Junkers Ju 188

Ju 188
Ju 188
General information
Type	Tactical bomber/reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer	Junkers
Primary users	Nazi Germany France and United Kingdom (post-war)
Number built	over 1,000
History
Introduction date	February 1943
First flight	19 June 1941 (Ju 88 V27) ; August 1943 (Ju 188 V1)
Retired	1951 (France)
Developed from	Junkers Ju 88
Variants	Junkers Ju 388

The Junkers Ju 188 "Rächer" ("Avenger") was a German Luftwaffe high-performance medium bomber built during World War II, the planned follow-up to the Ju 88 with better performance and payload. It was produced only in limited numbers, due both to the presence of improved versions of the Ju 88, as well as the increasingly effective Allied strategic bombing campaign against German industry and the resulting focus on fighter production.

Background

In 1936, Junkers submitted proposals for the Ju 85 and Ju 88 into competition for the new standardized Luftwaffe high-speed tactical bomber, known as the Schnellbomber (fast bomber). The two designs were almost identical, differing only in that the Ju 85 used a twin-rudder and the Ju 88 a single fin.

At the same time, they offered modified versions of each as the Ju 85B and Ju 88B, again similar to the original designs but using an "egg shaped" stepless cockpit forward fuselage design that comprised a greenhouse-like, well-framed network of some three dozen compound-curved window panels in total. This was another example of the "bullet-nose" design philosophy that almost all new German bomber designs exhibited, from the time of the Heinkel He 111P onwards. The new nose design for the Ju 88B also tightly integrated the forward end of the undernose Bola ventral gondola defensive gun position into the newer nose design, when compared to the "added-on" Bola unit pioneered on the Ju 88 V7 prototype. This meant the Ju 88B offered somewhat lower drag and better visibility. At the time, this was considered too radical and the Ju 88A with its simpler, separately-glazed dorsal cockpit "greenhouse" framed canopy, and "beetle's eye" framed, multi-flat panel nose glazing comprising a "stepped" cockpit design from the separation of the pair of glazed units by the sheetmetal of the upper fuselage nose winning the initial Schnellbomber production contract.

The Reich Air Ministry (RLM) was already in the process of looking for the replacement for the Schnellbomber, a new design that would be faster, fly higher, and have a larger warload. This emerged as the "Bomber B" program, but this was extensively delayed due to the failure of the large 2,500 PS (1,800 kW; 2,500 hp)-class engines, like Junkers' Jumo 222, to become reliable enough for production use. Although Junkers' Ju 288 was leading the contest, there was no delivery date on the engines.

To address the immediate need, the Ju 88B project was re-submitted as a stop-gap. For this version, they used the latest short-wing Ju 88 A-1 airframe as a baseline with the Ju 88B's new stepless cockpit design, with the new Junkers Jumo 213 engine, which had recently started bench testing and was expected to deliver 1,500 PS (1,100 kW; 1,500 hp) and required a redesigned annular radiator system for engine and oil cooling.

The RLM also stipulated that the aircraft should also be able to accept the BMW 801 radial engine in a Kraftei (power-egg) unitized installation, with no modification to the engine nacelles.^[1] The RLM was not impressed with the new design, as it offered only small improvements over the Ju 88A model in service but suggested that Junkers continue with the prototype work anyway and that they consider fitting the design with the BMW 139 radial. This engine was cancelled only a few weeks later and all designs based on it moved to the newer and more powerful BMW 801.

Prototypes, Ju 88 B-0

The prototype Ju 88B V1, D-AUVS, flew for the first time with the 801A/B engines in early 1940. The fuselage and tail surfaces were identical to the Ju 88 A-1, which presented a problem: with the extra power, 1,560 PS (1,150 kW; 1,540 hp), the design could now carry considerably more load than the small bomb bay could fit. An additional external shackle was then added to each wing well outside the engines, although using the rack would seriously hamper performance.

