AIAA - German Marine & Transport of World War II

German Marine & Transport
Aircraft of World War 2

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INTRODUCTION 3
German Marine & Transport

Aircraft of World War 2
T
his third Aviation Archive on German aircraft reviews the no longer with us – Hans Redemann, Alfred Kruger, Gerhard Patt, and
flying-boats, seaplanes, transports and gliders operated by respected historian, William Green.
the Luftwaffe. The format follows that of the previous books More than 20 different types are described and their stories provide a
on German Fighters and Bombers in dealing with the types in the fertile ground in tracing the progress of the wartime Luftwaffe, from its
order of first flights in each section, supported by cutaway drawings initial successes from 1939 through to 1942, the stalemate and gradual
by John Weal of some of the most significant machines to see service retreat in North Africa and the first strong resistance in Russia, until the
between the mid-1930s and 1945. decimation of the transport units over the last two years of the conflict,
Where possible, the Archive series has included detail photographs and the whittling away of the already diminished marine elements.
taken by the magazines Aeroplane and Flight, but the majority of Compared with the combat units that received the majority of new
the illustrations in this edition come from other sources. The author designs through the six years of war, there were no new seaplanes or
acknowledges the kind assistance of the Bundesarchive and various flying-boats introduced after 1940 and very little new on the transport
friends in Germany including Klaus Peters as well as those who are front after the Junkers Ju 352 flew in October 1943. Barry C. Wheeler
Aviation Archive Series

German Marine & Transport Aircraft of World War 2
• Editor: Allan Burney • Author: Barry C. Wheeler • Design: Key Studio
• Publisher and Managing Director: Adrian Cox • Executive Chairman: Richard Cox • Commercial Director: Ann Saundry • Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd +44 (0)20 7429 4000
• Printing: Warners (Midlands) PLC, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH.
All rights reserved. The entire content of Aviation Archive is © Key Publishing 2015. Reproduction in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever is strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the Publisher. We are unable to guarantee the
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4 CONTENTS
German Marine & Transport Airc

CONTENTS 5
ircraft of World War 2

MARINE AIRCRAFT
6 INTRODUCTION
7 HEINKEL He 59
10 HEINKEL He 60
12 ARADO Ar 95
14 DORNIER Do 18
21 HEINKEL He 114
24 BLOHM & VOSS HA 139
28 ARADO Ar 196
34 BLOHM & VOSS BV 138
41 HEINKEL He 115
46 DORNIER Do 24
54 DORNIER Do 26
TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT
64 INTRODUCTION
65 JUNKERS Ju 52
72 JUNKERS Ju 90/290/390
76 MESSERSCHMITT Me 321
78 ARADO Ar 232
81 MESSERSCHMITT Me 323 GIGANT
88 JUNKERS Ju 252
90 DFS 230
92 GOTHA Go 242/244
96 SECOND-LINE TRANSPORTS
98 AXIS AIRCRAFT
6 MARINE AIRCRAFT
German Marine Aircraft
W
ith a long coastline on the Baltic important component aboard Germany’s major Typical of a German Marine base in 1942 was
and another facing the North warships, spotting for them and flying over-the- Skaramanga in Greece, pictured when the
chances of an enemy attack were low. In the
Sea, Germany traditionally horizon missions in search of enemy shipping.
foreground is a Dutch-built Fokker T.VIII, one of
maintained an air component to patrol these Alongside the Navy’s Seeluftstreitkrafte, the a number taken over by the Germans in 1940,
and support its naval forces, initially during Luftwaffe offered longer-range aircraft such as while scattered along the quayside are Heinkel
World War 1 and then from the beginning of the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor and torpedo- He 60s, a type then well past its front-line status.
the establishment of the Third Reich in 1933. carrying bombers to strike at enemy vessels
Under the control of the Kriegsmarine, the in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and it was
Seeluftstreitkrafte (Fleet Air Arm), comprised the air force which absorbed the marine units air superiority and losses eventually forced
seaplanes and flying-boats used mainly for from 1942, integrating the relatively small force them into an ineffectual force.
reconnaissance and air-sea rescue. However, into the Luftwaffe organisation. From northern Air-sea rescue duties were flown by
with the advent of war in September 1939, Norway to North Africa, supply operations were Seenotstaffeln and Seenotflugkommandos
the 240 marine aircraft on strength – largely flown by the long-range six-engined Bv 222 which began forming pre-war but became an
made up of Heinkel He 59 floatplanes with flying-boats, supported by other types assigned important element with air battles over the
increasing numbers of more modern He 115 to mine-clearance, communications and mail sea, particularly during the Battle of Britain in
torpedo bombers and Dornier Do 18 flying- delivery for the ground forces. 1940. Aircrew of both sides were rescued by the
boats – took a more active role in support of As Germany moved into Russia and Germans and the British, but it became clear
the surface fleet as well as coastal patrol duties overwhelmed countries in southern Europe, that the He 59 floatplanes on humanitarian
which expanded as mainland Europe fell under so specialised maritime flying groups were missions were also reconnoitring British
Nazi occupation. Later, the two-seat, twin-float established in designated areas, such as shipping and the RAF was ordered to engage
Arado Ar 196 took on combat duties when they Aufklarungsgruppe 126 (See) for operations and destroy these aircraft. Subsequently, the
presented themselves, and the strange-looking in the Mediterranean. However, as Germany’s obsolete biplanes in this role were replaced by
three-engined Blohm & Voss Bv 138 joined North African venture was repulsed, the more efficient three-engined Dornier Do 24
the force and became a supply component already thinly-numbered maritime units found flying-boats and this type remained in service
for the U-Boats. The sturdy Ar 196 was also an themselves outclassed by the Allies’ increasing until the German surrender in May 1945.
HEINKEL He 59 7
Heinkel He 59
W
hen designed in 1930 by subsequently switched to licensee Arado, also for shot-down airmen with the result they
Reinhold Mewes, the He 59 at Warnemünde, which built a further 140 became fair game for RAF fighters. Their
biplane was the largest aircraft He 59Bs. In 1936, the Küstenfliegergruppen side-line activities rumbled, the ponderous
to emerge from Heinkel’s Warnemünde took delivery of the type for coastal patrol biplanes took on darker colours and regular
factory. It was offered both as a general duties with 10 B-2s transferred for service fighter protection.
purpose landplane and a seaplane for use with the Legion Condor in Spain (the Spanish The type was also key to preventing the
by the Reichswehrministerium (Ministry of nicknamed them Zapatones or ‘Big Shoes’ due Dutch from blowing bridges over the Maas
Transport), but with interest increasingly to their large floats). in Rotterdam during the German invasion of
shown for the sea-going variant, the By 1939, the He 59 was considered obsolete the Netherlands when 12 He 59s loaded with
wheeled He 59A was abandoned in favour for combat use, but its reliability saw its German troops landed on the river early on
of the twin-float He 59B design, the retention in second-line duties, firstly as 10 May, six approaching from the east and
prototype of which made its initial flight in navigation and torpedo-dropping trainers, west simultaneously, to secure the vital
January 1932. but more importantly as a Seenotflugzeug or Willems Bridge. Four aircraft were destroyed in
Flight trials demonstrated good handling air-sea rescue aircraft. the operation.
and while cruising speeds in the region of Modified with extra dinghies, medical Examples of this floatplane continued to
112mph were sedate, the He 59B proved a equipment and additional access ladders, the be found on utility duties in remote areas of
workmanlike machine and when the wraps large biplane successfully switched to its new German-controlled Europe until late in the
came off Hitler’s expansionist Government life. These engaged in the rescue of downed war and both Spain and Finland operated
in 1935, the type appeared with guns in the aircrew during the early invasion of the Low examples. The roles of the He 59 were taken
nose, dorsal and ventral positions. In addition, Countries and France and more especially over by the Dornier Do 18 and later by the
torpedoes, bombs and mines could be carried during the Battle of Britain in mid-1940. larger Do 24.
in the internal weapons bay. Initially painted overall white with large Red
In 1934, the He 59B entered service Cross markings, the type was allowed a certain Summer 1942 and in Finland the Germans were
still using He 59s for both air-sea rescue as well
with the Deutschen Verkehrsfliegerschule freedom to fly on humanitarian missions, but
as agent-dropping in the partisan support role.
(German Commercial Flying School) at List, a the British subsequently suspected them of Seenotstaffeln 9 operated this example and
camouflaged title for the naval aviation school, observing shipping movements on behalf of the basic design remained the same through a
16 Bs following 14 He 59As with production the Stuka units while engaged in searching decade of flying.
8 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Heinkel He 59B-2
Crew: Four
Powerplant: Two 660hp BMW VI
liquid-cooled engines
Max Speed: 130mph at 3,280ft
Cruise Speed: 115mph at sea level
Range: 585 miles
Empty Weight: 11,023lb
Loaded Weight: 20,062lb
Armament: One 7.9mm MG 15
machine gun in open
nose and dorsal
positions, plus one
7.9mm in ventral position
Max Bomb Load: Four 551lb bombs in
Above: Registered to Heinkel GmbH at Warnemünde in June 1932, D-2215 was the second prototype
He 59a and originally flew with a wheeled undercarriage, but with abandonment of the land-based ventral fuselage bay
version the wheels were exchanged for two large floats, each containing fuel. Later changes to form Wing Span: 77ft 9in
the He 59B included a cut-out in the upper wing trailing edge and similar cut-outs in the lower wing Length: 57ft 1in
to improve the view from the open dorsal position, and the large tab on the rudder trailing edge was Height: 23ft 4in
incorporated into an enlarged vertical fin.
Above: Photographed in 1934 from the top

Typical of the badges worn by He 59 units are the following: 3./Seenotgruppe formed at Boulogne of a large crane installed at the Travemünde
in June 1940; LN.Schule See training unit based at Dievenow/Wollin; 3./Küstenfliegergruppe 106 experimental establishment on the Baltic
based at Borkum until 1939. coast, one of the prototype Heinkel He 59B-2
floatplanes taxies out for a flight. Its quasi-
civilian use was underlined by the prominent
commercial registration D-ATYP with red-white-
black national colours across the fin and rudder
before the swastika became the official tail
marking from September 1935. The B-2 was also
fitted with military equipment, which included
the nose and dorsal gun positions seen here. The
two-bay biplane was of mixed construction and
proved a durable design, with open cockpit and
two gunner positions in a layout harking back to
World War 1.
HEINKEL He 59 9
Above: Another ageing He 59, this one operated by Seenotflug 3 based at Cherbourg and operated
by the Luftwaffe with standard camouflage of two greens on the upper surfaces and light blue
underneath. Coded DA+WT, it was lost in an accident on 7 September 1940.
Right: Shooting down He 59s was not always straightforward. Although slow, a competent pilot could
use this to his advantage to force over-enthusiastic enemies to overshoot and frustrate their aim
by sharp turns at low-level. Nevertheless, the result was usually a foregone conclusion. These stills
illustrate the beginning of the end for an example caught off the German North Sea coast.
Below: Operated by the Seenotdienst for air-sea rescue mainly around the European coastline, white-
painted He 59Cs carried the Reichsdienstflagge (State Service Flag) on the fin, sometimes with the
eagle emblem as here on D-AFFA, but indicating they were flown on Government duties and not by
the Luftwaffe. To assist with the retrieval of downed aircrew, access ladders extended from the ventral
hatch and from the centre fuselage, in addition to ‘grab ropes’ along each side of the floats.
10 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Heinkel He 60
D
esigned for catapult operation and
short-range reconnaissance, the Heinkel He 60
two-seat Heinkel He 60 single-bay
Crew: Two (pilot observer)
biplane first flew in early 1933. Of mixed
Powerplant: One BMW VI 6.0
construction with metal floats and fabric-
water-cooled V12 engine
covering overall, it had an open cockpit and of 660hp
an observer’s position behind with a single Max Speed: 149mph at sea level
7.9mm MG 15 machine gun. The engine was Cruise Speed: 134mph
a 660hp BMW VI. Range: 513 miles
Delivery of the He 60C production model Empty Weight: 6,018lb
was made in 1936 to Küstenfliegergruppen 106 Loaded Weight: 7,495lb
at List, with 206 and 306 at Norderney, but Armament: One 7.92mm MG 15 in
while pleasant to fly the type remained under- flexible mount for observer
powered for the job it was designed for with Wingspan: 44ft 4in
a top speed of 129mph at 6,500ft. The He 60D Length: 37ft 9in
marginally improved things with better radios Height: 17ft 5in
and the addition of a single forward-firing
7.9mm MG 17, but after 1940 the type was
Right: A workmanlike design, the He 60D
largely consigned to second-line duties in the exhibited shades of World War 1 with its biplane
Baltic and the Aegean. No 3 Staffeln of See- layout and open cockpits, but it gave the German
Aufklärungsgruppen 127 in the Gulf of Finland Navy experience with catapult operations off its
finally withdrew its He 60s in October 1943. new warships in the late 1930s. In this pre-war
view, German crews practice fixing retrieval lines
The Spanish Nationalists received six He 60Es
to an He 60D, lending scale to the size of this
in 1936, the survivors remaining in use until coastal patrol floatplane.
their retirement in 1948. Production reached 84
aircraft, 48 by Arado and 36 by Weser. Below left: Fourth prototype He 60V-4 and the
first of 14 pre-production examples seen during
development trials.
Below: A camouflaged He 60D of Ku.Fl.Gr 106

taxiing on its beaching trolley to a slipway at List,
with a little help from a groundcrew party.
HEINKEL He 60 11
12 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Arado Ar 95
S
temming from a 1935 Naval High Command requirement for a two-seat aircraft with
optional wheel or float undercarriage to operate from the planned aircraft carrier Graf Arado 95A-1
Zeppelin, the biplane Arado Ar 95 was designed by Walter Blume and flew in 1936.
Crew: Two
Powered by an 845hp BMW 132 radial engine, the flight trials with five prototypes revealed a poor
Powerplant: One 880hp BMW 132De
performance – a top speed of 187mph – resulting in its cancellation for carrier use. However, Arado
radial engine
persevered with the design and built six Ar 95As and these served with the Condor Legion in Spain
from 1938. Offering the type for export, Chile bought six, three each with wheels (Ar 95Bs) and
Cruise Speed: 158mph
floats. A further batch went to the Luftwaffe and served with 3./See-Aufklarungsgruppe (SAGr) 125
Range: 683 miles
in the Baltic and later in Finland.
Armament: One fixed, forward firing
7.92mm MG 17 machine
gun and one MG15 in
rear cockpit
Bomb Load: One 1,764lb torpedo or one
1,102lb bomb
Wingspan: 41ft
Length: 36ft 5in
Height: 11ft 10in
Below: Carrying what appear to be either two

anti-submarine depth charges or rescue buoys
under the fuselage, this Ar 95A Wk Nr 2359
(7R+QL) of 3./SAGr.125 prepares to depart from
its Baltic base, watched by the groundcrew. It
was one of eight examples operated by the unit
in 1941.
Left: This 1938 sales brochure in French and

Spanish was linked with the export of six
Ar 95s to the Ejercito de Chile, the order being
completed in 1939.
Top right: A Flight cutaway drawing of the Ar 95,

published in October 1939, showing the various
configurations for the type and its armament.
Right: Initially designed as a two-seater, the

fifth aircraft, D-OHGV seen here, was one of
two completed with three seats intended as
production prototypes for the Ar 95A and flew in
1937. Capable of carrying light bombs under the
centre fuselage, armament comprised a single
forward-firing 7.9mm MG 17 and a similar calibre
machine-gun in the rear cockpit.
ARADO Ar 95 13
14 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Dornier Do 18
T
o this attractive pre-war flying-boat Operations were also flown from the catapult-
falls the dubious honour of becoming equipped seaplane tender, Schwabenland, from
the first Luftwaffe casualty of World which flights to the USA were made.
War 2 to fall to the British forces when, on Military Do 18Ds began delivery to the
26 September 1939, a Dornier Do 18D of Kü.Fl.Gr units, initially from Dornier production
Küstenfliegergruppen (Kü.Fl.Gr) 106, which and later from Weser Flugzeugbau. By mid-
was shadowing British naval units in the 1939, five Staffeln were equipped, but while
North Sea, was attacked by a Fleet Air Arm the aircraft was reliable and liked by its crews,
Blackburn Skua of No 803 Squadron from it was quickly becoming obsolete and the two
HMS Ark Royal and forced down. The four defensive gun positions fore and aft would be
German crew were rescued to be made hard put to successfully fight off determined
prisoners of war and the hapless Dornier opposition. An upgrade involving more
slipped beneath the waves. powerful 650hp Jumo 205D engines and a
The all-metal Do 18 had a pedigree going 13mm gun in the nose with a turreted 20mm
back to the 1920s and the highly respected Wal cannon in the dorsal position was trialled as
(Whale) series of boats. Stable at sea thanks to the Do 18G and the first of these began joining
broadbeam hulls with large sponsons each units by the end of 1939.
side, the Wal boats gave way to the more At the outbreak of war, the Do 18s were
developed Do 18 designed firstly to meet a jointly operated by the Oberbefehlshaber der
Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH) requirement for Marine and the Luftwaffe with 36 aircraft in
transatlantic mail delivery and secondly as a the North Sea area and 27 in the Baltic.
long-range reconnaissance flying-boat for the Recognising that stooging around at 127mph
military. Dornier retained the high wing of the reconnoitring enemy warships in combat
Wal but gave the aircraft two 600hp Junkers zones was a short cut to being shot down,
Jumo 205 diesel engines mounted in a tandem the Dornier boats of 2./Kü.Fl.Gr 106 were re-
push-pull layout, each driving a three-bladed assigned to the Seenotdienst (air-sea rescue)
metal propeller. role as Do 18Ns after the fall of France, their
The prototype flew on 15 March 1935, from main area of duty being the Bay of Biscay from
the Bodensee, otherwise known as Lake October 1940. The following year, three Staffeln
Constance, where Friedrichshafen was the home of Kü.Fl.Gr 406 and 3./Kü.Fl.Gr 506 were based
of the Dornier-Werke. Flight trials were highly in Norway for rescue and miscellaneous duties,
successful and three pre-production aircraft but more capable types such as the Blohm
were delivered to DLH and on 10-11 July 1936, & Voss Bv 138 were arriving to replace this Dornier Do 18D
the airline flew D-ABYM Aeolus for 30hr 21min likeable stalwart, the remaining Do 18s being Crew: Four (pilot, naval observer,
covering a distance of 3,455 miles, underlining switched to train new crews the finer points radio operator and front
the type’s capability for its civil and military role. about flying and seamanship. gunner, flight engineer
and rear gunner)
Powerplant: Two 605hp Junkers Jumo
205C Diesel engines
Max Speed: 155mph at sea level
Range: 2,175 miles
Loaded Weight: 18,739lb and 22,046lb
from catapult
machine gun in bow and
dorsal positions
Bomb Load: Two 110lb bombs under
starboard wing
Wingspan: 77ft 9in
Length: 63ft 1in
Height: 17ft 6in
DORNIER Do 18 15
Above: D-ANHR was a special

long-range Do 18F with the
wings extended by 8ft 6in and
a higher payload. It first flew on
11 June 1937, and in March 1938
established a straight-line distance
record for seaplanes when it was
catapulted off the Westfalen off Start Point,
in Devon, and flew non-stop to Caravelas on the
Brazilian coast, a distance of 5,215 miles.
Right: Pilot (left) and co-pilot’s position in the

cockpit of a commercial Do 18. Standard basic
flying instruments faced the pilot with the engine
instruments in the centre and the two throttles
extending from the centre quadrant.
Inset: Deutsche Luft Hansa badge for the pre-war

transatlantic air mail service.
Left: Aeolus was the third prototype Do 18 and

the first of six aircraft operated by DLH. It is
seen being lifted by the electrically-driven crane
aboard the 2,000-ton purpose-built Ostmark at
Travemünde for catapult and endurance trials in
the Baltic. DLH took over the ship on 6 May 1936.
16 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Right: Emblem of 2./Küstenfliegergruppen 406 based at List, North Germany.
Below: By mid-1939, Dornier Do 18Ds equipped the 2nd Staffel of Küstenfliegergruppen 106,
406, 506, 806 and 906, operating in the North Sea area and the Baltic. This grey-painted
example on its beaching trolley, 60+A42, was flown by 2./Kü.Fl.Gr 406 based at List and carried
the Staffel badge on the forward engine cowling.
DORNIER Do 18 17
Left: Green splinter camouflage covers the former

grey finish of Do 18D with the Wehrmacht Luft
code WL-DBA of the FFS (See) development
Staffel, Warnemünde, in summer 1939. Visible
on the wings outboard of the engines are the two
V-shaped diesel exhausts which permanently
marked the upper wing surfaces as well as those
of the tailplanes.
Right: Relatively minor airframe changes, which

included a recontoured bow and improved
defensive armament centred on a 20mm cannon
in a hydraulically-operated turret in the dorsal
position, resulted in the Do 18G. The aircraft seen
here was in use with 2./Kü.Fl.Gr 106.
Centre right: As recounted in the text, Dornier

