Ju 52 JUNKERS A History: 1930-1945 — (N°26 CLASSIC)
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Characteristics
| ISBN-13 | 9781906537463 |
| ISBN-10 | 1906537463 |
| Book cover finish(es) | Hardcover ( square back binding ) |
| Special Features | Dust jacket |
| Condition | Like NEW |
| Author(s) | Eddie Creek |
| Publisher | Classic |
| Number of pages | 330 |
| Published date | First published 2014 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Collection / Series | CLASSIC |
| Size | 23 X 31 cm |
| Categorie(s) | • APPAREILS - CONSTRUCTEURS • AVIATION MILITAIRE • SECONDE GUERRE MONDIALE |
Description
An Iconic Aircraft
For more than five decades, the Junkers Ju 52/3m saw international service as a highly successful airliner and military transport. Its three-engined design and corrugated metal construction became instantly recognisable features. A mainstay of the Luftwaffe’s inventory during the Second World War, the aircraft first entered service in the early 1930s, notably during the Spanish Civil War, and went on to serve on every front where the Luftwaffe was deployed until May 1945.
Design and Reputation
The all-metal, three-engined Ju 52/3m enjoyed a solid—indeed, revered—reputation among its crews, as well as the troops and paratroopers who relied upon it. The aircraft is synonymous with the German airborne assaults on the Netherlands and Belgium in 1940 and on Crete in 1941, when hundreds of Junkers aircraft were used to drop paratroopers, seize key tactical objectives, and secure vital areas.
Civil Origins and Worldwide Use
The Ju 52/3m’s remarkable history began as a passenger aircraft for Deutsche Lufthansa. In civilian service, it operated routes reaching as far as South Africa, Mozambique, India, and Latin America. It was also flown by several European countries—including Belgium, Norway, Great Britain, Sweden, and Finland—and by airlines in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay. Its first military deployment occurred in South America during the Chaco War, where it served both as a transport aircraft and as a bomber.
Wartime Service
In German hands, the Ju 52 was first blooded in Spain, where it was also used as a crude but effective bomber by the Condor Legion. Thereafter, the Luftwaffe deployed it extensively in Poland, Scandinavia, Western Europe, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and on the Eastern Front.
The Junkers proved itself a stalwart transport aircraft, often operating under the most hostile conditions: extreme cold and ice, heat and dust. It carried men, animals, food, supplies, ammunition, mail, and spare parts vital to German military operations. It played a crucial role on the North African supply routes, at Demyansk and Stalingrad, in the Kuban and at Korsun, as well as during the Ardennes offensive in 1944 and in supplying beleaguered “fortress” positions in Eastern Europe during the final months of the war.
Versatility and Post-War Service
Beyond its transport role, the Ju 52 also served as an ambulance aircraft and mine-hunter, and was adapted as a seaplane and a “flying classroom”, as well as a ubiquitous courier aircraft.
After the war, the Ju 52 continued flying well into the 1980s—a testament to its strength and reliability.
Legacy of “Tante Ju”
This book tells the story of the Ju 52 from its gestation as a somewhat reluctant concept on the part of Professor Hugo Junkers and his chief designer, Ernst Zindel, through its rapid—though not trouble-free—development, to its near-mythical status as the famous and indefatigable “Tante Ju”.
With detailed text, more than 700 photographs, facsimile documents, and colour artwork, this volume stands as an important reference work on an aircraft of considerable historical significance.
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