During the summer, a pre-production run of 10 Ju 88 B-0 based on the pre-production Ju 88 A-4 airframes were delivered. The A-4 used a longer wing of 20.08 m (65.9 ft) span from new rounded wingtips for better altitude performance, when compared to the initial Ju 88A-1's shorter 18.26 m (59.9 ft) span, but attention to streamlining and new pointed wing tips, somewhat resembling those fitted to the British Spitfire Mks.VII and VIII for their own intended high-altitude flight requirements, kept drag to about what it was earlier. The airframe changes moved the center of gravity slightly, so the glazed cockpit area was made slightly longer to re-balance the aircraft, while also offering better visibility for other members of the crew.

Service tests were all successful, and the pilots generally lauded the new cockpit design. However, the RLM still remained unconvinced that the small improvement in performance over the existing A-5's and future A-4's was worth investing time in. Instead, the pre-production models were modified as long-range reconnaissance aircraft by removing the guns, bombsights, and external bomb shackles, and fitting fuel tanks into the bomb bay.

Several of the airframes were retained by Junkers for further development. One of these was fitted with the slightly updated 801L engines and a small power-operated turret on the extreme top of the cockpit mounting a 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine gun.

Variants

By 1942, it was becoming clear that Junkers' candidate for the important Bomber B program, the Ju 288, was not going to be ready soon and that the Ju 88 was increasingly at the mercy of rapidly improving RAF and Soviet VVS fighters. The RLM finally decided that even the small gains in performance in the Ju 88B were worth considering and asked Junkers for an improved aircraft as the Ju 188.

The sole Ju 88 E-0 was modified with another 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 firing rearward just below the turret, one firing forward through the nose and twin 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 81Z machine guns in the integrated ventral Bola gondola firing rearward. Two other airframes had their engines and outer wings removed to act as testbeds for water ditching, as it was planned to use the Ju 188 in long overwater flights against British shipping. A second Ju 188 test airframe was built from another Ju 88 A-4, this one including a larger, more trapezoidal vertical tail surface set to provide more directional control at higher altitudes, a feature also used on future Ju 88 models, most importantly on the Ju 88G night fighters. Originally known as Ju 88 V44, this airframe was later named Ju 188 V1, "so the enemy gets the impression it's something new", said Erhard Milch.^[2]

In October 1942, the Ju 188 was chosen for production. A second prototype was delivered in January, which moved the outer bomb shackles to a position inboard of the engines. Both started testing the dive bombing system installed in the 88 A-4 in February. The RLM then asked for another change, allowing the aircraft to mount either the BMW 801 or Jumo 213 engines as a complete Kraftei or "power egg" common engine installation, that would simply be bolted on and hooked up. Concerns about the Jumo 213, now years overdue, were offset by this engine's better altitude performance, so it made sense to delay the aircraft slightly if that meant it could switch to the 213 as soon as they became available. The second Ju 188 prototype was flown in at Rechlin between September and November 1943.^[3]

Ju 188 A & E

The Ju 188 was designed to be fitted with either the 1,750 PS (1,290 kW; 1,730 hp) Jumo 213A or 1,700 PS (1,250 kW; 1,680 hp) BMW 801 G-2 engines without any changes to the airframe, with the exclusion of the re-design for Jumo-powered examples, of the annular radiators from their Jumo 211 layout for the A-series to better match the more powerful 213's cooling needs, while using similar broad-chord three-blade propellers as the A-series did. It was intended that both would be known as A models but the naming was later changed: the Ju 188A model powered by the 213 and the Ju 188E by the 801.

The first three production Ju 188 E-1 machines were delivered with BMW engines in February 1943, followed by another seven in March and eight in April. A conversion testing unit was formed up in May and after testing were attached to an operational unit, with the first mission, an attack by three Ju 188E-1s on a factory in Lincoln, Lincolnshire taking place on 18 August 1943.^[4] By the end of the year, 283 Ju 188s had been delivered (including Ju 188Fs) and two new factories were added to the production effort.^[5] Most operational machines differed from the prototypes only in having a 20 mm (0.787 in) MG 151/20 cannon in the nose and dorsal turrets in place of the 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131. The MG 131 was intended to be used in the Ju 188 E-1 or the G-2 but the heavy armament in the A and E series was the MG 151/20.^[6] The Ju 188 E-2 was built as a torpedo-bomber but was identical to the Ju 188 A-3.^[7]

