Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

The caption for photo 50 seems to me to be inaccurate. It says this is a Ju-88T-3, but the engines look like 211s, it has a beetle-eye nose and FuG 200. Looks like an A-6/U to me. Am I right?

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

You are right, it's a A-6/U.

It seems that the right engine still has the covers of the flame dampers. Left engine doesn't have them.

Cheers, Simon

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Photo 26/page 23: there's a group of men on the left of the picture. Anyone else think that their cart might be loaded with WGr. 21 rockets?

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Not to take anything away from Mr. Urbanke and his 'LW in Focus' series - most of the time he is spot on with his descriptions and he's certainly given us all many wonderful new photos - but his interpretation of those photos are not always accurate. One does what one can with the information available to them.

I know of a couple of photos that he has mislabeled. Certainly no fault to him. We see it all the time in this field. A case in point is his ID of the FW 190A-2 WNr. 5304 - he published a photo of Emil Babenz standing by the rudder of this machine sporting 9 vics (?) and suggested that it was the machine of Hptm. Seiffert, Kdr. of I./JG 26 in mid-summer 1941. However, given that I've built a db of losses that includes this period of time, just the recording of losses from published sources and no great revelation - its in Caldwell's stuff along with the GQM stuff - I can say that the first Fw190A-2 loss occurs in Dec. 41 - Walter Schneider of II./JG 26 flew into high ground on 22-Dec-41 along with 4 other of his pilots. His was the first recorded A-2 loss. There are published photos of Seiffert standing by the rudder of this machine with 20+ vics being displayed. The description of Urbanke's photo should probably be along the lines that Babenz inherited this mascine from Seiffert in the later half of May 1942.

Another photo that is - I wouldn't say mislabeled so much as misinterpretaion based on WNr. - is from LwF #5, p.8. The photo on that page is of 'white 10' from 1./JG 51' the WNr. of which Urbanke interprets as WNr. 196. However, Fw. Erwin Laskowski in his FB records that he flew on numerous occasions between Sept. 42 and Jan. 43 'white 10', WNr. 495. This would seem to be a match with the photo. I take no credit for this probable ID. This is due to the work of my good friend Russ Fahey, a name I'm sure many are familiar with in reading credits for LW titles.

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Any chance that this Ju 88A-6/U could be a D-model ?

Von Alles

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

It could, in theory be a "D". Some are known to have the under-nose gondola removed and the radar was a kit applicable to any A, D or H series Ju-88, but the exact combination of features is normally thought of as being typical of an A-6/U.

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Hi hedgehog6 and Jim P.,

think you are right with your note about the Ju 88. But that's no problem for me, overall it's a fantastic magazin. I never before find a publication with photocaptions, which are so full of details.
If I'm right, they always try to correct their mistakes in the readersforum. So Jim, may be you should contact the editors if you think you have better informations.

Have fun guys
Panzerscheibe

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

I'm sure I read somewhere that there never was an A-6/U sub-type. Does anyone else remember seeing that?

I had an idea that the gondola on a Ju 88 was removable at unit (or maybe maintenance depot) level and so taking it off didn't necessarily create a new sub-type, it was rather an adaptation to operational requirements.

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

I'm reasonably confident that the traditional view of the A-6/U derives from "Warplanes of the Third Reich". God knows how many secondary sources have repeated the description and sorting it out would require access to the original documentation. I don't have that & hadn't read the bit about there being no such thing.

I am sure however that I too have read in more than one place that the gondola was removable at a fairly low level.

Given the photo in question, I suspect that not much more can be said than that it is a Ju-88 maritime recon aircraft based on an A or D sub-type, not a T-3 as captioned.

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Hello,

I've ordered some older issues too the last weeks but sadly
most of them were sold out. As I understand right. Mr. Urbanke
and his staff are always willing to correct wrong informations or
they publish additions and new photos in a following issue.
For me it's a great service because lots of publications have
never been corrected. And I think that this is the best way to involve
all readers in researching work. Our hobby is living and always
actual! I want to thank Mr. Urbanke for making this great magazine
possible. Maybe he or some of his friends are members of this board
too so they can read our discussion.

Greetings to all,
Günter

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

IMHO, the A-6/U designation is in most cases incorrect. I have a pretty good list of the A-6 W.Nrs. and some of the most infamously identified "A-6/U"s do not fall in these groups and are actually much later production A-4s. The errors probably originate in the similarity in the appearance of the "bump" fairings for the FuG 200 antenna mountings to those for the A-6 for the cable cutter. I also have been doing a very detailed analysis of W.Nrs. and in certain portions of the Gen.Qu.6.Abt. loss lists, there are a very high percentage of errors, especially for the Ju 88.

Best regards,

Artie Bob

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Other than the data plate, what would then be the difference between an A-6/U and an A-4 with the gondola removed and FuG200 added?

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Hi! at last I get it.
Photo11/pp.8-9, Ju88 C-6 W7+D?. I have a question about FuG 212 C-1. Its upper right antenna is canted 45deg. Was it sabotaged, or an officially produced variation?

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Are you sure with W7+D_ ? Why do you think, it's an a/c of NJG 100?

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

The A-6 was built from a A-5 model.
The A-4 had different cowlings and propellers (Jumo 211J).

Von Alles

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

No, Hohentwiel, the antenna must have been sabotaged because it was not an official modification. Good eyes though, because until you pointed it out I hadn't noticed it .

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Hi George,

my eyes weren't as good as JYoung's eyes ;-) but thanks for your
information! Maybe GIs or civilians brake the antenna. The question
about this photo is the small yellow fuselage band. JYoung told us
something about the code W7+D_. It would be very interesting if this
a/c was from NJG 100. Maybe this small band was a special marking
practice of this unit for a while? Also the camouflage is very interesting
too. Does anybody know more similar Ju 88 G?

Regards,
Sven.

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Hi, Hohentwiel,
[quote=Hohentwiel] JYoung told us something about the code W7+D_.


I’m sorry because I have no conclusive evidence, but the fuselage code seems to be so for me.


Hi, George, thank you for your help and praise.

Best regards.
JY

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Hi,

while I've not seen the latest 'Im Focus Special', the aircraft sounds like two that are shown in Manfred Griehl's 'Junkers Ju 88 - Star of the Luftwaffe', page79 (I think the bottom photo of an aircraft with the early unbalanced rudder shows a S/T style beetle-nose). Manfred identifies these as 'D' variants. Also, according to the author (page 34), the "A-6/U" designation did not officially exist (probably like the G6a, G6b, G6c identifiers), and the ex A-6 'Kuto-Nase' aircraft were converted to A-5 status (later A-4) or developed into the anti-shipping "A6/U" that were actually redesignated A-7. This number also referred to a trainer version.

Cheers

Graham

Re: Luftwaffe im Focus Special #2
 

Sorry JY, I should have followed the quote back to its source. Yes, good eyes.

A small point. I'm not altogether certain that the radar in that Ju 88C is an FuG 212. Contrary to what most sources report, the FuG 212 was only built in small numbers, and so most of the a/c with that small antenna set were hooked up to the FuG 202 radar. In addition, the Ju 88R that defected to the UK in mid-1943 had FuG 202 radar. But, since this was all of 60+ years ago, does does anyone really care any more?