Junkers Ju 188 Rache (Avenger)

Junkers Family History Ju 188 Rache (Avenger)

When the new Junkers Ju 288 - a design intended to replace the Junkers Ju 88 bomber family - ran into problems with engine development, Junkers began producing an intermediate product using the Ju 88 airframe. The Ju 88B and Ju 88E were rebuilt test frames (with added spans and new airframes) that eventually led to the development of the Ju 188 Racher (or "Avengers") series - a high-performance aircraft that was nearly No difference is replaced.

Production will be limited to just over 1,000 examples.

With the prototype completed and flown, the production Ju 188 would enter service in 1943 shortly after. To avoid previous engine acceptance issues, the Ju 188 was specifically designed to accept Jumo and BMW engines without airframe modifications. The crew of the Ju 188 consisted of four people.

The design is a typical twin-engine Dornier layout with a BMW or Jumo series engine mounted on a low-wing monoplane. The cockpit and nose feature a greenhouse design, with a 15mm automatic cannon protruding from the nose.

An upper turret houses a 13mm machine gun, while a 7.92mm machine gun is housed in a rear-facing ventral nacelle. Some models also carry a machine gun in the dorsal, rear-facing nacelle position. Internal and external bomb loads are limited to approximately 6,600 pounds of store.

The Ju 188 was primarily a reconnaissance platform, although to some extent it served as a bomber and night fighter. The Ju 188E-2 existed as a torpedo bomber, while the Ju 188D-2 appeared as a naval reconnaissance aircraft with a special radar in the nose.

A derivative of the night fighter is the Ju 188R-0, an improved version of the Ju 188E with either 4 x 20mm or 2 x 30mm guns and a standard radar system. Numerous high-performance, high-altitude models also appeared in the form of the Ju 188J, Ju 188K and Ju 188L, warranting the new Ju 388 name.

Three additional designs were proposed, each consisting of heavy fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance versions.

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