Do 18D MT+YK of 2./Kü.Fl.Gr 106 became the
first aerial victim of the British services when it
was shot down by Lt B. S. McEwen in a Fleet Air
Arm Skua on 26 September 1939. Pictured from
HMS Somali, which later sank it by gunfire, the
four German crewmen are seen preparing their
dinghy on the port sponson prior to making their
way to the British warship and nearly six years
as PoWs.
Below: The second aerial success for the British

and the first for the RAF in World War 2 was also
a Dornier when, on 8 October 1939, the crew
of a Coastal Command Lockheed Hudson
reconnaissance bomber of No 224 Squadron
from Leuchars in Scotland sighted the flying-boat
low over the North Sea and attacked it. RAF pilot
Flt Lt Womersey used his front gun and forced the
German down. Again, the four crew took to their
dinghy and were picked up by an RN warship, the
Hudson then sinking the Do 18 with gunfire – the
picture shows the aircraft settling in the water.
19
20
Dornier Do 18D
KEY
1. Starboard navigation light 66. Diagonal bracing wires 127. Aft engine water header tank
2. Junkers-type ‘double wing’ aileron 67. Three-blade variable-pitch metal propeller 128. Hoist attachment bar
3. Aileron tab 68. Spinner 129. Aft nacelle panels
4. Aileron attachment hinges 69. Propeller hub 130. Aft engine drive shaft casing
5. Aileron actuating hinge fairings 70. Wing centre-section front spar 131. Spinner back plate
6. Inboard flap section 71. Centre-/outer-section spar strut 132. Aft spinner
7. Flap attachment hinges attachment point 133. Three-blade VP metal pusher propeller
8. Wing aft section fabric skinning 72. Outer-section front spar structure 134. Wing centre-section trailing-edge
9. Rear spar 73. Main rib stations 135. Rear spar
10. Wing forward section metal skinning 74. Port aerial mast 136. Fuselage frame/nacelle-support inverted
11. Starboard aerial mast 75. Port navigation light ‘Vee’ strut upper attachment
12. Front spar 76. Aerial 137. Wing upper surface exhaust outlet
13. Wing main ribs 77. Aileron tab 138. Superstructure aft fairing panels
14. Wing intermediate ribs 78. Junkers-type ‘double-wing’ aileron 139. Inverted ‘Vee’ strut/fuselage
15. Leading-edge aerial mast/separator 79. Aileron attachment hinges frame attachment
16. Underwing optional bomb load (2 x 220lb) 80. Aileron actuating hinge fairings 140. Aft compartment porthole
17. Aerial 81. Rear spar 141. Aft baggage compartment
18. Starboard sponson wing struts 82. Control rods 142. Centre-line walkway
19. Starboard sponson squared-off 83. Centre-/outer-section rear spar strut 143. ‘Vee’ bottom structure
trailing-edge attachment point 144. Twin water rudders
20. Sponson rear spar 84. Inboard flap section 145. Gunner’s step
21. Sponson strut spar attachment points 85. Flap attachment hinges 146. Bulkhead frame
22. Hull step 86. Handgrip rail 147. Rear gunner’s windscreen
23. Catapult launch dolly rear attachment 87. Aft engine intakes 148. Dorsal turret ring
24. Fuel lines 88. Oil tank 149. 7.92mm MG 15 machine gun
25. Sponson/fuselage main frame member 89. Hoist attachment forward lug 150. D/F loop
26. Sponson fuel cells 90. Wing front spar/nacelle main frame 151. Aft fuselage structure
27. Fuel filler access panels 91. Forward engine bearers 152. Catapult launch rear support strut
28. Starboard sponson mooring lug 92. Forward engine water header tank attachment point
29. Sponson end rib 93. Forward engine intakes 153. Control cables
30. Sponson leading-edge 94. Nacelle aerial mast 154. Aft bulkhead
31. Sponson/fuselage fairing panels 95. Port sponson/wing rear strut 155. Aft fuselage skinning
32. Hull sidewall 96. Exhaust outlet 156. Integral fuselage/tailfin frame
33. Catapult launch dolly front attachment 97. Inner wing exhaust pipe 157. Port tailplane support struts
34. Squared planing hull bottom 98. Forward engine nacelle 158. Port tailplane
35. Bulkhead 99 Exhaust manifold 159. Strut attachment
36. Fuselage frame 100. Junkers Jumo 205C Diesel engine 160. Port elevator balance
37. Flight deck step 101. Nacelle hinged inspection side panels 161. Cross brace
38. Jump seat support 102. Hull/wing support superstructure 162. Port elevator
39. Control link tunnel 103. Leading-edge intake controllable 163. Tailfin structure
40. Forward hull mooring lugs radiator shutters 164. Aerial attachment
41. Hull ‘Vee’ bottom structure 104. Oil cooler radiators, upper to aft engine, 165. Rudder balance
42. Nose compartment/flight deck bulkhead lower to forward engine 166. Rudder frame
door (starboard side) 105. Aerial lead-ins 167. Rudder post
43. Gunner’s step 106. Bulkhead door 168. Rudder trim tab
44. Nose compartment (sea equipment store) 107. Crew deck porthole 169. Rudder external hinges
45. ‘Vee’ bottom bow 108. Navigator/wireless-operator’s station 170. Variable incidence tailplane
46. Bow frame member 109. Pump/auxiliary equipment compartment 171. Elevator torque tube
47. Bow mooring ring 110. Fuselage main frame bulkhead 172. Starboard tailplane support struts
48. Retractable mooring/towing bollard 111. Midships fuel compartment (four tanks) 173. Tailplane structure
49. Ammunition magazines 112. Midships compartment aft bulkhead 174. Support strut attachment points
50. Bow turret 113. Bulkhead door centre-line walkway 175. Starboard elevator
51. Gun mounting ring 114. Midships compartment porthole 176. Elevator balance
52. 7.92mm MG 15 machine gun 115. Superstructure fairing
53. Nose decking 116. Superstructure aft frame
54. Windscreen panels 117. Engine access ladder
55. Compass 118. Superstructure entry door port side
56. Instrument panel coaming 119. Wing front spar/superstructure
57. Pilot’s seat nacelle attachment
58. Flight deck bulkhead door 120. Underwing slot intakes Right: Dornier’s factory at Friedrichshafen
59. Hinged roof glazing for crew entry 121. Inner wing exhaust pipe operated its own airfield for landplanes and
60. Roof structure/external strakes 122. Inner end rib also enjoyed the waters of the Bodensee for
61. Bulkhead frame 123. Wing rear spar/superstructure flying-boat testing and that was where the new
62. Port sponson nacelle attachment Do 18a began its career. Rolled out in early
63. Fuel filler access panels 124. Aft engine cooling louvres 1935, the prototype D-AHIS was named Monsun
64. Port sponson mooring lug 125. Junkers Jumo 205C Diesel engine by Deutsche Luft Hansa (who actually never
65. Port sponson wing strut 126. Individual exhaust stubs operated it) and made its first flight on 15 March.
HEINKEL He 114 21
Heinkel He 114
A
well-proportioned semi-sesquiplane to be a poor performer, inadequately stressed
with small stub wings, which formed for catapult launching, unmanageable in Heinkel He 114
a biplane, the two-seat Heinkel choppy water and aerodynamically unpleasant
Crew: Two (pilot and observer,)
He 114 was a pre-war design intended as prompting a reduction in wing span and
Powerplant: 1 × BMW 132K 9-cylinder
a replacement for the company’s He 60 enlargement of the tail area. With the cockpit
radial engine of 960hp
for catapult use aboard German Navy reduced in height to cut drag, this troublesome
warships. However, it seldom operated in design entered service as the He 114A-2 with a
Range: 2,175 miles
the shipboard role serving out the early war training unit and one coastal Staffeln from June
years on over-water reconnaissance duties in 1937, but with the new Arado Ar 196 showing
areas where its obsolescence was less likely great promise as a worthy successor, He 114
Armament: 1 × .312in MG 15 machine
to be challenged by the enemy. production was reduced and the type offered
gun in flexible mount
The first prototype flew in September for export. Sweden ordered 12 He 114Bs where for observer
1936 with an in-line engine, the third and they were known as S 12s, Rumania took 24 Bomb Load: Two 110lb bombs
subsequent aircraft receiving radials, as and had Denmark not been invaded, four were Wingspan: 44ft 7in
specified in the original requirement. Trials at signed for but not delivered. Spain also took a
Length: 38ft 3in
the Travemünde experimental establishment small number in 1943 and used the type until
Height: 17ft 2in
with the early prototypes showed the He 114 1954, the last user of this disappointing design.
Top: The first German military unit with the He 114A was Küstenfliegergruppe 506 which undertook
service trials with the type from the end of 1938. Trials showed the type could just reach a maximum
speed of 200mph at sea level, but for normal cruising at 75% power it made 168mph, also at sea level.
Overall dimensions included a wing span of 44ft 7in, a length of 38ft 3in and a height of 17ft 2in.
Right: The He 114 V3 D-IOGD joined the first two prototypes on the test programme in the summer of
1936 and was the first with an 850hp BMW 132 radial engine instead of the liquid-cooled inline 960hp
Daimler-Benz DB600 on the V1 and the 680hp Junkers Jumo 210 on the V2.
Left: See-Aufklarergruppen 125 and 126 were the sole users of this design and these two Weser-built
examples retain manufacturer codes IY+YG and IY+YK prior to delivery. As well as two 110lb bombs
on external racks, defensive armament was a single 7.9mm MG 17 firing through the propeller and a
further 7.9mm MG 15 for the observer in the rear cockpit.
21
22
24 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Blohm & Voss Ha 139

T
he great German shipbuilding firm Named Nordmeer, D-AMIE was followed aerodynamically improved it was delivered in
of Blohm & Voss established its own by Nordwind D-AJEY, both delivered to DLH spring 1938. Dimensionally larger overall, it was
aircraft design bureaux as Hamburger in March and June 1937. No time was lost consequently heavier than the others.
Flugzeugbau on 2 July 1933, and one of its by the airline, the two flying-boats making Commercial flights ceased with the outbreak
first projects was for a long-range commercial seven return flights operating from the of war and the Ha 139B was converted for
flying-boat to meet a requirement from depot ships, Friesenland and Schwabenland long-range maritime reconnaissance. Defensive
Deutsche Lufthansa. Under the leadership between the Azores and New York between machine guns and military equipment
of Dr-Ing Richard Vogt, Projekt 15 emerged August and November that year. The flights was fitted and the aircraft joined 1 Staffel,
as a handsome four-engined trans-ocean revealed a certain lack of directional stability Küstenfliegergruppe 406 taking part in the
aircraft with an inverted gull wing, twin fins so the rudder size was increased and among 1940 Norwegian campaign alongside the two
and rudders, a slim fuselage and two sizeable other changes the four engine radiators were Ha 139As which had also donned camouflage
floats. Designated Ha 139, it had in-built repositioned from the float stub fairings and operated as transports in support of the
strength for catapult launching and fuel for a to beneath the wings to prevent water German troops.
range of over 3,000 miles. DLH ordered three, ingestion. The third aircraft for DLH was In 1942, the sole Ha 139B was fitted out as
the first flying in the autumn 1936. D-ASTA Nordstern, designated Ha 139B, and an aerial minesweeper with an extraordinary
BLOHM & VOSS Ha 139 25
Right: Construction of the first Ha 139 showing

the unusual circular main spar extending
through the fuselage as a one-piece item, a
feature of the aircraft designed by Dr Richard
Vogt. As well as forming the main unit on which
the wings and engines were located, it also held
much of the fuel.
Below: Front view of the third and final Ha 139.

The engine radiators, which were moved from
their previous position on the stub float pylons
due to water ingestion, can be seen between
the inner and outer Jumo 205Cs. Note too,
the vertical fins were moved inboard from the
tailplane ends.
magnetic degaussing ‘ring’ fitted round the

airframe. Its success or otherwise on trials is
presumed not to have been overly-successful,
but the flying days for all three floatplanes drew
to a close after 1942 as a lack of spares saw their
withdrawal from use and eventual scrapping.
26 MARINE AIRCRAFT
BLOHM & VOSS Ha 139 27
Above: The Ha 142 of 1938 was Hamburger Flugzeugwerke’s attempt to interest DLH in a landplane
version of the Ha 139 and four prototypes were built, aimed at the airline’s long-range mailplane Hamburger Ha 139A
operation. Trials were short-lived and the prototype, now known as the BV 142V-1 D-ABUV and named
Kastor, was returned to Blohm & Voss. The type was also offered as a six-seat maritime reconnaissance Crew: Four
aircraft, but apart from some transport flights in 1940, the four aircraft disappeared and were likely Powerplant: Four 605hp Junkers
broken up by the manufacturers. Jumo 205C
Max Speed: 179mph
Left: The first of the trio of long-range trans-oceanic mailplanes, Lufthansa’s D-AMIE Nordmeer is
craned aboard the catapult ship Schwabenland. Between August and November 1937 this aircraft and Cruise Speed: 161.5mph
its sister D-AJEY Nordwind made seven return flights between the Azores and New York, crewed by two Range: 3,293 miles
pilots, a radio operator and a flight engineer. Empty Weight: 22,839lb
(24,118lb on Ha 139B)
Below left: A relatively wide and spacious cockpit allowed the two pilots to fly the Ha 139s in a modicum
of comfort. This is the ‘front office’ of the third prototype, D-ASTA Nordstern, which was larger and
(38,691lb on Ha 139B)
incorporated modifications following experience with the first two aircraft.
Wing Span: 88ft 7in
Below: Second of the trio was Nordwind. It shared the transatlantic flights with it sistership and at the (96ft 9in on Ha 139B)
start of the war received camouflage to undertake military transport and support work. Length: 64ft
(64ft 5.5in on Ha 139B)
Below right: The Ha 139B converted into a mine-sweeper and wrapped in a ‘washing line’ of Height: 14ft 9in
degaussing equipment. This was energised by a small motor located in the fuselage, but it proved less (15ft 9in on Ha 139B)
than successful.
28 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Arado Ar 196
O
f the marine aircraft deployed by main float and two outriggers as the B-series.
both sides during the European Two prototypes of each were flown, the first in Arado Ar 196A-3
War, only the two-seat Arado Ar 196 mid-1937 with Helmut Schuster at the controls,
Crew: Two
came nearest to being termed a ‘fighter’ and after comparison trials the twin-float
Powerplant: One 960hp BMW 132K
and it could only attempt this role when the version was selected as being more stable in
nine-cylinder radial
odds were strongly in its favour. Overall, rough sea and ordered into production as the
the Arado proved highly capable and in Ar 196A. Cruise Speed: 166mph
performance far out-stripped its British Powered by a 960hp BMW 132K radial Range: 500 miles
ship-based opposite numbers, the Walrus engine, the new Ar 196A replaced the He 60 Empty Weight: 5,148lb
and Swordfish. aboard the Admiral Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, Loaded Weight: 7,282lb
Arado designer Walter Blume produced the Gneisenau, Admiral Scheer and Prinz Eugen by Armament: Two 20mm MG FF cannon
Ar 196 in response to a requirement for a new the start of the war. The small floatplane gained in wings plus one 7.9mm
ship-based spotter/reconnaissance monoplane major success for the Graf Spee over three MG 17 machine gun
to replace the ageing Heinkel He 60 biplane. months when it flew reconnaissance missions on starboard fuselage
Blume worked on two designs, one with twin pinpointing isolated British merchantmen side firing forward and
floats as the A-series and the other with a single which the pocket battleship attacked and one 7.9mm MG 15 in
observer’s position
sank, 11 in all, until the Royal Navy cornered
Bomb Load: Two 110lb SC50 bombs on
the warship forcing it to be scuttled outside
Below: A photo shoot with Ar 196A-3 GA+DX ETC 50/VIII wing racks
Montevideo harbour in December 1939.
produced a series of pictures taken along the Wingspan: 40ft 10in
Baltic coast near Warnemünde. This variant was The Luftwaffe took delivery of the first of a
Length: 36ft
the principal production version supplied for more heavily armed version, the Ar 196A-2, at
Height: 14ft 7in
catapult use aboard Kriegsmarine capital ships. the end of 1939 fitted with two wing-mounted
ARADO Ar 196 29
20mm MG FF cannon in addition to the single

7.9mm machine gun for the observer. The aim
was an aircraft more capable of harassing RAF
Coastal Command aircraft like the ponderous
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, but the first
success for 1./Küstenfliegergruppe 706 from
their Danish base turned out not to be an
aircraft but the British submarine HMS Seal
which had surfaced in the Kattegat following
mine damage. One of two Arados landed and
took the Captain, Lt Cdr Lonsdale, to Aalborg to
effect the official surrender of the vessel.
Upgrades of the type continued, but by mid-
war the Arado became less the hunter, more
the hunted, as Beaufighters arrived to fight the
German seaplane as well as the more potent
Ju 88 fighters now patrolling the Biscay area.
Apart from Western Europe, Ar 196s also
operated around the Baltic and the Black Sea,
as well as from Crete, the Aegean and Southern
France. Foreign users of the type were limited Above: Walter Blume also designed two prototypes with a single float and outrigger units under
to the Bulgarian and Rumanian air arms. the wings. D-ILRE was the third aircraft with D-OVMB being the V-4. Following trials, the twin-float
Production was undertaken by Arado initially, arrangement best suited the requirement and production of the Ar 196A began in late 1938. The two-
bladed propeller was later changed to a three-bladed type with the 970hp BMW 132K radial engine.
but later switched to companies in occupied
France and Holland with an eventual total of Below: One reason which may have influenced the twin-float decision was the accident on 8 December
526 built up to August 1944 when the last 1938, when the fourth prototype D-OVMB lost its engine and caught fire in choppy seas off
example was completed. Travemünde. Pilot Helmut Schuster survived, but the aircraft was scrapped.
Walter Blume, Designer and Business

