Specialty Press

Junkers JU-287: Germany's Forward Swept Wing Bomber

by Stephen Ransom and Peter Korrell with Peter Evans

Reviewed By Brian R. Baker, IPMS #43146

MSRP: $49.95 ISBN 10 1-903223-92-X ISBN 13 978-1-903223-92-5 Website: www.specialtypress.com The Junkers JU-287 was an experimental test bed for a revolutionary forward swept wing jet bomber which was developed in Germany towards the end of World War II. The idea was to produce a multi-engine jet bomber that was fast enough to evade enemy fighters, and to speed development, Junkers elected to use existing components in the structure, notably the fuselage of a Heinkel HE-177, the tail unit from a Junkers JU-388, and the landing gear from a captured Consolidated B-24 "Liberator" bomber. Only the wings and engines were completely new. The landing gear, incidentally, was fixed, with large wheel pants to somewhat streamline the wheels. After all, this was a test bed, not a true bomber prototype. The project, which began in 1943, involved extensive engineering studies and wind tunnel tests with various wing platforms. A number of configurations were examined, and the end result was a high dihedral swept forward wing design, with two engines mounted underneath the wings and two mounted on the forward fuselage. Later models were to have six jet engines, and the production model would have had a tail turret similar to that of the JU-388. The production model would have had a fuselage resembling that of the JU-388 bomber, but the prototype, using the HE-177 fuselage, had a nose section identical to that aircraft. The JU-287 was actually competing with the Heinkel HE-343 design, a straight-wing airplane which was essentially a scaled-up four engine Arado 234, but although a prototype of Heinkel's aircraft was nearly completed, the design was abandoned, and the prototype was scrapped and never flown. The first JU-287 prototype was completed in 1944 and test flown on 8 August 1944. Numerous test flights were made, but it was realized that the aircraft would have to be developed further before a production model could be built, and the project was ended later in the year. The second prototype was never completed. At the end of the war, the first and second prototypes, heavily damaged by the retreating Germans, were captured by the Americans at Brandis, and although it was intended to ship the wreckage back to the zone the U.S would eventually occupy, the carcasses were left for the Russians to gather up, and that begins another story. The Russians rounded up all of the German engineers and scientists they could find, including many of those who had developed the JU-287. They were taken to Russia where they were forced to continue the design work on the aircraft, a prototype eventually flying in Russia in 1947. The Soviet version, designated EF 131, resembled what the production JU-287 would have looked like. It was tested for a time, but a more refined type, designated EF 140,was eventually built, flying for the first time during 1948. The aircraft was later converted for the reconnaissance role, but the type was not adopted for production by the Soviets, and the design team later began work on a swept wing design, thus ending the JU-287 project. The Book The JU-287 book will probably become the definitive work on this historically significant Luftwaffe jet bomber, and completely explains all facets of the origins, design, construction, flight testing, and subsequent development of the JU-287. The authors begin with a discussion of the origins of the swept forward wing, going back to pre-Wright days. Numerous designs had this feature, but there were no production models. The Germans probably did more work in this field than any other country, and the Junkers design projects are discussed and illustrated in great detail. Included are rare photos of test models in wind tunnels, and three view drawings of the design in its various stages. Most of these are original German drawings, not recent renditions. Numerous accounts are given of conferences involving high Luftwaffe and government officials regarding the progress of the JU-287 project, giving the reader some insight on how these people were thinking, and how the decisions were made. In addition, short biographies are given of the principal designers and engineers who worked on the project, including their activities following the end of the war. Many were taken to Russia, while others evaded the Soviets and escaped to the West. A few even came to the US, where they worked on advanced projects. At the end of the book, some of the experimental swept forward wing aircraft are covered, including the Tsybin LL-3 rocket plane, the HFB 320 Hansa Jet (the only production swept forward wing aircraft), the Grumman X-29, Rockwell's Sabrebat, the General Dynamics SFW/F-16, and the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut. This book is a gold mine of information, and since there is actually a kit available of the JU-287 V1 prototype, by Huma in 1/72 scale (if you can find one), it would be invaluable to the modeler, since there is information in the book that is not included in the kit. The book has a wealth of excellent 3-view and detail drawings, several color drawings of the aircraft, and numerous color and black and white photos. The appendices are particularly interesting to read on their own, and the bibliography and list of sources covers almost four pages in small print. If you have any interest in World War II Luftwaffe aircraft, don't miss out on this book. It is a bargain at the price, so order one today. Thanks to Specialty Press and IPMS/USA for the review copy. Order from Specialty Press, 39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, MN 55056 (1-800-895-4585 or 651-277-1400) Web: www.specialtypress.com