Books on Luftwaffe aircraft - compendiums - 5

[Simon Gunson]

Hi Richard,

I noticed the comments above that Kossler and Ott believe that ObLt Joachim Eisserman's log book must be in error recording a flight in Ju-390V2.

Eisserman recorded two Ju-390V2 flights on 9 February 1945 at Reichlin. First a 50 minute familiarisation flight and the second a 20 minute ferry flight to Larz. Members of the disbanded FAGr.5 unit were at Larz barely a week later and testified to an Allied investigation commission that the Ju-390 was no longer at Larz the following week.

I point out that as a reference guide, "Die Grosen Dessauer: Junkers Ju-89, 90, 290, 390" by Karl Kossler and Gunter Ott, is itself in error.

RLM originally let a contract in 1942 for three Ju-390 prototypes. Ju-90V6, Ju-90V9 and Ju-90V10 apparently became donor airframes for conversion to Ju-390 prototypes.

Kossler and Ott claim that the V2 could not have been completed before September/October 1944, yet themselves make an error by forgetting the RLM prototype contract was canceled in May 1944 when all production switched to emergency production of fighters.

There are two Ju-390 depicted in flight in photographs, with Luftwaffe codes GH+UK and RC+DA. Some suggest that RC+DA must be a fake photo touch up, but then that does not explain different dimensions of both aircraft as are obvious from these pictures:

(side by side comparison with RC+DA flipped horizontal)


(obvious differences on RC+DA)


(obvious differences on GH+UK)