Junkers Ju 488

Ju 488

Manufacturer: Junkers
Primaryuser: Luftwaffe
Number built: 2
Developed from: Junkers Ju 188 Junkers Ju 288 Junkers Ju 388

The Junkers Ju 488 was a proposed heavy strategic bomber, to be used by Germany in World War II, but the project never got past the prototype stage.

In an effort to produce an advanced four engined strategic bomber for the Luftwaffe, a proposal was made by Junkers during 1944 to create a simplified design by combining sub-assemblies of the Ju 188, Ju 288, and Ju 388 to new wing and fuselage assemblies. This would result in a sleek aircraft with a length of almost 20.4m (67ft) and a wingspan of nearly 31.4m (103ft). The Ju 488 was to be initially powered by four BMW 801J radial engines. Later versions were to be powered by four Jumo 222 engines. The first two prototypes, Ju 488 V401 and V402 had fuselage sections constructed at the Latécox¨re factory in France, while the other components were being prepared at Junkers factories in Germany. The Ju 488 V401 and V402 fuselages were completed by 1944, but were damaged by French resistance on 16 July, 1944. Construction of four more prototypes, the V403 to V406, continued at low priority and were not finished by the end of the war.

The Junkers Ju 488 represented the last, and most serious, challenge to Heinkel, in that German aviation's firm to promote the Heinkel He 277 to production status, and on which all design work stopped early in April 1944, with the Ju 488 itself being abandoned late that same year.

Specifications (Ju 488A - estimated)

Data from War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Ten Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Length: 23.25 m (76 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 31.29 m (102 ft 7¾ in)
Height: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 88.0 m² (947.22 ft²)
Empty weight: 21,000 kg (46,297 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 36,000 kg (79,366 lb)
Powerplant: 4x— Junkers Jumo 222A-3/B-3 24-cylinder liquid cooled engine, 1,864 kW (2,500 hp) (take-off power) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 690 km/h (373 knots, 429 mph) at 7,200 m (23,620 ft)
Cruise speed: 487 km/h (263 knots, 303 mph)
Range: 3,395 km (1,835 nmi, 2,110 miles)
Service ceiling: 11,350 m (37,240 ft)
Rate of climb: 551 m/min (1,810 ft/min)

Armament

Guns: 2 x— 20 mm MG 151 cannons in remotely operated dorsal barbette and 2 x— 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns in tail barbette
Bombs: up to 5,000 kg (11,023 lb) of disposable stores in internal bay

Filly, Brian. Junkers Ju 88 in Action, part 2. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1991.
Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Ten Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft. London:Macdonald, 1968.
Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
Smith, J.R. and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam and Company, Ltd., 1972. ISBN 0-370-00024-2.

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Source: WikiPedia