³ Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Ar 296/Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Ju 299³ Fw 300
301 to 349	DFS 301 8-302¹ 8-303¹ 8-304¹ 8-305¹ 8-306¹ 8-307¹ 8-308¹ Me 309 Zwilling Me 310 8-311¹ 8-312¹ 8-313⁴ 8-314¹ Hs 315 8-316¹ Do 317 Do 318 He 319 Me 320³ Me 321 Ju 322 Me 323/ZMe 323 8-324¹ Fa 325/Fw 325³ 8-326¹ Me 327 Me 328 Me 329 Fa 330 DFS 331 DFS 332 Fi 333 Ar 334³/Me 334 Do 335 Fa 336 Ju 337³ 8-338¹ Fl 339 Ar 340 8-341 WNF 342 He 343 Rk 344/So 344⁵ Go 345 DFS 346 Rk 347 8-348¹ Ba 349
Post-349 (non-sequential)	Ju 352 Fi 356/Ju 356 Me 362 Me 364² Me 368³ Ju 388 Ju 390 Fw 391 Ar 393³ Ar 396 Ta 400 Me 409 Me 410 Do 417 He 419 ZMe 423 Ar 430/Ka 430 Ar 432 Do 435 Ar 440 8-445⁴ DFS 446 Ju 452 Me 462² DFS 468 Ju 488 Fw 491 He 500 Me 509 Me 510 He 519 8-520⁴ ZSO 523 Ar 532 8-534⁴ Do 535/He 535 Me 600² Me 609 Ar 632 Do 635/He 635/Ju 635
¹ Not assigned ² Unofficial/proposed ³ Assigned, but not used before RLM was dissolved ⁴ Assigned to captured aircraft ⁵ Unconfirmed ⁶ Propaganda/cover designation Note: Official RLM designations had the prefix "8-", but this was usually dropped and replaced with the manufacturer's prefix.