The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Ge ...
.
Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German
aeronautical engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...
Ernst Zindel. The aircraft's design incorporated a
corrugated
The term corrugated, describing a series of parallel ridges and furrows, may refer to the following:
Materials
*Corrugated fiberboard, also called corrugated cardboard
*Corrugated galvanised iron, a building material composed of sheets of cold-r ...
duralumin
Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of ''Dürener'' and ''aluminium''.
Its ...
metal skin as a strengthening measure, which was very unusual at the time. The Ju 52's
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
was performed on 13 October 1930. It was initially designed with a single engine, however, it was produced in quantity as a
trimotor
A trimotor is an aircraft powered by three engines and represents a compromise between complexity and safety and was often a result of the limited power of the engines available to the designer. Many trimotors were designed and built in the 1920s ...
. The primary early production model, the ''Ju 52/3m'', was principally operated as a 17-seat airliner or utility transport aircraft by various civil operators during the 1930s. Following the rise of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, thousands of Ju 52s were procured as a staple military transport of the nation. The ''Ju 52/3mg7e'' was the principal production model.
The Ju 52 was in production between 1931 and 1952. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 airlines, including
Swissair
Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.
It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
and
Deutsche Luft Hansa
''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and t ...
, as both a passenger carrier and a freight hauler. In a military role, large numbers flew with the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
, being deployed on virtually all fronts of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
as a troop and cargo transport; it was also briefly used as a
medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
. Additionally, the type was deployed by other nation's militaries in conflicts such as the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, the
Chaco War
The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõ[Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...](_blank)
. During the
postwar
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...
era, the Ju 52 had a lengthy service life with numerous military and civilian operators; large numbers were still in use by the 1980s. Even in the 21st century, several aircraft have remained operational, typically used for purposes such as heritage aviation displays and aerial sightseeing.
Development
The Ju 52 was similar to the company's previous
Junkers W 33
The Junkers W 33 was a German 1920s single-engine low-wing monoplane transport aircraft that followed Junkers standard practice making extensive use of corrugated aluminium alloy over an aluminium alloy tube frame, that was developed from the s ...
, although larger. In 1930, German
aeronautical engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...
Ernst Zindel and his team designed the Ju 52 at the
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Ge ...
works at
Dessau. According to aviation author J. Richard Smith, the Ju 52 directly drew upon the company's
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
-era
Junkers J 1
The Junkers J 1, nicknamed the ''Blechesel'' ("Tin Donkey" or "Sheet Metal Donkey"), was an experimental monoplane aircraft developed by Junkers & Co. It was the world's first all-metal aircraft.
Manufactured early on in the First World War, ...
- the world's first all-metal aeroplane.
[Smith 1966, p. 3.]
On 13 October 1930, the first prototype, designated ''Ju 52ba'', performed the type's
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
; it was initially powered by a single Junkers-built liquid-cooled
V-12 engine, capable of generating up to 800 hp.
During the aircraft's extensive trials, it was reengined with a 755 hp
BMW IV
The BMW IV was a six-cylinder, water-cooled inline aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. Power was in the 180 kW (250 hp) range.
World record
On 17 June 1919 Franz Zeno Diemer flew a DFW F37, powered by a BMW IV engine to ...
water-cooled inline-6 powerplant. The second prototype, designated ''Ju 52de'', featured an increased wing span and was powered by the BMW IV engine at first; it was soon reengined with the 750 hp 14-cylinder twin-row air-cooled radial
Armstrong Siddeley Leopard
The Armstrong Siddeley Leopard was a British 14-cylinder twin-row air-cooled radial aero engine developed in 1927 by Armstrong Siddeley. It was the most powerful radial engine in the world when introduced.
Variants
;Leopard I
:700 hp, medium ...
and re-designated ''Ju 52di''.
Later on, the Ju 52di was again reengined with the 750 hp
Junkers Jumo 204
The Jumo 204 was an opposed-piston, inline, liquid-cooled 6-cylinder aircraft Diesel engine produced by the German manufacturer Junkers. It entered service in 1932. Later engines in the series, the Jumo 205, Jumo 206, Jumo 207 and Jumo 208, dif ...
air-cooled inverted inline-6, after which it was re-designated ''Ju 52do''. The third prototype, designated ''Ju 52ce'', had a strengthened structure, a modified
leading edge
The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...
, and was fitted with both a wheeled and
float
Float may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Albums
* ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000
* ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008
* ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013
Songs
* "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022
* "Float", by Bush ...
undercarriages.
During May 1931, one of the prototypes, designated ''Ju 52cai'', was written off after a crash.
[Smith 1966, pp. 3-4.] While these initial aircraft had been powered by a single engine, Junkers decided to develop the Ju 52 into a
trimotor
A trimotor is an aircraft powered by three engines and represents a compromise between complexity and safety and was often a result of the limited power of the engines available to the designer. Many trimotors were designed and built in the 1920s ...
configuration. Accordingly, the ''Ju 52/3m'' (''drei motoren''—"three engines") was developed, being powered by an arrangement of three
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
s.
According to Smith, the earliest known Ju 52/3m was delivered to
Bolivian airline
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano S.A.M. (abbreviated LAB and internationally known as LAB Airlines), was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. Before its demise it was headquartered in Cochabamba ...
during 1932. During its initial production years, airlines were the type's most common customers.
By the mid-1930s, the ''Ju 52/3mce'' and ''Ju 52/3fe'', were the two primary production variants, both being powered by the
BMW 132
The BMW 132 was a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by BMW starting in 1933.
Design and development
BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder mode ...
radial engine.
[Smith 1966, p. 4.]
During 1934, work commenced on a militarised model of the Ju 52/3m, designated ''Ju 52/3mg3e'', on behalf of the then-secret
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
.
This model could function as a
medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
, being furnished with a pair of
defensive gun turrets and operated by a crew of four. Between 1934 and 1935, a total of 450 Ju 52/3mg3e aircraft were delivered to the Luftwaffe.
