Junkers Ju 388

what is it?

The Junkers Ju 388 Störtebeker is 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.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · retractable tailwheel (taildragger) · 22 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 616 km/htop speed
• range 2,250 kmwithout refuelling
• size 14 tmax take-off weight
• built 94made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 83 years ago, in 1943.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 22 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 2 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 2,250 km: 13× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1943-12-22

introduced

1944

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

94

role

heavy fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, night fighter

origin

German Reich

makers

Junkers

engines

2× BMW 801J / BMW 801

crew

3

length

15.2 m

wingspan

22 m

height

4.4 m

max take-off weight

14 t

top speed

616 km/h

cruise speed

540 km/h

range

2,250 km

ceiling

13,100 m

landing gear

retractable conventional landing gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.