Director of the Arado Flugzeugwerke,
1939-45. Born in Hirschberg, Silesia, on
10 January 1896, Blume was a fighter
pilot in World War 1 and worked in the late
1920s for Albatros before joining Arado in
1932. Post-war, he worked on light aircraft
design and was involved in development
of the Italian Piaggio P.149 and the larger
C.160 Transall transport for use by the
West German Air Force. Blume died on
27 May 1964.
30 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Arado Ar 196A-3
KEY
1. Spinner 61. Dorsal gun swivel mounting 101. MG 81Z counterbalance
2. Propeller hub 62. Wind deflector plate 102. Wing attachment strengthening plate
3. Starboard fuselage fixed 7.9mm MG 17 63. Ammunition feed 103. Wing fold line
gun port 64. Ring sight 104. Gun charging cylinder
4. Schwarz adjustable-pitch three-blade 65. Twin 7.9mm MG 81Z flexible machine guns 105. Ammunition drum (60 rounds)
propeller 66. Flare bomb stowage 106. Port wing fixed 20mm MG FF cannon
5. Cowling ring 67. Gun support bracket 107. Cannon aft mounting bracket
6. Cylinder head fairings 68. Fuselage aft frame 108. Cartridge collector box
7. BMW 132K nine-cylinder air cooled 69. Master compass access 109. Cannon barrel support sleeve
radial engine 70. Fuselage skinning 110. Watertight muzzle cap
8. Cowling panel frame 71. Stringers 111. Forward spar attachment
9. Quick-release catch 72. Elevator control cable linkage 112. Float forward strut/fuselage attachment
10. Cowling flaps 73. Rudder controls 113. Tubular strut fairing
11. Engine lower bearers 74. Tailfin/fuselage support/attachment 114. Inner Vee-strut
12. Handholds bracket
13. Engine accessories 75. Tailfin root fillet
14. Air louvre 76. Starboard tailplane
15. Firewall bulkhead frame 77. Elevator mass balance
16. Oil tank 78. Starboard elevator
17. Starboard MG 17 trough 79. Tailfin leading edge
18. Fuselage frame/engine support 80. Rudder internal mass balance
bearer attachment 81. Rudder tab linkage
19. Engine upper bearers 82. Tailfin structure
20. Forward fuselage decking 83. Aerial
21. Starboard wing skinning 84. Aerial stub attachment
22. Leading edge rib stations 85. Rudder upper hinge
23. Starboard outer rib 86. Rudder frame
24. Starboard navigation light 87. Rudder post
25. Starboard wingtip 88. Rudder tab
26. Starboard aileron 89. Elevator tab
27. Aileron mass balance 90. Tab hinge
28. Underwing access panel 91. Elevator frame
29. Aileron control linkage 92. Elevator mass balance
30. Windscreen 93. Tailplane structure
31. Instrument panel 94. Elevator attachment
32. Forward fuselage upper frame 95. Rudder control linkage
33. Sea rudder lever 96. Tailplane attachment
34. Handhold 97. Elevator cable/rod link
35. Sea equipment locker (incl drag-line & 98. Tie-down lug
anchor/heaving line) 99. Catapult attachment
36. Rudder pedal assembly 100. Control leads
37. Seat support frame
38. Entry footstep
39. Seat adjustment handwheel
40. Armrest and seat harness
41. Control column
42. Pilot’s seat
43. Sliding canopy
44. Rear-view mirror
45. Aerial mast
46. Starboard wing-fold position
47. Pilot’s headrest
48. Support frame
49. Canopy aft section
50. Aft canopy lock/release
51. First-aid kit
52. Observer/gunner’s sliding seat
53. Entry footstep
54. Flare cartridge stowage
55. Chart table
56. Radio equipment
57. Fuselage frame/aft spar attachment
58. Wingroot fillet
59. Observer’s sliding seat port runner
60. Ammunition box
ARADO Ar 196 31
115. Cross-brace struts 135. Emergency stowage bin (incl flares &
116. Entry steps emergency rations)
117. Exhaust outlet 136. Sea rudder cable links
118. Oil cooler intake 137. Strut/float aft attachment
119. Strut/float attachment cover 138. Strut attachment shoe
120. Starboard fuel tank (66 Imp gal capacity) 139. Fuselage aft strut
121. Starboard float 140. Wing brace aft strut
122. Upper strake 141. Wing front spar
123. Handholds 142. Wing rib stations
124. Port float 143. Rear spar
125. Side strake 144. Starboard sea rudder
126. Port fuel tank (66 Imp gal capacity) 145. Port flap
127. Vent pipe 146. Aileron tab
128. Filler access cap 147. Handholds
129. Strut/float forward attachment 148. Sea rudder cable runs
130. Fuel lines (feed & return) 149. Sea rudder control linkage
131. Float cross-bracing 150. Port sea rudder
132. Strut cross-bracing 151. Port aileron
133. Smoke canister (port & starboard floats) 152. Port outer rib
134. Float step 153. Port wingtip Pilot’s instrument panel in the Ar 196A, an
154. Port navigation light illustration from the aircraft’s handbook.
32 MARINE AIRCRAFT
ARADO Ar 196 33
Left: One of the few colour pictures of an Arado

Ar 196A, this shows an aircraft of 2 Staffel
Bordfliegergruppe 196 whose sea horse badge,
seen here, can just be made out on the fuselage
side behind the engine.
Inset left: Operated by 2./SAGr. 125, Arado Ar

196A-3 7R+GK was based in the Aegean for
patrol duties during 1942. Under the wings are
small bombs for opportunistic attacks on British
targets, but with the pilot bare-headed and the
gunner ‘playing the part’, this was probably a
local flight for a visiting Propaganda Ministry
photographer.
Bottom left: Beached Ar 196A-3s along the

waterfront of the Travemünde Seaplane Test
Centre at the end of the war. Taken over by the
British on 5 May 1945, there were few complete
aircraft for investigation and certainly not these
now obsolete floatplanes, with the result that
the Centre became a temporary prison camp for
nearly 5,000 people.
Right: When captured by the British in

Copenhagen at the end of the war, the heavy
cruiser Prinz Eugen was found to be carrying
three Arado Ar 196s. The ship was sailed to the
USA for eventual destruction in an Atomic test
at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, but two of the
floatplanes were retained, one allocated to the
National Air and Space Museum (Wk Nr 623167)
and the other (Wk Nr 623183) to the Naval Air
Station in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. After
some years parked outside where weather and
vandalism took their toll, the Willow Grove
example was refurbished in the 1980s and is
now stored at NAS Pensacola. A third complete
Ar 196A can be found in the Bulgarian air
museum at Plovdiv (Wk Nr 0219).
Below: The British Marine Aircraft Experimental

Establishment (MAEE) at Felixstowe received
three Ar 196As for testing in September 1945, of
which one was used as a spares source.
34 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Blohm & Voss BV 138
T
he BV 138 flying-boat was designed number of proposals. Favoured was a Flights prompted a number of changes,
to meet a 1934 requirement from three-engine design with a short fuselage including strengthening and lengthening
the Technical Department of the and planing hull, a gull wing with a single the fuselage and hull to improve a somewhat
Luftfahrtkommissariat, forerunner of the tubular main spar, and the tail carried on lack-lustre performance due to a higher than
Technische Amt of the RLM. Dr Richard tubular booms extending from the two expected weight, exchanging the gull wing for
Vogt of the recently-established aviation outer engines. On design acceptance three a straight design and oval shape tail booms.
subsidiary of Blohm & Voss shipbuilding, prototypes were ordered and the first of Thus, with these changes the BV 138A and the
Hamburger Flugzeugbau, submitted a these flew on 15 July 1937. B series were produced and proved more stable
if rather slow. Early machines appeared in 1940
and the first unit with the type was No 1 Staffel
Küstenfliegergruppe 506 based at Hornum
in June 1940, moving to Western France four
months later. The BV 138 was soon nicknamed
der Fliegende Holzschuh – the Flying Clog - due
to its short, stubby main fuselage, but it proved a
troublesome beast in Luftwaffe service with low
serviceability due to recurrent problems with
the diesel engines and propellers. Unable to
cope with rough Atlantic weather, the Holzschuh
was withdrawn from France early in 1941.
The improved BV 138C appeared in spring
1941, production was slow due to equipment
supply difficulties, but by later that year the
flying-boat began to show its more capable
side as a robust and workable maritime
reconnaissance aircraft. Its three defensive gun
Top: Second prototype HA 138 V-2 D-AMOR

with original circular tail booms, but otherwise
extensively redesigned from the original
Ha 138V-1 (D-ARAK) which flew on 15 July 1937.
Left: Salient recognition points of the BV 138 –

still referred to as the Ha 138 – are highlighted in
this Flight drawing published in November 1942.
BLOHM & VOSS BV 138 35
positions made it a formidable foe to early RAF Right: With a crew of five, pilots of reconnaissance
Coastal Command aircraft while a modicum of BV 138Cs could gain some respite from the
droning tedium of sitting in the ‘front office’ by
offensive capability was added by fitting bomb
swapping places with a colleague and resting in
racks under the starboard wing. An extra crew the centre cabin bunks.
member took the number to five.
By 1943, BV 138Cs were deployed in the Below: BV 138Cs operating out of Copenhagen
Baltic, the Black Sea, North Atlantic and the formed part of SAGr. 126 and were tasked with
Arctic Ocean and it was the big PQ convoys long-range reconnaissance over the Baltic
and North Sea until the German surrender in
that made their ponderous way north from
May 1945. The survivors were captured by the
Britain to Murmansk and Archangel which British and languished at their moorings until
saw this distinctive flying-boat play a major 1 July when the RAF destroyed them during an
role in tracking and co-ordinating submarine impressive public air display. One of the wrecks
attacks on the heavily-laden merchantmen. was raised in 2000 and is now an exhibit at
Denmark’s Flyvemuseum at Elsinore.
Being powered by diesel engines, the BV 138s
could be refuelled by U-Boats at sea and in
one audacious venture, a seaplane base was
established on the island of Novaya Zemlya
in Soviet-controlled territory to reconnoitre
further east along the Polar Sea. The search
range of the aircraft was further extended
in 1943 with the availability of FuG 200
Hohentwiel radar.
However, flying-boat operations reduced as
Allied air superiority took command of areas
around mainland Europe and by mid-1944, far
fewer BV 138s were encountered. In addition
to 70 BV 138Cs fitted with catapult points for
operation from seaplane tenders, four aircraft
were adapted for minesweeping with a 46.16ft
diameter energised ring powered by an engine
in the fuselage. Production of the BV 138
reached 276 aircraft.
Blohm & Voss BV 138C

Crew: Five
Powerplant: Three 880hp Junkers
Jumo 205D Diesel
engines driving three-
bladed VDM propellers
and a four-bladed unit
on centre engine
Cruise Speed: 165mph at 3,280ft
Range: 2,672 miles
Armament: One 20mm MG 151
cannon in bow and stern
turrets and one 13mm
MG 131 machine-gun in
open dorsal position
Max Bomb Load: Six 110lb bombs or two
Above: To help reduce casualties from magnetic mines dropped by Allied bombers around German
331lb depth charges ports, rivers and canals, a small number of aircraft types were experimentally fitted with energised
on wing centre-section magnetic rings designed to explode the mines as the aircraft flew over them. One of the types was
racks the BV 138C-1, redesignated BV 138 MS and nick-named Mausiflugzeug or ‘mouse-catching aircraft’.
Wingspan: 88ft 4in Following a first flight on 17 November 1942, four machines were fitted with a 14.16ft diameter
Length: 65ft 1in degaussing loop anchored around the fuselage and under the wings and assigned to 6.staffel/
Height: 19ft 4in Minensuchgruppe 1, based at Grossenhode. Armament was deleted and a small generating unit fitted
beneath the blanked-off nose turret.
36 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Right: In water just above freezing, partially

winter-camouflaged BV 138C 6I+KK of 2./SAGr.130
makes its way slowly towards a refuelling with
two U-Boats, U-255 and U-601, in the Kara Sea
in August 1943. Such rendezvous were highly
risky to both aircraft and U-Boats, the vulnerable
link-ups presenting a choice target for patrolling
enemy aircraft. The conning towers and decks of
both vessels are covered in crewmen to hasten
the fuelling operation, the right-hand one
having a white-painted hull. Note the aircraft’s
FuG 200 radar aerial just visible below the
bomb-carriers.
Bottom right: A view from one of the U-Boats

during the refuelling of the aircraft seen in
the main picture. The pilot maintains position
using the port engine with flaps lowered while a
dinghy takes the hose and a tow rope from the
submarine to the aircraft prior to pumping. On
the casing, submariners anxiously await the OK
to begin the transfer. The FuG 200 Hohentwiel
sea search radar which could scan targets out to
some 180 miles, can just be made out on the
port inner wing.
Below: Gradually sinking following an attack by

a Bristol Beaufighter of RAF Coastal Command
near the Shetland Islands on 28 July 1943, this
BV 138C was one of five lost by the Trondheim-
based 3. Staffel of SAGr. 130 on that day. With the
fuselage below the surface, only one crewman
was spotted by the wreck, but was never found.
Bottom: One of three BV 138Cs surrendered at