Numerous improved models would be introduced prior to and during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. The dominant production model was the ''Ju 52/3mg7e'', featuring advances such as an
autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
, enlarged doors to the cabin, and other general enhancements.
It was configured as a pure transport aircraft, being capable of carrying up to 18 fully-equipped troops. Defensive armaments comprised a dorsal-mounted 13 mm
MG 131 machine gun
The MG 131 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr'' 131, or "Machine gun 131") was a German 13 mm caliber machine gun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig and produced from 1940 to 1945. The MG 131 was designed for use at fixed, flexible ...
and a pair of sideways-mounted 7.9mm
MG 15
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops.
History
The MG 1 ...
machine guns.
[Smith 1966, p. 6.] Successive models saw other improvements, such as revised glazing, newer engines, undercarriage strengthening, and increased take-off weight. The final wartime model to be developed, designated ''Ju 52/3mg14e'', featured improved armour protection for the pilot and a bolstered defensive armament.
[Smith 1966, pp. 6-7.]
From mid-1943 onwards, the Luftwaffe began to make less use of the Ju 52, interest having waned in the type.
German officials were interested in procuring a successor to the type; at one stage, the
Reich Air Ministry
The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...
showed enthusiasm for the
Junkers Ju 352
The Junkers Ju 352 ''Herkules'' ("Hercules" in German) was a German World War II transport aircraft that was developed from the Junkers Ju 252.
Design and development
During the late spring of 1942, the Junkers-Dessau project office was instruc ...
, a larger transport aircraft somewhat resembling the Ju 52. Actions were taken to convert Junkers' Ju 52 production lines to instead manufacture Ju 352s; however,
the conflict's end in May 1945 led to the effort being abandoned in an unfinished state.
[Smith 1966, p. 13.] As such, German production of the Ju 52 was terminated during 1944; Smith claims that a total of 3,234 aircraft of various models were constructed during the conflict.
[Smith 1966, p. 7.]
In the
postwar
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...
era, manufacture of the Ju 52 resumed, albeit in foreign countries.
It was constructed in France by
Avions Amiot
Avions Amiot was a former France, French aircraft manufacturer. The company was formed in 1916 by Félix Amiot as the Society of Mechanical Drawing and Construction (SECM).
History
Félix Amiot's first aircraft was built in a Paris garage in 19 ...
as the ''Amiot AAC.1 Toucan''; it was also produced in Spain by
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) as the ''CASA 352''. A handful of captured wartime aircraft were also rebuilt by
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...
of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
for civilian service.
Design
![Junkers Ju 52-3mg2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Junkers_Ju_52-3mg2.jpg)
The Ju 52 had a low
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
wing, the midsection of which was built into the
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...
, forming its underside.
It was formed around four pairs of circular cross-section duralumin
spar
SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...
s with a corrugated surface that provided torsional stiffening. A narrow control surface, with its outer section functioning as the
aileron, and the inner section functioning as a
flap
Flap may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film
* Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis''
* Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland''
Biology and he ...
, ran along the whole
trailing edge
The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 199 ...
of each wing panel, well separated from it. The inner flap section lowered the stalling speed and the arrangement became known as the ''Doppelflügel'', or "double wing".
[Jackson 1960, p. 100.] The outer sections of this operated differentially as
ailerons, projecting slightly beyond the wingtips with control horns. The strutted
horizontal stabilizer carried horn-balanced
elevator
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...
s which again projected and showed a significant gap between them and the stabilizer, which was adjustable in-flight. All stabilizer surfaces were corrugated.
![JU 52](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Junkers_Ju_52_3-view.svg)
The Ju 52 featured an unusual corrugated
duralumin
Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of ''Dürener'' and ''aluminium''.
Its ...
metal skin, which had been pioneered by Junkers during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; the corrugation served to strengthen the whole structure over a smoother approach.
The fuselage was of rectangular section with a domed decking, comprising a tubular steel structure that was entirely covered by the corrugated metal skin.
A port-side passenger door was placed just aft of the wings; this entrance also acted as a loading hatch for freight, the lower half functioning as a platform to ease cargo movements. The cabin had a dimensional capacity of 590 cubic feet, and was lined with numerous windows stretching forward to the pilots'
cockpit.
The main
undercarriage was fixed and divided; some aircraft had wheel
fairings, others did not. A fixed tailskid, or a later tailwheel, was used. Some aircraft were fitted with floats or skis instead of the main wheels.
In its original configuration, designated the ''Ju 52/1m'', the Ju 52 was a single-engined aircraft, powered by either a
BMW IV
The BMW IV was a six-cylinder, water-cooled inline aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. Power was in the 180 kW (250 hp) range.
World record
On 17 June 1919 Franz Zeno Diemer flew a DFW F37, powered by a BMW IV engine to ...
or Junkers liquid-cooled
V-12 engine. However, the single-engined model was deemed to have been underpowered and, after seven
prototypes had been completed, all subsequent Ju 52s were built with three
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
s as the ''Ju 52/3m'' (''drei motoren''—"three engines"). Originally powered by three
Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet
The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displacemen ...
radial engines, later production models mainly received 574 kW (770 hp)
BMW 132
The BMW 132 was a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by BMW starting in 1933.
Design and development
BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder mode ...
engines, a licence-built refinement of the Pratt & Whitney design. Export models were also built with 447 kW (600 hp)
Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp
The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp ser ...
and 578 kW (775 hp)
Bristol Pegasus VI engines.
The two wing-mounted radial engines of the Ju 52/3m had half-
chord cowling
A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...
s and in planform view (from above/below) appeared to be splayed outwards, being mounted at an almost perpendicular angle to the tapered wing's sweptback leading edge (in a similar fashion to the
Mitsubishi G3M
The was a Japanese bomber and transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during World War II.
