Junkers Ju 390
| Junkers Ju 390 V1
|
|
|
| Description
|
| Role | Transport
|
| Crew | 8
|
| First Flight | October 20 1943
|
| Entered Service | 1943
|
| Manufacturer | Junkers
|
| Dimensions
|
| Length | 34.20 m | 112 ft 2 in
|
| Wingspan | 50.30 m | 165 ft 1 in
|
| Height | 6.89 m | 22 ft 7 in
|
| Wing area | 254 m² | 2,733 ft²
|
| Weights
|
| Empty | 39,500 kg | 86,900 lb
|
| Loaded | 53,112 kg | 116,846 lb
|
| Maximum takeoff | 75,500 kg | 166,100 lb
|
| Powerplant
|
| Engines | 6x BMW 801E
|
| Power | 8,818 kW | 11,820 hp
|
| Performance
|
| Maximum speed | 505 km/h | 314 mph
|
| Range | 9,700 km | 6,027 miles
|
| Service ceiling | 6,000 m | 19,680 ft
|
| Rate of climb |
|
| Wing loading | 209 kg/m² | 43 lb/ft²
|
| Power/Mass | 0.17 kW/kg | 0.10 hp/lb
|
| Avionics
|
|
|
| Armament
|
| Guns | 2x 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in dorsal turrets
1 x 20 mm MG 151/20 in tail
2x 13 mm MG 131 machine guns at waist
2x 13 mm MG 131 in gondola
|
The Junkers Ju 390 was a long-range derivative of the Junkers Ju 290 and was intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and bomber. It was the design selected for the abortive Amerika Bomber project, and is the largest aircraft ever to have been built in Germany.
Two prototypes were created by inserting an extra pair of inner wing segments into the wings of basic Ju 290 airframes and adding new sections to "stretch" the fuselages. The resulting giant first flew on October 20 1943 and performed well, resulting in an order for 26 such aircraft, to be designated Ju 390A-1. None of these were actually built by the time that the project was cancelled (along with Ju 290 production) in mid 1944. The maritime patrol version and bomber were to be designated Ju 390B and Ju 390C respectively. It was suggested that the bomber could have carried the Messerschmitt Me 328 parasite fighter for self-defence.
There is a heavily disputed claim that in January 1944, the second prototype Ju 390 made a trans-atlantic flight from Mont-de-Marsan (near Bordeaux) to some 20 km (12 miles) of the coast of the United States and back. While the type's 32-hour endurance would have certainly made such a crossing theoretically possible, there is a distinct lack of evidence to support the claim, despite the fact that the flight is alleged to have been recorded both in Junkers company records and in the logbooks of the squadron that operated the two prototype aircraft.
Critics have also pointed to the vagueness of the aircraft's alleged position and even the date of what would have been a milestone flight. The best known (and maybe earliest publication) of the claim in English was in William Green's Warplanes of the Third Reich in 1970, where he wrote that the Ju 390 flew to "a point some 12 miles from the US coast, north of New York". It is debated whether Green meant New York City or the state of New York. If the former was meant, it suggests that the aircraft would have had to overfly parts of the Massachusetts coast, and critics point out the likelihood of the aircraft being spotted by observers and/or radar, which it was not. On the other hand, if New York state were meant, this would have put the aircraft closer to Boston. Critics ask why this city wasn't referred to for fixing the position of the claim. Finally, it is questioned how the aircrew would have been able to fix their position so accurately anyway.
The vagueness of detail and lack of corroborating evidence are hallmarks of an urban legend.
