The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Ju") and Iron Annie) is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted into a military transport aircraft by Germany's Nazi regime, who exercised power over the company, for its war efforts over the objections of the company's founder Hugo Junkers.
Development of the Ju 52 commenced in the late 1920s, headed by German aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel. The aircraft's design incorporated a corrugated duralumin metal skin as a strengthening measure, which was a material design pioneered by Junkers and used on many of their aircraft, including the popular Junkers F 13 1920s, the record-setting Junkers W 33, and Junkers W34. The corrugation was a strength and weakness; it created strength but also higher aerodynamic drag; more importantly it allowed the practical use of aluminum before newer alloys were developed.
The Ju 52's maiden flight was performed on 13 October 1930. It was initially designed with a single engine and trimotor; the single engine version was to be the freighter while the trimotor was the passenger airline. In the long run, the trimotor configuration was produced in far greatest numbers. The primary early production model, the Ju 52/3m, was principally operated as a 17-seat airliner or utility transport aircraft by various civil operators during the 1930s. Starting in 1933, the Nazi regime that had taken power in Germany demanded Junkers produce military versions of the Ju 52. Over Hugo Junkers' resistance, the company was compelled to produce military aircraft; in 1935, Nazi officials came to Hugo Junker's house on his birthday, resulting in his death under unclear circumstances and his company having been signed over to the state. Thousands of Ju 52s were procured as a staple military transport of the Luftwaffe. The Ju 52/3mg7e was the principal production model.
The Ju 52 was in production between 1931 and 1952. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 airlines, including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa, as both a passenger carrier and a freight hauler. In a military role, large numbers flew with the Luftwaffe, being deployed on virtually all fronts of the Second World War as a troop and cargo transport; it was also briefly used as a medium bomber. Additionally, the type was deployed by other nations' militaries in conflicts such as the Spanish Civil War, the Chaco War, and the Portuguese Colonial War. During the postwar era, the Ju 52 had a lengthy service life with numerous military and civilian operators; large numbers were still in use by the 1980s. Even in the 21st century, several aircraft have remained operational, typically used for purposes such as heritage aviation displays and aerial sightseeing.
The JunkersJu52/3m (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Ju") and Iron Annie) is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company...
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers [ˈjʊŋkɐs]...
was issued to both Junkers and Heinkel. Five prototypes were ordered from each company; the JunkersJu 86 and Heinkel He 111. Junkers' design was a low-winged...
On 16 November 1937 a JunkersJu52/3m owned by Belgian airline SABENA, operating as a scheduled international passenger flight from Munich, Germany,[clarification...
The List of JunkersJu52 operators lists by country the civil airlines and military air forces and units that have operated the aircraft. The civil operators...
and incidents involving the JunkersJu52 that have taken place since its first flight, including aircraft based on the Ju52 airframe such as the Amiot...
the Junkers G.38 (at that time the largest passenger aircraft in the world) on the Berlin-London route via Amsterdam, as well as the JunkersJu52/3m and...
crossing of the Atlantic Ocean), the Junkers G.38 "flying wing", and the JunkersJu52, affectionately nicknamed "Tante Ju", one of the most famous airliners...
The JunkersJu 288, originally known within the Junkers firm as the EF 074, was a German bomber project designed during World War II, which only ever...
The JunkersJu 187 was a German projected dive bomber designed to replace the ageing JunkersJu 87 Stuka. The Ju 187 was cancelled in 1943. By the time...
The JunkersJu 90 was a 40-seat, four-engine airliner developed for and used by Deutsche Luft Hansa shortly before World War II. It was based on the rejected...
The JunkersJu 390 was a German long-range derivative of the JunkersJu 290 aircraft, intended to be used as a heavy transport aircraft, maritime patrol...
The JunkersJu 290 was a large German, four-engine long-range transport, heavy bomber and maritime patrol aircraft used by the Luftwaffe late in World...
Dornier and Junkers - requesting designs for a long-range bomber. The two companies responded with the Dornier Do 19 and the JunkersJu 89, respectively...
The JunkersJu 287 was a multi-engine tactical jet bomber built in Nazi Germany in 1944. It featured a novel forward-swept wing, and the first two prototypes...
The JunkersJu 188 "Rächer" (avenger) was a German Luftwaffe high-performance medium bomber built during World War II, the planned follow-up to the Ju 88...
The JunkersJu 388 Störtebeker is a World War II German Luftwaffe multi-role aircraft based on the Ju 88 airframe by way of the Ju 188. It differed from...
The JunkersJu 488 was a proposed four-engined German heavy strategic bomber under development in World War II. It was based on the twin-engined Ju 188...
The JunkersJu 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935...
January 1943: A JunkersJu52 (registered OO-AUG) crashed 80 mi from Bangui in then French Equatorial Africa. 25 March 1944 A JunkersJu52/3mge (OO-AGU)...
Air Force JunkersJu52/3m was used in the 1968 action thriller Where Eagles Dare. The opening scene of the film shows the camouflaged Ju-52 flying at...
The JunkersJu 88 is a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane...
at Oslo Airport, Gressholmen, and later Oslo Airport, Fornebu, using JunkersJu52 aircraft. In 1935, DNL was close to starting transatlantic flights in...
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