The Yokosuka L3Y (Allied reporting name "Tina"), was a transport variant of the aircraft manufactured by the Yokosu ...
bomber and
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North Ea ...
; the angled engines on the Ju 52 were intended to make maintaining straight flight easier should an engine fail, while the others had different reasons). The three engines had either
Townend ring
A Townend ring is a narrow- chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling.
Development
The Townend ring was the invention of Dr. Hubert Townend of the British National Physica ...
or NACA cowlings to reduce drag from the engine cylinders, although a mixture of the two was most common (as can be seen in many of the accompanying photographs), with deeper-chord NACA cowlings on the wing engines and a narrow Townend ring on the center engine (onto which a deeper NACA cowl was more difficult to fit, due to the widening fuselage behind the engine). Production Ju 52/3m aircraft flown by
Deutsche Luft Hansa
''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and t ...
before the Second World War, as well as Luftwaffe-flown Ju 52s flown during the war, usually used an
air-start system
An air-start system is a power source used to provide the initial rotation to start large diesel and gas turbine engines.
Diesel engines Direct starting
Compared to a gasoline (petrol) engine, a diesel engine has a very high compression ratio, a ...
to turn over their trio of radial engines, using a common compressed air supply that also operated the main wheels' brakes.
In a military context, the Ju 52 could carry up to 18 fully-equipped soldiers, or 12 stretchers when used as an
air ambulance
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
. Transported material was loaded and unloaded through side doors by means of a ramp. Air-dropped supplies were jettisoned through two double chutes; supply containers were dropped by parachute through the bomb-bay doors, and
paratroopers
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
jumped through the side doors.
Sd.Kfz. 2 ''Kettenkrafträder'' (half-track motorcycles) and supply canisters for parachute troops were secured under the fuselage at the bomb bay exits and were dropped with four parachutes. A tow coupling was built into the tail-skid for use in towing freight
gliders. The Ju 52 could tow up to two
DFS 230
The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") with Hans Jacobs as the he ...
gliders.
Operational history
Prewar civil use
In late 1931,
James A. Richardson's
Canadian Airways
Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...
received (Werknummer 4006) ''CF-ARM'', the sixth-built Ju 52/1m.
The aircraft, first refitted with an
Armstrong Siddeley Leopard
The Armstrong Siddeley Leopard was a British 14-cylinder twin-row air-cooled radial aero engine developed in 1927 by Armstrong Siddeley. It was the most powerful radial engine in the world when introduced.
Variants
;Leopard I
:700 hp, medium ...
radial engine and then later with a
Rolls-Royce Buzzard
The Rolls-Royce Buzzard was a British piston aero engine of capacity that produced about . Designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited it is a V12 engine of Bore and Stroke. Only 100 were made. A further development was the Rolls-Royce R e ...
and nicknamed the "Flying Boxcar" in Canada, could lift about 3 tons and had a maximum weight of 7 tonnes (8 tons). It was commonly used to supply mining and other operations in remote areas with equipment that was too big and heavy for other aircraft then in use. The Ju 52/1m was able to land on wheels, skis, or floats (as were all Ju 52 variants).
Prior to the
Nazi government
The government of Nazi Germany was totalitarian, run by the Nazi Party in Germany according to the Führerprinzip through the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany began with the fact that the Enabling Act was enacted to give Hitler's gover ...
's seizure of control of the Junkers company during 1935, the Ju 52/3m was produced principally as a 17-seat airliner. By 1935, 97 Ju 52s were being operated by numerous airlines; early customers included
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
's
Aero O/Y
Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and internationa ...
,
Sweden's
AB Aerotransport
AB Aerotransport (ABA) was a Swedish government-owned airline which operated during the first half of the 20th century and was merged into what would become the SAS Group. ABA was established on 27 March 1924 under the name Aktiebolaget Aerotr ...
, and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
's
Syndicato Condor.
During May 1932, German
flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Hi ...
Luft Hansa
''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and th ...
took delivery of its first example of the type.
The Ju 52 was heavily used by Luft Hansa, it was able to fly from
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in eight hours; both this route and the
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-Berlin service was frequently operated by the type.
According to Smith, Luft Hansa's Ju 52 fleet eventually numbered 231 Ju 52s;
[Smith 1966, p. 5.] during the pre-war era, it was flown on various routes from Germany on routes in Europe, Asia, and South America.
Military use 1932–1945
The
Colombian Air Force
, "We are the Force"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Colombian Air Force Hymn
, mascot = Capitan Paz
, anniversaries = 8 November
, ...
used three Ju 52/3mde bombers equipped as
floatplanes during the
Colombia-Peru War in 1932–1933. After the war, the air force acquired three other Ju 52mge as transports; the type remained in service until after the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Bolivia acquired four Ju 52s in the course of the
Chaco War (1932–1935), mainly for
medical evacuation and air supply. During the conflict, the Ju 52s alone transported more than 4,400 tons of cargo to the front.
In 1934, Junkers received orders to produce a bomber version of the Ju 52/3m to serve as interim equipment for the bomber units of the still-secret Luftwaffe until it could be replaced by the purpose-designed
Dornier Do 11.
[Green 1972, p. 405.] Two bomb bays were fitted, capable of holding up to of bombs, while defensive armament consisted of two 7.92 mm
MG 15 machine gun
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops.
History
The MG 1 ...
s, one in an open dorsal position, and one in a retractable "dustbin" ventral position, which could be manually winched down from the fuselage to protect the aircraft from attacks from below. The bomber could be easily converted to serve in the transport role.
[Green 1972, p. 406.] The Dornier Do 11 was a failure, however, and the Junkers ended up being acquired in much larger numbers than at first expected, with the type being the Luftwaffe's main bomber until more modern aircraft such as the
Heinkel He 111,
Junkers Ju 86
The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to S ...
and
Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing a ...
entered into service.
