Ju 52
The main type of aircraft of the German military transport aviation became the bulky and angular, unpretentious three-engine Ju-52 / 3m, better known in the Luftwaffe and in the Wehrmacht under the nickname "Aunt Yu." By the beginning of World War II, it seemed that this plane, whose service as the first bomber in the once "secret" Luftwaffe had already gone down in history, completely lost any combat potential. But this unpretentious combination of corrugated casing, fixed gear and three air-cooled engines played a more important role during the war than many combat aircraft. "Aunt Yu" conquered the Second World War, as they say, "from bell to bell", flying in all theaters of war, where the armed forces of Germany fought.
A detailed story about the Ju-52 requires a solid monograph, nevertheless, it is necessary to illuminate the main milestones in the history of this wonderful aircraft, the real “workhorse” of German military transport aircraft.
The story of the legendary "Aunt Yu" began on October 13, 1930, when the aircraft, under the Ju-52 brand, made its first flight. However, it was still not the widely known Ju-52 - three engines were an outward-looking difference. The first six Junkers had only one motor.
The new all-metal monoplane had high flight characteristics and was available to mid-range pilots. The casing was carrier and was made of corrugated duralumin sheet. The design of the fuselage was maximally adapted to the loading and unloading of various cargoes. Low landing speed allowed the use of airfields of limited size. However, despite such high performance, the aircraft was economically inefficient, and the presence of only one engine prevented its use as a passenger.
As a result, the aicraft without significant structural changes was converted into a three-engine version. It was designated as Ju-52 / 3m. The first Ju-52 / 3m was the seventh Ju-52 / 1m, equipped with three Pratt-Whitney engines. He flew on March 7, 1932. The success of the tests led to the decision to focus on fine-tuning only the three-engine version. The car turned out to be extremely successful, just like a passenger plane. The main requirement - safety - was guaranteed by the ability of the machine to fly normally on two engines. Fuel was housed in 10 insulated wing tanks. Imported engines replaced domestic BMW-132A-1 (power 660 hp) According to Lufthansa reports for 1937, "Junkers-52" provided 100% safety and 97% regularity of flights. The plane has been widely exported.
The development of the Ju-52 / 3m coincided with the start of the reconstruction of the German Air Force. Naturally, a reliable machine attracted the attention of the leadership of the Luftwaffe, and since 1934 the Junkers began to be used as bombers. For this, the Ju-52 / 3mg3e variant was developed. He combined the functions of a bomber and a military transport aircraft. Bombs were located in the former passenger compartment. It was military pilots who affectionately called the plane "Aunt U." In total, 450 Ju-52 / 3mg bombers received the Luftwaffe.
Under combat conditions, Aunt Yu was first used in August 1932 during the conflict between Colombia and Peru. Since October of that year, he participated in the Bolivian-Paraguayan war (in both cases as a transport one). In July - October 1936, 19 Ju-52s carried out the transfer of Franco troops from Morocco to Spain. The Junkers had a chance to fight in Spain as bombers. Until the summer of 1937, the German "Legion Condor" used them to strike at troops, ports and cities, including Madrid. The appearance in the Spanish sky of the I-16 and I-15 fighters dramatically changed the situation and soon this type of machine was withdrawn from the combat units of the Legion Condor. Some of the cars were transferred to transport units, the rest - to the Air Force of General Franco.
In 1935, the g4e modification went into the series. A reinforced chassis was introduced on it, the tail wheel became standard. To transport goods, we strengthened the floor of the cabin and introduced a sunroof in the ceiling as a single-engine Ju-52. A large hatch appeared from the starboard side. The Ju-52 / 3mg4e could be equipped as an “auxiliary bomber,” but in reality very few machines were equipped in this way. Mostly aircraft of this type were used exclusively as military transport.
In April 1938, KGrzbV1, a special-purpose bomber group, was created on the basis of the IV / KG152 bombing group equipped with the Ju-52. This group became the first transport compound of the Luftwaffe. From this moment, "Aunt Yu" become the main transport aircraft of the German Air Force.
Regarding the general circulation of this aircraft, various sources give conflicting information. You can meet different numbers - from 5415 to 8070. However, be that as it may, the Ju-52 / 3m is second only to such flying legends as the Douglas DC-3 (along with Li-2) and the total number of produced transport aircraft of the same type. An-2.
Civilian Ju.52 variants were operated by 30 airlines in 25 countries. Among them was the Soviet-German company Deruluft, which served the Moscow-Berlin line. Junkers were even bought by countries with their own developed aircraft industry (for example, Great Britain). A dozen aircraft were assigned as personal to the top leaders of the Reich, including Hitler. On the Ju-52 in the late 30s. Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek also flew. Trophy "Aunt Yu" was operated in the USSR until 1950 (mainly in Siberia and Central Asia). The Ju-52 flew the longest in Switzerland, right up to 1982! Currently, several aircraft are still in flight condition.
Ju-52 / 3m has never claimed to be the best in its class. "Aunt Yu" did not stand out either in speed, range or ceiling, she was a little inert in piloting, but she was simply indestructible for strength and excellent survivability. Much has been done for the convenience of piloting the Junkers. The designers of the company "Junkers" have tried to reduce the number of controls. The stabilizer, flaps and ailerons were controlled by one helm. The brakes were engaged by gas sectors when moving them in the opposite direction. In this case, it was possible to brake separately with the left or right wheel, increasing maneuverability on the ground. It is no coincidence, if necessary, that under-trained cadets got into the Ju-52 / 3m helms. The machine was very easy to pilot, that is, "accessible to the pilot below average skill."
Well, the well-thought-out issues of the operation of the "Junkers" in general have become almost legendary. The wide necks of gas tanks made it possible to refuel it even from buckets. The engines were started by reliable electric inertia starters without any help from the ground services.
There was nothing superfluous in the most technologically advanced design of the Ju-52 / 3m. Simple and cheap to manufacture, it was well suited specifically for wartime conditions. Perhaps that is why the more advanced military transport aircraft created during the war could not replace it in the combat formation of the Luftwaffe.
