I was looking through a reference (aircraft ID spotting cards) and one card had the JU-88 listed as a dive bomber. I thought the JU-88’s role was similar to the He-111, etc…not a dive bomber like the JU-87. Am I missing something? Thanks!
The Ju 88 was originally designed to be a pure level bomber, with the program beginning about 1935. When Ernst Udet was appointed as chief of the Luftwaffe’s Technical Office in 1936, his personal fascination with dive bombers came into being as part of official policy and in 1937 he ordered that the Ju 88 be redesigned so that, in addition to its role as a level bomber, it could also be employed as a heavy dive bomber.
Udet’s fascination with dive bombing continued to manifest itself in subsequent orders given by him that all bombers currently under development and all future bombers should have the capability to be employed as dive bombers.
So it was not only the Ju 88 which was so affected, but other aircraft programs as well, including the He 177!
Fade to Black…
If ever there was an aircraft that deserved the designation workhorse this is the one. It came about as a response to a 1935 RLM request for a fast daylight medium bomber. In 1937 RLM amended the request that the aircraft be capeable of dive bombing as well. So, the folks at Junkers attached the necessary dive brakes, bomb sights, and other gadgets and it became a fast bomber/dive bomber. It was frequently used as a precision attack dive bomber during the battle of britan to attack priority pin point heavily defended targets such as radar stations. Are the cards you have WWII British perhaps? About 15000 JU88s were built as bombers, night fighters, heavy fighters, bomber destroyers, maritime patrol, torpedo planes, ground attack, recon, etc… This was no ordinary workhorse, more like a work elephant!
It was a typical German reaction to their love for dive bombing. No matter what aircraft it was, make it a dive bomber!!! In the end it cost them time and effort to re-design aircraft that were not suitable for that role. The He-177 is the best example, a heavy bomber already overweight being asked to do a role that required more weight to do the job.
Thanks for the history lessons Gents! Sometimes you win wars by making less mistakes than the enemy. [:)]