[Green 1972, pp. 405–406.][Smith and Kay 1972, p. 360.]
The Ju 52 was used in military service in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
against the
Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
. It was one of the first aircraft to be delivered to the
Nationalist faction in July 1936, with 20 Ju 52/3m g3e bombers being delivered to the Nationalist forces by Germany within a week of the start of the war. Their first use was to help
airlift Franco
Franco may refer to:
Name
* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
's
Army of Africa from
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
to the Spanish mainland, bypassing a Spanish republican naval blockade. Between 20 July and the end of August 1936, Ju 52s carried out 461 transport flights, ferrying 7,350 troops together with weapons and equipment, with 5,455 more troops carried in September and a further 1,157 troops carried by the time the airlift ended early in October.
[Green 1972, pp. 406–407.] According to Smith, the Ju 52 gained a formidable reputation; the type having been reportedly used in practically every major military engagement in support of Nationalist forces.
In the Spanish theatre, the Ju 52 was operated both as a bomber and as a transport. In the former role, it participated in the
bombing of Guernica, although it was considered obsolete as a bomber by late 1937, by which point it was in the process of being replaced by more capable bombers such as the Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111.
[Smith 1966, pp. 5-6.] The type's final sortie in the theatre was performed on 26 March 1939. By the end of the conflict, Ju 52s had accumulated 13,000 operational hours and had performed 5,400 offensive missions and dropped over 6,000 bombs.
Following the end of the Spanish Civil War, no further aircraft of the bomber variants were built, though the type was again used as a bomber during the
bombing of Warsaw during the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
in September 1939. The Luftwaffe instead relied on the Ju 52 for transport roles during the Second World War, including
paratroop drops.
Second World War
During its service with Luft Hansa, the Ju 52 had proved to be an extremely reliable passenger airplane. This positive experience contributed to its adoption by the Luftwaffe as a standard aircraft model. In 1938, the
7th Air Division
The 7th Air Division (7 AD) served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way.
History
Hawaii
As the 7th Fighter Wing, the divis ...
had five air transport groups with 250 Ju 52s. The Luftwaffe had 552 Ju 52s at the start of the Second World War. Though it was built in great numbers, the Ju 52 was technically obsolete. Between 1939 and 1944, 2,804 Ju 52s were delivered to the Luftwaffe (1939: 145; 1940: 388; 1941: 502; 1942: 503; 1943: 887; and 1944: 379). The production of Ju 52s continued until around the summer of 1944; when the war came to an end, 100 to 200 were still available.
![Ju_52_approaching_Stalingrad_late_1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Ju_52_approaching_Stalingrad_late_1942.jpg)
Lightly armed, and with a top speed of only 265 km/h (165 mph) — half that of a contemporary
Hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
— the Ju 52 was very vulnerable to fighter attack, and an escort was always necessary when flying in a combat zone. Many Ju 52's were shot down by
antiaircraft guns and fighters while transporting supplies, most notably during the desperate attempt to resupply the trapped
German Sixth Army during the final stages of the
Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943.
[Smith 1966, pp. 11-12.]
From 24 November 1942 to 31 January 1943, 488 aircraft were recorded as lost (this number included 266 Ju 52, 165 He 111, 42 Ju 86, 9 Fw 200, 5 He 177 and 1 Ju 290) and about 1,000 flight personnel.
Denmark and Norway campaign
The first major operation for the aircraft after the bombing of Warsaw was in
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign.
In the early morning of 9 Ap ...
, the attack on Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940. Fifty-two Ju 52s from 1. and 8. Staffel in
Kampfgeschwader 1
''Kampfgeschwader'' 1 (KG 1) (Battle Wing 1) was a German medium bomber wing that operated in the Luftwaffe during World War II.
KG 1 was created in 1939 as the Luftwaffe reorganised and expanded to meet Adolf Hitler's rearmament demands. ...
transported a company of ''
Fallschirmjäger
The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander ...
'' (paratroopers) and a battalion of infantry to the northern part of
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
, and captured the airfield at
Aalborg, vital to support the operation in southern Norway. Several hundred Ju 52s were also used to transport troops to Norway in the first days of this campaign.
[Smith 1966, pp. 7, 10.]
During the Norwegian campaign, the Luftwaffe's Ju 52s performed a total of 3,018 sorties, 1830 of which had been carrying troops while the remainder transported cargo and various supplies.
According to Smith, 29,280 personnel, 2,376 tons of supplies and 259,300 imp. gallons of fuel had been airlifted by Ju 52s through the campaign. Around 150 aircraft had been recorded as lost by the end of operations.
[Smith 1966, p. 10.]
![JU_52_Minensuchgruppe_Mausi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/JU_52_Minensuchgruppe_Mausi.jpg)
The
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
version, equipped with two large
float
Float may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Albums
* ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000
* ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008
* ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013
Songs
* "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022
* "Float", by Bush ...
s, served during the
Norwegian campaign in 1940, and later in the
Mediterranean theatre. Some Ju 52's, both floatplanes and landplanes, were also used as
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
s, known as ''Minensuch'' — literally, "mine-search" aircraft in German — and fitted with a diameter current-carrying
degaussing
Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to red ...
ring under the
airframe to create a magnetic field that triggered submerged
naval mines
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...
. These aircraft were usually given an -"MS" suffix to designate them, as had been done with the similarly equipped
Bv 138 MS trimotor flying boat.
Netherlands campaign
The Ju 52 transport aircraft participated in the attack on the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 10 May 1940. It was during this campaign that the Ju 52 performed a crucial role in carrying out the first large-scale air attack with
paratroops in history during the
Battle for The Hague.
According to Smith, 500 Ju 52s had been made ready for the aerial assault on the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. In addition to the paratroop drops, they also directly landed in hostile territory to deploy assault troops, such as at
Ypenburg Airport, on public highways around
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, and on the
River Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...
(the latter using float-equipped aircraft).