Kastrup-See and transferred to the Marine
Aircraft Experimental Establishment Felixstowe
at the end of 1945. Still with Luftwaffe markings,
the exact identity of this machine is unknown,
but its days look to be numbered with its outer
propellers removed and the port rudder missing.
All three were scrapped by early 1948.
Main units equipped with BV 138s
1./Küstenfliegergruppe 506 at Hornum;
2./Kü.Fl.Gr 906 Biscay area (late 1940);
2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406 at Stavanger & Tromso;
2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 306 at Sylt (below left);
3./Kü.Fl.Gr. 906 at Banak, Tromso & Trondheim;
3./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406 at Biscarosse;
1. & 2./Seeaufklärungsstaffeln of SAGr. 130 &131;
3./SAGr. 130 at Trondheim (below right);
3./SAGr. 125 in Black Sea;
3./SAGr. 126 in Crete.
39
40
Blohm & Voss BV 138
KEY
1. Towing lug 66. Intakes 131. Radiator intake
2. Nose light 67. Engine mounting blocks 132. Tubular spar inner/outer section flange
3. Mooring clamps 68. Radiator 133. Wing leading-edge
4. Anchor attachment 69. Junkers Jumo 205D Diesel engine 134. Spar outer section
5. Nose entry hatch 70. Hinged inspection/maintenance panel 135. Wing structure
6. Crawlway 71. Hinged cowling lower section 136. Port flaps
7. Forward bulkhead sections 72. Starboard underwing bomb-load (three 137. Aileron trim tab
8. Bow turret mechanism 110lb bombs also under port wing of 138. Aileron hinge fairings
9. 20mm MG 151 cannon Bv 138C-1/U1) 139. Port aileron
10. Bow turret 73. Three paddle-bladed propeller 140. Access panels
11. Turret/hull cut-out 74. Spinner 141. Nose ribs
12. Bulkhead door 75. Starboard float 142. Pitot head
13. Ammunition stand 76. Mooring ring 143. Float support strut
14. Flight deck bulkhead 77. Float support strut 144. Float strut
15. Instrument panel 78. Float strut 145. Mooring ring
16. Windscreen 79. Tubular main spar 146. Port float
17. Naval observer/co-pilot’s seat 80. Strut attachment 147. Wing panel
18. Central console 81. Starboard ‘paddle’ balances 148. Outer section structure
19. Underfloor crawlway 82. Starboard navigation light 149. Port wingtip
20. Pilot’s seat 83. End rib 150. Port navigation light
21. Rudder pedals 84. Aileron hinge fairings
22. Control linkage 85. Starboard aileron
23. Floor support member 86. Control rod linkage Before the arrival of sufficient Beaufighters
24. Bulkhead 87. Tab linkage and Mosquitos with Coastal Command,
25. Navigator’s station 88. Control quadrant older RAF types treated the BV 138 with a
26. Crew deck bulkhead 89. Aileron tab certain respect and this view shows why.
27. Wireless-operator’s station 90. Flap mechanism The two rear guns comprised an open top
28. Bulkhead door 91. Starboard flap position with a single 13mm machine gun
29. Fuselage upper skinning 92. Tailboom join capping strake and an enclosed stern turret with a single
30. Radiator intake 93. Aerials 20mm cannon, supplemented by the nose
31. Chin intake 94. Tailboom skinning cannon. A skilled pilot could out-fly an
32. Centre engine four-bladed propeller 95. Rudder cables opponent while directing enough firepower
33. Engine nacelle 96. Elevator control cables to win the argument as a Bristol Blenheim
34. Intakes 97. Tailboom end frame and a Consolidated Catalina flying-boat
35. Access panels 98. Tailplane support struts found out to their cost.
36. Engine tubular mount 99. Tailplane/fin attachment
37. Tubular main spar 100. Tailfin leading-edge
38. Radar antenna 101. Rudder cable
39. Auxiliary engine room 102. Rudder upper hinge
(flight engineer’s position) 103. Starboard rudder
40. Portholes 104. Rudder post
41. Ladder to dorsal position 105. Rudder tab
42. Bulkhead 106. Tailplane spar
43. Crew off-duty bunks (three) 107. Tailplane structure
44. Aft bulkhead door 108. Elevator frame
45. Aft turret mechanism 109. Elevator tab balances
46. Aft decking 110. Tailplane nose ribs
47. Mooring hook 111. Tailplane support strut
48. Boat tail 112. Tailfin structure
49. Mooring clamp 113. Rudder upper hinge
50. 20mm MG 151 cannon 114. Rudder tab
51. Stern turret 115. Rudder centre hinge fairing
52. Dorsal fairing 116. Port rudder
53. Dorsal 7.9mm MG 131 machine 117. Access panels
gun mounting 118. Boom/fin fillet
54. Ring-and-bead sight 119. Tailboom end frame
55. Wind deflector 120. Tailboom structure
56. Turret ring 121. Stringers
57. Antenna winch 122. Tailboom lower join
58. Entry/exit hatchway 123. Wing root fillet
59. Aerial mast 124. Engine mounting blocks
60. DF loop 125. Support struts
61. Firewall bulkhead 126. Intakes
62. Wing fillet 127. Engine nacelle
63. Starboard inner wing section 128. Three paddle-bladed propeller
64. Oil tank 129. Reinforced catapult point
65. Engine access panels 130. Step
41 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Heinkel He 115
D
esigned in 1935 as a general- Norwegian Marinens Flyvevaben for six and
purpose seaplane in response from Sweden’s Flygvapen coastal force for 12. Heinkel He 115C-1
to a requirement from the RLM The first series model, the He 115A-1,
Crew: Three (pilot, observer/
(Reichsluftfahrtministerium or German joined Küstenfliegerstaffel 106 at Norderney
bomb-aimer and radio-
Air Ministry), the He 115 proved another in September 1939 with all future deliveries operator/rear gunner)
winner from the drawing board of Heinkel’s coming from the new production line at Weser Powerplant: Two 960hp BMW 132K
gifted and imaginative Walter Gunter. The Flugzeugbau at Einswarden. In November nine-cylinder radial
prototype flew in the summer of 1937, a few the first B series with further improvements engines
weeks before its competitor, the Hamburger and increased fuel capacity appeared as early Max Speed: 186mph at 3,280ft
Ha 140, and despite its two large metal operations over the North Sea were followed Cruise Speed: 168mph at sea level
floats, the aircraft was found to be a good by the invasion of Norway when the He 115C Range: 1,550 miles
performer during early trials at Travemünde, undertook its initial combat sorties. German Empty Weight: 15,146lb
resulting in an order for 10 production and Norwegian He 115 pilots found themselves Loaded Weight: 23,545lb
machines from Heinkel and the eventual on opposing sides, but by the cease-fire on Armament: One 7.9mm MG 15
cancellation of the competing Ha 140. 7 June 1940, three Norwegian He 115s (and machine gun in nose
By mid-1938, the first production aircraft a single captured Luftwaffe example) had and dorsal position, one
from the Rostok factory began service trials, escaped to the UK, later to be used on secret 15mm MG 151 cannon
under nose and one 7.9
the design having undergone minor changes operations from Britain and Malta.
MG 17 aft-firing in each
to improve performance and speed up He 115s took on a minelaying and anti- engine nacelle.
production. Meanwhile, the prototype (D-AEHF) shipping role during the Battle of Britain, but Max Bomb Load: One LTF 5 torpedo or
had established no less than eight international obsolescence saw the type’s steady withdrawal two 1,102lb LMA mines
records for aircraft in its category in range and by the beginning of 1941, this distinctive or three 551lb SC 250
and payload which prompted orders from the floatplane was cast out to the extremities of bombs internally
Wingspan: 73ft 1in
Below: Groundcrew moving an LT F5c torpedo on a raft between the floats towards the open bomb-bay Length: 56ft 9in
of an He 115C-1 of 1./Küstenfliegergruppe 406 at a marine base in the eastern Baltic in August 1941. Height: 21ft 8in
Before departing on its mission, the aircraft will be armed with its nose-mounted machine gun.
Heinkel He 115B
41
KEY
1. 7.9mm MG 15 machine gun 17. Nose compartment windscreen 33. Cooling gills
2. Gunsights 18. Fixed glazing 34. Starboard BMW 132K nine-cylinder
3. Ikaria nose mounting 19. Electrics panel radial engine
4. Cartridge collector chute 20. Batteries 35. Nacelle nose ring
5. Nose ring 21. Cockpit/nose access 36. Propeller hub
6. Entry/escape hatch 22. Smoke floats 37. Spinner
7. Nose glazing 23. Weapons bay forward doors 38. VDM three-blade propeller –
8. Bomb/torpedo sight 24. Fuselage frame 10.83ft diameter
9. Selector panel 25. Cockpit floor 39. Nacelle hinged
10. Handhold 26. Rudder pedals access/maintenance panel
11. Bombardier’s kneeling pad 27. Throttles 40. Leading-edge hinged
12. Ventral glazing 28. Control column access/servicing panel
13. Bombardier/navigator’s hinged seat 29. Instrument panel 41. Starboard outer main fuel tank
14. Duplicate throttle controls 30. Windscreen 42. Leading-edge tank
15. Duplicate control column 31. Starboard nacelle oil tank location 43. Wing structure
16. Instrument panel 32. Engine bearer supports 44. Front spar
42
78. Dorsal 7.9mm MG 15 machine gun 149. Filler cap
79. Ammunition magazine stowage 150. Float aft strut/nacelle attachment
(1,500 rounds) 151. Weapons bay rear section doors
80. Cockpit warm air 152. Float aft brace/fuselage frame attachment
81. Wing upper surface walkway 153. Float front brace/fuselage
82. Rescue dinghy stowage frame attachment
83. Port flap inner section 154. Port engine nacelle
84. Trailing-edge flap 155. Leading-edge hinged access platform
85. Crew entry ladder – port and starboard 156. Leading-edge tank
86. Ladder attachments 157. Float aft brace
87. Handholds 158. Brace/strut attachment fairing
88. Fuselage frame 159. Support frame
89. Dorsal skinning 160. Float decking
90. Semi-monocoque fuselage structure 161. Float fixed keel
91. Control runs 162. Watertight compartments
92. Compass installation 163. Bulkheads
93. Stringers 164. Handling grip
94. Fuselage aft frame 165. Float step
95. Port tailplane forward attachment 166. Float longitudinal brace
96. Tailplane leading edge 167. Step bulkhead
97. Starboard tailplane 168. Inner support members
98. Starboard elevator mass balances 169. Fixed skids for ice/snow landings
99. Tailplane spar 170. Float main support bulkhead
100. Aerial 171. Mooring bollards
101. Elevator outer hinge 172. Planing bottom
102. Starboard elevator tab 173. Bulkheads
103. Aerial attachment 174. Forward watertight compartment
104. Rudder upper hinge 175. Cork-filled nose section
105. Tailplane structure 176. Reinforced nose cap
106. Front spar 177. Mooring ring
107. Rudder mass balances 178. Upper strakes
The cockpit was relatively narrow for such a
108. Starboard tailplane lower brace strut 179. Access caps
large floatplane and the spectacle grip control
109. Port Tailplane aft attachment 180. Propeller warning panel
column hinged from the right-hand side to
110. Rudder tab hinge fairing 181. Front brace/strut attachment fairing
allow access down to the forward nose area.
111. Rudder 182. Float front support strut
Grab handles are seen at top left and right of
112. Rudder tab upper section 183. Float front brace
the cockpit with the FK 5 compass in the centre.
113. Rudder tab lower section 184. Step
114. Elevator tab 185. Strut fairing intake
45. Starboard navigation light 115. Port elevator upper mass balance 186. Nacelle hinged access/servicing platform
46. Starboard outer rib 116. Tab hinge fairing 187. Platform support stays
47. Aileron outer hinge 117. Port elevator 188. Nacelle nose ring
48. Starboard aileron 118. Elevator outer hinge 189. Spinner
49. Aileron tabs 119. Port elevator lower mass balance 190. Three-blade VDM metal propeller
50. Rear spar 120. Port tailplane lower brace strut 191. Handling grip
51. Aileron tab hinge fairing 121. Tailplane front spar 192. Fixed skips for ice & snow ops
52. Control linkage 122. Mooring attachment 193. Inner support members
53. Flap outer section 123. Brace strut/fuselage fairings 194. Starboard float strut/brace
54. Aileron profile 124. Fuselage aft main frame attachment fairing
55. Starboard flap 125. Ventral skinning 195. Mooring bollards
56. Canopy hinged section 126. Wing construction break-point 196. Planing bottom
57. Fixed section 127. Rib strap joint 197. Bombsight fairing
58. Cockpit rear-sliding canopy 128. Port flap outer section 198. Bulkheads
59. Pilot’s seat 129. Aileron control linkage 199. Watertight compartment
60. Leading-edge inboard hinged access/ 130. Rear spar 200. Cork filled nose section
servicing panel 131. Aileron tab hinge fairing 201. Mooring ring/steel hawser
61. Front spar carry-through 132. Aileron tab 202. Reinforced nose cap
62. Fuselage/spar main frame 133. Outer hinge 203. LTF 5/6 torpedo
63. Front spar 134. Port aileron 204. Magnetic mine
64. Port inner main fuel tank 135. Port wingtip 205. Anti-rolling horns
65. Filler cap 136. Port navigation light 206. Detonator
66. Fuselage centre bay 137. Outer rib 207. Explosive charge
67. Wireless installation 138. Wing structure 208. Needle/contact mechanism
68. Aerial mast 139. Front spar 209. Balanced magnet
69. Dorsal identification light 140. Pitot head 210. Jettisonable aft casing
70. Rear spar carry-through 141. Wing leading edge 211. Parachute, folded
71. Wireless-operator’s position 142. Landing lamp 212. Acoustic mine
72. Flare stowage 143. Port float aft section 213. Explosive charge
73. Pistol flare port 144. Float sternpost 214. Detonator
74. Wireless-operator/gunner’s swivel seat 145. Mooring bollard 215. Bracing straps
75. Cockpit coaming 146. Spar section 216. Battery
76. Canopy fixed section 147. Ladder/float attachment 217. Trembler/contact mechanism
77. Gunner’s hinged canopy section 148. Port outer main fuel tank 218. Hydrophone
HEINKEL He 115 45
German-occupied Europe, chiefly in northern

Norway. Here, aircraft of Kü.Fl.Gr.406 took part The RAF’s clandestine Heinkels
in torpedo attacks on the Russian convoys,
notably PQ 17 in June 1942 in which 23 of the As Norway succumbed to the German take-over in June 1940, a single Norwegian He 115A
36 ships were sunk by German aircraft and was flown to Finland where it was inducted into the Ilmavoimat while three others and a single
U-Boats. captured Luftwaffe B series escaped to England via the Shetland Islands. These received RAF
By this time, Weser had phased the He 115 markings and serial numbers BV184-187 and after overhaul two were assigned clandestine
out of production, completing 76 of the 142 duties for ferrying agents across to Norway. A third aircraft (BV185) was flown to Malta in June
machines delivered and by late-1944, the type 1941 followed by the former Luftwaffe example BV187 in October and conducted agent-
had virtually disappeared from the Luftwaffe’s dropping and pick-ups between the island and North Africa. The first aircraft was lost North of
first-line inventory. Across the Baltic, Sweden Malta in September 1941 and the second was strafed by Bf 109s at its moorings in November.
retained its He 115s, designated T2s, until 1952 Repaired, BV187 returned to the UK for operations to Norway. The Heinkels received additional
when they too were withdrawn, ending more guns in the wings, motors in the floats
than a decade of service for this robust and driving small propellers to taxi quietly, and
capable floatplane. even seats in the floats for the agents! These
photographs, taken on 1 October 1942,
Below: An early war picture of an He 115 of show BV186 which was retained as a back-up
Kü.Fl.Gr. 406 with its two engines ticking over,
aircraft for the secret missions.
being winched along the substantial gantry at
Hornum before lowering into the water for a
patrol mission. The colours appear to comprise
standard two-green upper surface camouflage
with the light blue undersurfaces overpainted
black for night mine-laying duties.
Left: Activity at the seaplane base at Trondheim

in Norway in winter 1942. The ‘star’ of this shot
is He 115C-1 coded K6+RH of 1./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406
undergoing the replacement of the port float
before returning to service. The aircraft carries
temporary areas of white applied over the green
camouflage for low-level anti-ship missions,
many of them against the Russian convoys in
Arctic waters.
Below: Beginning a take-off in a shower of

spray is the first prototype He 115V-1 D-AEHF
modified for the successful attempt on a series
of international records in 1938. The long crew
compartment has been removed, leaving just
the cockpit, while the initial rounded fin was
changed to a straight leading edge seen here.
This aircraft first flew in August 1937.
Right: Emblem of one

of the main users of
the He 115, 1./Kü.Fl.
Gr. 406 combined the
silhouettes of two
swans flying over a
map of the Stettiner
Haff and the Baltic
when it operated from
Hornum on the North
Sea coast of Germany.
46 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Dornier Do 24
Dornier Do 24T-1
Crew: Six
Powerplant: Three 1,000hp BMW-Bramo
323R-2 Fafnir nine-cylinder
P
air-cooled radial engines
robably the most efficient German Max Speed: 206 mph at 8,500ft Above: The Dornier Do 24, Germany’s most
flying-boat produced during World Cruise Speed: 183 mph at 8,500ft successful flying boat of World War 2. This
standard Do 24T-1 is painted in the official two
War 2 was the Dornier Do 24. It was Range: 2,920 miles
green upper surface and hull sides (Dunkelgrun
both ‘a pilot’s aeroplane’ in the air and at Empty Weight: 20,723lb and Schwarzgrun, with Hellblau underneath).
sea could cope with all but the roughest Loaded Weight: 35,715lb
weather. This resulted in the type being Armament: One 7.9mm MG 15 in bow the occupation of Holland all semi-completed
assigned the air-sea rescue role and and stern hydraulic Do 24Ks were transferred to Germany as
continuing in that humanitarian task in turrets, and one 20mm Do 24N-1s for use as air-sea rescue (ASR)
Spain until 1970, becoming the last original Hispano-Suiza 404 cannon aircraft. Slow-rate production continued in the
in dorsal turret
Luftwaffe aircraft to fly regularly 25 years Netherlands at the Aviolanda and De Schelde
Wingspan: 88ft 7in
after the end of the conflict. factories with 170 built by the liberation in
Length: 72ft 4in
But the Do 24 was not designed for the 1944. In France, 48 were produced by the
Height: 18ft 10in
German armed forces, instead it emerged from Chantiers Aero-Maritimes de la Seine (CAMS)
a requirement for the Royal Netherlands Naval at Sartrouville.
Air Service for use in the Netherlands East The first of three prototypes flew from The Do 24T-1s (Bramo Fafnir 323s replaced
Indies (NEI) to succeed its ageing Dornier Wals. Dornier’s factory on the Bodensee (Lake the American Cyclones, hence a new model
The design proposed and accepted by the Constance) in mid 1937, and following suffix) and T-2s with modified radios were flown
Dutch was the Do 24K, larger than the Wal with acceptance trials orders were placed for 11 almost exclusively in the air-sea rescue role with
a high strut-braced wing, three Wright Cyclone production Do 24Ks to be built by Weser 1., 2. and 3./Seenotstaffeln operating principally
engines, a two-step hull, large side sponsons Flugzeugbau with a further 25 produced under from Berre near Marseilles and Biscarosse, with
for lateral stability on the water, and a tail with licence in Holland. Deliveries to the Dutch Navy others assigned to the Black Sea, 2. and 3./KG
twin fins and rudders. were underway when the war began, but with 200 and ASR units in France and Norway.
DORNIER Do 24 47
Above: The Dutch Navy selected serials with an X prefix and X-1 in the picture was the third prototype
of a fleet of what became known as ‘X-boats’ – officially they received the German export designation
Do 24K-1. The Dutch aircraft were powered by American Wright Cyclones, a decision dictated by
engine compatibility with the Martin 166 bombers ordered from the USA.
Below: Urgent work to fly and clear the American Wright Cyclone-powered third prototype to meet the
timescale for the Dutch contract meant the V-3 performed the type’s initial flight. The Do 24V-1, seen
here, flew later on 10 January 1938, powered by three Junkers Jumo 205 Diesel engines, but these were
not adopted for the type.
Although not operated in the offensive role,

the Do 24s were defensively armed with 7.9mm
machine guns fore and aft and a turreted 20mm
cannon amidships.
The Dutch aircraft delivered to the NEI
suffered in the early battles against the
Japanese with 12 escaping to Australia where
six surviving machines were flown by No 41
Squadron Royal Australian Air Force until
their withdrawal in mid-1944. Back in Europe,
Germany offered Spain 12 Do 24T-3s for the
ASR role with the first arriving in June 1944,
part of this agreement being that the flying-
boats would undertake mercy-missions to pick
up both Axis and Allied airmen. With only a
three-year gap in 1955-58, the fleet of former
Luftwaffe flying-boats continued in Spanish
service based at Pollensa until 1970. France
flew CAMS-built Do 24s in the immediate
post-war period until spares dried up and the
type was withdrawn in 1953; some aircraft were
subsequently transferred to Spain for parts.
DORNIER Do 24 49
Right: For pilots protecting the neutrality of

Sweden, an aircraft recognition leaflet for the
Do 24 was produced in 1943 comparing the
type with features of similar flying-boats, the
American Consolidated Catalina and Russian
MDR-6, all three aircraft being encountered
around the Baltic coast. The two flying views
show a Do 24 photographed by a Swedish
military aircraft over international waters. It
would be May 1945 before a German mechanic
flew an example to Sweden seeking safety
from the collapsing Reich. Requisitioned by the
Swedish Air Force, the Do 24T was designated
Tp 24 and operated in the SAR role until
withdrawn from use in 1951.
Two units equipped with Do 24s were

4./Seenotgruppe formed in February 1940
and later changing to Seenotstaffel 4 in April
1942, and 6./Seenotstaffel with its Pinocchio
badge formed in March 1941.
Top left: Showing its humanitarian side in

the autumn of 1940, the first production
Do 24N-1 D-AEAV was painted white and
given red crosses on the nose when flying at
Travemünde. The engines in use at the time
were still American Cyclones.
Centre left and below left: Seaworthiness trials

with the Do 24 were conducted in the Baltic
at the Seaplane Test Establishment at E-Stelle
Travemünde in the autumn of 1937 using the
fourth prototype, D-ADLP. The trials showed
the flying-boat was ideal for air-sea rescue
duties planned by the Dutch Navy and was
capable of riding out all but the roughest
sea state. At this time the Germans had no
requirement for the Do 24, but the trials
proved useful when they found themselves
with the type and tests were repeated later
with Do 24N-1 KD+GA, seen almost digging in
the port wing as the pilot tries to ride out some
rough seas.
Right: A Seenotstaffel Do 24 being lowered into

the water by way of the anchor points at the
rear of the centre engine nacelle. The large
sponsons either side of the forward hull proved
crucial in giving the flying-boat a strength and
stability for operations on open water.
Overleaf: Being towed by a launch, a standard

