JU 88A-4 WITH GERMAN GROUND PERSONNEL AND TORPEDO TRAILERS

The Luftwaffe is a German air force that began to form in February 1935 under a special order of the Nazi dictator of Germany - Adolf Hitler. The commander of the Luftwaffe - from its very beginning, actually until the end of World War II - was Herman Göring. From 1935 to 1939, the amount of Luftwaffe equipment grew by leaps and bounds, and so did the number of ground personnel. This tendency continued until the end of World War II. It is assumed that in 1939-1945, a total of around 3.4 million people served in the German armed forces, the lion's share of which was ground personnel. At the start of the September campaign, the Luftwaffe had approximately 900,000. people, and in the summer of 1941 that number grew to 1.5 million people. However, at the beginning of 1944, the Luftwaffe already numbered about 3 million people, which was the maximum it achieved during World War II. This number (3 million people) included, inter alia, 600 thousand. people serving in anti-aircraft artillery and 530 thousand. people in auxiliary units. It is assumed that from the beginning of the war to January 1945, the losses of Luftwaffe personnel amounted to approx. 140,000. people killed and approx. 155 thousand. missing persons.Junkers Ju-88 is a German, twin-engine, multi-role aircraft in the spine-wing configuration, with a classic tail and all-metal structure. The flight of the prototype took place on December 21, 1936, and the entry into service took place in 1939. The first production series was powered by Jumo 211A engines. Thanks to good flight characteristics, considerable performance and a solid construction on the basis of the Ju-88, several different versions of the aircraft have been created, performing various functions. The first mass-produced version is the Ju-88A, with many revisions. It served as a medium bomber. Its three revisions have been adapted to desert operations (A9, A10, and A11). Ju-88B planes, which were used as reconnaissance aircraft, were produced on a small scale. On the other hand, the Ju-88C was produced on a large scale, with BMW 801 engines, which was a great night fighter. The Ju-88-C6c version featured the SN-2 radar and the Schrage Musik cannons. The D version is another reconnaissance version, but with new engines. Another development model is the famous Ju-88G, which is a night fighter with more and more modern aircraft radars (SN2, SN3, FuG-218, and finally the FuG-240 centimeter radar in the Ju-88G-7C version) and more powerful versions of engines. In addition, the following versions were created: Ju-88H, Ju-88p, Ju-88S and Ju-88T. The plane was used during the September Campaign, the War in Western Europe and the Battle of Britain in 1940, on a large scale on the Eastern Front and in battles with the Allied bombing raids over the German skies. About 15,000 copies of this successful aircraft were built, all versions. Technical data (Ju-88G): length: 15.5 m, wingspan: 20.08 m, height: 5.07 m, maximum speed: 550 km / h, maximum range: 2500 km, maximum ceiling 9900 m, armament: permanent-4 MG151 cannons / 20 20mm machine guns, 1-2 MG131 13mm machine guns and 1-2 MG151 / 20 20mm cannons in the Schrage Musik system.