[Smith 1966, pp. 10-11.]
During the opening days of the Netherlands campaign, many German aircraft were shot down by Dutch AA-fire; a total of 125 Ju 52s were lost and 47 damaged; author Hooton considered these losses to have been relatively costly for the Luftwaffe. Although transport operations with the Ju 52 were noticeably curtailed after the initial days of the invasion, the type continued to aerially supply forward ground troops.
[Smith 1966, p. 11.]
During August 1940, Nazi German decided to base large numbers of Ju 52s at airfields in the
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
,
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
, and
Arras areas. Luftwaffe transport units were deliberately held at a state of readiness for
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...
, the envisioned invasion of the British Isles; however, this operation was never attempted, in part due to the Luftwaffe being unable to secure aerial supremacy during the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
.
Balkans campaign
The next major use of the Ju 52 was in the
Balkans campaign. The type has been credited with enabling the rapid deployment of German ground forces throughout the theatre.
The Ju 52 was also deployed during the
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...
in late May 1941. 493 Ju 52/3m aircraft were used to transport most of the 22,750 troops flown onto Crete for the Luftwaffe's largest airborne invasion of the war.
While victorious, 170 aircraft were lost along with 4,500 personnel; the high loss rate brought about the end of German paratrooper operations.
North Africa campaign
During the
North African campaign, the Ju 52 was the mainstay reinforcement and resupply transport for the Germans, starting with 20 to 50 flights a day to
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
from
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
in November 1942, building to 150 landings a day in early April as the Axis situation became more desperate. The Allied air forces developed a counter-air operation over a two-month period and implemented
Operation Flax on 5 April 1943, destroying 11 Ju 52s in the air near
Cap Bon
Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli;
Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as ...
and many more during bombing attacks on its Sicilian airfields, leaving only 29 flyable. That began two catastrophic weeks in which more than 140 aircraft were lost in air interceptions, culminating on 18 April with the
"Palm Sunday Massacre" in which 24 Ju 52s were shot down, and another 35 staggered back to Sicily and crash-landed.
[Smith 1966, p. 12.]
Hitler's personal transport
Hitler used a Deutsche Luft Hansa Ju 52 for campaigning in the 1932 German election, preferring flying to train travel. After he became
Chancellor of Germany in 1933,
Hans Baur
Hans Baur (19 June 1897 – 17 February 1993) was Adolf Hitler's pilot during the political campaigns of the early 1930s. He later became Hitler's personal pilot and leader of the ''Reichsregierung'' squadron. Apprehended by the Soviet Union a ...
became his personal pilot, and Hitler was provided with a personal Ju 52. Named ''Immelmann II'' after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
ace
Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann (21 September 1890 – 18 June 1916) '' PLM'' was the first German World War I flying ace.Shores, 1983, p. 10. He was a pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchro ...
, it carried the registration D-2600.
[Hoffmann 2000, p. 75.] As his power and importance grew, Hitler's personal air force grew to nearly 50 aircraft, based at
Berlin Tempelhof Airport and made up mainly of Ju 52s, which also flew other members of his cabinet and war staff. In September 1939, at Baur's suggestion, ''Immelmann II'' was replaced by a four-engine
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', although ''Immelman II'' remained his backup aircraft for the rest of the Second World War.
Chiang Kai-shek's personal transport
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
was a major Chinese airliner company in the 1930s and operated at least seven Ju 52/3ms. A further example, sent out as a demonstrator to Eurasia, was purchased by the
Chinese Nationalist Party
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
government and became
Chiang Kai-shek's personal transport.
Postwar use
![German Junkers Ju 52 in USAAF service 1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/German_Junkers_Ju_52_in_USAAF_service_1942.jpg)
Various Junkers Ju 52s continued in military and civilian use following World War II. In 1956, the Portuguese Air Force, which was already using the Ju 52s as a transport plane, employed the type as a paratroop drop aircraft for its newly organized elite
parachute forces, later known as the ''
Batalhão de Caçadores Páraquedistas''. The paratroopers used the Ju 52 in several combat operations in Angola and other Portuguese African colonies before gradually phasing it out of service in the 1960s.
The
Swiss Air Force also operated the Ju 52 from 1939 to 1982, when three aircraft remained in operation, probably the last and longest service in any air force. Museums hoped to obtain the aircraft, but they were not for sale.
They are still in flying condition and together with a CASA 352 can be booked for sightseeing tours
with Ju-Air.
During the 1950s, the Ju 52 was also used by the
French Air Force during the
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
as a bomber. The use of these Junkers was quite limited.
The
Spanish Air Force operated the Ju 52, nicknamed ''Pava'', until well into the 1970s. Escuadrón 721, flying the Spanish-built versions, was employed in training
parachutists from
Alcantarilla Air Base near
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
.
Some military Ju 52s were converted to civilian use. For example,
British European Airways
British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974.
BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...
operated 11 ex-Luftwaffe Ju 52/3mg8e machines, taken over by the RAF, between 1946 and retirement in 1947 on intra-U.K. routes before the
Douglas DC-3 was introduced to the airline.
French airlines such as ''Societe de Transports Aeriens'' (STA) and
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
flew Toucans in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
In the USSR, captured Ju 52s were allocated to the Civil Air Fleet, being found particularly suitable for transporting sulphur from the
Karakum Desert
The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum ( tk, Garagum, ; rus, Караку́мы, Karakumy, kərɐˈkumɨ), is a desert in Central Asia. Its name in Turkic languages means "black sand": "" means sand; "" is a contraction of : " ...
. Various Soviet agencies used the Ju 52 through to 1950.
A Ju 52 and a Douglas DC-3 were the last aircraft to take off from
Berlin Tempelhof Airport before all operations ceased there on 30 October 2008.
