(Junkers) G 38 @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Junkers G.38 of Deutsche Luft-Hansa Junkers G.38 of Deutsche Luft-Hansa
    Junkers G.38 of Deutsche Luft-Hansa
  • Cockpit Cockpit
    Cockpit
  • Junkers G.38 (D-2000) Junkers G.38 (D-2000)
    Junkers G.38 (D-2000)
  • Junkers G.38 Junkers G.38
    Junkers G.38
  • The Junkers G.38 and a Mercedes Type 380 The Junkers G.38 and a Mercedes Type 380
    The Junkers G.38 and a Mercedes Type 380
  • Deutsche Luft-Hansa Deutsche Luft-Hansa
    Deutsche Luft-Hansa
  • The Junkers G.38 (D-2000) and the A-50 The Junkers G.38 (D-2000) and the A-50
    The Junkers G.38 (D-2000) and the A-50
  • D-APIS "General Feldmarschall von Hindenburg" D-APIS "General Feldmarschall von Hindenburg"
    D-APIS "General Feldmarschall von Hindenburg"
  • Deutsche Luft-Hansa Deutsche Luft-Hansa
    Deutsche Luft-Hansa
  • Mitsubishi Ki-20 Mitsubishi Ki-20
    Mitsubishi Ki-20
  • Mitsubishi Ki-20 Mitsubishi Ki-20
    Mitsubishi Ki-20
  • Hugo Junkers and associates Hugo Junkers and associates
    Hugo Junkers and associates
  • Mitsubishi Ki-20 at Hamamatsu Air Base Mitsubishi Ki-20 at Hamamatsu Air Base
    Mitsubishi Ki-20 at Hamamatsu Air Base
  • The Junkers G.38<br>(D-2000)<br>and the A-50 The Junkers G.38<br>(D-2000)<br>and the A-50
    The Junkers G.38
    (D-2000)
    and the A-50

Junkers G.38

The Junkers G.38 was a large German four-engined transport aircraft which first flew in 1929. Two prototypes were constructed in Germany. Both aircraft flew as a commercial transport within Europe in the years leading up to World War II.

During the 1930s, the design was licensed to Mitsubishi, which constructed and flew a total of six aircraft, in a military bomber/transport configuration, designated Ki-20.

The G.38 carried a crew of seven. Onboard mechanics were able to service the engines in flight due to the G.38's blended wing design which provided access to all four power plants.

Design and development

Structurally the G38 conformed to standard Junkers' practice, with a multi-tubular spar cantilever wing covered, like the rest of the aircraft in stressed, corrugated duraluminium. The biplane tail, found in other large aircraft of the time was intended to reduce rudder forces; initially there were three rudders with only a central fixed fin. The undercarriage was fixed, with double tandem main wheels that were initially enclosed in very large spats. The wing had the usual Junkers "double wing" form, the name referring to the full span movable flaps which served also as ailerons in the outer part.

The first Junkers prototype—3301 and marked as D-2000—first flew on 6 November 1929 with four diesel engines: two L55 12-cylinder V-motors and two 294 kW L8 6-cylinder inline motors with combined power rating of 1470 kW (1971 hp). The Reich Air Ministry purchased the D-2000 for demonstration flights, and took delivery on 27 March 1930. In flight tests, the G.38 set four world records including speed, distance and duration for airplanes lifting a 5000 kg payload. On 2 May 1930 Lufthansa put the D-2000 into commercial service for both scheduled and chartered flights.

On 2 February 1931 the Leipzig-based Junkers' yard re-engined the D-2000 with two L8 and two L88 motors giving a total power rating of 1764 kW (2366 hp) and increasing passenger capacity from 13 to 19.

The G.38, during its early life, was the largest land plane in the world. Passenger accommodation was sumptuous by today's standards and was meant to rival that found on the competing Zeppelin service offered by DELAG. The plane was unique in that passengers were seated in the wings, which were 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) thick at the root. There were also two seats in the extreme nose. The leading edge of each wing was fitted with sloping windscreens giving these passengers the forward-facing view usually available only to pilots. There were three 11-seater cabins, plus smoking cabins and wash rooms.

In design terms the G-38 foreshadowed the Blended Wing Body design currently being developed by both NASA and Boeing as an alternative to traditional tube and wing aircraft configurations.