Do 24T-1 remains under the watchful eyes of
two of the crew of five, with the man on the
wing gaining his lofty perch via an access
ladder which dropped down from behind the
centre engine.
50 MARINE AIRCRAFT
DORNIER Do 24 51
52 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Above: Having been supplied with 12 Do 24T-3s

by Germany in spring 1944, Spain retained the
reliable Dornier in service until 1970, designating
them HD.5s for ‘Hidravion de Reconocimiento’.
This close-up view of one of the former Luftwaffe
flying-boats in post-war Spanish Air Force
markings shows it to be almost unchanged,
apart from a small cupola replacing the nose
gun turret.
Centre left: Magnetic mines proved a problem for

both sides and among the less successful German
attempts to explode them from the air was
using Do 24T Wk Nr 0006 experimentally fitted
with an energised degaussing ring. Trials were
disappointing and the aircraft was not adopted
for the role.
Left: With the German withdrawal from France

following the 1944 D-Day landings, the French
air forces restarted operations using a number
of former Luftwaffe types, one of which was
the Do 24T which had been in production at
Sartrouville. Adopted by the French Navy for
search and rescue duties, the first two aircraft
joined Flotille 9F at the end of December 1944
followed by a further 20 the following year to
equip Escadrille 30S, seen here. The Do 24 was
finally withdrawn from French service in 1953
and some were passed to Spain for spares.
DORNIER Do 24 53
Above: As the British and Commonwealth forces pushed the Afrika Korps west along the North African coast, so wreckage of the once all-powerful Luftwaffe
was discovered, including this Do 24T-1 CH+EW. Found at Mersa Matruh and photographed on 11 November 1942, it had been stripped of everything useful
to keep others flying in the air-sea rescue role.
Below: Built pre-war in Germany and Holland, transferred to the Dutch East Indies and flown to Australia in early 1942 when the Japanese attacked and
invaded what is now Indonesia, these well-travelled Do 24Ks are finally dismantled following their brief service with No 41 Squadron Royal Australian Air
Force. Six survivors of the 12 flying-boats that made it to Australia flew transport flights to Milne Bay, Port Moresby and Goodenough Island before suffering
the indignity of scrapping, seen here, in mid-1944.
54 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Dornier Do 26
W
hile small in number – only six were built – the Do 26 was Dornier’s last flying-boat design and
considered to be one of the shapeliest of all flying-boats to see service during World War 2. Like
other aircraft from the 1930s, the all-metal Do 26 was the result of a commercial requirement from
Deutsche Lufthansa for a long-range mailplane capable of flying non-stop between Lisbon and New York.
Four crew and 1,100lb of mail was specified with enough fuel for a maximum range of 5,590 miles.
Above: Engines stopped, the prototype D-AGNT

Seeadler prepares for mooring during a series
of route-proving flights for Lufthansa’s planned
transatlantic mail service. While the four crew
nonchalantly wait to disembark, they glance
upwards at a passing Do 18 taking a look at the
new flying-boat. Before hostilities forced the
cancellation of the airline’s ambitious services,
the first two prototypes made a total of 18 South
Atlantic crossings carrying mail in both directions.
Right: To give the engines sufficient clearance

from the water, Dornier designers incorporated
a gull wing with the powerplants at the highest
point. In this head-on view the two radiators
each side were fitted in slim-line intakes under
the wings.
DORNIER Do 26 55
The airline liked the Dornier design and Above: The cockpit of the Do 26 appears roomy
ordered three prototypes plus three options. with the control columns angled from each
side. In the centre, the throttle unit for the four
The first – Do 26V-1 D-AGNT – flew on 21 May
engines incorporates a lever to raise the two rear
1938, and among unique features was the back- units 10deg for take-off and landing. Below and
to-back 600hp Jumo 205C Diesel engines with forward of the throttle unit is an access door to
the rear pair hinging upwards 10 deg during the small nose cabin.
take-off and landing to clear the water spray.
The hull was a standard two-step design and flying in the troop-supply role. With two lost to
stabilising floats sat flush with the underside RAF Hurricanes on 28 May 1940, the surviving
of the wings during flight, extending down for three flying-boats were withdrawn from front-
water operation. Internally, the fuselage was line use and assigned communications tasks
divided into eight watertight compartments. before finally being retired.
Lufthansa named the first aircraft Seeadler
and the second, D-AWDS Seefalke, which
flew in February 1939. With these, the airline Dornier Do 26D
embarked on a number of route-proving Crew: Four
flights, some catapult-launched from ships, Powerplant: Four 880hp Junkers Jumo
notably to Chile to deliver medical supplies 205D Diesel engines
for victims of an earthquake, as well as 18 Max Speed: 201mph at 8,530ft
flights across the South Atlantic before war Cruise Speed: 160mph
intervened and commercial flights ceased. The Range: 2,980 miles or a maximum
third aircraft, D-ASRA Seemöwe, was completed of 4,410 miles
after September 1939 and the three optional Empty Weight: 24,912lb
machines, prototypes 4, 5 and 6, were built and Loaded Weight: 49,500lb
adapted on the orders of the RLM for long- Armament: One 20mm MG 151
range reconnaissance and transport duties cannon in bow turret, one
with the designation Do 26D. These could 7.9mm MG 15 machine
accommodate up to 12 fully-equipped troops gun in each of two side
blisters and in a watertight
in a central cabin, with armament fitted in nose,
compartment under the
ventral and beam positions. rear fuselage
The Do 26s were issued to Sonderstaffel Wingspan: 98ft 5in
Transozean as part of 1./Ku.Fl.Gr. 406, which Length: 80ft 8in
later became Ku.Fl.Gr. 506, taking part in Height: 22ft 6in
Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway,
56 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Left: It’s not recorded which of the last three

prototype Do 26s this is, but the aircraft
displays the winged sea horse emblem of the
Sonderstaffel Transozean which formed at
Travemünde in March 1940. Tricolour safety
markings appear on the propeller tips and
beneath the starboard wing can be seen one of
the radiator intakes for the Jumo 205 engines.
Inset left: Winged sea horse emblem of the

Sonderstaffel Transozean formed in March 1940.
Right: The long, sleek lines of the Do 26 are

clearly apparent in this view of the sixth and final
prototype. For the pilot of this former commercial
mailplane, the installation of the nose gun
turret of the type fitted to the BV 138, certainly
compromised his forward view, particularly
when operating on the water, but the type’s
period of service with the Luftwaffe was brief.
Below: Camouflaged for war flights, the Do 26V-6

gets ‘on the step’ during take-off with the rear
engines tilted up to prevent spray damage to
the propellers.
DORNIER Do 26 57
Blohm & Voss BV 222V-7
KEY
1. MG 131 machine gun 23. Co-pilot’s seat 45. Dorsal turret for MG 151 cannon
2. Mooring ring 24. Flight engineer’s jump seat 46. Fuselage skinning
3. Nose glazing 25. Pilot’s moulded armoured seat 47. Galley
4. Nose side windows 26. Side aerial array 48. Galley section port
5. Cartridge link chute 27. Forward entry door 49. D/F antenna
6. Cartridge link collector box 28. Ladder to flight deck 50. Aerial mast
7. Forward hull 29. Forward port MG 131 machine gun 51. Aerial lead-in
8. Bulkhead step 30. Ammunition box 52. Tubular main spar (fuel carrying) 67.
9. Winch 31. Cartridge link collector box 53. Engine nacelles 68.
10. Forward cargo net 32. Cargo hold 54. Exhaust grills 69.
11. Ammunition boxes 33. Hold side windows 55. Radiator intake 70.
12. Upward hinging nose section 34. Bulkhead frame 56. Three-blade VDM-Schwarz propellers 71.
13. Nose section hinged to port 35. Crew-deck floor support frame 57. Spinner 72.
14. Air scoops 36. Navigator’s position 58. Engine access forward crawlway 73.
15. FuG 200 Hohentwiel radar 37. Wireless operator’s station 59. Aft crawlway 74.
16. Nose hinge fairings 38. Astro-hatch 60. Wing turret mechanism 75.
17. Main cargo hold floor 39. Ammunition boxes 61. Starboard wing MG 151 gun turret 76.
18. Porthole 40. Crew-deck window 62. Main spar inner/outer section join 77.
19. Instrument panel 41. Dorsal turret support/mechanism 63. Wing rub 78.
20. Mast sight 42. Engineer’s station 64. Float retraction recesses 79.
21. Windscreen panels 43. Bulkhead 65. Float pivot rod 80.
22. Canopy emergency jettison panel 44. Porthole 66. Two-piece retractable float 81.
59
112. Rudder post
113. Rudder frame
114. Rudder upper hinge
115. Rudder servo tabs
116. Tab linkage
117. Elevator servos
118. Tailplane tubular spar/fin attachment
119. Tailplane spar
120. Port elevator
121. Servo tab
122. Elevator centre-section
123. Trimmer elevator section
124. Tailplane ribs
125. Aft fuselage frames
126. Tailfin spar support pillar
127. Hull ventral skinning
128. Tail inspection crawlway
129. Step
130. Bulkhead
82. Aerial 131. Bulkhead lower frame
83. Fuselage skin panels 132. Aft entry door
84. Entry to aft crawlway 133. Crew off-duty rest compartment
85. Tubular spar centre-section 134. Aft port MG 131 machine gun
86. Over-spar steps 135. Ammunition box
87. Forward port crawlway entry (rectangular) 136. Cartridge link collector box
88. Centre-section fuel tanks (6) 137. Aft starboard machine gun position
89. Aft port crawlway entry (circular) 138. Main cargo hold stepped aft sections
90. Bulkhead frame 139. Hold side windows
91. Stepped upper baggage hold 140. Centre-section fuselage frames
92. Intake 141. Engine intake
93. Pitot mast 142. Dinghy stowage
94. Bulkhead 143. Hull bottom structure
95. Fuselage structure 144. Bulkhead frame
96. Aft hold bulkhead 145. Engine nacelle
97. Aft fuselage structure 146. Intake scoop
98. Portholes 147. Radiator intakes
148. Spinner
149. Hinged inspection/maintenance platform
150. Leading-edge hinged section
151. Junkers Jumo 207C Diesel engine
152. Upper intake fairing
153. Engine access forward crawlway
154. Tubular main spar
155. Aft crawlway
156. Port wing MG 151 gun turret
157. Turret mechanism
158. Wing surface skinning
159. Port flaps
160. Wing centre-section structure
161. Main spar inner/outer section join
162. Wing rib
163. Float recess
67. Wing leading edge 164. Wing outer section structure
68. Starboard ‘paddle’ balances 165. Leading edge
69. End rib/spar attachment 99. Fin leading-edge 166. Two-piece retractable float
70. Outer aileron 100. Tailplane centre-section 167. Float retraction strut runners
71. Aileron trim tab 101. Tailplane tubular spar 168. Wing rib structure
72. Tab linkage 102. Starboard tailplane 169. Aileron hinge fairing
73. Tab control rods 103. Elevator balance 170. Servo tab
74. Inner aileron 104. Trimmer elevator section 171. Inner aileron
75. Servo tab 105. Elevator centre-section 172. Aileron trim tab
76. Aileron hinge fairing 106. Servo tab 173. Outer aileron
77. Servo motor 107. Starboard main elevator 174. Stringers
78. Tab linkage 108. Tailfin nose ribs 175. Port paddle balances
79. Starboard flaps 109. Tailfin spar/fuselage attachment 176. End rib
80. Wing rib structure 110. Tailfin structure 177. Port wingtip
81. Wing surface skinning 111. Tailfin tubular spar 178. Port navigation light
60
60 MARINE AIRCRAFT
Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking

T
he largest flying-boat to see down on an unescorted flight between Taranto
operational service by any of the Blohm & Voss and Tripoli, with the V-8 succumbing to the
combatants during World War 2, BV 222C Wiking same fate on 10 December when attacked by
the mighty BV 222 began, like some other RAF Beaufighters.
types designed in the inter-war period, as Crew: 11 (two pilots, two flight Recognising the exceptional range of the
a requirement by Deutsche Lufthansa for a engineers, navigator, radio aircraft, the Luftwaffe switched the prime role
operator, five gunners)
24-passenger flying-boat for transatlantic of the flying-boats to maritime reconnaissance,
Powerplant: Six 980hp Junkers Jumo
services. Designed by a team led by Richard redesignating the unit Aufklärungstaffel (See)
207C Diesel engines
Vogt, the first of three prototypes, BV 222V‑1 222 (in mid-1943 the unit changed again to
D-ANTE, made its maiden flight on 1./SAGr.129). Increased armament was fitted,
Cruise Speed: 189mph at sea level
7 September 1940, piloted by Flugkapitan including turrets in the wings at quarter span,
Range: 3,790 miles
Helmut Rodig. Reflecting its size, it proved together with FuG 200 Hohentwiel search radar
heavy on the controls, but was otherwise in the nose and FuG 216R Neptun rear warning
reasonable to fly with no bad vices. radar in the tail. The seventh aircraft flew
Armament: One 20mm MG 151
With the cancellation of the planned cannon in forward dorsal on 1 April 1943, this differing from previous
commercial use of this large aircraft, the and two wing turrets, one machines in having six 980hp Junkers Jumo
Luftwaffe took over the programme and 13mm MG 131 machine 207C diesel engines in place of the 1,000hp
assigned the type to long-range transport gun in nose, two 7.9mm BMW Bramo Fafnir radials. This aircraft was the
duties, for which large freight doors were fitted. MG 81 machine guns in aft prototype for the improved BV 222C, previous
The first military flight for the BV 222 was in July beam positions prototypes being designated BV 222As.
Wing Span: 150ft 11in
1941 when the prototype, now coded CC+EQ, After the V-8, production continued with the
Length: 121ft 5in
flew a supply flight to Kirkenes at the top of BV 222C-09 (delivered 23 July 1943) and four
Height: 35ft 9in
Norway. By mid-August, six more flights had others, C-010 to C-013, entering service with
been flown carrying a total of some 650 tonnes a further four in various stages of assembly
of freight and returning to Hamburg with 221 delivered to the special Luft-Transportstaffel before the programme was abandoned due to
casualties. More flights were made, including (See) 222, followed by the second machine the urgent need for fighter production. With the
supply missions across the Mediterranean to and five more by early 1943. However, the big end of the war, two aircraft were requisitioned
Rommel’s Afrika Korps. machines proved vulnerable to fighter attack by the USA (C-011 and 013) and one (C-012)
The first machine was joined by the second and on 24 November 1942, the V-6 was shot transferred to Britain for evaluation at Calshot.
and third prototypes, flown on 7 August and
Below: The big six-engined Blohm & Voss BV 222V-1 prototype lifts off from the waters of the River Elbe,
28 November 1941 respectively, both now fitted
adjacent to where it was built at Hamburg Finkenwerder, on what is believed to have been the type’s
with defensive armament. In January 1942, the first flight on 7 September 1940. Registered D-ANTE, the aircraft was clearly not going to be pioneering
BV 222 was officially named Wiking and four Lufthansa’s transatlantic route, given the war had been underway for just over one year, so a military
months later, in May 1942, the BV 222V-1 was application was the type’s fate.
BLOHM & VOSS BV 238 61
Blohm & Voss BV 238

D
r Richard Vogt followed his BV 222
flying-boat with an even larger
machine to meet a further trans-
Atlantic requirement from Lufthansa, this
time for a 120-seat flying-boat with a range
of 5,340 miles. However, the planned eight-
engined P.200 project was shelved and
instead Vogt’s team switched to an RLM
request for a long-range multi-purpose
flying-boat, initially powered by four Jumo
223 Diesel engines but later changed to six
1,750hp Daimler-Benz DB 603s. Designated
BV 238, the size of the project prompted
development of a scaled-down model, the
FGP 227, to test the suitability of the full-scale
aircraft. An accident on the model’s first flight Above: The world’s heaviest aircraft during
rendered it worthless, but in the meantime its short existence, the BV 238 incorporated a Blohm & Voss BV 238
refined planing hull and designer Richard Vogt’s
construction of the first prototype BV 238
ideas were incorporated into American post-war Crew: 12
began at the Finkenwerder factory in 1943 flying-boat designs. With flaps and underwing Length: 142ft 8in
with flight trials beginning in April 1944. floats extended, chief test pilot Flugkapitan Wingspan: 197ft 5in
Life was short for this monster when it was Helmut Wasa Rodig lifts the giant prototype Height: 44ft
destroyed in a strafing attack moored in the off the water of Schaalsee where the aircraft
Empty weight: 120,769lb
had been transferred from the heavily-bombed
hoped-for seclusion of Lake Schaal, near Gross weight: 198,416lb for recce
Blohm & Voss Hamburg factory. But it was hard
Lubeck, by USAAF P-51 Mustangs in May 1945. to hide something the size of the BV 238 and missions, 209,439lb for
Two further prototypes were under with only partial camouflage, the imposing bulk bomber missions
construction and components were being made of the machine was spotted by a sharp-eyed Powerplant: 6 × Daimler-Benz DB
for a multi-wheeled land-based derivative. The American Mustang pilot who strafed it, resulting 603G inverted V-12
in its sinking. liquid-cooled piston
BV 238 had a wing span of 197ft 5in, a length
engines of 1,750hp each
of 142ft 8.5in and a height of 44ft. Maximum Below : Moored on Lake Schaal, the BV 238 was Maximum speed: 264mph
loaded weight was over 200,00lb and a top the first of a planned fleet of some 25 for long- Range: 4,113 miles
speed of 264mph was expected. range reconnaissance and transport duties.
1 3
4
Above: Manufacturer’s view of the BV 222

looking forward from the radio-operator’s
position to the cockpit. The annotations are:
(1) engine instrument panel
(2) throttle panel
(3) co-pilot’s seat
(4) armoured pilot’s seat
(5) flight engineer’s jump seat
(6) navigator’s table
(7) navigator’s seat (folded).
61
Left: Schematic view of the wing-mounted
MG 151 gun turret showing the tubular main
spar on the right which extended in the forward
part of the wing from each outer engine through
the upper fuselage. Adjacent to the turret unit is
the gunner’s crawlway from the fuselage.
Right: Low over the Mediterranean to reduce the

chance of being sighted by Allied fighters, two
supply BV 222s of LTS.(See) 222 head for Tripoli
from their Italian base at Taranto. The date is
believed to be summer 1942 and the aircraft is
the V-4 prototype.
Inset: Emblem of Luft-Transportstaffel (See) 222

adopted in March 1942.
Below: Ground personnel preparing for the

launch of the third prototype, BV 222V-3 at
Finkenwerder. It was delivered to LTSt.(See)
222 on 9 December 1942 and destroyed at its
moorings six months later when Allied fighters
strafed Biscarosse. The dorsal gun turret can be
seen and forward of that is the prominent air
intake for the main passenger deck.
62
64 TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT
Luftwaffe Transport Aircraft