Other versions
Most Ju 52s were destroyed after the war, but 585 were built after 1945. In France, the machine had been manufactured during the war by the Junkers-controlled
Avions Amiot
Avions Amiot was a former France, French aircraft manufacturer. The company was formed in 1916 by Félix Amiot as the Society of Mechanical Drawing and Construction (SECM).
History
Félix Amiot's first aircraft was built in a Paris garage in 19 ...
company, and production continued afterwards as the Amiot AAC 1 Toucan. In
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, ''
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA'' continued production as the CASA 352 and 352L.
Four CASA 352s are airworthy and in regular use today.
Variants
''Data from ''Junkers Aircraft & Engines 1913–1945
Civil variants
;Ju 52
:Prototype of the single-engined transport aircraft, of twelve laid down only six were completed as single-engined aircraft. First flight: 3 September 1930, powered by a
BMW VIIaU engine.
;Ju 52/1mba
:The prototype Ju 52, (c/n 4001, regn D-1974), redesignated after being re-engined with a single
Junkers L88
The Junkers L88 was Junkers' first geared V-12 engine, appearing c.1930 and based on a pair of 6-cylinder L8s. In 1932 a supercharger was added. It was used in the first pressurised aircraft, the Junkers Ju 49 and, for a while, in the large G ...
engine
;Ju 52/1mbe
:Aircraft powered by BMW VIIaU
;Ju 52/1mbi
:The second prototype, (c/n 4002, regn D-2133), fitted with an
Armstrong Siddeley Leopard
The Armstrong Siddeley Leopard was a British 14-cylinder twin-row air-cooled radial aero engine developed in 1927 by Armstrong Siddeley. It was the most powerful radial engine in the world when introduced.
Variants
;Leopard I
:700 hp, medium ...
engine
;Ju 52/1mca
:D-1974 fitted with drag flaps and refitted with a BMW VIIaU
;Ju 52/1mcai
:D-2356, (c/n 4005), crashed in May 1933
;Ju 52/1mce
:D-USON (c/n 4003) used as a target tug. D-2317, (c/n 4004), converted to a torpedo bomber in Sweden as the K 45
;Ju 52/1mci
:The second prototype fitted with long stepped floats, flying from the River Elbe on 17 July 1931
;Ju 52/1mdi
:The second prototype after having the floats removed and undercarriage reinstated, registered as D-USUS from 1934
;Ju 52/1mdo
:D-1974 fitted with a
Junkers Jumo 4 engine as a testbed, reregistered as D-UZYP from 1937
;Ju 52/3m
:Three-engined prototype, powered by three
Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp
The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp ser ...
engines, first flight: 7 March 1932
;Ju 52/3mba
:VIP version for the president of the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Romanian prince Gheorghe Bibescu, powered by a
Hispano-Suiza 12Mb engine in the nose and two Hispano-Suiza 12Nb engines (one on each wing)
;Ju 52/3mce
:Three-engined civil transport aircraft, powered by three Pratt & Whitney Hornet or BMW 132 engines
;Ju 52/3mci
:Planned version for Sweden, powered by Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, not built
;Ju 52/3mde
:Seaplane version for Bolivia and Colombia, converted from Ju 52/1m
;Ju 52/3mfe
:Improved version, with chassis reinforcements and NACA cowlings on the outer engines, powered by three BMW 132A-3 engines
;Ju 52/3mf1e
:Trainer version for DVS
;Ju 52/3mge
:Airliner version, powered by BMW Hornet 132A engines
;Ju 52/3mho
:Two aircraft powered by
Junkers Jumo 205
The Jumo 205 aircraft engine was the most famous of a series of aircraft diesel engines produced by Junkers. The Jumo 204 first entered service in 1932. Later engines of this type comprised the experimental Jumo 206 and Jumo 208, with the Jumo 2 ...
C diesel engines, used only for testing
;Ju 52/3mkao
:Version powered by two BMW 132A and one BMW 132F or BMW 132N as a testbed
;Ju 52/3ml
:Powered by three Pratt & Whitney R-1690-S1EG engines
;Ju 52/3mlu
:Airliner version for Italy, powered by Piaggio Stella X engines, later re-engined with Alfa Romeo 126RC/34 engines
;Ju 52/3mmao
:Similar to kao except with NACA cowling
;Ju 52/3mnai
:Airliner version for Sweden and Great Britain, powered by Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines
;Ju 52/3mreo
:Airliner version for South America, powered by BMW 132Da/Dc engines
;Ju 52/3msai
:Airliner version for Sweden and South America, powered by Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines
;Ju 52/3mte
:Airliner version, powered by three BMW 132K engines
;Ju 52/3mZ5
:Export version for Finland, powered by BMW 132Z-3 engines
Military variants
;Ju 52/3mg3e
:Improved military version, powered by three
BMW 132
The BMW 132 was a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by BMW starting in 1933.
Design and development
BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder mode ...
A-3 (improved version of the
Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet
The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displacemen ...
) radial engines, equipped with an improved
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
and bomb-release mechanism. Later versions had a tailwheel that replaced the tailskid.
;Ju 52/3mg4e
:Military transport version, the tailskid was replaced by a tailwheel.
;Ju 52/3mg5e
:Similar to g4e, but powered by three
BMW 132
The BMW 132 was a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by BMW starting in 1933.
Design and development
BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder mode ...
T-2 engines, it could be fitted with interchangeable floats, skis, and wheeled landing gear.
;Ju 52/3mg6e
:Transport version equipped with extra radio gear and autopilot, could also be fitted with a degaussing ring
;Ju 52/3mg7e
:Transport version, capable of carrying 18 troops or 12 stretchers, featured autopilot and larger cargo doors
;Ju 52/3mg8e
:Similar to g6e, but with improved radio and direction finding gear, a few were fitted with floats.