Operational history

On 1 July 1931 Deutsche Luft-Hansa initiated regularly scheduled service between Berlin and London on flights carrying up to 13 passengers. This London-Berlin service was halted in October 1931 to retrofit the aircraft and expand the passenger cabin of the D-2000. Construction lasted from this time until the summer of 1932, during which a second deck was built within the D-2000's fuselage—enabling an increased cargo capacity and seating for up to 30 passengers. Additionally the D-2000's engines were again upgraded to four L88s, giving a combined power total of 2352 kW (3154 hp). Also at this time the D-2000's certificate number was changed to D-AZUR.

Meanwhile, a second G.38—factory number 3302 and c/n D-2500, later changed to D-APIS—was built with a double deck fuselage and capacity for 34 passengers. Six passengers were carried in two compartments in the leading edge of each wing and the remaining 22, on two levels, in the fuselage. Lufthansa used D-APIS on a scheduled service covering the cities Berlin, Hanover, Amsterdam, and London. This aircraft was named the General Feldmarschall von Hindenburg.

In 1934 D-2000/D-AZUR had its engines upgraded, this time with Jumo 4 engines, giving a total power rating of 3000 kW (4023 hp).

Both planes were in service simultaneously until 1936, when D-AZUR crashed in Dessau during a post-maintenance test flight. Luft-Hansa had to write off this aircraft due to the extensive damage, but test pilot Wilhelm Zimmermann survived the crash, and there were no other casualties.

The second G.38—marked D-2500 and later D-APIS—flew successfully within the Luft-Hansa fleet for nearly a decade. With the outbreak of World War II the D-2500/D-APIS was pressed into military service as a transport craft by the Luftwaffe. It was destroyed on the ground during an RAF air raid on Athens on 17 May 1941.

Operators

  • Weimar Republic : Lufthansa
  • Nazi Germany : Luftwaffe

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Junkers G.38 of Wikipedia ( authors )

Junkers G.38

  • Role : Transport.
  • Manufacturer : Junkers.
  • First flight : 6 November 1929.
  • Primary users :
    • Lufthansa.
    • Luftwaffe.
  • Number built : 2.
  • Variants : Mitsubishi Ki-20.

    • Specifications (G.38 1929)

  • Crew : 7.
  • Capacity : 30 (D-2000/D-AZUR) and 34 (D-2500/D-APIS) passengers.
  • Length : 23.21 m (76 ft 2 in).
  • Wingspan : 44 m (144 ft 4 in).
  • Height : 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in).
  • Wing area : 290 m² (3,100 sq ft).
  • Empty weight : 14,920 kg (32,893 lb).
  • Max takeoff weight : 21,240 kg (46,826 lb).
  • Maximum speed : 225 km/h (140 mph; 121 kts).
  • Cruising speed : 175 km/h (109 mph; 94 kts).
  • Range : 3,460 km (2,150 mi; 1,868 nmi).
  • Service ceiling : 3,690 m (12,106 ft).
  • Powerplant :
    • Two Junkers L55 V-12 water-cooled piston engines inboard:
    • Power output : cruise 665 hp (495 kW) at 1,700 rpm, take-off 690 hp (514 kW).
    • Two Junkers L8a six-cylinder, water-cooled, in-line piston engines outboard:
    • Power : 308 kW (413 hp) each at take-off.
  • Propellers : 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propellers outboard, 4-bladed wooden fixed pitch propellers inboard.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Junkers G.38 of Wikipedia ( authors )
Junkers G 38 : Your comments on this subject
Powered by Disqus
Top
Legal Credits FAQ Help Site Map

Terms of use for the services available on this site

By using this Website, Users agree to the following terms of use and rules :

Definitions

  • Webmaster : Head Administrator with all authority over the management and development of the Website.
  • Administrator : Anyone that was given by the Webmaster full or partial access to the Website's structure or with moderation rights on messages posted by Users.
  • User or Visitor : Any person visiting the Website pages.
  • Website : The following provisions apply to a single Website accessible via the www.aircraftube.com, www.aircraftube.org, www.aircraftube.net and www.all-aircraft.com. URL's
  • Service : All free informations and tools contained on the Website.
  • Comments : All text written by users on Blogs and comment pages available on the Website.
  • Media : All media available on or through the Website. One must distinguish the local media (photos, curves, drawings) and the external media (videos) which the Website refers.

