Junkers Ju.52/3m. Part one

 

The Junkers Ju.52/2m was similar to the company's previous W.33, albeit larger. It was designed in 1930 by aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel  and his team at Junkers factory in Dessau. According to some authors, it was drawn directly upon the Junkers J.I, world's first all-metal aeroplane.

The first prototype was flown on 13th October 1930, under the designation of Ju.52/ba. It was initially powered by a single Junkers-built liquid-cooled V-12 engine which could generate up to 800 hp of power. During the long prototype testing stage, it was re-engined with the BMW IV engine which delivered up to 755 hp of power. The second prototype, denominated Ju.52de, had an increased wingspan and, although it was powered by the BMW IV at first, soon it was replaced with the 750 hp Armstrong Siddeley Leopard which the company bought from British stocks. Consequently, the prototype was renamed as the Ju.52di. This machine was re-engined again with the 750 hp Junkers Jumo 204 and received the denomination of Ju.52do. The third prototype, designated as Ju.52ce, featured an strengthened structure, a modified leading edge and could be fitted with both wheeled and float undercarriages.

In May 1931, during one of test flights, Ju.52cai, one of the prototypes, crashed and was written off. While all those initial prototypes were powered by a single engine, Junkers decided to develop the Ju.52 into a trimotor, and so, the Ju.52/3m (drei motoren - three engines) started development process, being powered by an arrangement of three radial engines. By mid-1930s the Ju.52/3mce and Ju.52/3fe were the two primary production variants, both powered by the BMW 132 radial engine. 

In 1934 work commenced on a militarised model, named Ju.52/3mg3e on behalf of the, back then, secret Luftwaffe. This model could work as a medium bomber and be equipped with two defensive gun turrets if needed, with a crew of four. Between the years 1934 and 1935 a total of 450 Ju.52/3mg3e were delivered to the clandestine Luftwaffe.

In May 1932 Lufthansa, Germany's main airline, took delivery of its first Ju.52/3m. The type was heavily employed by Lufthansa, which covered both Berlin-Rome and Berlin-London routes with the Ju.52/3m as it could complete the first one in just 8 hours, quite a respectable time for the time. Lufthansa's Ju.52 fleet numbered 231 machines at its peak, before World War 2, as it was flown in various routes in Europe, Asia and South America.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52

2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft in Action 186 - Junkers Ju.52 in Action

Junkers Ju.52/3m various European Users

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German cargo aircraft which was widely used all around the globe. It was used, among many other ones, by the following countries:

• Slovak Republic: Two Ju.52/3mg7e were purchased from Germany in 1942 when the Slovak Air Force (SVZ) replaced their old inherited Czechoslovak-made material. They were destined to their flying school. Their fate is not known, but they were most probably destroyed on the ground during an aerial strike. 
• USSR: The Soviet Union employed the Ju.52/3m both before and after World War 2. Before the war, the type was evaluated by the NII-VVS (Soviet Air Force's Technical Research Unit) in 1937. 
  The Soviet State airline, Aeroflot, began operating captured Ju.52/3m on the Perm to Samara aerial route in the summer of 1944. These aircraft were also used to transport sulphur from mines in Central Asia to Soviet factories. Many of them were retrofitted with Soviet RPK-10 radio compasses and remained in active service until the late 1950s.
• Sweden: The Swedish national airline, AB Aerotransport, bought five Ju.52/3m, (according to some sources it was just 5 of them) in 1932. Though the airline's main aircraft was the famous Douglas DC-3, the Ju.52/3m was kept in service for routes from Sweden to Germany. They were extensively used, even during the war years, with neutrality markings. After the War, they served until 1948. 
  In order to prepare the country for a possible invasion during World War 2, the Swedish Air Force hired five Ju.52/3m from Aerotransport which gave them the designation of 'TP-5'. They were employed in many different roles, like cargo, personnel and VIP transport, but also as trainers and some of them were allocated to train the first Swedish paratroopers, though, eventually, they never served as such.
• Yugoslavia: During the very end of World War 2 and the immediate postwar, the Yugoslav Air Force operated some ex-German Ju.52/3m. They were complemented in 1946 with two French-made AAC.1 Toucan which were ordered in late 1945. In 1950 they acquired four more Toucans and two years later they were replaced by the Soviet Lisunov Li-2, the Soviet copy of the Douglas DC-4. The AAC.1s were passed on to JAT, the Yugoslav state airline, which operated the type until 1964. Nowadays one of them is preserved in Belgrade.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

2. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABA (translated)

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB_Aerotransport

4. http://www.vrtulnik.cz/ww2/slovac.htm (translated)

5. http://www.lietadla.com/historia/slov-heinkel.htm (translated)

6. https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2020/04/11/aac-1-toucan-frances-post-wwii-ju-52/

7. https://www.avrosys.nu/aircraft/Transport/255tp5/255Tp5.htm

8. Signal Squadron - Aircraft in Action 186 - Junkers Ju.52 in Action

Beriev MBR-2, part two

 

The Beriev MBR-2bis was an improved version of the regular MBR-2 with a Mikulin AM-34N engine, instead of the original M-17 one. The AM-34N engine could deliver up to 750 hp of power and drove a two-bladed propeller. The MBR-2bis' fuselage was also modified to have an enclosed cockpit, a dorsal gun turret and an enlarged vertical fin. Around 750 units of this variant were manufactured between 1935 and 1940 (some sources claim it was until 1941 though) at aircraft factory No.31, located in the city of Taganrog. 

The first combat usage of the MBR-2bis was in 1938 during the Battle of Lake Khasan. Some MBR-2bis of the Soviet Pacific Fleet stationed in Vladivostok, took off to harass Japanese troops involved in the fighting. 

During the whole Winter and Continuation Wars, the MBR-2 and MBR-2bis belonging to the Soviet Baltic Naval Aviation were thoroughly employed during both conflicts, by both sides as up to five machines, both MBR-2 and MBR-2bis were captured by the Finns, who employed them in various roles, among them anti-submarine patrols, scout, rescue operations and propaganda leaflet bombing in the area of Lake Ladoga. 

They were also widely employed during World War 2, specially on the Black Sea, where they suffered heavy losses because of their weak defensive armament. In 1943 an MBR-2bis of the Caspian flotilla bombed the building of the Communist Party at the city of Elista, in the Kalamyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, when the city was occupied by the Germans, as it was serving as the headquarters for a German division. This attack was emblematic at its time, and was highly propagandised by the Soviet authorities. 

The last operational use of the Beriev MBR-2bis during World War 2 was during the Soviet Invasion of the Southern part of the Sakhalin Island, in August 1945. 

It's reported that when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK - AKA North Korea) was established in September 1948, an unknown number of MBR-2bis was supplied to the newly created North Korean Air Force. Any further report of the MBR-2 in North Korea is unknown, they were probably destroyed during the course of the Korean War, and, as we couldn't find graphical information about it, the drawing should considered as speculative. 

Additionally, the MBR-2bis was also used by Aeroflot in various aerial routes all along the USSR until the late 1940s. 

One machine was experimentally fitted with a Mikulin M-103 engine which drove a three-bladed propeller and served as the basis for the more advanced, though unsuccessful albeit not because of technical reasons, Beriev MBR-7.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_MBR-2

2. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/МБР-2 (translated)

3. https://www.valka.cz/Berijev-MBR-2-M-34-kod-NATO-Mote-t102680

Beriev MBR-2, part one

 

The Beriev MBR-2 was a Soviet multi-roled flying which entered service with Soviet Navy in 1935.

Its design, which was the first aircraft designed by G.M. Beriev, dates back to the early 1930s when Soviet authorities considered there was a great need for short-range seaplanes which would perform the reconnaissance role. Initially, according to early design notes, it was going to be made entirely out of metal, but given the lack of aluminium (which was reserved only for bombers), it was decided to make it out of wood, material which the technical council of the Soviet Navy, gave the green light to work with.

The first prototype was completed in Moscow in 1932 and more machines were manufactured. Official prototype tests lasted from 1934 until 1937 with good handling and flight characteristics, it was considered superior to even some foreign flying-boats of the time like the Supermarine Walrus. The main test pilot was A.A. Ulsen and a Beriev MBR-2 was also the personal plane of Joseph Stalin to assist to a meeting about the Naval Aviation on 5th August 1933. Even if it was repudiated by A.N. Tupolev (maybe the most influential Soviet aircraft designer back in those years), who called it a "floating piece of wood", as the Soviet Navy was in need for a flying boat, and it had not bad flying characteristics, the type was officially adopted.