;Ju 52/3mg9e
:Tropical version of g4e for service in North Africa, fitted with glider towing gear and strengthened undercarriage
;Ju 52/3mg10e
:Similar to g9e, but could be fitted with floats or wheels, lacked deicing equipment
;Ju 52/3mg11e
:Similar to g10e, but fitted with deicing equipment
;Ju 52/3mg12e
:Land transport version, powered by three
BMW 132
The BMW 132 was a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by BMW starting in 1933.
Design and development
BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder mode ...
L engines
;Ju 52/3m12e
:Civilian version of Ju 52/3mg12e for Luft Hansa
;Ju 52/3mg13e
:No details are known.
;Ju 52/3mg14e
:Similar to g8e, but with improved armor, last German production version
![Ju52DuxfordJM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Ju52DuxfordJM.jpg)
;
A.A.C. 1 Toucan
:Postwar French version of g11e, 415 built
[Blewett 2007, .]
;
CASA 352
:Postwar Spanish version, 106 built
;CASA 352L
:Spanish version with Spanish
ENMA Beta B-4 (license-built BMW 132) engines, 64 built
;C-79
:Designation assigned to a single example operated by the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
;D52
:Designation used by the Czechoslovak Air Force
;T2B
:Designation used by the Spanish Air Force
;Tp 5
:Designation used by the Swedish Air Force
;K 45c: A single Ju 52/1mce (c/n 4004) was delivered to the Junkers factory at
Limhamn in Sweden, where it was converted to a torpedo bomber as the K 45c.
Operators
![Casa352](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Casa352.JPG)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Accidents and incidents
Surviving aircraft
Airworthy
![CASA 352 N352JU In Flight over the Military Aviation Museum, VA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/CASA_352_N352JU_In_Flight_over_the_Military_Aviation_Museum%2C_VA.jpg)
;France
* T.2B-212 – Ju 52/3m airworthy with Amicale J.B. Salis in
Cerny, Essonne.
;South Africa
* T.2B-273 – CASA 352L airworthy at the
South African Airways Museum Society
The South African Airways Museum Society is an aviation museum based at Rand Airport in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa. The museum was founded in 1986 and houses a collection of South African Airways memorabilia such as photos and aircraft sc ...
in
Germiston, Gauteng
Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as ...
. Bought from
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1981 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
South African Airways.
;United States
* T.2B-176 – CASA 352L airworthy at the
Military Aviation Museum
The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...
in
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
. Formerly owned by
Commemorative Air Force
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
The CAF h ...
, operated by MAM since August 2010. Converted to
Pratt & Whitney R-1340
The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp series ...
geared engines, fitted with 3-blade propellers.
On display
;Argentina
* T-158 – Ju 52/3mge in storage at the
Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina
The National Aeronautics Museum "Brigadier Edmundo Civati Bernasconi" ( es, Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica) is an Argentine museum located in the city of Morón, Buenos Aires. Established in 1960, the museum is dedicated to the history of aviati ...
in
Morón, Buenos Aires
Morón () is a city in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, capital of the Morón ''partido'', located in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, at . Located 20 km (13 mi) west of Downtown Buenos Aires, Morón is easily reac ...
.
;Belgium
* 6309 – Ju 52/3mg7e on static display at the
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
;Canada
* T.2B-148 – CASA 352L on static display at the
Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
. It has been converted to resemble a Ju 52/1m.
;Colombia
* FAC-625 – Ju 52/3mg4e on static display at the
Colombian Aerospace Museum in
Tocancipá, Cundinamarca.
;France
* 6311 – Ju 52/3mg7e in storage with the Association des Mécaniciens Pilotes d'Aéronefs Anciens in
Brétigny-sur-Orge, Essonne. It was acquired by the organization in 2011 from the Museu do Ar, where it had been in storage.
;Germany
![Junkers Ju 523m D AZAW at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Junkers_Ju_523m_D_AZAW_at_the_Deutsches_Technikmuseum_Berlin.JPG)
* 363 – AAC.1 on static display at the
Deutsches Museum
The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...
in
Munich, Bavaria
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
* 6320 – AAC.1 on display at Verein fur Historische Luftfahrzeuge in
Monchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. On loan from .
* 6134 – Ju 52/3mg4e on static display at the in
Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt.
* 6693 – Ju 52/3mg4e on static display at the in
Wunstorf, Lower Saxony.
* 6821 – Ju 52/3mg4e on static display at the
Technik Museum Speyer
The Technik Museum Speyer is a technology museum in Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. 208
History
The museum was opened in 1991 as a sister museum of the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim and is run by a registered alliance called "Auto & T ...
in
Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate.
*
130714 – Ju 52/3mg8e on display with Quax on behalf of
Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung in
Büren, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was previously owned by aviation author
Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.
Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...
and has been refitted with
Pratt & Whitney R-1340
The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp series ...
engines.
* T.2B-108 – Ju 52/3mte on static display at the
Deutsches Technikmuseum
(German Museum of Technology) in Berlin, Germany is a museum of science and technology, and exhibits a large collection of historical technical artifacts. The museum's main emphasis originally was on rail transport, but today it also features e ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
.
* T.2B-127 – CASA 352L on static display at
Flugausstellung Peter Junior in
Hermeskeil, Rhineland-Palatinate.
* T.2B-140 – CASA 352L on static display at the
Technik Museum Sinsheim in
Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg.
* T.2B-144 – CASA 352L on static display at the Visitors Park at
Munich Airport
Munich International Airport- Franz Josef Strauß (german: link=no, Flughafen München) is an international airport serving Munich and Upper Bavaria. It is the second-busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic after Frankfurt A ...
in Munich, Bavaria.
* T.2B-209 – CASA 352L on static display at the Technik Museum Speyer in Speyer.
* T.2B-257 – CASA 352L on static display at the Technik Museum Sinsheim in Sinsheim.
;Norway
* 6306 – Ju 52/3mg3e on static display at the
Norwegian Aviation Museum in
Bodø, Nordland.