Although the A and E models were to have been delivered at the same time, the Jumo engine was still not ready; the first Jumo powered Ju 188 A-1 versions were shipped only shortly after the BMW versions, albeit at a much slower rate. By the time deliveries were finally picking up in late 1943, the Jumo was available in a new MW 50 methanol-water injection "boosted" version that delivered 1,648 kW (2,241 PS; 2,210 hp) for takeoff. With this engine, the planes were known as the Ju 188 A-2 and started deliveries in early 1944.^[8]

A modified version mounting a small, low-UHF-band FuG 200 Hohentwiel sea-search radar set under the nose and shackles for a torpedo for naval strike missions was delivered as the Ju 188 E-2, and with the Jumo as the Ju 188 A-3. The only other difference was the removal of the outer pair of wing bomb shackles. For all its good points, the Ju 188 was only a small improvement over the Ju 88. The bombload and bomb bay was no larger than the earlier aircraft; although a larger load could be carried externally, it reduced performance. Even then the performance was rather poor considering all the effort - only 523 km/h (325 mph) or less. The dorsal turret had only one gun, yet the type retained the single-gun flexible position only a few centimeters away from it; various projects finally to provide the 188 with tail armament were abandoned.

Delivery problems of the Jumo 213 were never entirely solved and the only model to be built in large numbers were the E series with the BMW 801. Even then so few were available that they were generally given out to Ju 88 units, who flew them on "special" missions where the longer range or better performance would be helpful. Some 500 Ju 188A and E variants were produced before production ceased in the summer of 1944.^[8]

Ju 188 C

It was planned all along to skip over a "B model" to avoid confusion with the original Ju 88 B but in the original plan the A and E models would be called As and the Ju 188 C would be the next model. The C series was built to the extent of a single example, by modifying one of the few A-1 machines. A new power-operated, remotely operated FA 15 turret was mounted in the tail and had two 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131s, aimed with a double-periscope (top and bottom) system mounted in the cockpit. This modification would have greatly improved defensive firepower, always lacking on German designs but reliability was so poor it was decided to abandon the system.

Ju 188 D & F

In early 1944, it was decided to focus on reconnaissance versions of the A and E models. The airframe was modified with the removal of the bomb aimer and forward gun and additional fuel cells were added to extend the range to 3,400 km (2,100 mi). The Ju 188 D-1 was otherwise similar to the A-1 and the Ju 188 D-2 had nose radar for naval reconnaissance. Similar conversions of the E models were the Ju 188 F-1 and Ju 188 F-2.

Ju 188 G & H

One problem with the Ju 88 that carried into the 188 was the lack of internal room for bomb storage. Both carried the majority of their bombload on racks under the wing, where it greatly affected performance. This was to have been addressed in the G and H models, which extended the fuselage downward for more room with the addition of a wooden pannier. The modification also left enough room at the tail to fit a manned turret in place of the C model's remote-control one but this system proved to be just as limited as the remote-control FA 15. It was so small that only the smallest men could fit into it and left them with no room to escape in an emergency. The RLM rejected the manned turret and planned on mounting the FA 15 even if it were unreliable.^[7] Oddly, the designs still possessed the Bola undernose feature for a rear-facing gunner, when this would no longer be needed and its removal would have greatly streamlined the aircraft. With the Jumo 213s now being sent to fighter production, the Ju 188G-2 was to use the BMW 801 only, with the reconnaissance conversion known as the Ju 188 H-2. Neither entered production before the war ended; the Ju 188G remained at the prototype stage.^[9] Tail empennages of the few Ju 188G prototypes built were used in construction of the first two Ju 287 prototypes.^[10]

Ju 188 R

In the summer of 1944, three E models were modified as night fighters with the addition of radar and either four 20 mm MG 151/20s or two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannons in the nose. The better visibility of the 188 was not useful in night fighting and because the added drag of the radar washed out any speed difference, the Ju 188 R-0 was not ordered.

High-altitude versions

In 1943, it was planned to upgrade all versions with even more wing area and a pressurized cockpit for high-altitude work. A single basic airframe would be offered in three versions, the Ju 188J heavy fighter, Ju 188K bomber, and the Ju 188L reconnaissance version. As with the streamlined Ju 88S, all three late model Ju 188 designs did away with the Bola gondola, leading to a cleaner nose profile, and the bomber and reconnaissance versions mounted their loads in a long pannier under the central fuselage instead of the deeper fuselage of the G and H models.