A
s the Third Reich forged its armed During the invasion of Poland, only 12 Ju 52s saw most of the transport force transferred
forces, German military doctrine were lost, but the assault on the west proved a from the Mediterranean to the Eastern Front
dictated that the essence of success different matter with stiff resistance put up by for the aerial supply of the initial fast-moving
in any future war was mobility. For the the Dutch forces resulting in many transports invasion of the Soviet Union. To plug the
Luftwaffe, established as a support arm for lost or badly damaged. During those early war gap left by the loss of nearly a quarter of the
the Wehrmacht, a strong air transport force years, Junkers production kept pace with the Luftwaffe’s transports on Crete, the Germans
was vital. The transport fleet grew out of two casualties and, ironically, many of the wrecked hoped that aircraft from the Italian Regia
Gruppen formed in the late 1930s, initially Ju 52s used in the assault on Holland were Aeronautica would transfer across until
known as Kampfgruppen zur besonderen subsequently repaired by the Dutch Fokker production replaced losses and although some
Verwendung (special-purpose bomber company under German management. RA machines were supplied they were few in
wings) intended for paratroop training. Each The next major operation was the airborne number. So the Ju 52 soldiered on, supported
KGr.z.b.V was organised into a Stab (Staff) invasion of Crete in May 1941. This involved by a modest number of bombers converted
and four Staffeln, this basic formation being some 13,000 paratroops of General Kurt into supply aircraft.
retained throughout the war. Student’s Fliegerkorps XI (Parachute and With the German aircraft industry heavily
Backbone of the fleet was the rugged and Airborne Troops) for which a fleet of 530 Ju 52s committed to producing combat machines,
dependable Junkers Ju 52/3m trimotor initially and 100 gliders was assembled at bases in the need for a modern transport design to
designed as a 17-seat airliner for Deutsche southern Greece. Despite heavy resistance replace the Ju 52 was low on the priority
Lufthansa. Obsolete at the start of the conflict, from the defending British, New Zealand and list. Consequently, the three-engined Ju 252
this tough design laboured long and hard with Australian Divisions, which resulted in some and the later mixed-construction Ju 352
the German Transport Command throughout 4,300 German troops being killed or missing made no impact on the war. The same could
the war, due in part to the lack of a suitable and 170 aircraft lost, the island was eventually be said of the six-engined Messerschmitt
replacement. In 1939, taken. Such were the casualties suffered during Me 323, a significant load-carrier but slow and
some 250 Ju 52s were the capture of Crete that no further paratroop vulnerable in all but the most benign theatres.
with the Luftwaffe, operation was mounted for the rest of the war. Through the traumatic encirclement of the
supplemented by 75 In July 1941, Hitler’s obsessive plan to invade German 6th Army at Stalingrad, the attempt to
more from Lufthansa. Russia, code-named Operation ‘Barbarossa’, bolster Rommel’s failing battle in North Africa,
and many smaller operations, the transport
Left: Oberst Friedrich-Wilhelm Morzik, the experienced Lufttransportfuhrer
force was whittled away and at the end, even
on the Russian Front at the time of the Demyansk airlift.
‘scratch’ gatherings of transports failed to
Below: Crete, May 1941, an expensive operation in men and machines and stem the steady and inexorable collapse of the
the last airborne invasion flown in such strength by the Luftwaffe. Third Reich.
JUNKERS Ju 52 65
Junkers Ju 52
O
ne of the world’s most famous Luftwaffe ordered a bomber version, but Above: Through the 1930s, Lufthansa operated its
transport aircraft, the tri-motor camouflaged its military role by referring to Junkers Ju 52/3ms on regular services between
Berlin and London’s Croydon Airport where
Junkers Ju 52/3m ‘Iron Annie’ its use by the Verkehresinspektion der DLH
D-AGIQ Martin Zander was photographed in
brought new standards of comfort to (Traffic Inspectorate of Deutsche Lufthansa). 1938. Painted silver with black registrations
passengers when Deutsche Lufthansa By 1936, the Ju 52/3m equipped two-thirds of and the striking red fin with its black National
introduced it on its European network the new Luftwaffe’s bomber arm, the aircraft Socialist swastika marking, the aircraft were
in 1932. Business-like in appearance accommodating 3,306lb of bombs in fuselage popular subjects with the air-minded spotters
yet verging on the incongruous with its bays with defensive machine guns in dorsal and of the day. With soundproofing in its infancy,
travellers found the enclosed metal cabin noisy,
fixed spatted undercarriage, the design ventral positions. When 20 bombers took part
but the aircraft was some 30mph faster than the
highlighted Junkers’ experience in metal in the Spanish Civil War, the Ju 52 finally shook equivalent Imperial Airways H.P.42 biplanes.
airframes, most notably through the off its coat of commercial respectability, yet its
corrugated skinning which was a hallmark initial role was air-lifting Spanish Nationalist or skis and powered by 830hp BMW 132T-2s
of the type. troops from Morocco to Seville – the bombing made its appearance followed by the g6e with
Designed by Dipl Ing Ernst Zindel, the came later. changed radio equipment which, among a
Ju 52/3m was a tri-motor version of the With production of the aircraft in full swing number of specialised machines, became the
single-engined Ju 52 freighter, which had at Junkers Dessau with 1,600 completed by the platform for a specialised Minensuche (mine-
flown in October 1930. The new aircraft was beginning of the war, the dependable tri-motor search) variant.
powered by 660hp BMW 132s (a licence- was joining the Luftwaffe’s Transportgruppen Widely known as Tante Ju (Auntie Ju), the
manufactured Pratt & Whitney Hornet) and at a steady rate and updated variants were in Ju 52 took part in the invasion of Poland in
attracted a number of commercial customers. production at two other plants at Leipzig and September 1939, the assault on Holland the
As re-armament gathered pace, the fledgling Bernburg. The Ju 52/3m g5e with optional floats following year, and in May 1941 formed the
Junkers Ju 52/3m g3e

Crew: Three and 17 passengers
Powerplant: Three 830hp BMW 132A-3
radial engines
Range: 620 miles
machine gun in
dorsal position
Wingspan: 95ft 11in
Length: 62ft
Height: 18ft 2in
Left: A late-1930s Ullmann illustration for

Lufthansa compared the Ju 52 with a previous
form of travel…
Bottom left: One of two aircraft experimentally

fitted with three 550hp Junkers Jumo 205C
in-line Diesel engines. It was not adopted and
Ju 52/3mho D-AJYR Emil Schaefer
subsequently reverted to the standard three
BMW radials.
spearhead of the airborne attack on Crete

with some 500 taking part of which 170 were
destroyed and others badly damaged. With
the Transportgruppen already hard-pressed,
Hitler’s attack on Russia a month later called
for the Ju 52 force to transfer to the new
Eastern Front and operate in support of the
Wehrmacht in what Hitler expected would be
a short six-week battle. It turned out to be the
graveyard of the ‘Thousand-year Reich’, less
than four years later.
In 1941, the Ju 52/3m g7e began arriving
with the units, identified by an extension aft
of the centre engine cowling, an enlarged
starboard loading hatch and on some aircraft,
a gun position just behind the cockpit glazing.
The g8e to g14e were further updated variants
with more powerful engines, changes to the
armament, more armour and equipment
for special duties such as Sanitatsflugzeug
(ambulance aircraft), Horsaalflugzeug
(classroom a/c) and Reiseflugzeug (courier a/c).
With no alternative replacement appearing
in sufficient numbers, production of the Ju 52
was only phased out in mid-1944, by which
time over 300 had been built by the German-
controlled Amiot Company in France, which
added to the final total of 3,225 built from
1939. With post-war production in France and
Spain, the final figure of 4,845 is often quoted
as the total number produced.
JUNKERS Ju 52 67
Above: Early in the war, between September

1939 and November 1941, some Ju 52/3m
ambulance aircraft were operated as German
Government machines attached to the air-sea
rescue service, painted white with red crosses
and a red Reichsdienstflagge (State Service Flag)
across the tail. However, as the conflict widened
the overall white finish was replaced by green
camouflage paint with the red cross applied on
a white circle. In this view, D-TABX banks over a
German Kriegsmarine support ship at the time of
the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940.
Left: Under the watchful eyes of the instructor,

trainee Luftwaffe wireless operators learn their
future trade in one of a number of specially-
adapted Ju 52s. The bare interior incorporates
a basic instrument panel in the roof, but quiet
contemplation on the job in hand was not a
factor with three engines clattering only a few
feet away.
Bottom left: Another interior, but far more lethal!

Mortar bombs and ammunition lashed down
in an ‘Auntie Ju’ freighter with two of the three
crew snapped in a nonchalant pose as they
contemplate another re-supply mission to the
front-line.
Left: Junkers Chief Designer Ernst Zindel in

discussion with General Director Heinrich
Koppenberg. Born on 23 January 1897, Zindel
joined Junkers in 1920 and on a career ladder
took charge of the series of all-metal airliners
from the G 24 to the legendary Ju 52. Under his
leadership came the Ju 87, Ju 88, and the Ju 90
series and near the end of the war, various jet
bomber projects. He died on 10 October 1978.
The dancing black bear of Berlin on a blue shield applied to Ju 52s of 12./KG.z.b.V 1 from early
transport operations (left), a devil seated on a bomb representing IV./KG.z.b.V 1 (centre) and the
emblem of Minensuchgruppe 1 applied to Ju 52 minesweepers from October 1942.
Above right: A not unfamiliar sight during air-

landing operations in enemy territory, this
Ju 52/3m swerved off the runway at Stavanger/
Sola in April 1940. All but two cabin windows
have been deleted on this freighter version.
Right: Heading west, a column of 8th Army trucks

pass the wreck of a Ju 52/3m at Gabes airfield in
March 1943.
Below: With the German pilot desperately trying

to put the already damaged Ju 52 floatplane
down on the sea off Gambut, Beaufighter pilot
Sgt Pete Penny of No 603 Squadron RAF finally
set the aircraft on fire, the crew managing to
escape and swim to safety.
JUNKERS Ju 52 69
Above: Minesweeping was a further task

Junkers Ju 52 variants for the ubiquitous ‘Auntie Ju’. This captured
example, No 121, is seen just after the war and
Ju 52 Single-engine all-metal transport. First flight 13 October 1930 appears to be a Ju 52/3m g6e sub-type. The
braced magnetic dural hoop was energised
Ju 52/3m Three-engined airliner/transport. First flown April 1932
by an auxiliary 150Kw motor inside the
Ju 52/3mbe Hispano-Suiza engines fuselage supplying 300 amps via a DC circuit.
Ju 52/3mce BMW VII engines, modified cockpit canopy To explode the mines, the aircraft usually
Ju 52/3mho Jumo 205 engines flew in a group of three at some 130ft above
Ju 52/3mfe BMW Hornet A-2 engines, drag-reducing cowlings, spatted undercarriage the water at 125mph. Six Minenstaffel were
Ju 52/3mge Main production aircraft built from 1934 formed from late-1940 and operated in
response to where the Allies had laid mines,
Ju 52/3mg3e Bomber with defensive gun for pre-war Luftwaffe
either by air or sea.
Ju 52/3mg4e Higher take-off weight, tailwheel replaced skid, service from 1935
Ju 52/3mg5e 830hp BMW 132T-2 engines, optional wheels, skids or floats Below: Floatplane versions of the Ju 52
Ju 52/3mg6e As g5e but improved radio equipment attracted a number of different operators
Ju 52/3mg7e Automatic pilot, wider cabin doors and armament changes including the Luftwaffe for missions in the
Ju 52/3mg8e As g7e with no spats, optional 850hp BMW 132Z engines Mediterranean and in late pre-war days with
commercial users. Finland’s Aero Company
Ju 52/3mg9e Production from 1942, glider hook as standard, take-off weight 25,357lb flew OH-ALL Kaleva, built in 1936, but in June
Ju 52/3mg10e Provision for naval equipment and floats 1940 two Soviet air force Tupolev SB-2 light
Ju 52/3mg12e 800hp BMW 132L engines bombers shot it down between Tallinn
Ju 52/3mg14e Production from 1943, armour protection, gun turret behind cockpit in Estonia and Helsinki, killing all 10 people
on board.
Junkers Ju 52/3m
KEY
1. Rear navigation light
2. Rudder tab
3. Corrugated rudder skin
4. Rudder post
5. Rudder control linkage
6. Fin structure
7. Fin front spar
8. Elevator, port
9. Multi-spar tailplane construction
10. Fin/fuselage attachment point
11. Control linkage
12. Lower rudder hinge
13. Tailwheel shock-absorber
14. Tailwheel
15. Starboard elevator
16. Tailplane spar
17. Alternative tail-ski attachment
18. Aft fuselage frame
19. Control lines
20. Lower fuselage longeron
21. Inspection walkway
22. Fuselage frame
23. Corrugated fuselage skin
24. Dorsal gunner’s raised station
25. Ring-mounted 7.9mm MG 81
(or 13mm MG 131)
26. Open dorsal gun position
27. Windscreen
28. Aerial
29. Toilet 62. Pilot’s seat 92. Tab control
30. Steps 63. Radio-operator/gunner’s jump-seat 93. Corrugated wing skin
31. Side-gunner’s step 64. Co-pilot’s seat 94. Outer section control linkage
32. Beam-mounted 7.9mm MG 15, 65. Raised cockpit floor 95. Multi-spar wing structure
starboard station 66. Control column 96. Diagonal cross-brace members
33. Ammunition magazines 67. Rudder pedals 97. Outer section hinge fairings
34. Beam-mounted 7.9mm MG 15, port station 68. Bulkhead 98. Outer section trailing-edge flap
35. Cabin hot-air 69. Centre-engine oil tank 99. Starboard navigation light
36. Rear cabin bulkhead 70. Oil filler cap 100. Ground-handling grip, optional
37. Port entry door 71. Enlarged cockpit glazing 101. Leading-edge skin
38. Enlarged (two-part) cargo-loading hatch 72. Junkers metal two-blade propeller 102. Alternative ski-undercarriage attachment
39. Underfloor strengthening structure 73. Engine fairing 103. Starboard mainwheel
40. Corrugated floor 74. Centre BMW 132T-2 radial engine (in 76. 104. Engine auxiliary intake
41. Canvas seats (stowed) Townend ring)
42. Corrugated fuselage skin 75. Engine bearers
43. Fuselage frames 76. Exhaust
44. Rectangular windows 77. Filter intakes
45. Wind-driven generator 78. Control linkage
46. Radio equipment 79. Starboard BMW 132T-2 radial engine
47. Aerial mast (NACA cowling)
48. Twin-loop DF 80. Bulkhead
49. Inner section trailing-edge flap 81. Engine bearers
50. Outer section flap control linkage 82. Undercarriage main strut
51. Outer section trailing-edge flap 83. Starboard engine oil tank
52. Flap hinge fairings 84. Oil filler cap
53. Wing spars 85. Fuel filler cap
54. Port navigation light 86. Starboard wing fuel in seven tanks, total
55. Pitot head 264 Imp gal
56. Corrugated wing skin 87. Fuselage/wing ball-and-socket
57. Underwing inspection panels attachment points
58. Port oil filler 88. Wing control linkage
59. ‘Condor-Haube’ gun position 89. Control runs
60. 7.9mm MG 15 machine gun 90. Inner section trailing-edge flap
61. Port engine cowling (NACA design) 91. Trim tab
JUNKERS Ju 52 71
Junkers Ju 90/290
in the Viermotorige Above: In line with Lufthansa’s plan that the Ju 90

Transportstaffel formed series of airliners would be named after German
states, D-ASND Wk Nr 0006 was Mecklenburg
on 2 January 1943, and
and made its initial flight on 14 June 1939. This
subsequently redesignated colour view reveals the overall silver finish with
Transportfliegerstaffel 5 from April the trademark black engines applied to early
the same year. aircraft. After flying briefly with Lufthansa,
To rectify a number of serious faults it was requisitioned for Luftwaffe use and as
in the initial design, major changes were BG+GX operated as a military transport out of
T
Rangsdorf, Berlin, before transferring to LTS 290
he Junkers Ju 90 four-engined airliner incorporated into the Ju 90S (S for Schwer or
as J4+HH in May 1943. Its fate is not recorded.
grew out of the cancelled Ju 89 Heavy). This featured a new wing, lengthened
strategic bomber programme when fuselage, a reinforced undercarriage, enlarged Mont de Marsan, south of Bordeaux, but their
the manufacturer requested permission tail, and a hydraulically-operated loading period of service was short and by August 1944,
from the RLM to use some of the major ramp known as the Trapo-Klappe under the they were back in Germany for transport duties.
components – wings, tail and engines – rear fuselage. Powered by four BMW 801s, the The final development of the Ju 90 family to
from the bomber mated with a new programme proceeded through 1940 with fly was the giant six-engined Ju 390 to meet a
fuselage for a long-range 40-seat airliner the Ju 90S redesignated Ju 290 and receiving requirement for a New York bomber. Basing the
for Lufthansa. The RLM agreed and Dipl Ing defensive armament for war work, initially in design on a longer Ju 290 fuselage which took
Ernst Zindel designed the Ju 90 with the the freight role. the length to 94ft and adding an extra wing
first prototype, named Der Grosse Dessauer, In 1942, Fliegerfuhrer Atlantic demanded section with two further undercarriage units,
flying on 28 August 1937. a new long-range maritime reconnaissance it resulted in a wing span of 165ft. The first of
In the summer of 1938, the third Ju 90, V3 aircraft to replace the increasingly vulnerable three prototypes flew at Merseburg on
D-AURE Bayern, entered Lufthansa service on Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor and modification 20 October 1943, becoming the largest
the Berlin-Vienna route and more prototypes of the Ju 290A-1 transport was selected, landplane built in Germany. The V-2 flew on
from a batch of 10 emerged as Ju 90Bs. This beginning with three A-2s for evaluation with 2 March 1944, and with a further section in
impressive machine was, however, cheated of a further five A-3s for service use. These were the forward fuselage was even longer at 110ft.
its commercial career when war was declared followed off the Bernburg production line by Evaluated at Mont de Marsan, it flew one non-
and all but the V4 and V6 were impressed into four A-4s and 11 A-5s, the latter with increased stop flight across the Atlantic to within some 12
Luftwaffe service in the transport role. These armament and a crew of seven. These joined miles of New York before returning successfully
and the later Ju 290s were collected together three Staffels of Fernaufklarungsgruppe 5 at to base. Further development ceased.
JUNKERS Ju 90/290 73
Top: Powered by four Daimler-Benz DB 600 engines, the first Ju 90 D-AALU flew in August 1937, but only
six months into flight trials it crashed during flutter tests on 6 February 1938. An inauspicious start to a
design that would later become one of the Luftwaffe’s most reliable long-range transport and maritime
reconnaissance aircraft.
Above: Junkers drawing of the Ju 90 interior dating from August 1937. Advanced for its time, the interior
arrangement seen here had 16 facing seats in the forward smoking cabin and 22 or optional 24 seats in
the main rear cabin. At the rear was the main passenger entrance, two toilets and a baggage area.
Centre right and right: Under attack by an RAF Martin Marauder off Corsica on 23 July 1943, Ju 90 Wk
Nr 0007 J4+JH of LTS 290 flown by Oberfeldwebel Hans Boldt banks to starboard to avoid the cannon
fire, but the German aircraft received damage to the port outer engine forcing Boldt to ditch just off the
Corsican coast near Bastia. The crew survived, unlike the aircraft, which could not be salvaged.
Left: Nose of a Ju 290A-5 of

Fernaufklarungsgruppe 5 with its FuG 200
Hohentwiel aerial array for long-range detection
of Atlantic convoys. Close co-operation between
the maritime reconnaissance aircraft and the
U-Boat force remained vital if attacks were to be
successful, but Allied escort carriers and long-
range fighters saw German losses in men and
machines increase in 1943-44.
Centre left: Major changes to the Ju 90 resulted in

the Ju 90S which became the Ju 290. This is the
V-8 prototype that retains the overall appearance
of the design but incorporated new wings, an
oval fin and rudder, gun positions above and
below the forward fuselage and the Trapo-Klappe
under the lower rear fuselage. It operated mainly
in the Mediterranean theatre through 1943.
Inset: Emblem of the second Staffel of

Fernaufklarungsgruppe 5 based at Mont de
Marsan in Western France. The first Staffel had a
white background to the ship.
Bottom left: With its cockpit and nose blown off,