* 6657 – Ju 52/3mg4e on static display at the
Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection
Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection (''Forsvarets flysamling Gardermoen'') is a military aviation museum located at Gardermoen, north of Oslo in Viken county, Norway. The founding of the Norwegian Aviation Historical Society in 1967, gave t ...
in
Gardermoen, Viken.
;Poland
* 48 – AAC.1 on static display at the
Polish Aviation Museum
The Polish Aviation Museum ( pl, Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie) is a large museum of historic aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Ai ...
in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
.
;Portugal
* 6304 – Ju 52/3mg3e on static display at the
Museu do Ar in
Sintra, Lisbon.
;Serbia
* 7208 – AAC.1 on static display at the
Aeronautical Museum Belgrade in
Surčin, Belgrade.
;Spain
* T.2B-211 – CASA 352L on static display at the
Museo del Aire in
Cuatro Vientos, Madrid.
* T.2B-246 – CASA 352L on static display at
Torrejon Air Base in
Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid.
* T.2B-254 – CASA 352L on static display at the Museo del Aire in Cuatro Vientos, Madrid.
;Sweden
* T.2B-142 – CASA 352L on static display at the in
Ugglarp, Halland.
;United Kingdom
![CASA 352 (AKA Junkers Ju 52-3m) at RAF Museum Cosford](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/CASA_352_%28AKA_Junkers_Ju_52-3m%29_at_RAF_Museum_Cosford.jpg)
* T.2B-272 – CASA 352L on static display at the
Royal Air Force Museum Cosford
The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, located in Cosford in Shropshire, is a free (currently, 2022) museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departme ...
in
Cosford, Shropshire
Cosford is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located on the A41 road, which is itself just south of junction 3 on the M54 motorway. The village is very small and is mostly made up of dwellings that house Royal Air Force personnel who work ...
.
;United States
* T.2B-244 – CASA 352L in storage at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
. The aircraft was donated to the museum by the Spanish government in 1971.
* T.2B-255 – CASA 352L on static display at the
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...
of the
National Air and Space Museum in
Chantilly, Virginia
Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the ...
.
* T.2B-262 – CASA 352L in storage at the
Fantasy of Flight
Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida.
It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florid ...
in
Polk City, Florida
Polk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,562 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,422. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistic ...
.
Under restoration
;Switzerland
* A-701 – Ju 52/3mg4e under restoration to airworthy with in Dübendorf, Zürich.
* A-703 – Ju 52/3mg4e under restoration to airworthy with Ju-Air in Dübendorf, Zürich.
* T.2B-165 – CASA 352L under restoration to airworthy with Ju-Air in
Dübendorf, Zürich.
It was previously on public display at
Düsseldorf Airport
Düsseldorf Airport (german: link=no, Flughafen Düsseldorf, ; until March 2013 ''Düsseldorf International Airport''; ) is the international airport of Düsseldorf, the capital of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is about north ...
as D-CIAK.
Specifications (Junkers Ju 52/3m g3e)
Successor model: Ju 52 New Generation (Ju-52 NG)
In April 2022, 90 years after the first flight of the Ju 52/3m, the Swiss
Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG announced the successor model of the Ju 52, the Ju 52 New Generation. The Ju 52 New Generation will be able to carry 14 passengers and will have modern
RED A03
The RED A03 is a V12 four-stroke aircraft diesel engine designed and built by RED Aircraft GmbH of Adenau, Germany.
Development
In 2012, its unit cost was .
The engine received type approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency in Decem ...
engines and modern avionics. The market launch is not expected before 2025.
See also
;Other
*
2018 Ju-Air Junkers Ju 52 crash
On 4 August 2018, a Junkers Ju 52 passenger aircraft operated by Ju-Air crashed near Piz Segnas, Switzerland, while en route from Locarno to Dübendorf. All 20 people on board were killed.
It was the first fatal crash of a Ju-Air aircraft sin ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Afonso, Aniceto and Carlos de Matos Gomes. ''Guerra Colonial'' (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Editorial Notícias, 2000. .
* Andersson, Lennart. "Chinese 'Junks': Junkers Aircraft Exports to China 1925-1940". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 2–7.
* Blewett, R. ''Survivors'' (Aviation Classics). Coulsdon, UK: Gatwick Aviation Society, 2007. .
*
* Craven, Wesley Frank, and Cate, James Lea, editors (1949). ''The Army Air Forces in World War II''
''Volume Two - Europe: Torch to Pointblank: August 1942-December 1943'' Air Force Historical Studies Office, .
*
* Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". ''
Air Enthusiast
''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...
'', No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. .
* Green, William. ''Warplanes of the Third Reich''. New York: Doubleday, 1972. .
* Grey, Charles Gibson and Leonard Bridgman. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1938''. London: Newton Abott, David & Charles, 1972. .
* Hoffmann, Peter. ''Hitler's Personal Security: Protecting The Fuhrer 1921-1945.'' New York: Da Capo Press, 2000. .
* Jackson, A. J.''British Civil Aircraft 1919-59, Vol. 2''. London: Putnam, 1960.
* Jane, Fred T. "The Junkers Ju 52/3m." ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II''. London: Studio, 1946. .
*
*
* Morzik, Generalmajor Fritz
"German Air Force Air Lift Operations" USAF Historical Division, 1961.
* Smith, J. R. "Aircraft Profile No. 177: The Junkers Ju 52 Series". ''Profile Publications Ltd'', 1966.
* Smith, J. R. and Antony L. Kay. ''German Aircraft of the Second World War''. London: Putnam, 1972. .
* Weal, John. ''Jagdgeschwader 27 'Afrika. Oxford, UK: Osprey, 2003. .
Further reading
*
External links
Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin Stiftung Junkers Ju 52/3m at the Norwegian Aviation Museum
{{Authority control
1930s German airliners
1930s German military transport aircraft
World War II transport aircraft of Germany
Ju 052
Trimotors
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1930
World War II aircraft of Finland