The Ju.52/3mg7e was an improved variant which included various improvements. It was developed from the previous g5e version and had an enlarged starboard cargo loading hatch in order to load and unload heavier and bulkier items. The roof hatch was deleted on this variant and a Siemens K4ü autopilot was installed to ease pilots' workload on longer flights. It was developed in 1941 and was armed with two 7.92 mm MG 15 machine guns, one placed in an opened aft dorsal position, another one placed inside a Condor-Haube (Condor Hood) turret in the cockpit's overhead glazing, plus two additional MG 15s in the windows at the sides (which, in some earlier variants were ad-hoc installed in the windows).
The Ju.52/3mg8e was also began to be developed in 1941. Overall it was similar to the previous g7e, but it had the Condor-Haube removed and was powered by three more powerful BMW 132Z radial engines. In some machines, the dorsal machine gun was replaced by the 13 mm MG 131. Both the g7e and the g8e were the most produced variant from 1941 until late 1942.
The g9e was a tropicalized variant of the g4e. It was equipped with dust filters and other equipment for desert operations, along with a cabin air inlet. This variant was also known as Ju.52/3mg4e (trop).
The Ju.52/3mg10e superseded the previous g8e in 1942. It was equipped with the smaller starboard cargo door seen already on the g4e. The narrower hatch allowed Junkers to revert to five cabin windows from the g8e's three. This version lacked de-icing equipment.
The Ju.52/3mg11e reinstated the de-icing equipment. Otherwise, it was identical to the g10e.
The Ju.52/3mg12e was built in very small numbers and featured extra armour to protect the flight crew.
The Ju.52/3mg13e was purposely omitted due to the association of that number with bad luck.
Ju.52/3mg14e was the last production variant of the German Ju.52. It featured armour plating all around the cockpit to protect both pilot and co-pilot, was armed with a single 13 mm MG 131 and two 7,92 mm MG 15 in the beam positions. This variant entered production in late 1943 and continued until late 1944. It was powered by three BMW 132L radial engines, delivering each of them up to 830 hp of power with an extra air inlet added under each engine to increase the airflow into the carburetor. Exhausts were also different as its upper one was located behind the cowling and the lower one was extended aft. Most of them had also a small antenna on the upper fuselage, but lacked a direction finding loop-one. Landing gear struts, untouched since the g3e, were also reinforced.
The Ju.52/3mMS were various g4e to g7e converted into mine sweepers. They were mounted with a 14 meters (45.93 ft) diameter duraluminium Gauss ring which was energised by a 270 ampere electrical generator, powered itself by a 55 hp Mercedes engine mounted inside the fuselage and cooled by an extra inlet, placed in front of the main landing gear struts. As we wrote, this variant was used for the first time in November 1940 off the coast of Holland and was used all along the Atlantic, Baltic and North Adriatic coasts. Seventy-four machines of this variant were assigned to the Minensuchgruppe 1 in November 1943, six of which were deployed to Hungary in April 1944, to detonate mines dropped into the Danube river. By the beginning of 1945 most Ju.52/3m MS were grounded by the lack of fuel.
One of the many last operations the Ju.52 was involved on, which if often overlooked, was the Operation Hannibal, the evacuation of the Courland Peninsula, in May 1945 which lasted until the very VE-Day on 8th May 1945.
Nowadays, Lufthansa has one restored operational Ju.52, though powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, which in 1984 received the registration of D-AQUI.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airworthy_Ju_52s
3. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZCsTUP6-A8
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