Simpler versions of these with no defensive armament and even longer wings became the Ju 188S fighter and Ju 188T intruder. With Jumo 213E-1 engines 2,050 PS (1,510 kW; 2,020 hp) at take-off and 1,690 PS (1,240 kW; 1,670 hp) at 9,500 m (31,200 ft), the Ju 188T could reach 700 km/h (430 mph). Operating at this altitude, the Ju 188S could carry only 800 kg (1,800 lb) of bombs.

Before any of these could start production, the entire lineup was renamed the Ju 388, the vastly improved performance warranting a different 8-388 airframe number from the RLM for the design.^[7]

Operators

France

French Air Force (Postwar)
Aviation Navale operated several captured Ju 188s post war.

Germany

Luftwaffe

United Kingdom

Royal Air Force operated at least two captured machines post war, an A-2 and A-3 (Wrk Nr 190335 of 9./KG 26). The A-3 surrendered to British forces after landing at Fraserburgh on 2 May 1945.^[7]

Specifications (Ju 188E-1)

Data from The warplanes of the Third Reich.^[11]

General characteristics

Crew: 4
Length: 14.95 m (49 ft 0.5 in)
Wingspan: 22.00 m (72 ft 2 in)
Height: 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 56.0 m² (602.7 sq ft)
Empty weight: 9,990 kg (22,024 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 15,195 kg (33,499 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × BMW 801D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,300 kW (1,700 hp) each for take-off

1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)

Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers

Performance

Maximum speed: 500 km/h (310 mph, 270 kn) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
Cruise speed: 375 km/h (233 mph, 202 kn) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)
Service ceiling: 9,350 m (30,665 ft) with 2,000 kg (4,400 lb)
Time to altitude: 6,100 m (20,000 ft) in 17 minutes 42 seconds
Wing loading: 258.9 kg/m² (53.0 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.175 kW/kg (0.106 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns: 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) MG 151/20 cannon
3 × 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine guns
Bombs: 3,000 kg (6,600 lb)

Notes

^ Dressel and Griehl 1994, p.95.
^ Holland, James (2017). The Allies Strike Back. New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-8021-2560-6.
^ Dressel and Griehl 1994, p.97.
^ Air International April 1982, p.183.
^ Air International April 1982, p.184.
^ Dressel and Griehl 1994, p. 96.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dressel and Griehl 1994, p. 99.
^ ^a ^b Dressel and Griehl 1994, p. 98.
^ "Luftwaffe Resource Center - Bombers - A Warbirds Resource Group Site".
^ Lommel, Horst, 2004. Junkers Ju 287: The World's First Swept-Wing Jet Aircraft. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.
^ Green, William (1972). The warplanes of the Third Reich (1st ed.). London: Doubleday. pp. 485–490. ISBN 0385057822.

References

Dressel, Joachim and Manfred Griehl. Bombers of the Luftwaffe. London: DAG Publications, 1994. ISBN 1-85409-140-9.
"The Fortuitous 'Avenger'......Junkers' One Eighty-Eight". Air International. April 1982, Vol 22 No 4. Bromley, UK:Fine Scroll. ISSN 0306-5634. pp. 179–187.

External links

"Ju-88's Successor." Popular Science, March 1944, p. 79. Cutaway drawing of Ju-188.

[D&G_p95-1] Dressel and Griehl 1994, p.95.

[2] Holland, James (2017). The Allies Strike Back. New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-8021-2560-6.

[D&G_p97-3] Dressel and Griehl 1994, p.97.

[Avenger_p183-4] Air International April 1982, p.183.

[Avenger_p184-5] Air International April 1982, p.184.

[D&G_p96-6] Dressel and Griehl 1994, p. 96.

[D&G_p99-7] Dressel and Griehl 1994, p. 99.

[D&G_p98-8] Dressel and Griehl 1994, p. 98.

[9] "Luftwaffe Resource Center - Bombers - A Warbirds Resource Group Site".

