Junkers Ju 352

Ju 352
Type	Transport
Manufacturer	Junkers
Maiden flight	1 October 1943
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Number built	45
Developed from	Junkers Ju 252

The Junkers Ju 352 Herkules was a World War II transport aircraft that was developed from the Junkers Ju 252.

During the late spring of 1942, the Junkers-Dessau project office was instructed by the RLM to investigate the possibility of redesigning the structure of the Junkers Ju 252 transport to make maximum use of non-strategic materials, replacing the Junkers Jumo 211F engines of the Ju 252 with Bramo 323R radial engines. The result followed closely the aerodynamic design of the Ju 252 but was an entirely new aircraft. The wing of the Ju 352 was similar in outline to that of the Ju 252 but, mounted further aft on the fuselage, was entirely of wooden construction. The Ju 352 also had a similar Trapoklappe (rear loading ramp) to that of the Ju 252. The ramp allowed the loading of vehicles or freight into the cargo hold while holding the fuselage level.

In general, the Ju 352 was considered a major improvement over the original Junkers Ju 52 but noticeably inferior to the Junkers Ju 252. Deliveries of the Ju 352 had only just begun to get into their stride when, during the summer of 1944, the worsening war situation resulted in the decision to abandon the further production of transport aircraft, and in September the last two Ju 352A's rolled off the assembly line, 10 pre-production Ju 352's and 33 production Ju 352's having been manufactured. Several developments of the basic design were proposed before production was halted, these including the Ju 352B with more powerful engines and increased defensive armament.

Specifications (Ju 352A)

General characteristics

• Crew: 3-4
• Length: 24.60 m (80 ft 8½ in)
• Wingspan: 34.20 m (112 ft 2¾ in)
• Height: 5.74 m (18 ft 10¼ in)
• Wing area: 128.20 m² (1,379.90 ft²)
• Empty weight: 12,500 kg (27,561 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 19,600 kg (43,216 lb)
• Powerplant: 3× BMW Bramo 323 R-2 Fafnir 9-cylinder radial engine, 735.5 kW, 882.6 kW with MW-50 (1,000 PS (986 hp), 1,200 PS (1183.6 hp) with MW-50) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 370 km/h at 5,050 m (230 mph at 16,565 ft)
• Cruise speed: 241 km/h (150 mph)
• Range: 1,800 km (1,120 miles)
• Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,685 ft)

Armament

• 1 x MG 151 cannon in dorsal turret
• 2 x MG 131 machine guns in side windows

See also

Related development

• Junkers Ju 52
• Junkers Ju 252

Comparable aircraft

• Junkers Ju 290

Related lists
List of military aircraft of Germany - List of World War II military aircraft of Germany

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Junkers Ju 352".