JU-88 C-6 without gondola

[Nick Beale]

Wasn't the Bola something that could be removed at workshop level? If so, units may well have taken them off when extra speed/weight saving was needed for their current tasks.

I realise that some sub-types didn't have the Bola from the outset of course but I'm reasonably sure it could also be removed from a type that normally had it.

[Graham Boak]

Hmm, define workshop and task, I suspect. I'm open to education, but I don't see it as a simple job for a frontline unit to do in the short term. Else we'd see it more often, surely? The removal of the gondola would require the presence of replacement skins/doors, which I don't see a mobile unit carrying around on the off-chance. A comparatively easy job for a maintenance unit behind the lines, yes, but done for a fairly extended duration.

[Nick Beale]

Graham, I could be completely wrong but I thought that all you needed if you removed the Bola was a new rectangular floor hatch and a fairing for the protruding section of the bomb sight. The Bola of a Ju 88 looks like it was a bolt-on rather than integral to the fuselage structure and that it was only accessible inside the aircraft through the hatch aperture.

They made a much neater job of it on the Ju 188!

[Graham Boak]

I'm sure that you are right in terms of the way the design originated: I don't know but suspect you may well be right about the remaining fuselage skin - although I do wonder a little about access for the gunner in that case. I thought that movement between the positions was possible in flight, and I don't see how that could be easily managed with significant structure in the way. It is normally said that close companionship was one of the morale-boosting reasons for the design of German bombers, and it is difficult to see how this can be if the gunner is lying in a closely-fitting coffin. But this is a discussion based on questions - I don't know. Surely this must be visible on cockpit photos?

[falcon04]

Another copy of the original photo - from "Warbirds Illustrated NO.1" circa 1981. The photo, despite being printed to a larger size, is not any better in quality.

What is if interest is the caption:

"A Junkers 88C fighter of III./KG 76 at Catania, Sicily, May 1943. This aircraft was flown by Hauptmann Diether Lukesch on strafing operations against Allied airfields in North Africa ( Bode, Lukesch )"

The attached image is an enlargement of the fuselage area around the balkenkreuz. I'm still not sure if what I'm seeing to the right of the white K is an "R" or an "X", or no letter at all and simply a part of the camo.

Perhaps the Bode and Lukesch attribution will shed some light on the correct unit.

[ArtieBob]

No-Bola conversion

IIRC, except for the opening at the back end of the cockpit, which was the shape of the doors seen on the non-Bola Ju 88s, the full skin is on all Ju 88 types. The Bola is an "add-on" not really part of the fuselage structure. I have seen the records of such a conversion ( I have been looking for the documentation for Ed North; sorry Ed still haven't located it yet!). My memory was it had been done at the Fliegerhorst level (I believe the organization of maintenance performed by the Luftwaffe was quite different than that of the RAF and USAAF during WWII). But in any case, the removal of the Bola on reconnaissance and the early Cs (without the Bola mounted cannons) was probably not an exceptionally difficult task. Fabricating the door, and plugging a few holes seems to me well within the level of most airfield level shops (which is where I spent much of my time in the late 1940s and 1950s).
The bomber types were a bit different as they still needed the bombsight fairing, which was used for the S-1s and S-3s ( a pretty reliable recognition point for differentiating these from the "T"s). As a final note, one of the ADIK reports covers an incident when the Bola, with gunner was blown off the Ju 88 over England. I believe the gunner survived, and Ju 88 returned to it's base.
Graham,
Trust me on this one, from the standpoint of having seen a real one and having access to the JFM parts manual. IMHO the Bola was pretty much worthless, it looks ok on paper, but considering the attitude of the Ju 88 fuselage centerline in horizontal flight, the effective field of fire is quite limited. If one looks at factory drawings of the fighter versions, it can be seen that the guns are bore sighted approximately 8-9 degrees down. I don't believe this is evident in photos.

Best Regards,

Artie Bob

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Graham Boak

and it is difficult to see how this can be if the gunner is lying in a closely-fitting coffin.

I wondered if he might have to kneel (à la B-17 tail gunners), rather than lie flat?

[Graham Boak]

Thanks, Artie. I rather agree with you on the likely value of the ventral gun, which makes it a little surprising that it wasn't removed more often. Not only removing the drag of the gondola but the weight of an extra crewmember. However, as long as operation in formation was considered perhaps it wasn't the value of a single gunner but the combined fire of several.

[edNorth]

Hi Artie;

Thanks for looking for non-bola mod records (but no hurry, do not mind vaiting). You may have noticed the other thred re A6+CH 430087 downed 24.04.43 - it was similarily modified. One question remains: what gun ? MG 131 or 7,62 mm. See attached image.

cheers
ed

[falcon04]

Looks like an MG-131 to me.