Junkers Ju 88B
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The Ju 88B featured an alternative design for the cockpit of the Ju 88. This give the aircraft a single “bullet” shaped bubble canopy that reached all the way around the nose, over the pilot’s position and met the rear fuselage behind the dorsal gunner’s position. The lower canopy was bulged downwards, giving the fuselage something of the appearance of a tadpole, in order to provide a place for a rear-firing ventral gun.
The design was first rejected in 1936, but limited development work was authorised late in 1939, and went in throughout 1940. Three prototypes of the new design were constructed. The V-23, a bomber prototype first flew in July 1940. Two months later it was joined by a reconnaissance prototype, the V-24 and in October by the V-27, a Zerstörer prototype.
B-0
The new nose did not produce enough of an improvement in performance to justify delaying production of the A series. The ten pre-production B-0s could reach a top speed of around 311mph, compared to 295mph for the A-4, which had a slightly less powerful engine than the BMW radials used for the B-series. The B series did not enter production, but it did later become the basis of the Ju 188, which entered production after the more advanced Ju 288 project failed.
Aircraft of the Luftwaffe 1935-1945, Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage.
Combines a good background history of the Luftwaffe with a comprehensive examination of its aircraft, from the biplanes of the mid 1930s to the main wartime aircraft and on to the seemingly unending range of experimental designs that wasted so much effort towards the end of the war. A useful general guide that provides an impressively wide range of information on almost every element of the Luftwaffe
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Introduction - Bomber - Fighter - Ju 88A - Ju 88B - Ju 88C - Ju 88D - Ju 88G - Ju 88H - Ju 88P - Ju 88R - Ju 88S - Ju 88T