As most of you know, Martin Handig and I worked on a book on the Junkers Ju 388 for many years, which was then originally published under the German title "Junkers Ju 388 - Entwicklung, Erprobung und Fertigung des letzten Junkers-Höhenflugzeugs" with Aviatic-Verlag (December 2003). This very detailed documentation on development, flight testing and production of the Junkers Ju 388 is now also available in an English edition by Schiffer Publishing (July 2006) at $69.95 in a very good translation by David Johnston titled
This edition features 408 pages and more than 380 b/w and colour photographs, tables and graphs. For the first time, the roughly 30 prototypes (both planned & actually completed) are described in detail. There are also chapters dedicated to production and flight testing & evaluation by the Luftwaffe. Chapters on e.g. the aero engines used, competitive Luftwaffe aircraft and negotiations for a license production in Japan round up the picture. Last but not least, an annex containing an exhaustive WNr. list proves that some 75 aircraft were completed, with many more airframes in advanced production states. If you are interested to learn more about the Ju 388, you can order the book at Amazon.com by clicking here or on the book cover.
... an extremely comprehensive
overview of the last of the World War Two Junkers twin-engine designs...
excellent!
--- Josh Rawson, Model Aircraft
Monthly, October 2006
... contains a wealth of detail
seldom seen in any other title. It is the first book I have come across which
goes into such detail regarding flight testing and technical development within
the Luftwaffe...
--- Lynn Ritger, Scale Aviation
Modeller, October 2006
Compared to
the original German edition, there are no new photos, but the existing ones are printed
somewhat larger and on glossy paper in the English edition, while semi-glossy
paper is used for the German edition.
The main difference to the German edition is that the English edition features a
limited amount of additional or updated material in the text and the references,
reflecting the progress we made on the subject in the last three years, and we
would like to thank Schiffer
Publishing for
the opportunity to incorporate these changes in the English edition, rendering
it more than a mere translation, almost a 2nd edition. However,
the main reason for the increase from 381 to 408 pages are the larger
photos.
If you already own the book, you might want to consult our Errata page for minor corrections and some additional information. |
Of course, the original German edition is still available. Its main advantage is the better layout, particularly evident for the tables. And, of course, as a Luftwaffe enthusiast, you might consider learning German - here is another good reason:
Left: A view of
an early series Ju 388 L-1, which already has the characteristic air intakes
below the engine nacelles, most likely WNr. 340 083 (RT+KC). Test flights of the
aircraft in this configuration took place as early as 8/30/1944. WNr. 340
084 (RT+KD) is visible in the background.
Courtesy EADS
Top right: A
photograph of the Ju 388 L-0 V8, WNr. 300 002 (PG+YB). Already published, but
always erroneously designated as Ju 388 V3.
Courtesy EADS
Bottom right: The famous photo of NASM's Ju 388 L-1, WNr. 560 049.
We are still interested in material on the Junkers
Ju 388 to fill the few remaining gaps - there are still some areas which
are not covered as well as we would like them to be.
We would therefore like to ask all veterans who were involved in the operations "Lusty" and "Sea Horse" to share their experiences with us for further editions of this website and our book. We would also like to encourage our fellow Luftwaffe researchers, who may have material on the Ju 388 in their mostly very impressive collections, to contact us. It goes without saying that we will - of course - give full credit to anyone who provides us with photos or documents on the Ju 388. Please contact: |