[10] Lommel, Horst, 2004. Junkers Ju 287: The World's First Swept-Wing Jet Aircraft. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.

[Green-11] Green, William (1972). The warplanes of the Third Reich (1st ed.). London: Doubleday. pp. 485–490. ISBN 0385057822.

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v t e Junkers aircraft
Company designations	J 1 J 2 J 3 J 4 J 5 J 6 J 7 J 8 J 9 J 10 J 11 J 12 F 13 J 15 K 16 K 17 J 18 T 19 A 20 H 21 / J 21 / T 21 J 22 T 23 G 23 F 24 / G 24 A 25 T 26 T 27 J 28 T 29 K 30 G 31 A 32 W 33 W 34 A 35 S 36 K 37 G 38 K 39 K 47 A 48 J 49 A 50 K 51 K 53 K 85
Company EF designations (experimental aircraft)	EF 29 EF 31 EF 52 EF 61 EF 72 EF 73 EF 74 EF 77 EF 94 EF 126 EF 127 EF 128 EF 130 EF 131 EF 132 EF 140 EF 150
Idflieg designations	CL.I CLS.I D.I E.I E.I (2) J.I
RLM designations	Ju 46 Ju 49 Ju 52 Ju 60 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ju 160 Ju 187 Ju 188 Ju 248 Ju 252 Ju 268 Ju 287 Ju 288 Ju 290 Ju 322 Ju 352 Ju 388 Ju 390 Ju 452 Ju 488 Ju 635

