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The Junkers Ju 86Z was the designation given to civil versions of the Ju 86 built for the export market. It was produced in at least five versions, including one that was later used against the Axis powered by the South Africa Air Force.
Junkers Ju 86Z-1
The designation Z-1 was given to five Jumo 205 powered civil aircraft and to a batch that were to have been powered by the Rolls Royce Kestrel. The first Z-1 was the Ju 86 B-10, which was delivered to Swissair in February 1937 to replace B-02, which had been lost in a crash late in 1936.
The designation Z-1 was given to the B-11 during a along distance flight to Australia, and to three Jumo powered aircraft that were sold to LAN Chile in 1938.
The same designation was to have been used for five Ju 86s powered by the Rolls Royce Kestrel that had been ordered by South Africa Airways. Some test flights were made before SAA decided that they didn’t want the Kestrel, and the five aircraft were delivered as four Z-3s and one Z-7.
Junkers Ju 86Z-2
The designation Z-2 was given to the Swiss Z-1 after it was given BMW 132 Dc radial engines early in 1939. The aircraft was destroyed in a crash near Constance on 19 July 1939. The same designation was given to five aircraft that went to the South Manchurian Railway in Japanese controlled Manchuria.
Junkers Ju 86Z-3
The first four aircraft delivered to South Africa Airways were produced as Z-3s, powered by Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines on the original airframes.
Junkers Ju 86Z-7
The designation Z-7 was used for three batches of aircraft, all powered by Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines. The first aircraft was delivered to the Swedish first AB Aerotransport in March 1937. Four were purchased by Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, a company formed by local Germans. In 1941 they were taken over by the Bolivian air force and used as transport aircraft.
The biggest batch consisted of the last twelve aircraft in the South African order, and would appear to have been used to tell those aircraft built from new around the Hornet apart from the aircraft originally built for the Rolls Royce Kestrel. All seventeen of the Z-3s and Z-7s were later taken over by the South Africa Air Force and converted into military aircraft.
Statistics (Z-2)
Engine: Two BMW 132 Dc radial engines
Power: 845hp each
Crew: 3
Wing span: 73ft 9 ¾ in (22.5m)
Length: 57ft 8 7/8 in (17.6m)
Empty Weight: 11,450lb/ 5,200kg
Maximum; 18,00lb/ 8,200kg
Max Speed: 233 mph/ 375km/h
Cruising Speed: 195 mph/ 315km/h
Service Ceiling: 22,600ft/ 6,900m