The Luftwaffe's Last Ditch Interceptor | Junkers Ju 388

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in the skies over Germany during 1944 and 1945 - the Luftwaffe desperately needed a way to counter the hordes of allied bombers that were bombing the nation into submission. When all other attempts failed to materialise in time, an attempt to turn a Ju 88 "Schnellbomber" into a late-war interceptor was worth a try?
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Sources:
Vernaleken, C., & Handig, M. (2006). Junkers Ju 388: Development, Testing and Production of the Last Junkers High-Altitude Aircraft. Schiffer Publishing, Limited.
Nowarra, Heinz J. (1993). Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933-1945 Vol.3 - Flugzeugtypen Henschel-Messerschmitt (in German). Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe Verlag.
0:00 - 2:28 Introduction
2:29 - 3:53 Initial Design Requirements
3:54 - 5:28 Initial Design Work
5:29 - 8:42 Prototype Stage and Testing
8:43 - 9:45 Conclusion

[@aviationdeepdive]

This was a really interesting aircraft to research, hope you enjoy the video! Feel free to join our Discord community! - discord.gg/WCevgcufwJ Consider supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/AviationDeepDive

[@HaVoC117X]

4:40 He had good reasons to bet on the Ju 88G and Ju 388g, the output of Ju 88 and Ju 188 airframes was much higher, compared to the complex and new He 219 airframe. Wing and Tail section were already tested and in production for the Ju 188, which made transition to the Ju 88g and Ju 388 rather simple. Furthermore the Junkers, could carry more payload in fuel (and even bombs for night ground attack), had a longer flightime and range, and could outdive and outturn not only the He 219 but alos the Mosquito. The Junkers Ju88 G1 and G6 already had good flight performances with the supercharged BWM 801 (not turbocharged) and Jumo 213. While the He 219 was still waiting for the planned stronger engines aswell and had troubles with the existing DB 603 engines. The He 219 only had two advantages, it had ejections seats and was a little faster in level flight, but still not fast enough to reliably catch Mosquitos, a job which could only have been done reliably with twoseat Me 262s, Arados or Do 335s with centimeter radar. So there was no reason to introdruce or continue a completly new airframe with the He 219, which offered littel to no advantages over the trusted Ju 88. Milch has the understanding of aircraft, which Speer lacked.

[@HaVoC117X]

There were several Ju 88 g6 which already had the Jumo 213 with MW 50. At least according to Eric Brown: ....after the war Royal Navy test pilot Eric Brown was able to reach a top speed of 644km/h (400mph) at an altitude of 9,145 meters in tests (30,000ft) (Medcalf 319, Eric Brown 195). In all likelihood, this was a testing aircraft that was using either Jumo 213E or 213F engines, as 9km was well above the full throttle height of the Jumo 213A. Alternatively, some of these engines may have made their way into very late production G-6 aircraft.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

The german name for Radar LOOKS a bit like Funkgerät (the standard name for radio sets), but it is actually called funkMESSgerät, radio measuring device. Which is a pretty important difference. ;)

[@masbeetleboy9169]

The ju-388 did see service in late WWII, but only the 388k/l, not the 388j. The 388k/l shared the same basic airframe and served as high altitude recon-bombers. The last German airplane downed over Britain was probably an example of this type.

[@briansilcox5720]

I spent a bit of time in the cockpit of the Ju388 L. All these years in storage, it still looks remarkably well preserved. Would be nice to see it with its wings attached, and on its gear, but realistically… probably not in my lifetime.

[@aviationdeepdive]

That would be quite incredible to see. Unfortunately as you say full restorations are pretty time consuming jobs and there's always more aircraft that need restoring than people who have the time or money to do it

[@williamzk9083]

The Ju 388 also had 4 engine variants. BMW 801TJ, Jumo 213E (same engine as the Ta 152H), Jumo 222A3/B3 and Jumo 222E/F. The Jumo 222 had a protracted development due to very high demands placed on it using only 87 octane B4 fuel but it was back on the production program in 1944 into 1945.. The Jumo 222A3/B3 had 2500hp and the Jumo 222E/F had a two stage supercharger and over 2800hp. The Ju 388L Jumo 213E/F version would have had a speed of over 444mph. The turbo charged BMW 801 was also available in variants TMW 801TJ-1, BMW TJ-2 based on the BMW 801D2 and the more powerfull BMW-TQ based on the BMW 801E. . All had exceptional performance since they retained the mechanical supercharger of the standard BMW 801. -More fascinating is the Ju 488 which is a stretched Ju 388 with a Ju 288 tail and 4 engines was expected to have a service ceiling of 48500ft on BMW 7801-TJ-1 engines.

