Junker JU52 Iron Annie

An iconic European counterpart of the Ford Trimotor. Iron Annie versus Tin Lizzie. Characteristic steel paneling. Popular for its comfort and dependability. Bauhaus tubular seats. Heating. Onboard information systems. Built in Dessau in the 30s, it offered airlines reliable service and great cargo capacity. As a fully metal built, scale model, its future value will be many times current cost. Guaranteed. AM limited edition

M. 26.4 x 38.6 x 10.25"

M. 67 x 98 x 26cm

A Short History

Pre-war civil use

In 1932, James A. Richardson's Canadian Airways received (Werknummer 4006) CF-ARM, the sixth ever-built Ju 52/1m. The aircraft, was first re-engined with a Armstrong Siddeley Leopard radial engine and then later with a Rolls-Royce Buzzard and nicknamed the "Flying Boxcar" in Canada, could lift approximately three tons and had a maximum weight of 7 tonnes (8 tons). It was used to supply mining and other operations in remote areas with equipment too big and heavy for other aircraft then in use. The Ju 52/1m was able to land on wheels, skis or floats.

Before the nationalisation of the German aircraft industry in 1935, the Ju 52/3m was produced principally as a 17-seat airliner. It was principally used by Luft Hansa and could fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours. The fleet of Luft Hansa eventually numbered 80 and flew from Germany on routes in Europe, Asia and South America

Military use 1935-45

In 1934, Junkers received orders to produce a bomber version of the Ju 52/3m to serve as interim equipment for the bomber units of the still secret Luftwaffe until it could be replaced by the purpose designed Dornier Do 11. Two bomb-bays were fitted, capable of holding up to 1,500 kg (3,300 ) of bombs, while defensive armament consisted of two 7.92mm MG 15 machine guns, one in an open dorsal position, and one in a retractable "dustbin" ventral position, which could be manually winched down from the fuselage to protect the aircraft from attacks from below. The bomber could be easily converted to serve in the transport role. The Dornier Do 11 was a failure, however, and the Junkers ended up being acquired in much larger numbers than at first expected, with the type being the Luftwaffe's main bomber until more modern aircraft such as the Heinkel He 111, Junkers Ju 86 and Dornier Do 17 entered into service.

The Ju 52 first saw military service in the Spanish Civil War against the Spanish Republic. It was one of the first aircraft delivered to the fraction of the army in revolt in July 1936 as both a bomber and transport. In the former role, it participated in the bombing of Guernica. No more of the bomber variant were built after this war, though it was again used as a bomber during the bombing of Warsaw during the Invasion of Poland of September 1939. The Luftwaffe then relied on the Ju 52 for transport roles during World War II, including paratroop drops.

Dramatic losses in Holland

The first major operation for this aircraft in Western-Europe was in the attack on the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, where the Ju 52s were deployed in the first large-scale air attack with paratroops in history during the Battle for The Hague. No less than 280 Ju 52s were lost in that venture and in other places in Holland, due to varying circumstances, among which staunch Dutch anti-aircraft gunning and German mistakes in using soggy airfields, not able to support the heavy craft.

 Thus, almost an entire year's production was lost in Holland.

The Ju 52 were also used in the Battle of Crete in May 1941. Lightly armed, and with a top speed of only 265 km/h (165 mph) – half that of a contemporary Spitfire – the Ju 52 was very vulnerable to fighter attack and an escort was always necessary when flying in a combat zone. Many Ju 52s were shot down by anti-aircraft guns and fighters while transporting supplies, most notably during the desperate attempt to resupply the trapped German Sixth Army during the final stages of the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943.

During the final phase of the North African Campaign, 24 Ju 52s were shot down in the infamous "Palm Sunday Massacre" on 18 April 1943, another 35 staggered back to Sicily and crash-landed. The transports' escort, Jagdgeschwader 27, claimed just one enemy fighter.

The seaplane version, equipped with two large floats, served during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and later in the Mediterranean theatre. Some Ju 52s, both floatplanes and landplanes were also used as minesweepers, known as Minensuch aircraft in German, fitted with a 14 m diameter current-carrying ring under the airframe to create a magnetic field which triggered the mines.

Hitler's personal transport

Hitler used a Deutsche Luft Hansa Ju 52 for campaigning the 1932 German election, preferring flying to transport via train. After he became German Chancellor in 1933, Hans Baur became his personal pilot, and Hitler was provided with a personal Ju 52. Named Immelmann after the World War I ace Max Immelmann, it carried the designation D-2600. As his power and importance grew, Hitler's personal air force grew to nearly 50 aircraft, based at Berlin Tempelhof Airport and made up of mainly Ju 52s, which also flew other members of his cabinet and war staff. In September 1939 at Baur's suggestion, his personal Ju 52 Immelman II was replaced by the four-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, although Immelman II remained his back-up aircraft for the rest of World War II.