Ju 290A-1 of LTS 290 gives up its secrets to Allied
troops at Bizerta aerodrome in May 1943. This
aircraft shows the later square fins and rudders
which characterised all mid to late-production
aircraft. Note the hydraulically-operated Trapo-
Klappe loading ramp under the rear fuselage.
Top right: Pictured in the USA after a record-

breaking flight across the Atlantic, Ju 290A-5
was A3+HB of KG 200 and was surrendered to US
forces at Munich. Named Alles Kaputt, it made
the transatlantic flight between 28 July and
1 August, stopping in the Azores, Bermuda and
Patterson Field, before arriving at Wright Field
where it became FE-3400, finally being scrapped
at the end of 1946.
Centre right: A single former operational

Ju 290A-2 was surrendered to British forces at
Schleswig and flown to Britain after the war
for display at the Enemy Aircraft Exhibition at
Farnborough in October 1945. Wk Nr 110157 was
allocated Air Ministry number AM57 and had
previously been 9V+BK of 2./FAGr 5.
Right: First prototype Ju 390V-1 showing the four

twin-wheel main undercarriage units and the six
1,700hp BMW 801D radial engines.
Junkers Ju 290A
Crew: Five
Powerplant: Four 1,700hp BMW 801D
radial engines
Cruise Speed: 224 mph
Range: 3,820 miles
Wingspan: 137ft 10in
Length: 94ft
Height: 22ft 5in
Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant

W
ith the expectation that Germany in October 1940. Code-named ‘Warsaw The initial tow aircraft for the Giganten were
– having cancelled Operation South’, the Me 321 was given the go-ahead four Ju 52/3ms, but later a ‘Troika Schlepp’
Sealion in 1940 – would eventually and only 140 days after the start of design of three Bf 110Cs or one of the strange five-
invade Britain and require large numbers of work, the first prototype was towed into the engined twin-fuselage He 111Z Zwilling, the
gliders to spearhead the invasion force, air by the Junkers Ju 90V-7 at Leipheim on latter specially designed for the task. Operations
Willy Messerschmitt forwarded plans of a 25 February 1941. with the Me 321 was centred on the Luftwaffe’s
giant tank-carrying glider, capable of lifting Constructed with a fabric-covered Grossraum-Lastenseglergruppe (Heavy-lift
up to 27 tons or 175 troops, to Ernst Udet, latticework tubular steel body with wooden Transport Glider Group) formed in June 1941
chief of the RLM’s Technisches Amt in Berlin, flooring, the high-wing glider had a wingspan with three squadrons with 18 Giganten and
of 180.5ft and a length of 92.3ft. The single- three tow-tug squadrons with 36 Bf 110s, all
Below: Awaiting its fin and rudder, a standard seat cockpit, later enlarged to take a crew flying fuel and lubricants to armoured units
production Me 321 Gigant of the Heavy-lift of three, sat over 16ft from the ground. The on the Eastern Front. Large and totally reliant
Transport Glider Group sits on a field in Russia.
strut-braced tail was fabric-covered wood and on the tug aircraft, the Me 321 fleet enjoyed
The type was designed under the leadership of
Messerschmitt Oberingenieur Josef Fröhlich the undercarriage consisted of four skids, two some success, but by 1943 had given way to the
and built at factories at Leipheim, near Ulm, and with Ju 90 balloon tyres and the front two with powered version, the Me 323. Some 200 aircraft
Obertraubling, near Regensburg. swivelling Bf 109 wheels. were delivered before production ceased.
MESSERSCHMITT Me 321 GIGANT 77
Me 321 Gigant
Crew: Three
Tow speed: 125mph
Wingspan: 180ft 5in
Length: 92ft 4in
Height: 33ft 4in
Take-off sequence
Top left: A ‘Troika Schlepp’ of three twin-engined
Bf 110C tow tugs strain to keep formation on
the Leipheim runway as the Giganten behind
gets much-needed thrust from four underwing
rockets to assist in getting airborne. Such
flights demanded a firm runway, concrete being
preferred, as the tug pilots struggled to keep
formation with the loaded glider lifting off at
around 55mph. In the foreground, dark green
shapes of completed Me 321s mingle together
and on the right can be seen an isolated wing
section. Such was the size of these huge monsters
that assembly could only be done outside the
production shops.
Left: Off the ground with the rockets doing their

bit to get the glider in to the air, the Gigant
passes the prototype Me 323V-1, a converted
four-engined powered version of the Me 321
glider. As the later chapter relates, Messerschmitt
favoured six engines and the new design took
over heavy-lift operations from the big glider
from late 1942.
Below: … the formation is airborne and at a

towing speed of around 125mph, the combination
would make slow but steady progress to the point
of cast-off and another load of urgent supplies
was, hopefully, safely delivered.
Arado Ar 232B
Crew: Four
Powerplant: Four 1,000hp BMW-Bramo
323 Fafnir
Max Speed: 191mph
Range: 830 miles
Armament: 13mm MG 131 machine
guns in nose and rear
cargo bay, one 20mm MG
151 cannon in dorsal turret
Wingspan: 109ft 11in
Length: 77ft 2in
Height: 18ft 8in
79
80
Arado Ar 232
A
design originating from an RLM
requirement to replace the Ju 52/3m
in the military freighter role,
the Arado Ar 232 was developed in two
versions, the Ar 232A with two 1,595hp
BMW 801 engines, and the Ar 232B with four
1,000hp Bramo Fafnir 323s. The prototype
Ar 232V-1 flew in mid-1941 and was highly
unusual in having a multiwheel line of 11
pairs of small wheels (10 pairs on the B
series) under the fuselage to supplement
the main tricycle undercarriage aimed at
negotiating unprepared landing strips the
type was expected to use in service. Such an
arrangement soon prompted the unofficial
name Tausendfüssler (Centipede). Inside the
cargo hold was a mechanical hoist extending
the length of the cabin, and a section of the
bottom flooring at the rear dropped to form
a loading ramp.
In May 1942, the Ar 232V-3 flew as the
first four-engined version and in the autumn
that year initial deliveries were made to the
Luftwaffe of the twin-engined A-series, these Above: Surrendered to the RAF at Eggebek and coded A3+RB of III/KG 200, Ar 232B-0 Wk Nr 305002
was found to be pleasant to fly and so useful that it was employed on a series of flights between
first being used in the operation to supply the
Farnborough and European bases collecting captured material. When it ceased operations in August
surrounded 6th Army at Stalingrad. A further 1945, its unique design encouraged plans to retain it as a future museum exhibit, but lack of storage
venture was the ambitious German plan to space where it was kept meant that it was scrapped in 1947.
assassinate Stalin for which an Ar 232B was
used to land agents behind Soviet lines. The Right: An Air Ministry drawing by Peter Castle of the Ar 232B issued in January 1945. The twin guns in
nose and rear fuselage were found not to be the standard fit on the small number of aircraft built.
aircraft was damaged on landing and the six
crew and three agents were captured, the latter Below: Transport duties in North Africa and the Arctic was the initial plan for the Arado Ar 232, but in
being shot. A total of seven Ar 232A versions service the type was mostly assigned work on the Eastern Front. Designed by Wilhelm van Nes, the
and 10 Ar 232Bs were built. prototype Ar 232 made its first flight in mid-1941 and the aircraft is seen here during company trials.
Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant

R
ecognising the limitations of the Initial examples from a contract for 453 10ft 4in in width, 36ft 1in in length and 10ft
Me 321 glider, the RLM awarded machines reached the Luftwaffe in September 10in high. The solid floor could accommodate
Messerschmitt a preliminary contract in 1942, initially for training crews but soon typically two medium trucks, an 88mm Flak
March 1941 for a powered version designated proving invaluable in transporting all types of gun and tractor plus ammunition, more than 50
Me 323. The initial design was for a four- equipment for the Wehrmacht fighting on the barrels of fuel, up to 60 wounded personnel or,
engined aircraft based on the glider, but trials Eastern Front and in North Africa. The Me 323 with a middle deck fitted, 130 equipped troops.
showed it was underpowered so two more retained the cargo hold of the glider which When heavily loaded, the Me 323D could
engines – all French 1,140hp Gnôme-Rhone corresponded to the German rail gauge, being take-off with up to eight 1,102lb thrust Walter
14N radials – were fitted to the strengthened
Below: Undergoing maintenance at the Russian airfield of Kharkov in summer 1943, this Me 323D
wing resulting in the six-engined Me 323D
reveals its forward undercarriage unit and the major repair applied to the port side of the fuselage
which produced the largest production where red primer awaits a coat of camouflage paint. The name on the nose is Himmelslaus – Sky Bug –
landplane in use by any of the combatants. and another aircraft of the unit, both believed to be from 5./TG 5, carried the name Mücke or Midge.
Me 323D Gigant
Crew: Up to seven
Powerplant: Six 1,140hp Gnôme-Rhone
14N radial engines
Cruise Speed: 118mph at 5,000ft
Range: 465 miles at sea level
Armament: Ten 7.9mm MG 34
machine guns in fuselage
sides and 20mm MG 151
cannon in upper wing
turrets and in dorsal
position aft of cockpit,
depending on unit and
version
Wingspan: 180ft 5in
Length: 93ft 6in
Height: 31ft 6in
122. Rudder control linkage 143. Elevator balance horns 164. Retractable aft fuselage support strut
123. Starboard tailplane ribs 144. Port elevator 165. Hinge fairing
124. Leading-edge ply 145. Elevator balance 166. Flap outboard profile
125. Elevator balance 146. Tailplane spar 167. Wooden aft-section wing rib structure
126. Starboard elevator 147. Elevator hinge assembly 168. Tubular metal box spar frame
127. Elevator hinge assembly 148. Tailplane leading-edge 169. Leading-edge/rib attachment
128. Tailplane upper brace strut 149. Elevator control linkage 170. Plywood leading-edge
139. Elevator tab 150. Stern post 171. Outer spar assembly
130. Tailfin leading-edge 151. Tailplane box centre-section 172. Aileron Flettner tab
131. Tailfin spar 152. Tailplane lower brace strut 173. Wing outboard rib stations
132. Tailplane brace strut attachment 153. Jacking point 174. Aileron hinge fairing
133. Tailplane structure 154. Tailskid leg attachment/shock absorber 175. Port aileron, inner
134. Rudder balance 155. Tailskid (rubber) 176. Intermediate ribs
135. Flettner tabs 156. Tailskid strut 177. Aileron hinge line
136. Rudder 157. Strengthening frame 178. Box spar end-section
137. Rudder hinge 158. Aft fuselage floor-level windows 179. Port aileron, outer
138. Tailplane upper brace strut 159. Lower frame 180. Port navigation light
139. Tab hinge fairing 160. Port waist gunner’s position
140. Elevator cut-out 161. Aft entry hatch
141. Flettner tab 162. Fuselage skinning
142. Flettner tab hinge 163. Port flap Flettner tab
Messerschmitt Me 323E Gigant
KEY
1. Starboard navigation light 21. Wing skinning 40. Nose door fabric covering
2. Aileron balance horns 22. Tubular spar member 41. Nose door inner frame
3. Starboard aileron (outer) 23. Flight engineer’s leading-edge station 42. 13mm MG 131 gun stations
4. Wing spars 24. Intakes 43. Ammunition magazines
5. Plywood leading-edge 25. Engine bearer frames 44. Provision for nose door lower gun stations
6. Inter-spar cross bracing 26. Nacelle cowling panels 45. Cargo floor forward sill
7. Aileron control linkage 27. Starboard outer nacelle 46. Cargo floor area
8. Actuator hinge fairing 27. Hinged servicing panels 47. Forward fuselage frame
9. Starboard aileron (inner) 29. Gnome-Rhone 14N 14-cylinder 48. Provision for upper hold floor planking
10. Aileron Flettner tab radial engine 49. Door upper hinge
11. Aileron inner hinge 30. Spinners 50. Nose door multiple hinge assembly
12. Aileron profile 31. Three-blade variable-pitch propellers 51. Spinners
13. Actuator hinge link 32. Propeller hub 52. Pilot’s seat
14. Inter-spar ribs 33. Chin intakes 53. Control columns
15. Starboard 20mm MG 151 34. Cowling gills 54. Co-pilot’s seat
electrically-operated turret 35. Flight deck intakes 55. Flight deck upper glazing
16. Turret aerodynamic fairing 36. Cockpit armoured box assembly 56. MG 15 dorsal gun station
17. Flettner tab 37. Nose door upper hinge frame 57. Wing spar centre-section
18. Tab linkage 38. Door centre-line opening frame 58. Flight deck entry door
19. Starboard flap assembly 39. Provision for nose door upper 59. Cockpit box support frame
20. Flettner tab control gun positions 60. Port inner engine nacelle
81
61. Front spar/fuselage mainframe attachment 82. Main spar box frame 102. Cargo hold aft windows with provision
62. Flight deck crew entry ladder 83. Aerial masts for hand-held guns
63. Forward fuselage side frames 84. DF loop 103. Fuselage formers
64. Cargo hold window 85. Aileron control runs 104. Flap inboard profile
65. Main cargo floor tie-down points 86. Starboard flap inner section 105. Wing/fuselage decking fillet
66. Forward undercarriage attachment 87. Wing/fuselage decking 106. Upper frames
67. Spring shock absorbers 88. Wing centre-section aft frames 107. Dorsal machine gun positions
68. Undercarriage forward assembly 89. Wing control surface actuating linkage 108. Ammunition magazines
69. Undercarriage fairing 90. Six main fuel cells 109. Gunner’s station
70. Forward paired wheels 91. Wing spar framework 110. Rear entry double doors
71. Undercarriage fairing frame member 92. Cargo hold upper windows 111. Aft fuselage walkway
72. Triple mainwheel assembly 93. Fuselage frame 112. Fuselage structure
73. Shock absorbers 94. Flight-engineer’s inspection crawlway 113. Starboard gunner’s position
74. Mainwheel support frame 95. Cargo hold lower windows 114. 13mm MG 131 position
75. Strut members 96. Nacelle fairing 115. Fuselage skinning
76. Undercarriage/fuselage attachment 97. Undercarriage aft fairing 116. Dorsal aft decking
77. Mainframe member 98. Landing light 117. Frame structure
78. Port mid-engine nacelle 99. Box spar frame 118. Cross frames
79. Firewall bulkhead 100. Turret aerodynamic fairing 119. Control runs
80. Intakes 101. Port 20mm MG 151 120. Fuselage/tailfin fillet
81. Flight-engineer’s leading-edge station electrically-operated turret 121. Elevator control linkage
82
Above: An Me 323D-2 with two-blade fixed-pitch

Heine wooden propellers which operated at
a lower maximum gross weight than the D-1
sub-type. The two-bladers were later replaced by
variable-pitch three-blade Chauviere airscrews,
which improved performance. Under the wing,
forward of the large flaps, can be seen the four
fixture points for the Walter take-off rockets and
keeping the aircraft fuselage parallel for loading,
the enterprising ground-crew have supported
the tailskid on an oil barrel.
Right: Instrument panel of the Me 323 with the

prominent throttle levers in the centre. It took
pilots an exceptional amount of physical exertion
to fly the machine, notably during take-offs and
landings. It was also not capable of being flown
on instruments alone.
109-500 rockets underwing, but airborne, the

aircraft was not easy to fly being slow and
cumbersome. The engines were constantly
in need of having to be equalised to improve
control loads for which two flight engineers
were seated between the two inner engines.
Units equipped with this monster included
I and II./KGrzbV 323, later redesignated one destroyed later on the ground at Tunis; the Me 323F-1s with 1,350hp Junkers Jumo 211R
Transportgeschwader 5 (TG 5). From November single remaining aircraft returned to Sicily and engines were built and delivered. With many of
1942 Gigants operated extensively between TG 5 was withdrawn from operations. the 198 or so aircraft delivered now destroyed
Sicily and Libya supplying Rommel’s Afrika In 1943, the Me 323E series appeared, armed or damaged, the type virtually disappeared
Korps with oil and petrol, but losses mounted as with additional gun turrets, a crew of seven from the war fronts. Today, wrecks of Gigants
Allied air forces hunted these ‘fuel carriers’. and 1,200hp Gnôme-Rhone 14R engines. shot down during the war have been located
A black day for the fleet was 22 April 1943, However, in early 1944, production of the in the Mediterranean, but so far only a centre
when 14 of 16 fully loaded Me 323Ds of TG 5 transport was moved to the Zeppelin works wing spar of a Gigant survives at the Luftwaffe
were shot down, many in flames, and a further at Friedrichshafen where a small number of Museum at Berlin Gatow.
Above: View across the upper wings of an E-2

showing the defensive turrets, each mounting a
single 20mm MG 151 cannon.
Right: A Marder self-propelled gun is unloaded

at a North African airfield as the vehicle’s crew
prepare to drive the vehicle to the war front. As
the campaign turned against the Germans, the
Gigant fleet increasingly transported fuel and
oil between Sicily and airfields in Tunisia, with
disastrous losses in men and machines.
Below: A late E variant at Trapani in Sicily

receiving work on its starboard centre engine,
usually labelled ‘5’ on the cowling, with the
engineer perched precariously on the wooden
platform, while in front a delivery of fuel barrels
awaits loading.
Below: Cannon fire rakes an Me 323 of II./TG 5 off