The initial prototype was powered by an imported BMW VI.Z engine mounted on racks above the main fuselage. Production models, those manufactured from 1934 onwards, were powered by a licensed version of that engine, the Mikulin M-17 which could deliver up to 680 hp of power. This aircraft could be fitted with either skis or wheels to allow it to operate from dry land. 

A commercial airline version, the MP-1 was also designed by Beriev, which served with Aeroflot (Soviet's main airline) and a freighter version in 1936. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_MBR-2

2. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/МБР-2 (translated)

Junkers Ju.52/3m in Spain, part two

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m was widely used during the Spanish Civil War by the Nationalist side and the subsequent Spanish State.

During the initial part of the conflict, a single Ju.52/3mg3e defected on 10th November 1936 to the Republican Side. This aircraft was piloted by Ananías San Juan Alonso, Sergeant of the Nationalist Grupo 22 de Bombardeo (Bombardment Group 22), who flew the Ju.52/3m from Escalona airfield, in Toledo, under Nationalist control to Alcalá de Henares airfield, in Madrid, under Republican control. This defection was made popular at the time by the Republican authorities and the captured Junkers was repainted to show loyalist colours. The fate of this machine is unknown, but was most probably destroyed on ground during a bombardment. San Juan was incorporated to Grupo 12, 1a Escuadrilla (Group 12, 1st Squadron) and flew Tupolev SB-2 bombers until the end of the conflict. After the war, he moved to Mexico where he lived until the end of his days in 1985.

The German Condor Legion, which served to the Nationalist side, had two Ju.52/3mW floatplanes. They were based at Pollença, close to the city of Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands and were used mainly in the transport and observation roles. One of them was destroyed in an accident during a vicious storm and the other one suffered an uncertain fate. Its known that one of them was involved in an aerial fight between two captured Republican Fiat Cr.32 when returning from a reconnaissance flight from Cadiz to Pollença.

After the Spanish Civil War, Iberia (the main Spanish Airline) was refounded in Madrid and in Autumn a new route with Lisbon was opened, served with Ju.52/3m. One year later, Iberia was granted by the Francoist authorities the monopoly of aerial transport of goods and persons inside Spanish lands for the next 20 years. Most of those routes were served by the Ju.52/3m which, although its exact number is unknown, it's estimated that around 75 machines (Iberia's official source places the number between 69 and 90) served with Iberia until 1960.

The Ju.52/3m was still under production after World War 2 in Spain, under the denomination of CASA C-352, but this aircraft will be the subject of its own post in the future.

Sources:

1. http://dbe.rah.es/biografias/95068/ananias-san-juan-alonso (translated)

2. https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=23496.0

3. https://www.facebook.com/fotosiberia/posts/1584431005125652:0 (translated)

4. https://www.iberia.com/es/flota/aviones-historicos/Junkers_JU-52/ (translated)

5. http://falkeeins.blogspot.com/2010/12/spanish-civil-war-ju-52-floatplane.html

Junker Ju.52/3m in Spain, part one

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m was used for the first in a pure military use at the Spanish Civil War, against the Second Spanish Republic. It was one of the first aircraft used by the nationalist faction when, on as early as 20th July 1936 (the conflict started two days earlier, on 18th July) a Lufthansa airplane covering the regular route Bathurst (nowadays Banjul, in Gambia)- Villa Cisneros (Spanish Sahara)- Las Palmas (Canary Islands) registered as D-APOK and named Max von Müller was requisitioned at Gando airfield, in the Canary Islands. It was used to transport to Germany the committee which bought military help for the nationalists. Eight days later, the first out of twenty requested Ju.52/3m arrived together with six additional Heinkel He.51 fighters.

Among the first missions of the type, stands out the first massive airlift in history when around 14.000 troops and 500 tons of material were transported from airfields in Spanish Morocco to Southern Spain in the initial four months of the conflict.

In November 1936 the Ju.52/3m was assigned to the three Staffeln of the Kampfgruppe 88, the bombing unit of the Condor Legion, where it gained a formidable reputation both as bomber and transport. In the bomber role it took part in the infamous Bombing of Guernica, Madrid and other towns and cities in the Spanish Mediterranean coast. By late 1937 the type was considered obsolete as a bomber and, thanks to the effective Polikarpov I-16 of the FARE (Fuerzas Aéreas Repúblicanas Españolas - Spanish Republican Air Force), it was relegated to the night bomber role, before being replaced in the day bomber role by more modern types such as the Heinkel He.111 or the Dornier Do.17. After being replaced, the Ju.52/3m passed on to nationalists units, which formed the Escuadra Nº1 (Squadron No.1) of the Spanish Aerial Brigade. A total of 63 Ju.52/3m (nicknamed as "Pedro" in that country) flew in Spain until the end of the conflict on 1st April 1939 with the final sortie in a bombing mission taking place on 26th March 1939 against the town of Belmez in the province of Córdoba. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52#Military_use_1932–1945

2. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52 (translated)

3. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action

Junkers Ju.52/3m in Portugal

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German transport plane that also served in Portugal and its colonies, though this colonial usage we already covered it in a previous post.