[@Jones607]

👍🏻

[@R.Lennartz]

I've flown this aircraft quite a bit in WT, allot of people think it's a bomber and just go headon with it, only to be blown apart by my 30 mm minengeschoß. The fact that the guns are pointed down even makes them think I'm not aiming at them, and it's actually surprisingly maneuverable, I've won turnfights with it :).

[@aviationdeepdive]

Yeah it's great in WT haha, thanks for the comment!

[@kiwidiesel]

I eat JU's for breakfast 🥞

[@A.G.798]

Schönes Video ❤ herzlichen Dank dafür, der Ju 388 mit den in Deutschland so selten verwendeten 4 Blatt Hochleistungs Luftschraube/Propeller.

[@Dilley_G45]

Dazu (3 oder 4 Blattpropeller) gibts ein Video auf Englisch. Sehr interessant, guter Kanal. Mal auf Englisch in der youtube Suchleiste suchen

[@markfryer9880]

Good video. I was aware of the Ju-88 and actually made a model of a Ju-188 (Matchbox plastic kits) as a Primary School kid back in Grade 6 in 1976. I was not however fully aware of the Ju-388, so thank you for improving my knowledge. Mark from Melbourne Australia

[@allangibson8494]

The Ju288 and 488 are worth a look too…

[@kiwisteve6598]

I built the same kit at about the same time 😊 - very elegant with the smooth glasshouse

[@markfryer9880]

@@kiwisteve6598 Good to know that people remember those kits. I would knock together one each Friday afternoon in craft time in Grade 6. I suspect that it was so that the teachers could have a cruisy afternoon before the weekend.

[@namelesscurmudgeon9794]

The Ju88 would have been significantly faster if the inerceptor version had been built without the extra engineering that Udet had demanded so that the J88 could fuction as a dive bomber. Removal of the extra metal would have also saved scarce aluminium.

[@mirrorblue100]

There wasn't much "extra engineering" needed to use the 88 as a dive bomber - automatic dive pull-out instruments and dive brakes was all. Thats minimal savings of metal. The 88 was easily adapted into a fighter and with uprated engines, armament and radar performed very well. By the time they contemplated the 388 this was a well refined, mature design. If the 388 had gotten into production it would have used the Fug 240 Berlin dish radar which easily outweighed the equipment characterized as "extra."

[@namelesscurmudgeon9794]

@@mirrorblue100 I had read that Udet caused the Ju88 to be delayed because he demanded a dive-bombing capability, which forced the engineers to strengthen the airframe considerably. That was said to have added so much weight that the Ju88 was no longer capable of being a schnell bomber.

[@mirrorblue100]

It could dive bomb and had good speed - the Ju88A bomber - with a three ton bombload could do 290 MPH - in 1941 - thats a schnellbomber. @@namelesscurmudgeon9794

[@williamzk9083]

Ju 88G6 (often erroneously labelled G7) were delivered with FuG 240 microwave radars. The Ju 388 would have certainly had this radar. Streamlined aerial profiles would also have worked (developed for Me 262 Neptune radar)

[@williamzk9083]

@@mirrorblue100the dive bombing role dramatically increased weights d slowed the aircraft. By 1942 the StuVi 5B shallow dive bombing sight and Lotfe 7 Computing bomb sight made dive breakers redundant and they were removed. Added about 12 mph or 20km.

[@thethirdman225]

I was in the Deutsches Museum last week and saw that very engine, along with a Jumo 213 and a Packard Merlin. The complexity of the BMW with the turbo supercharger is pretty obvious. I was particularly interested in what I thought must have been an annular intercooler.

[@wbertie2604]

Fewer photos of Do 217s might confuse people less.

[@aviationdeepdive]

There is no photo of the Ju 388s nose up close, I only used the photo to show the radar up close

[@allankleidon6437]

I've been an avid WW2 Military Aviation Enthusiast, since childhood. I've learned something New Today and happy I have. Thank you for such an interesting video. Please keep up the Good Work.