v t e Reich Air Ministry (RLM) aircraft designations (list)
1 to 100	8-1¹ Fi 2 8-3¹ 8-4¹ Fi 5 DFS 6 8-7¹ Gö 8 Gö 9 Do 10 Do 11/Wn 11 8-12⁴/Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Do 16/Wn 16 Do 17 Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 8-21¹ Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Do 25³/Kl 25 Do 26/Kl 26 8-27/Do 27³/Kl 27⁵ 8-28¹ 8-29/Do 29 Fw 30 Kl 31 Kl 32 Ju 33 Ju 34 Kl 35 Kl 36 He 37³ He 38/Ju 38 DFS 39 BV 40/DFS 40 He 41³ Fw 42/He 42 Fw 43 Fw 44 He 45 He 46/Ju 46 Fw 47/He 47 Ju 48 He 49/Ju 49 He 50/Ju 50 He 51 He 52/Ju 52 Ju 53 DFS 54/NR 54 Fw 55/NR 55 Fw 56 8-57⁴/Fw 57 Fw 58/He 58 He 59 He 60/Ju 60 Fa 61/Fw 61/He 61 Fw 62/He 62 8-63⁴/He 63 Ar 64/He 64 Ar 65/He 65 Ar 66/He 66 Ar 67 Ar 68 Ar 69 He 70 8-71⁴/He 71 He 72 He 73³ He 74 Al 75 Ar 76/FZG 76⁶ Ar 77 Ar 78³ Ar 79 Ar 80 Ar 81 8-82⁴ 8-83¹ Al 84 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ju 91³ Ju 92 Ju 93³ Ju 94³ Ar 95 Ar 96 Fi 97 Fi 98 Fi 99 Fi 100³/He 100
101 to 200	Al 101 Al 102 Al 103/Fi 103 R Fh 104 Kl 105 Kl 106 Kl 107 Bf 108 Bf 109/Bf 109R⁶ Bf 110 He 111/He 111U⁶ He 112 He 113⁶ He 114 He 115 He 116 He 117³/Hs 117 He 118 He 119 He 120 Hs 121 Hs 122 Hs 123 Hs 124 Hs 125 Hs 126 Hs 127 Hs 128 Hs 129 Hs 130 Bü 131 Bü 132³/Hs 132 Bü 133 Bü 134 Ha 135 Ha 136/Hü 136 Ha 137 BV 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 BV 141 BV 142 BV 143 BV 144 Go 145 Go 146 Go 147/Ju 147 Go 148³ Go 149 Go 150 Kl 151 Kl 152/Ta 152 Kl 153³/Ta 153 Kl 154³/Ta 154 BV 155/Kl 155³/Me 155 Fi 156 Fi 157 Fi 158 Fw 159 Ju 160 Bf 161 Bf 162/He 162 Bf 163/Li 163/Me 163 Me 164/MeC 164 Bf 165 Fi 166/FK 166 Fi 167 Fi 168 Fi 169³ He 170 He 171³ He 172 He 173³ He 174³ 8-175⁴ He 176 He 177 He 178 He 179⁵ Bü 180/He 180 Bü 181 Bü 182 Bü 183³/Ta 183 Fl 184 Fl 185 Fw 186/Ju 186 Fw 187/Ju 187² Fw 188³/Ju 188 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Ao 192 Ao 193³/DFS 193 DFS 194/Me 194 Ar 195 Ar 196 Ar 197 Ar 198 Ar 199 Do 200^4,6/Fw 200
201 to 300	Si 201 Si 202 DFS 203 Si 204 8-205¹ Fw 206 8-207¹ Me 208 Me 209 (I)/Me 209 (II) Me 210 Hü 211 8-212⁴/Do 212 8-213¹ Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217/Hs 217 Do 218³ He 219 He 220 Do 221³ BV 222 Fa 223 Fa 224 Ao 225/Fa 225 BV 226/Ho 226 FGP 227 DFS 228 Go 229/Ho 229 8-230/DFS 230 Ar 231 Ar 232 Ar 233 Ar 234 Do 235⁵ Fa 236³ BV 237 BV 238 8-239¹ Ar 240 Go 241 Go 242 Me 243³ Go 244 Go 245³ BV 246 8-247¹ Ju 248 BV 250/Ho 250 Ho 251 Ho 252 Ju 252 Fi 253/Ho 253 Ho 254/Ta 254 8-255¹ Fi 256 SK 257 8-258¹ Fw 259 8-260¹ Me 261/Me 261w Me 262 Me 263 (1941)/Me 263 (1942)/Me 263 (1945) Me 264 Fl 265/Me 265 Fa 266/Go 266³ Ho 267 Ju 268 Fa 269 He 270 We 271 He 272³ He 273³ He 274 He 275⁵ He 276³ He 277 He 278 He 279³ He 280 He 281³ Fl 282 Fa 283 Fa 284 Fl 285 Ju 286 Ju 287 Do 288^4,6/Ju 288 Ju 289³ Ju 290 Hs 291 As 292/Hs 292³ Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Ar 296/Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Ju 299³ Fw 300
301 to 349	DFS 301 8-302¹ 8-303¹ 8-304¹ 8-305¹ 8-306¹ 8-307¹ 8-308¹ Me 309 Zwilling Me 310 8-311¹ 8-312¹ 8-313⁴ 8-314¹ Hs 315 8-316¹ Do 317 Do 318 He 319 Me 320³ Me 321 Ju 322 Me 323/ZMe 323 8-324¹ Fa 325/Fw 325³ 8-326¹ Me 327 Me 328 Me 329 Fa 330 DFS 331 DFS 332 Fi 333 Ar 334³/Me 334 Do 335 Fa 336 Ju 337³ 8-338¹ Fl 339 Ar 340 8-341 WNF 342 He 343 Rk 344/So 344⁵ Go 345 DFS 346 Rk 347 8-348¹ Ba 349
Post-349 (non-sequential)	Ju 352 Fi 356/Ju 356 Me 362 Me 364² Me 368³ Ju 388 Ju 390 Fw 391 Ar 393³ Ar 396 Ta 400 Me 409 Me 410 Do 417 He 419 ZMe 423 Ar 430/Ka 430 Ar 432 Do 435 Ar 440 8-445⁴ DFS 446 Ju 452 Me 462² DFS 468 Ju 488 Fw 491 He 500 Me 509 Me 510 He 519 8-520⁴ ZSO 523 Ar 532 8-534⁴ Do 535/He 535 Me 600² Me 609 Ar 632 Do 635/He 635/Ju 635
¹ Not assigned ² Unofficial/proposed ³ Assigned, but not used before RLM was dissolved ⁴ Assigned to captured aircraft ⁵ Unconfirmed ⁶ Propaganda/cover designation Note: Official RLM designations had the prefix "8-", but this was usually dropped and replaced with the manufacturer's prefix.