Dear aviation-friends,
Today (sat. 19th june 2004) I had the chance to fly with a Lufthansa Junkers Ju-52. This was offered to me by a business contact.
(location OST/EBOS)
My experience: "Oh my god...!"
Ju-52 History
Nicknamed "Tante Ju" (Auntie Ju) and "Iron Annie" by Axis and Allied troops, the Junkers Ju-52 was the most famous German transport of the war. The Ju-52 was built of corrugated metal skin and paid little attention to beauty, features of a typical Junkers design. Parts and pieces stuck out of the airframe, and the corrugated skin, though much stronger than fabric and metal tubes, created stronger air resistance.
In April 1931, the originally single-engined Ju-52 prototype was fitted with three engines. Performance improved tremendously and production of the new model immediately began. The Ju-52 served as an airliner for many nations. Finland, Spain, Sweden and Germany were just a few. It served as a mail carrier in China, and, fitted with floats, hauled lumber in remote places in Canada. Its most commom work, however, was done with the German Lufthansa. Equipped with luxaries like a typewriter and oxygen masks, the Ju-52 could fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours over the Alps, an impressive feat for contemporary aircraft, let alone an airliner.
The military potentials of the Ju-52 was not overlooked by the Luftwaffe. It entered service as a troop transport and bomber. In the Spanish Civil War, the Ju-52 ferried some 10'000 Moorish troops from Morocco to Spain, and bombed Madrid while, quite embarrassingly, some Lufthansa Ju-52s were in the airport serving as airliners. Later in World War II, the Ju-52 served in every theater in which Germany participated. It dropped paratroopers in the Netherlands, Crete and later the Ardennes. It carried supplies to beleagued troops in North Africa, Stalingrad and the Baltic states. The Ju-52 was slow and very lightly armed against fighters. As a result, it suffered horrible losses in almost all actions, especially over Crete, the Mediterranean and Stalingrad. Many types of replacement were built, but none was as popular or reliable as good old Auntie Ju. Right until the end of the war the Ju-52 was still soldiering on to help stave off defeat. The last Ju-52s went out of service with the Swiss Air Force in the late 1980s over 50 years after the first of these durable aircraft first took to the air. Some Ju-52s are still flying today
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greetings,
ATC
My Lufthansa Junkers Ju-52 experience...
Besides that nice history, what was your own experience?
Well,I imagine the noise in those old 'birds' would be very deafining
I must say you could compare it with a "turn back" in time.
If you know that this plane is more than 70 years old. (offcourse this airplane was allready installed with new prop-engines (from '84) and aircontrol equipment, but the plane and the structure itself was 70 years old).
If you go on board this plane...or just look at it (standing on the tarmac)...you look at "a piece of art". Everthing about this plane is unique.
It was flown by 3 german Lufthansa pilots. Before taking of we got a safety message and a little introduction.
Than engine number one went on, then number two and afther a while number three. You can compare the sound of the enginees with that of a very big (gras)mower. Also the entire plane was shaking when the enginees went on. It's a unique experience.
We taxied slow to the runway and before we knew, we were in the air.
This airplane takes of at about 200 km/h and needs 150 m (!) runway.
With this speed you are not being pushed against you seat like in a current jet-plane.
The plane-altitude was no more than 300 m. The route was going north, so we flew form Ostend to Knokke and over Bruges via the beachside back to Ostend. From this altitude we could see the entire coast line... also the sight above Bruges was fantastic.
The weater was good... (it was not raining).
The trip took about 45 minutes and it was incredible.
greetings,
ATC
No, I never flew the Lufthansa Ju-52, but last year I had the superb opportunity to fly with a Junkers Ju 52 HB-HOP from Ju-Air (an ex Swiss Air Force transport aircraft). This was one of my most memorable flights...leaving from Dübendorf (near Zürich) for a local flight landing 1 hour later at Dübendorf. The weather was excellent and flying was much rather through the valleys than above the valleys. Obviously a rather noisy flight - the flight attendant told us that we were free to us the mobile phones (no interference possibilities as all is still mechanical!) the problem was you could probably not have heard your counterpart because of the noise.
Ju Air also operates the newly renovated DC-3 in old Swissair colours (HB-ISC)
There is also an interesting Swiss Air Force Museum at Dübendorf.
Air_Lac
Ju Air also operates the newly renovated DC-3 in old Swissair colours (HB-ISC)
There is also an interesting Swiss Air Force Museum at Dübendorf.
Air_Lac