[@bibia666]

Huge problems with the turbo.., Germany lacked the necessary hardened steal (tungsten etc.)..! So the plane looked beautiful but didn't fly as such. Greetings bibia PS it has been a long while since I read the book about the 388..!if memory serves me well the version with cameras did fly the most (in prototype and experimental form).. I don't think the 388J (attack) version even flew at altitude and only made short hops in the air.

[@onestone4905]

This seems to check out correct.

[@thethirdman225]

Calum E. Douglas talk about the problem the Germans had with elements such tungsten and nickel, due to loss of territory. This presented major problems for the design of engines, particularly bores and valves. In his book, _’The Secret Horsepower Race’,_ he talks about how they had to cut back on percentages in their alloys, how it led to catastrophic failures and what they did about it. So yes; you are on the money and I recommend anyone with an interest in WWII engine design read the book.

[@williamzk9083]

@@thethirdman225 The BMW-801 TJ01 used the alloy sicromal by Bohler, the same alloy used in the BMW 003 turbojet. The main alloys metals were nickle, chromium, manganese. They were in short supply but the were viable though the Germans worked hard to use alloys with as little of these metals as possible. That often impacted quality and made things harder to engineer. For instance the Britis nimonic alloy was 80% nickel and 19.8% chromium. The German Blades only had 1/5th as much nickel which meant they had less creep resistance.

[@TheLateBird7]

Indeed enjoyable video! Oddly elegant-looking like many late-WWII twin-engined fighters/attackers.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

They got to the borderline between what propellorplanes can do and what Jets would be needed to fulfil, so obviously they'd approach something more of a jet-ish look compared to earlier models with their different proportions.

[@Rom3_29]

3D game detail is getting better every year. 8:10 - Japanese did build bit odd looking Junkers 88 and few other German fighters.

[@williamzk9083]

The Lancaster III with two stage Merlin 66 engines would have been able to attack at speed from 25000ft. They were tested and worked well. Only needed 4 blade propellers. They would have been almost impossible to intercept by standard Luftwaffe night fighters.

[@martygeorgescu4159]

Awesome engineering and design. Germany had NO fuel or pilots to operate these marvelous machines.

[@raymondyee2008]

Would have been great as an interceptor if they had no fighter escorts to worry about.

[@nullterm]

Awesome video! Never knew Germany was looking to flip bombers into bomber interceptors. Just discovered this channel and loving what I'm seeing. Easy subscribe!

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thank you!

[@chriscarbaugh3936]

The He-219 was easily a better plane. As a fast bomber the 388 had potential

[@wbertie2604]

219, also born from a Schnellbomber project.

[@chriscarbaugh3936]

@@wbertie2604 ok I did not know that.

[@wbertie2604]

@@chriscarbaugh3936 the Schnellbomber project failed fairly early on and development fairly quickly swapped to a nightfighter to make use of some of the effort. It was not uncommon for light bombers to be used as such - Do. 17, 217, Mosquito and the A-20 to a small extent as the P-70, and the Beaufighter was derived from the Beaufort, although that's one step removed

[@wbertie2604]

(217 doesn't really count as a light bomber, admittedly)

[@curiousuranus810]

Brilliant vid

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thankyou!

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Great video.

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thanks!

[@user-xn4gf9ll3y]

Another great video. Junkers Ju 388 is one of wartime aviation's big questions. How much damage it could have wrought on the allies.

[@jaydeister9305]

Great Video!

[@aviationdeepdive]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@billyponsonby]

Very good

[@Jones607]

This JU-388 reminded me of Gerry’s attempt, the Focke-Wulf Ta 154, at copying the De Havilland Mosquito. Gerry had his work cut out for him! As the USAAF B-29 with its pressurised fuselage and automated gun turrets, was for that time, a major leap forward in aircraft technology.

[@geordiedog1749]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@benstark4835]

Great video

[@aviationdeepdive]

Appreciate it 🙏

[@t44e6]

Airframe, not chassis.

[@GunsmithSid]

And there is a big difference between ‘less than 1 percent’ spoken and the written ‘less than 0.1%’

[@reallogicgirl]

Chasis: "the supporting frame of a structure"

[@wbertie2604]

​@@reallogicgirlaircraft of the period were typically monocoque or semi-monocoque, so not really a big distinction between the superstructure and the frame in terms of support.

[@brianjones8751]

And?

