Junkers Ju 86
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The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian plane. The civilian transport model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to Swissair and five to Lufthansa.
The bomber had defensive armament of 3×MG15 and could carry a 1,000 kg bomb load. Early models (Ju 86-D1, 1936) had two Jumo 205C-4 diesel engines, but the Ju 86E replaced those with the BMW 132F.
Some were sold to Sweden, South Africa, Chile, Portugal, Manchukuo(Japan)and Hungary. The Ju 86K was an export model, also built under license in Sweden with different engines, and stayed in service with the Swedish Air Force until 1956.
The bomber model was tested in the Spanish Civil War, where it proved inferior to the Heinkel He 111. It was still used in the invasion of Poland 1939, but retired after that.
In January 1940 the Luftwaffe tested the new prototype Ju 86P that had a longer wing span, pressurized cabin, Jumo 207A diesel engines with twin turbochargers and only two man crew. The Ju 86P could fly at heights of 12,000 m, where it was safe from enemy fighters.
Some 40 old bombers were converted to Ju 86P-1 high altitude bombers and Ju 86P-2 photo reconnaissance aircraft. Those operated successfully for some years over Britain, the Soviet Union and North Africa. In August 1942 a modified Spitfire V shot one down over Egypt, and when two more were lost, Ju 86Ps were withdrawn from service 1943.
The Luftwaffe tried to develop the Ju 86R with even larger wings and prototype engines, that could have flown even higher, at 16,000 m, but production was limited to some prototypes.
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