Junkers G 38

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Junkers G 38
G 38 (D-2000)
Type: four-engine large airliner
Design country:

German EmpireGerman Empire German Empire

Manufacturer:

Junkers Flugzeugwerk AG

First flight:

November 6, 1929

Number of pieces:

2

Lufthansa G 38 (D-APIS) at the opening of Stavanger Airport in Norway (1937)

The Junkers G 38 was a four-engine large airliner in a middle-decker arrangement made by Junkers Flugzeugwerk AG , Dessau.

history

The first of only two machines built was completed in October 1929 with the serial number 3301. After the first taxi attempts on November 4, 1929, the maiden flight with chief pilot Wilhelm Zimmermann took place two days later .

The G 38 was equipped with two 600 HP (441 kW) 12-cylinder V-engines of the type L55 and two 400 HP (294 kW) strong 6-cylinder in- line engines of the type L8 . The machine was registered on March 27, 1930, when it received the registration D-2000.

Hugo Junkers with employees in front of the G 38
G 38 D-2500 and D-AZUR

Two world records were already set during the certification flight, the route record with a payload of 5000 kg each, both for a closed route with 5000 kg and over a 100 km route with 200.636 km / h. Further records were set with a payload of 5,000 kg on the closed route with 501.590 km, a long-term flight record with three hours and two minutes and a world speed record with 184.464 km / h.

The Reich Aviation Ministry bought the machine and used it for demonstration flights with passengers at home and abroad.

From February 2, 1931, the D-2000 received new interior equipment and new 12-cylinder V-engines of the type L88a with 800 HP (588 kW) instead of the L55 engines. With an engine of now two L8a and two L88a, the total output has been significantly improved to 2,400 PS (1,765 kW).

The machine was handed over to Deutsche Luft Hansa , which used it in international scheduled services and for special flights.

The machine was returned to the Junkers shipyard on October 3, 1931. There she received an intermediate deck for greater cargo capacity. The number of passengers increased from 19 to 30. Replacing the two L8a engines with those of the L88a type improved flight performance again. With now four L88a drives, the result was 3,200 hp (2,354 kW). The aircraft converted in this way was primarily used by Lufthansa on the Berlin - Hanover - Amsterdam - London route.

In 1934 the engines were exchanged again, now for four Jumo 204 2-stroke opposed piston diesel engines, each with 750 hp (552 kW), and the license plate number changed to D-AZUR. In 1936 the plane crashed at Dessau , caused by an assembly error, and Lufthansa had to write it off as a total loss.

The second G38 was already completed with the new tween deck for 34 passengers and as the D-2500 (later D-APIS) on July 1, 1932 with four Junkers L88a engines from Deutsche Luft Hansa for a purchase price of 1.5 million Reichsmarks accepted. Like the first G38, the second machine was converted to the Jumo 204 in 1934. From 1939 this machine was used for military transports in the combat group for special use 105 (KGr. ZbV 105) . It was devastated by British planes at Athens' Tatoi Airport in Greece in May 1941 .

Manufactured copies
Work number initial aircraft registration number Aircraft registration from 1934
3301 D-2000 D-AZUR
3302 D-2500 D-APIS

Mitsubishi built six G 38s under license as Mitsubishi Ki-20 heavy bombers . The Junkers license designation was K51, with the prefix “K” (until 1926 this was “H”) for unarmed prototypes or civilian versions of potential combat aircraft. The armed variants of the aircraft could only be built abroad because of the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty. The Ki-20s remained in service until 1941.

construction

With this type, the Junkers patent for the “thick wing” from 1910 was fully implemented: engines , fuel and, in some cases, passengers were accommodated in the wing .

Technical specifications

Parameter Data of the Junkers G 38
crew 5-7
Passengers 13-34
length 21.45 m
span 44.00 m
height 6.85 m
Wing area 290.00 m²
Top speed 200 km / h
Continuous speed 180 km / h
Landing speed 100 km / h
Ascent time to 3000 m 34.0 min
Climb performance 1.40 m / s
Preparation mass 16,850 kg
Takeoff mass 24,100 kg
Service ceiling 3,150 m
Range 775 km
Engines 4 × Junkers L 88a with 800 HP each (approx. 590 kW)

See also

literature

  • Thomas Hofmann: The Junkers G38. In: Aviator Calendar of the GDR. 1990, ZDB -ID 192211-7 , pp. 179-184.
  • Aviation Archive , Issue 35: Gigant Aircraft, pp. 26-29
  • G 38, experimental aircraft in service with Lufthansa for ten years. In: Wolfgang Wagner: Hugo Junkers: Pioneer of aviation - his planes (Volume 24: Die deutsche Luftfahrt), Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1996, ISBN 3-7637-6112-8 , pp. 295-302
  • Frank Littek: Lufthansa's first large aircraft: Junkers G 38. In: AERO International , No. 12/2019, pp. 76–79

Web links

Commons : Junkers G.38  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Stroud: The Junkers large aircraft . In: AIR Enthusiast Twenty-four, April-July 1984, p. 35
  2. ↑ Jan Christiansen: The gentle giant. First flight of the Junkers G 38 on November 6, 1929. In: junkers.de. JUMA Verwaltungsges.mbH, November 2008, accessed on November 20, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Aero magazine issue 128, German edition, p. 3560, Marshall Cavendish International Ltd, London 1985
  4. ↑ Bernd Junkers: December 3rd, 1909: The idea of ​​the big grand piano is born. In: junkers.de. JUMA Verwaltungsges.mbH, December 2012, accessed on November 20, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Manfred Griehl: Junkers. Aircraft since 1915 (=  type compass ). Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03179-1 , p. 44 ff .