[@Alex_Guy1011]

​@@brianjones8751 Yes?

[@briansteffmagnussen9078]

A heavy fighter usually turns out to be a bigger target, no matter how good it is. And two engines does not help it, A single engine fighter with the engine out can still maneuvre reasonably well, With one of two engines out the pilot will have to fight the drag, So one easy kill right there.

[@mirrorblue100]

Two engines is really essential in a nightfighter which needs a long loiter time - carrying crew, armament, ammunition, radar and fuel is too much for a single engine design.

[@tysonator5433]

Allies were lucky the Germans had supply and resource problems, otherwise this aircraft would have caused series damage to the bomber streams !

[@plumahoplita]

The Ju 388 is, in my opinion, the most beautiful aircraft of ww2

[@martinpepperell8424]

Mosquito

[@PeteSty]

Finally. You speak german as it should!

[@wbertie2604]

1939 to 44 is 5 years. That's only half a decade, 8 or 9 years might be the better part of a decade but not 5 years.

[@aviationdeepdive]

The Ju 88 first flew in 1936, and the basic desisgn is even a bit older than that.

[@wbertie2604]

@@aviationdeepdive ah, it sounded like you were counting from the in service date

[@gwin2719]

Great video! One bit of constructive criticism. Chassis is the wrong word, in this case it would be airframe. Not a big deal, but I thought you should know.

[@MR-qz3ud]

"... 9000m - an altitude at which no current German aircraft was competitive." And then there was th Ju-86R with service ceiling of 14 400m. I know, just a recon/bomber. 🙂

[@aviationdeepdive]

I thought it was implicit that ‘competitive’ meant ‘able to compete with the allied combat aircraft’ - and of course recon aircraft are not.

[@Dilley_G45]

In 1940 the Bf-109 could already climb to 10.000m higher than the Hurricane but it wasn't allowed to fight as a fighter on the BoB

[@keithmoore5306]

those forward firing cannons were in an odd position!! those drawings may have never made it to tokyo they may have been on acargo sub that was sunk in route!!!

[@salvagedb2470]

The Germans could not or Never get it right , that Tail end remote Turret was a complete waste of time and Resources , I think in my Model maker mind is They could have had a stripped / thinned down , possibly a Single seat variant with plenty of Firepower ..Good Vid .

[@Dilley_G45]

Yep GFM Milch hated the Ju-88 and Heinkel in general. A brilliant organizer and CEO but a bad soldier and officer

[@michaelpielorz9283]

the germans knew the B29s would not come to europe.the japanese had told them about the neccessary logistigs to operate29ers from China. And there was no need to field the 29s in the european theaterB17 and 24 wereenough to fulfill the job.

[@aviationdeepdive]

No, the Germans did not know that. There is vast documentation (including in my sources in the description) about the German panic, and the specifications that were borne of, a pre-emptive counter to the B-29

[@Squirrelmind66]

Interestingly, this mad rush to create interceptors has been used as an argument to show that the allied bombing of Germany really was helping to speed up the end of the war. Because although German industrial production increased during the bombings, it was mostly producing fighter aircraft which had little strategic use.

[@PanzerChicken69]

A deep dive, that will barely get your toes wet. Obviously playing video games and being a historian or engineer are not the same.

[@reallogicgirl]

I sense a hint of bitterness, perhaps because you have 60 gaming videos on your channel that nobody watches 😂

[@PanzerChicken69]

@@reallogicgirl Those are from my (than) 8yr old son and he doesn't care. But nice try though. Bitterness and dissapointment are two different things. Get some proper education before you end up a confused adult.

[@reallogicgirl]

@@PanzerChicken69 Very high IQ move of you to assume things about someone you know nothing about! I had assumed from your immature response that you weren't an adult, so it's only more embarrassing that you apparently are. In hindsight it's sort of obvious, that sting of bitterness only tends to come from adults. I suggest doing something better with your time than being negative on well put together videos.

[@PanzerChicken69]

@@reallogicgirl The assumption is completely made on your side though. Im not bitter, just well informed on gaming and aviation. You just don't know your shit or people in general. But than again, being misinformed and abrasive seems to be your generations attribute.

[@terryboland3816]

Haha! What a loser 😂😂😂

[@istvanszoke381]

If they couldn't test a plane in a full year, they could not fly it properly I assume!

