Junkers Ju 52

what is it?

The Junkers Ju 52, best known in its Ju 52/3m form (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Junkers") and Iron Annie) is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced in 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted into a military transport aircraft by Nazi Germany. Development of the Ju 52 commenced in the late 1920s, headed by German aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel.

🔎How to recognise it: 3 piston engines with propellers · fixed tailwheel (taildragger) · 29.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 266 km/htop speed
• range 1,000 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 17passengers
• size 10.5 tmax take-off weight
• built 4,845made 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 94 years ago, in 1932.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 29.3 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,000 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.

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

spec sheet

first flight

1932-03-07

introduced

1932

number built

4,845

role

transport aircraft, medium bomber, airliner

origin

German Reich

makers

Junkers, Junkers Motorenbau und Junkers Flugzeugwerk

engines

3× BMW 132A-3

passengers

17

length

18.9 m

wingspan

29.3 m

height

5.6 m

max take-off weight

10.5 t

top speed

266 km/h

cruise speed

246 km/h

range

1,000 km

ceiling

5,901 m

landing gear

fixed conventional landing gear

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