    • Purpose of this site

    The purpose of this non-commercial site is purely educational. Reflecting a passion, it is also there to preserve the memory of all those who gave their lives, their health or energy in the name of freedom, aviation safety or simply our passenger comfort.

    Copyright

    Some media may have escaped the vigilance of Administrators with regard to copyrights. If a user reports copyright infringement, he will be asked to prove that he is indeed the rights's owner for the concerned media. If so, his decision on the Administrator's next action will be respected: A total suppression of the Media on the Website, or the addition of some owner's reference. The publication of a media on the internet normally having as a goal to make it visible to many people, the Administrators expect in any case that the second option will be most often chosen.

    Pursuant to the Law on copyright and related rights, the user has the right to download and reproduce information on the Website for personal use and provided that the source is mentionned. They cannot however be used for commercial or advertising purposes.

    Using Blogs and filing comments

  • Moderator : The Administrator reserves the right to prevent the publication of comments that are not directly related to the Service without providing any explanation. Similarly, all insults, out of scope or unethical material will be banned.
  • Identification : Persons wishing to post a comment or use any form of contact are required to provide identification by the means of a valid e-mail address.
  • Responsibilities : Comments are posted on the Website under the unique responsability of their authors and the Administrators may in no case be liable for any statements or claims that the users might have issued.

    • As the comment system is hosted and maintained on servers external to the Website, the Administrators may in no circumstances be held responsible for the use that administrators of these servers or other third parties may have with those comments or filed data.

    Content Liability

    The Administrators carefully check the reliability of the sources used. They cannot, however, guarantee the accuracy of any information contained on the Website, partly because of the multiple sources from which they come.

    JavaScript and cookies - Storing information

    This Website imperatively uses JavaScript and cookies to function properly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Website for the retention or disclosure of personal information about Visitors. Exceptions to this rule will involve storing the Users banned for inappropriate comments they might have given as well as contact information for Users wishing to subscribe to future newsletters.

    When a user accesses the Website, the corresponding servers may automatically collect certain data, such as IP address, date and time of Website access, viewed pages and the type of browser used. This information is kept only for the purpose of measuring the number of visitors to the different sections of the site and make improvements.

    Donations - Advertising

    To continue providing the Service for free, the Webmaster reserves the right to insert advertising or promotional messages on any page of the Site. In the same idea, any donations will only by used to cover the running costs of the site, such as hosting, connection fees, hardware and software necessary for the development and maintenance of the Website.

    Links and other websites

    Administrators shall in no case be liable for the non-availability of websites operated by third parties to which users would access through the Website.

    Administrators assume no liability for any content, advertising, products and/or services available on such third party websites. It is reminded that those sites are governed by their own terms of use.

    Placing a link to third party sites or authorize a third party to include a link on their website refering to this Website does not mean that the Administrators recommend in any way the products or services offered by these websites.

    Modifications

    The Webmaster reserves the right to modify at any time without notification the present terms of use as well as all content or specific functionality that the Website offers.

    The modified terms and conditions immediately apply to the using Visitor when changes come online. Visitors are invited to consult the site regularly on the most current version of the terms and conditions

    Governing Law and Jurisdiction

    These general conditions are governed by Belgian law.

    In case of dispute regarding the interpretation and/or execution of the above terms, the parties agree that the courts of the district of Nivelles, Belgium shall have exclusive jurisdiction power.

    Credits page

    Wikipedia.org

    Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia.

    Youtube

    YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos.

    Special thanks to all Youtube quality aviation vids providers, specially (Those I forgot, please excuse me or report) :

    Airboyd
    Andys Video
    Aviation videos archives
    Bomberguy
    Classic Aviation TV
    Historical Aviation Film Unit
    Horsemoney
    Jaglavaksoldier
    Joluqa Malta
    Just Planes
    Koksy
    Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
    Memorial Flight
    Octane130
    Okrajoe
    SDASM archives
    Spottydog4477
    The Aviators TV
    Valentin Izagirre Bengoetxea
    Vexed123
    VonBerlich
    Zenos Warbirds

    Bundesarchiv

    The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany.

    FAQ

    I don't see my comments any more!