The Ju.52/3m was used in metropolitan Portugal by Aero Portuguesa, which was the first official Portuguese airline with scheduled international flights. The airline was founded in 1934 and shortly later some Ju.52/3m were acquired. They covered various routes between Portugal and French Morocco and later a new link with Brazil was opened. The Ju.52/3m served until 1953 when Aero Portuguesa was merged with TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses - Portuguese Air Transports - the main Portuguese airline nowadays) and the Ju.52/3m were replaced by more modern types.

Regarding its usage by armed forces, to write about the Ju.52/3m in Portugal, is to write about the history of Esquadra 502 (Squadron 502). This unit was founded in 1937 and since December was equipped with Ju.52/3m as it was intended to fulfil the role of night bomber. They were kept in that role until mid 1940s when, given their obsolescence as a bomber, they were redistributed to various units located in Sintra and Ota, all of them close to Lisbon, to serve as aerial transports.

Later, in 1952 the Portuguese paratrooper unit was created in Tancos, dependant on the Portuguese Air Force (PAF) with one Ju.52/3m being assigned to this unit to serve as a paratrooper transport.

On 12th April 1956 a mixed squadron was created with two subordinated flights (though they were flights in name only as they were over-strengthened),  one with 22 Piper L-21 mixed with Airspeed Oxfords intended to serve in the training and liaison role and another one with five Ju.52/3m to serve in the pure transport role. This squadron was disbanded in December 1959 in order to be reformed and create the Esquadra de Instruçao Complementar de Pilotagem e Navegaçao em Aviôes Pesados (EICPNAP - Complementary Instruction Squadron for Piloting and Navigation in Heavy Airplanes) whose purpose was to train pilots for paratroop drops. In order to keep the Ju.52/3m active for longer time, two of them were retrofitted with Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engines.

The EICPNAP was reinforced during November and December of 1960 with 15 additional AAC.1 Toucan machines bought directly from France in order to increase the amount of trained paratroopers to fight in the tumultuous Portuguese colonies of Angola, Guinea and Mozambique. In late 1963 the EICPNAP was disbanded only tu be succeded by the Esquadra de Treino e Transporte de Tropas Pára-quedistas (ETTP - Paratroop Training and Transport Squadron) which was a change in name only as their location, aircraft and mission was maintained. Shortly after this change, the old Ju.52/3m and Amiots were replaced by American Douglas Dakota C-47.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

2. https://esquadra.emfa.pt/link-502-005.002.001.002.001-junkers-ju-52 (translated)

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Portuguesa

4. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action

Junkers Ju.52/3m in Switzerland

 The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German cargo plane that was manufactured from 1931 until the early 1950s, though not by Junkers from 1945 onwards and saw service with numerous users all around the globe.

Switzerland was one of those users when in October 1939, the Swiss Air Force received three Ju.52/3mg4e for navigator and observer training duties. Those three Junkers, which bore the serial numbers 6580, 6595 and 6610, were re-registered in Swiss registrations, A-701/HB-HOS, A-702/ HB-HOT and A-703/HB-HOP respectively.

They were employed in transport duties apart from their original training purpose. 

After World War 2, they suffered some minor alterations; the main landing gears were replaced with those built by Amiot for the AAC.1 Toucan and the tail wheel was replaced with spare nose wheels from De Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.6 which Switzerland bought in 1946. The Swiss Junkers were kept in active with the Swiss Air Force until September 1982, for 43 straight years.

All three of them were sold to the company Ju-Air at Dübendorf, which also bought additional CASA 352/A. One of the original Ju.52/3mg4e, HB-HOT suffered an unfortunate crash on 4th August 2018 when on a sightseeing flight, killing all 20 people on board.

 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_the_Swiss_Air_Force

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_Junkers_Ju_52

4. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action  186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action