Junkers Ju 88
The twin-engine Ju 88 medium bomber was intended as a fast bomber that could outrun fighters. While that proved futile, as advanced fighters by war’s outbreak could readily overtake it, the Ju 88 succeeded as a versatile airplane that performed multiple roles, including level bomber, dive bomber, torpedo bomber, minelayer, as well as reconnaissance, heavy fighter, and night fighter.
The Ju 88 was just beginning operational deployment when the war began, and so saw limited service during the invasion of Poland. It played a greater role during the invasion of Norway in April of 1940, in both ground and anti-shipping roles. It saw significant service during the French campaign a month later, and while contributing its fair share to the German victory, it also experienced high losses due to wing design defects that led to instability and accidents, exacerbated by inadequate crew training. The shortcomings were addressed with a retraining program and the introduction of longer wingspans with rounded edges to improve handling.
The modifications were being introduced during the Battle of Britain, and while the Ju 88 performed better than other German bombers, it was vulnerable when stripped of fighter protection, and still suffered from a variety of bugs. However, by battle’s end an improved version that resolved the design shortcomings, the A-4, had been introduced. With a 5500 lbs bomb capacity and a 311 mph speed, the A-4 was the successful template upon which all future Ju 88s variants were based.
The improved Ju 88s performed exceptionally well in the 1941 invasion of the USSR. In addition to level bombing, a shortage of Stukas necessitated the use of Ju 88s as dive bombers, a role they performed well, while in the Baltic, Ju 88s inflicted heavy losses on Soviet shipping. Ju 88s also met with success in Italy, where they proved exceptionally lethal against allied shipping. It was the most successful twin-engine German bomber of the war, and roughly 16,000, with dozens of variants, were produced during the conflict – more than any other German twin-engine airplane.