    Please note that each page has it's own comment entry. So, if you enter a comment i.e. on the B-747, you will only see it on that related page.

    General comments are accessed via the "BLOG En" button.

    Comments are moderated, so please allow some delay before they appear, specially if you are outside Europe.

    Menus are developing below the page, because they are too long!

    But they remain accessible, for example by scrolling the mouse wheel, or with your finger (on the menu) on a smartphone or tablet.

    I see adds on all videos.

    Use a good free add remover software.

    The site is loading random pages at startup.

    We think it is a good way to bring back the memory of aircraft, persons or events sometimes quite forgotten.

    HELP PAGE

    Why this site?

    Discovery

    This website is dedicated to one's aeronautical passion (which I hope we share) and was realised mainly as an educationnal tool. Knowing that, you'll notice that each new visit brings random topics for the purpose of making new discoveries, some achievements or characters certainly not deserving the oblivion into which they have sometimes fallen.

    By these pages, we also want to pay tribute to all those who gave at one time or another, their lives or health in the name of freedom, aeronautical security or simply our comfort.

    Centralisation

    Internet is full of websites dedicated to aviation, but most are dedicated to subjects or periods that are very limited in space or time. The purpose of this site is to be as general as possible and thus treats all events as well as characters of all stripes and times while putting much emphasis on the most significant achievements.

    The same years saw birth of technologies like photography and cinema, thus permitting illustration of a large part of important aeronautical events from the start. Countless (and sometimes rare) media recently put online by enthousiasts finally give us access to these treasures, but the huge amount of information often makes things a little messy. A centralization effort is obviously most needed at this level.

    All persons who directly or indirectly contributed to the achievement or posting of such documents are here gratefully acknowledged.

    General

    Fluid website

    This site automatically fits the dimensions of your screen, whether you are on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

    Bilingual website

    You can change the language by clicking on the flag in the upper left or via "Options" in the central menu. Of course, the videos remain in the language in which they were posted ...

    Browser compatibility

    The site is not optimized, or even designed to run on older browsers or those deliberately deviating from standards. You will most probably encounter display issues with Internet Explorer. In this case, it is strongly recommended installing a modern (and free!) browser that's respecting the standards, like Firefox, Opera, Chrome or Safari.

    Cookies and Javascript

    This site uses cookies and JavaScript to function properly. Please ensure that your browser is configured accordingly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Site for the retention or disclosure of personal information about its Visitors. See the "Legal" page for more on this subject.

    Website layout

    Left menus

    Because of the lack of space on smartphones and small tablets, these menus are hidden. Everything is nevertheless accessible via the main menu option, located between the video and photo sections. This menu is placed there for compatibility reasons with some browsers, which play the videos over the menus.

    "Search" and "Latest" :
    The link "In Titles" restricts the search to the titles of different forms. Use this option if you are looking for a plane, a constructor, a pilot or a particular event that could have been treated as a subject.

    The link "In Stories" will bring you to a search in all texts (the "Story" tab) and will take more time. The search term will appear highlighted in green when opening the corresponding story.

    Would you believe, "Timeline" will show all subjects in chronological order.

    "Random" will reload the entire page with a new random topic.

    The bottom section keeps you abreast of the latest five entries. New topics are added regularly. Don't hesitate to come visit us often : add bookmark.

    Blogs and Comments central section

    Under the photos section comes the comments tabs window :

    You can enter general comments in your own language via one of the two buttons on the left (BLOG EN and BLOG FR). Note that these buttons are accessible regardless of the language to allow some participation in the other language.

    All comments are subject to moderation and will be published only if they comply with the basic rules of decorum, while remaining relevant to the purpose of this site.

    The third tab allows you to enter comments on the shown topic and is bilingual. Personal anecdotes, supplements and other information questions will take place here.

    The "Story" tab shows the explanatory texts. They are most often taken from Wikipedia, a site where we participate regularly.

    The "Data" tab is reserved for list of features and specifications.

    Right menus

    On a smartphone, the lack of space is growing and this menu is moved to the bottom of the page to give priority to videos and pictures.

    The top right icons are links to videos posted by third parties (on their own responsabilities) or by ourselves. The link below these icons will take you to the channel of the one who posted the video. Feel free to suggest other videos if you think they are of some interest (Use the BLOG button or the "Contact" link).