[@jasonmiller7735]

While the Germans were adapting their bomber designs to serve as interceptors, the Americans were converting their interceptors to serve as bombers (e.g. P-38 "Droop Snoot" Pathfinders). Tells you everything you need to know about how the air war was going for Germany.

[@girthbloodstool339]

Good! but the B-29's speed was 360 mph, not 360 kph.

[@aviationdeepdive]

I was not listing the aircraft’s maximum speed (575 km/h / 357 mph) but it’s cruising speed, the speed at which it would cruise in at on bombing missions - which was 360 km/h, or 220 mph

[@pascalchauvet4230]

Fantastic aircraft, and I think the only German one operational with turbocharged engines

[@GunsmithSid]

The Ju86 high altitude models P and R used turbocharged engines. The Jumo 207 engines were 12 piston, 6 cylinder two-stroke diesel engines with turbos feeding the opposed-piston plants. Perhaps there were others…

[@pascalchauvet4230]

Yes sorry I meant gasoline engines@@GunsmithSid

[@annoyingbstard9407]

Germany prepared for war for 10 years while the rest of Europe was trying to recover from the last war. Within a year of the war starting all their weaponry was obsolete and all their men outclassed - which is why they had to resort to underdeveloped junk like this. There’s a moral there.

[@PanzerChicken69]

They never used it

[@klaus-peterborn1370]

The nazis took over 1933, the war starts at 1939. Ten years?

[@Sashulya]

Prepared for war for 10 years? Really? The first German tank prototype, 1932. Britain had been building them since 1915. First post-war German fighter aircraft (a bi-plane!), 1935, just four years before the war. 10 years of preparing? Maybe in Hollywood where Hitler was just a madman out to conquer the world (with a smaller army than France, by the way). They conquered all of Europe with their "outclassed, obsolete junk". You live in la-la-land As for outdated junk, ask a Patton tanker what they though of American tanks, if you can find one of the very few who survived taking out to the frontline. There's a reason most of them went to the Soviet Union. And the Stavka laughed at them. And you can say the same of the British Matilda I and Cruiser tanks. Russians refused to even drive them! Very few German tankers hated their tanks. That cannot be said of Allied tankers (Russians excepted) who hated theirs almost to a man. Fighters were evenly matched throughout the war. They were never obsolete or outmatched, just outnumbered and limited by time to develop new models. I will remind you of the Me262a Bombers, well Germany never saw strategic bombing as a viable way to beat an enemy army. The Allies saw incinerating children by the thousands as a "war-winning strategy". So Germany never built heavy bombers in great numbers, nor developed fighters to tackle them until it was too late. Comparing their bombers is pointless but I will remind you the British had Wellington bombers as early as 1936 and had hundreds of them at the start of the war. "while the rest of Europe was trying to recover from the last war"??? Sorry, no. The US may have been slumbering but how many ships did Britain lay down or modernize in the inter-war years? Germany basically had no navy due to the Versailles Diktat and started development from far behind but if you look at the only BB vs BB engagement, Bismarck vs Hood/Prince of Wales, Germany won that fight (little damage vs 1 sunk, 1 crippled). The Scharnhorst class were supposed to have 15-inch guns but Germany never had time to fit them. 10 years of preparation??? I don't think so Germany were far ahead in rocket and jet technology. No comparison needed Also, the Allies developed all manner of obsolete crap during the war too. Take a look at the Fairey Battle, Albacore or Swordfish. Then there were the Blackburn Roc, Skua and Hawker Hector and Westland Lysander. The US built the Brewster Buffalo and Buccaneer, Curtiss Goshawk and Helldiver, Douglas Devastator, Lockheed Hudson, Northrop BT and Vought Vindicator

[@NVM_SMH]

It was a viable design hamstrung by a lack of the required equipment. The strategic war that denied the Nazi government the materials and factories it needed were what killed the plane.

[@annoyingbstard9407]

@@Sashulya Oh. That must be why Germany lost. Again! 😂

[@wasrio1403]

Nice content however incorrect video whilst talking about radar showing the radar on a do217 or bf110's ready for take off very annoying better post production is needed here.

[@aviationdeepdive]

No, that wasn’t a mistake, it was just a close up image of the radar - just on a different plane. There are no close up images of the radar on the Ju 388s nose, so the Do 217 sufficed as it used the EXACT same model of radar.