A well-travelled aviator like Biggles could hardly have avoided the Junkers Ju 52 in the 1930s and 1940s. Originally designed as a single-engined passenger transport, it was subsequently redesigned and mass produced as a trimotor. Ju 52s were extensively used in the 1930s as a passenger airliner. During World War 2, it became highly recognisable as the main paratrooping aircraft, troop carrier and cargo transport of the Luftwaffe. What is less well-known is that the type also served as a bomber during the Spanish Civil War and that production continued after the World War 2 ended with numbers being built in France and Spain as the Amiot AAC 1 Toucan and the CASA 352 respectively. Over 4,845 were built from 1931 onwards until production ended in 1952. Some examples are still airworthy and occasionally employed for sightseeing flights.
The Ju 52 and Biggles[]
- In The Cruise of the Condor, a Ju 52 belonging to Lloyd Aero Boliviano, a Bolivian airline, spotted Biggles and friends after they had crashed in a mountain valley and sent rescuers to them. This helps to place the chronology of the story very accurately.[1] In some later editions, this specific reference is removed.
- In Biggles Sweeps the Desert, Hauptmann Rudolf von Zoyton received 4 Ju 52s as a reinforcement loaded with paratroops and anti-aircraft guns for his unit at Wadi Umbo. The four aircraft then attempted a paratroop assault on Biggles' base at Salima Oasis. Biggles shot three of the Junkers down. The fourth was able to discharge its paratroops but they were mopped up by Biggles' men on the ground using a captured armoured car.
In derivative works[]
- Le vol du Wallenstein (Miklo) - the "Wallenstein", one of the last aircraft to leave Berlin towards the end of the war, was a Ju 52. The fate of the aircraft became the main subject of the story.
Eric Loutte, who drew this picture of the Wallenstein, paid close attention to detail. Note the large DF loop which appears to be correctly placed and the DF sense antenna.
- L'Oasis perdue 2 (Miklo) - a Ju 52 in the airliner role is seen at the end of the story. Several German diplomats who had been expelled from the embassy in Cairo were being taken home in it, including Heike von Klepp. Also on board was Erich von Stalhein disguised as a dealer in Egyptian antiquities.
- Tonnerre sur la Forêt-Noire, a Francis Bergèse/Frank Leclercq graphic adaptation of Thunder over Germany, Biggles and co. pass over an airfield which has a Ju 52.
Note the logo of the Berlin bear in a shield with a crown. That's the same as on the Wallenstein and is the emblem of III./KG.zbV. 1, a Luftwaffe transport unit.
- Drama I Gibraltar - in this graphic novel from the Semic series, a floatplane variant of the Ju 52 was the main escape vehicle for von Stalhein and Marie Janis (yes, Marie Janis!). And Biggles did manage to pilot the Ju 52 here, albeit only for a few minutes before crashing.
Stig Stjernvik's rendition of the Ju 52. Here it is an armed floatplane version. Note he has also included the loop and sense antenna post but their locations seem a trifle off. That's Marie Janis talking.
- River of Death (Action Comics) - not quite Biggles. Gimlet and co. take a holiday in Brazil and travel up the Amazon in a Ju 52 floatplane.
Can't really expect a lot of detail with this black and white comic format. But artist Royce Bradford has made a realistic choice of plane. Fl oatplane Ju 52s were really used for the Rio to Manaus route, earlier by Syndicato Condor, a Lufthansa subsidiary, and in the 1940s by Cruzeiro do Sul. It is not clear, however, if Ju 52s continued serving into the immediate postwar period.
Specifications[]
- Crew: Up to three
- Capacity: 18 troops
- Length: 18.90 m
- Wingspan: 29.25 m
- Empty weight: 6,510 kg
- Loaded weight: 9,200 kg
- Max. takeoff weight: 10,990 kg
- Engines: 3 × BMW 132T radial engines, 715 hp
- Maximum speed: 265 km/h (165 mph) at sea level
- Cruise speed: 211 km/h (132 mph)
- Range: 870 km (540 mi)
- Service ceiling: 5,490 m (18,000 ft)
- Armament
- 1 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine gun in a dorsal position
- 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine guns
- Bombs: (in bomber role) up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of bombs
References[]
- ↑ Webpage on Ju-52s in LAB service (or see Archive URL)