Junkers Ju 388
| Ju 388 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Ju 388L in 1945 | |
| Role | Heavy fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, night fighter |
| Manufacturer | Junkers |
| First flight | 22 December 1943 |
| Introduction | Late 1944 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | approximately 100 |
| Developed from | Junkers Ju 188 |
The Junkers Ju 388 Störtebeker was a World War II German Luftwaffe multi-role aircraft based on the Ju 88 airframe by way of the Ju 188. It differed from its predecessors in being intended for high altitude operation, with design features such as a pressurized cockpit for its crew. The Ju 388 was introduced very late in the war, and production problems along with the deteriorating war conditions meant that few were built.
The Reich Air Ministry (RLM) first learned of the American B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber in late 1942. Serious concerns as to B-29 capability developed in early 1944, when YB-29 "Hobo Queen" made a well-publicised appearance at RAF Bovingdon, which had been mentioned in an American-published Sternenbanner German language propaganda leaflet from Leap Year Day in 1944, meant to be circulated within the Reich. The performance estimates of this aircraft were a cause for great unease in the Luftwaffe. The B-29 had a maximum speed of around 560 km/h (348 mph), and would attack in a cruise at about 360 km/h (224 mph) at 8,000-10,000 m (26,247-32,810 ft), an altitude where no current Luftwaffe aircraft was effective, and for which the only effective Wehrmacht anti-aircraft gun was the rarely-deployed 12.8 cm FlaK 40, which could effectively fire to an altitude of 14,800 metres (48,600 ft).
To counter the B-29, the Luftwaffe would need new day fighters and bomber destroyers with greatly enhanced performance at extreme altitude. The fighter chosen was the Focke-Wulf Ta 152H. This was based on the Fw 190D with longer wings and the new high-altitude "E" model of the Junkers Jumo 213 engine. An alternative was the Messerschmitt Me 155B, a long-winged development of the Bf 109 which had already undergone several stages of design and would ultimately be built in prototype form by Blohm & Voss. The centre-line thrust twin Dornier Do 335, powered with two of the competing Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines also offered a service ceiling of some 11,400 m (37,500 ft), but the promising Dornier heavy fighter and Zerstörer was still under development solely with prototype airframes flying, and the first production examples expected to enter operational service late in 1944.
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