Cap Corse, Corsica, during an attack on 23 July An appropriate emblem for 1.Transportgeschwader 5 and carried by Me 323s was this illustration
1943, by an RAF Martin Marauder flown by of an elephant with a wing strapped to its back and a suitcase in its trunk (left). From July
Wg Cdr Dick Maydwell of No 14 Squadron. 1942, this rather strange emblem was seen on aircraft of 1.Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen
Loaded with an SdKfz 7 half-track gun tractor, Verwendung showing a dachshund on a British steel helmet (centre). II./TG 5 adopted Baron von
three Kubelwagens and six tons of ammunition, Munchhausen riding on a cannonball drawn by a flight of six geese and applied between summer
the slow-flying giant succumbed to shell-fire 1943 to late 1944 (right).
from the B-26, losing three engines and suffering
injuries to the 12 personnel on board. Pilot
Oberfeldwebel Walter Honig turned and made for
the coast, crash-landing near Barcaggio where
the injured survived and were taken to hospital.
Above and top: With the surrender of Axis forces in North Africa on 12 May 1943, the airfields around
Tunis were full of German and Italian aircraft wrecks from two powerful expeditionary air forces. The
largest remains included the spectral airframes of the last few Gigants that managed to reach von
Arnim’s beleaguered survivors. Above, the framework of an Me 323D sits like a downed mantis with
only the armoured cockpit box surviving the Allied attacks, while (top) a more complete example is
surveyed by curious RAF personnel who have arrived in a Humber staff car, seen on the right.
Below: Over 16ft above the ground, two crew members of a Gigant observe progress as the six-engined
monster trundles across the turf towards take-off. The cockpit was one of the few armoured areas in
the design, fabric skinning covering much of the airframe, highlighted in the clamshell nose doors.
Projecting from the lower nose are two of the 7.9mm machine guns that helped defend the machine.
Junkers Ju 252/352
A
modern replacement for the Similar in appearance, the Ju 352 was Grossraum-Transportgruppe (Large Capacity
rapidly ageing Ju 52/3m, designer designed to use as many non-strategic Transport Wing) based at Tutow. After the war,
Ernst Zindal’s Ju 252 retained the materials as technically possible in answer five were flown to Britain for evaluation and
familiar three-engined layout of the earlier to Germany’s increasingly parlous state for freight duties between the UK and Germany.
machine, but incorporated a retractable producing high-grade light-alloys that were
undercarriage, an all-metal pressurised urgently needed for combat aircraft. Powered
cabin for up to 35 passengers and a by three BMW-Bramo 323R-2 engines, modified Junkers Ju 252A
hydraulic loading ramp known as the Trapo- to use both high and low-grade fuel, the new Crew: Three
Klappe under the rear fuselage. aircraft had wings of wooden construction, Powerplant: Three 1,340hp Junkers
An aircraft initially intended for Deutsche a fuselage of duralumin stressed-skin front Jumo 211F engines
Lufthansa, the first prototype (D-ADCC) flew and rear with a steel-tube frame with wooden (1,200hp BMW-Bramo
in October 1941, but the type was quickly formers and fabric covering in the centre. 323R-2s)
switched from commercial use to that of a Single-wheel main undercarriage units replaced Max Speed: 272 mph (230mph)
military transport for the Luftwaffe. Fifteen the double wheels on the Ju 252, and wooden Cruise Speed: 208mph (152mph)
were ordered, the first entering service with propeller blades on the reversible-pitch Range: 4,100 miles (1,860 miles)
Lufttransportstaffel 290 at Berlin Tempelhof airscrews took the place of metal ones. Empty Weight: 28,880lb (28,150lb)
in January 1943. Powered by 1,400hp Jumo First flight of the prototype Ju 352V-1 took Loaded Weight: 52,911lb (43,200lb)
211 engines, the Ju 252A was the only version place at Fritzlar on 1 October 1943 and as Armament: One 13mm MG 131
to see service and the 15 examples built were production ramped up so deliveries were made machine gun in dorsal
turret and two 7.9mm MG
mostly tasked with special missions, to the Luftwaffe. However, in mid-1944 with the
15 MGs in beam positions
such as agent-dropping over North war going badly for Germany all production (one 20mm MG 151
Africa and emergency trooping of transport aircraft was abandoned, the final cannon in dorsal turret)
operations. Ju 352A-1s rolling off the line in September Wingspan: 111ft 10in (112ft 3in)
after 10 pre-production A-0s and 33 A-1s had Length: 82ft 4in (80ft 8in)
been completed. Most aircraft equipped the Height: 18ft 10in (as Ju 252)
(Ju 352A figures in parenthesis)
JUNKERS Ju 252/352 89
Left: Prototype Ju 252V-1 D-ADCC on an

early test flight in the autumn of 1941 with
the undercarriage extended. The censors
subsequently blanked out the Nazi swastika
on the tail to comply with post-war German
Government laws; these laws were later relaxed
for pictures taken during the 1930-45 period, but
remain in force for replica and full-size aircraft of
the time.
Below left: The mixed-construction of the down-

graded Ju 352 under assembly.
Below The Ju 252V-4 on a mission to the

Eastern Front in April 1944 showing how the
Trapo-Klappe raised the aircraft to a near level
position for loading. This fourth machine was
the first equipped with a power-operated turret
immediately aft of the flight-deck, but the
location constantly leaked air through the turret
ring requiring the constant use of blowers to
maintain pressurisation. This aircraft was also
the first to receive higher-powered 1,400hp Jumo
211J engines.
Left: Ground view of the prototype undergoing

pre-flight checks. Junkers test pilot for the
programme was Hans-Joachim Matthies.
Below: One of five Ju 352A tri-motors acquired

by the RAF and used for ferrying captured
equipment and material from German bases
and research centres back to RAE Farnborough.
Before being surrendered, mainly at Eggebek,
these machines had been operated by
Transportgruppe 4.
DFS 230
O
n the morning of 10 May 1940, Forschungsinstitut fur Segelflug (German Above: A relatively uncomplicated design, the
Cologne’s two airfields at Ostheim Research Institute for Gliding) and test DFS 230 was really a disposable asset – as an
assault glider, the requirement was that it should
and Butzweilerhof echoed as 41 flown late in 1937 by Flugkapitan Hanna
fly a section of troops, with their equipment, to
Ju 52/3m trimotors towing 41 DFS 230 Reitsch, Germany’s famous woman pilot. The the target area and land them safely to conduct
assault gliders took off in the half light. Their fabric-covered welded steel-tube fuselage operations. If the glider was subsequently
destination was the Belgian frontier fortress accommodated the pilot and up to nine troops damaged or destroyed, it had done its job; if
of Eben Emael and three bridges over the seated on a central boom, with a ventral skid it was recoverable, it was a bonus. Under tow,
Albert Canal. So began Hitler’s assault on for landing and two jettisonable wheels for this DFS 230B was flown by III./LLG 1 and shows
the prominent landing skid under the forward
Western Europe and the small gliders, each take-off. Tugs for the glider included the Ju 52,
fuselage, while at the rear is the brake-parachute
carrying a section of eight parachutists, He 111, Ju 87 and Do 17. Gotha became the designed to reduce airborne time in combat areas.
proved vital in overwhelming their targets. lead manufacturer of the type along with three
So successful was the concept that many other factories and by the end of 1940, 455
other countries followed Germany’s lead, had been accepted by the Luftwaffe and when DFS 230B
quickly setting in motion the development production finally ceased in 1942, no fewer than
Crew: Pilot and nine troops
of such craft for military use. 1,500 had been built.
Tow speed: 130mph
The small DFS 230 was designed by The second major production version was
engineer Hans Jacobs of the Deutsches the DFS 230B fitted with a braking parachute
Below: A rather bent machine that ended on the slope of a road embankment in Crete, one of 80 which Wingspan: 72ft 1in
took part in the airborne invasion of the island in May 1941. It carries number 16 on the nose, more for Length: 36ft 10.5in
the planned order of take-off from the Greek airfields than post-landing checks. Through the broken Height: 9ft
fuselage can be seen the central beam on which the troops sat astride for the flight.
Above: Limited cockpit instrumentation in

the DFS 230A included dials giving airspeed,
altitude, a turn and bank indicator, rate of
descent and an FK 38 magnetic compass. Most
important was the handle for casting-off the tow
line attached to the tug.
DFS 230 91
Above: This strange and somewhat sarcastic

emblem of an elephant pulling a glider with
a washing line was noted on a DFS 230B-1
operating at Comiso, Italy, in 1942. It represented
1.(DFS)/VK(S) 2 (Verbindungskommando/
Schlepp) glider/tug unit.
Above left: A number of experiments were

conducted with the glider in which a
Messerschmitt Bf 109E flew atop a DFS 230 in
Huckepack (Pick-a-back) configuration aimed at
a number of tasks including as a guided bomb,
ferry duties, etc. Although the idea did not
designed to give a quick diving descent to DFS 230C gliders specially fitted with three progress beyond the trial stages for the DFS 230,
near the end of the war Mistel combinations of
avoid ground fire, some units adding a pair of braking rockets in the nose, again to reduce
an Fw 190 fighter atop an explosive-laden Ju 88
7.9mm MG 34 infantry machine guns to the the landing run, successfully flew troops were flown.
sides of the nose to provide suppressive fire commanded by Otto Skorzeny to rescue
during landing. the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from a Below: When found in Tunisia, this DFS 230A had
This versatile little glider would go on to fly mountain-top prison. few secrets to reveal, but the RAF intelligence
officer nevertheless felt it worthy of inspection.
other ‘head-line grabbing’ operations during A larger successor designated DFS 230
It carries no markings and may have been one
the war including the invasion of Crete in V-7 was built and flown, but did not enter of those assigned the task of ferrying fuel from
May 1941 when more than 80 took part, and production; it carried 15 troops and could Sicily to North Africa for the armoured units of
in September 1943, when a small number of accommodate freight in a centre hold. the Afrika Korps.
Gotha Go 242/244
T
he Gotha Go 242 was, like the Me 321, types and the freight floor strengthened to
designed for the planned airborne take heavier loads. The main tow-tug was the Gotha Go 242A-1
invasion of England. However, despite five-engined Heinkel He 111Z or Zwilling and
Crew: Two plus 21
the urgency for large-scale production to these cumbersome combinations were mainly
fully-equipped troops
meet the planned operation after Hitler’s employed on the Eastern Front supplying fuel Max Gliding Speed: 180mph
imaginative six-week subjugation of Russia and urgent equipment to armoured units close Cruise Speed: 130mph towed by
in summer 1941, Dipl Ing Albert Kalkert’s to the front-line and flying supplies to German Ju 52/3m
twin-boom glider design would not see the units cut-off from surface supply routes. Empty Weight: 7,055lb
green fields of England, instead it was to find Gotha produced a further 682 gliders during Loaded Weight: 14,991lb
itself in the wastes of the Eastern Front and 1942, 133 of which were converted to the Armament: Four 7.9mm MG 15
southern Europe. Go 244 powered version, designed to make machine guns plus
The first prototype Go 242V-1 flew in the retrieval from landing sites easier and to give a 7.9mm cabin guns
spring of 1941 with production A-0 models certain autonomy to the type. fired by troops
delivered to the Luftwaffe in August. By the With two 700hp Gnome-Rhone 14M radial Wingspan: 80ft 4in
end of that year, six Lastenseglerstaffeln (Cargo engines, the Go 244 flew in late 1942, but Length: 51ft
glider staffel) had been formed with more proved a poor performer being unable to Height: 14ft
than 250 aircraft. Relatively minor airframe maintain height on one engine and with
changes resulted in the freight-carrying insufficient spares available, production of the Below: Behind a five-engined Heinkel He 111Z,
two Gotha Go 242s in line astern adopt the
Go 242A-1 followed by the A-2 variant intended type was terminated late in 1943 after 169 had
higher tow position to avoid buffeting from the
for the assault role. In 1942, the B series been built. The type was withdrawn from five Jumo engines of the Zwilling tug. The second
arrived in service incorporating a fixed wheel front-line use and relegated to the paratroop aircraft is armed with a 7.9mm machine gun
undercarriage replacing the skids of the earlier training role. behind the cockpit.
GOTHA Go 242/244 93
Above and left: Loading a Kubelwagen into the

freight hold of a Go 242B for which the rear
fuselage was raised… and troops demonstrate
the ease of accommodation for those off to war.
Below: Protected by hastily-built ‘berms’,

this abandoned Go 242B in Libya appears in
reasonable condition. The hole in the nose is
where the steel tow line was anchored.
Above: The wheeled undercarriage on this wreck at Catania in Sicily identifies it as a Go 242B. Construction
of this assault/freight glider was comparatively simple comprising a fabric-covered welded steel-tube
fuselage with the wings incorporating a wooden main spar and plywood leading edge, again
covered with fabric. Loading was via a rear upward-hinging section of the fuselage.
Inset: A winged skull was the emblem for Schleppgruppe 4 assigned to the Eastern Front
with Go 242s from October 1943.
GOTHA 242/244 95
Left: Redesigning the Go 242 to accept two engines was comparatively

straightforward with the two French Gnome-Rhone 14Ms incorporated into
the wing with the tailbooms extended forward to merge with the nacelles. In
the cockpit, the necessary instrumentation was added and the Go 244 was born.
However, the lack of engine spares and its poor performance proved the type’s
downfall and its service career lasted only some 18 months.
Second-line transports
A selection of types that saw Luftwaffe service in smalle r n
Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Wiehe (Kite)
Designed under the direction of Focke-Wulf
chief, Prof Kurt Tank, the six-passenger Fw
58 Weihe multi-purpose aircraft flew on 18
January 1935. As well as being ordered for the
new Luftwaffe, it achieved considerable export
success with 319 orders. During the conflict it
was operated widely as a light transport, trainer,
casualty evacuation – where it was dubbed
Leukoplastbomber (Elastoplast bomber) – aerial
photography and liaison duties. It also flew
as a pest control sprayer, mainly over German
forests. Two 240hp Argus As 10C engines gave
the Fw 58C, the main production version,
a cruising speed of 150mph and a range of
nearly 500 miles. The picture shows Prof Tank’s
personal Weihe, D-ALEX at Heston in 1939.
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor

Designed for Lufthansa and flown on 27 July 1937, the prototype Condor airliner undertook a number of successful
long-distance flights before the war, the eight early production Fw 200A/B series operating as transports and VIP aircraft
with the Luftwaffe. The third Condor prototype became Hitler’s personal aircraft. Later aircraft were used for
maritime patrol duties. Engines were 720hp BMW 132G radials; cruising speed, 208mph. The picture shows the
second prototype.
SECOND-LINE TRANSPORTS 97
lle r numbers
Junkers G 38
One of two former Lufthansa airliners, the
surviving G 38 (the first was destroyed)
dated from 1931 and was impressed into war
service, operating first during the invasion of
Norway in 1940. Coded GF+GG, it served until
destroyed in a bombing attack on Athens-
Tatoi airfield on 17 May 1941. The engines
were 750hp Junkers Jumo 204 Diesels:
cruising speed, 127mph. Junkers W34
A six-passenger multi-purpose design, the Junkers W 34 was a small but capable aircraft,
which, although ceasing production in 1934, remained in large-scale service with the Luftwaffe
until the end of the war. As well as light transport use, the W 34 also operated as a trainer.
Engines included the 650hp Bramo 322 driving a four-blade airscrew and the 660hp BMW 132
with a two-blade type. Cruising speed, 145mph. Taken in Poland in 1939, this picture shows
parachutes being loaded into a W 34.
Siebel S 204
An eight-passenger transport and twin trainer
with the Luftwaffe, the Siebel Si 204 began
production at Bourges in France in 1942 and
168 were built by 1945. A well-balanced design,
the type continued in production at the SNAC
factory after the war when it was named
Martinet and a further 1,359 were completed.
Two 600hp Argus As 411 engines gave a cruise
speed of 211mph and a range 1,100 miles.
Caudron Goeland
The Goeland was a French Caudron
company product and saw German
service following the capture of a
number of these twin-engine six-
passenger light transports in 1940. It
remained in production throughout the
war, flying as a trainer in addition to its
utility missions with the Luftwaffe. Total
production reached 1,702. Two 200hp
Renault 6Q Bengali-Six engines gave
the C.445M version a cruising speed of
160mph and a range of 350 miles.
Italian supporters
A
s a close Axis partner, Italy possessed
a wide-ranging aircraft industry, Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 Canguro
but it suffered from a lack of raw The largest and most capable of the Italian-designed wartime transports, the SM.82 flew
materials. Although Germany ordered a in 1938 and served throughout the conflict and into the 1950s with the Italian Air Force. Its
number of different aircraft for use by the biggest advantage was its ability to carry up to 8,800lb, typical loads being six aero engines,
Luftwaffe, few were actually delivered. Of 40 fully-equipped troops, 600 gal of fuel or a complete dismantled single-seat fighter.
those that were, the three types seen here Construction was fabric-covered metal with wooden wings and tail. Nearly 50 SM.82s received
helped supplement the rapidly diminishing German markings, but only 30 or so gained operational status. Three 950hp Alfa Romeo 128
fleet of ageing Junkers trimotors, mainly R.C.21 radials gave the Canguro a top speed of 200mph.
after the Armistice which split Italy into two
enclaves with the Aeronautica Nazionale
Repubblicana (ANR) forming the Fascist
element loyal to Hitler.
Savoia-Marchetti SM.81
Similar in design to the Ju 52/3m and like
the German aircraft flying initially in the
bombing role, the SM.81 appeared in 1934
and operated with the Regia Aeronautica
before its vulnerability resulted in its
switch to general purpose duties. Some 35
SM.81s were appropriated by the Germans
in Italy and the Balkans after the Armistice
between the Italians and the Allies in
September 1943, the aircraft being formed
into Transportfliegergruppe 10 (ital.), seen
here, which carried the code 8Q and the
ANR emblem behind the cockpit. A single
7.9mm gun turret was fitted behind the
cockpit and on the power of three 900hp
Piaggio Stella IX engines it managed a
speed of 196mph and a range of up to
1,000 miles.
Fiat G.12
This rather elegant trimotor took on German
colours between December 1943 and
September 1944 with some 22 operating with
Transport Staffel 4. The G.12 was designed as a
14-passenger airliner and flew in October 1940,
followed in May 1941 by the G.12T military
cargo and troop transport version. This served
with the Regia Aeronautica in North Africa and
the Italian mainland and was much favoured
for its ability to carry 22 fully-equipped troops
and for its day, a remarkable range of just under
5,000 miles. In mid-1944, 18 were transferred to
the Hungarian Air Force in a gesture of German
support, but the aircraft soon succumbed to
Allied bombing raids. The G.12T was powered
by three 895hp Alfa Romeo 128 radial engines
giving a top speed of 242mph.
E
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German Marine & Transport

Aviation Archive Series

German Marine & Transport Airc

ircraft of World War 2

German Marine Aircraft

Above: Photographed in 1934 from the top

Below: A camouflaged He 60D of Ku.Fl.Gr 106

Below: Carrying what appear to be either two

Left: This 1938 sales brochure in French and

Top right: A Flight cutaway drawing of the Ar 95,

Right: Initially designed as a two-seater, the

Above: D-ANHR was a special

Right: Pilot (left) and co-pilot’s position in the

Inset: Deutsche Luft Hansa badge for the pre-war

Left: Aeolus was the third prototype Do 18 and

Right: Emblem of 2./Küstenfliegergruppen 406 based at List, North Germany.

Left: Green splinter camouflage covers the former

Right: Relatively minor airframe changes, which

Centre right: As recounted in the text, Dornier

Below: The second aerial success for the British

Blohm & Voss Ha 139

Right: Construction of the first Ha 139 showing

Below: Front view of the third and final Ha 139.

magnetic degaussing ‘ring’ fitted round the

20mm MG FF cannon in addition to the single

Walter Blume, Designer and Business

Left: One of the few colour pictures of an Arado

Inset left: Operated by 2./SAGr. 125, Arado Ar

Bottom left: Beached Ar 196A-3s along the

Right: When captured by the British in

Below: The British Marine Aircraft Experimental

Blohm & Voss BV 138

Top: Second prototype HA 138 V-2 D-AMOR

Left: Salient recognition points of the BV 138 –

Blohm & Voss BV 138C

Right: In water just above freezing, partially

Bottom right: A view from one of the U-Boats

Below: Gradually sinking following an attack by

Bottom: One of three BV 138Cs surrendered at

German-occupied Europe, chiefly in northern

Left: Activity at the seaplane base at Trondheim

Below: Beginning a take-off in a shower of

Right: Emblem of one

Although not operated in the offensive role,

Right: For pilots protecting the neutrality of

Two units equipped with Do 24s were

Top left: Showing its humanitarian side in

Centre left and below left: Seaworthiness trials

Right: A Seenotstaffel Do 24 being lowered into

Overleaf: Being towed by a launch, a standard

Above: Having been supplied with 12 Do 24T-3s

Centre left: Magnetic mines proved a problem for

Left: With the German withdrawal from France

Above: Engines stopped, the prototype D-AGNT