The Glass Bubble Bomber
454,180
Published 2022-08-11
It had an airframe unlike any other employed by the US Army, but was marked by American flags and insignia. The men behind the anti-aircraft guns were uncomfortable at the sight of the unidentified warplane, and prepared for the worst.
Once it got closer, the crews were able to identify the warplane as a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88, except it looked more imposing and powerful with its three cannons located in the mosquito-shaped cockpit.
The men didn’t know it by then, but it was the first captured Junkers Ju 188, a new multirole fighter bomber that was also the first German combat aircraft to ever cross the Atlantic and land in the US.
Fortunately, it was being flown by an American crew…
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All Comments (21)
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Good video, I never knew about the one sent to Wright Field. The Ju-188 is one of my favourite planes. I wish flight sims (not War Thunder) had this plane. Its canopy shape and features have always fascinated me. As far as I know, the top turret was electrically operated. The video kind of touched on this but the Ju-88 airframe really was ubiquitous. It was a decent plane, versatile and fast.
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dorsal and ventral are opposite. dorsal on the back (top) Ventral under the belly (bottom). A dorsal ventral position is impossible.
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Thanks
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The Ju 88 S & T models I believe were developed either concurrently or just after the 188. They were actually superior to the 188 and were getting replaced by the superlative 388 at wars end. Great video!!
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Awesome and insightful video as always!
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what memories this brings back to me ! When I was a child, around 1967, I had gone to the Smithsonian and had seen this bomber or the 88 version. I fell in love with it and still have the photo I took of this beautiful design albeit the wings were still missing. Looking in the cockpit then assimlates present day video games. Thanks for all of the fantastic vids ! 11/13/22@11:30
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The Ju88 and the D17 where the first Luftwaffe kits I ever built,and after the Lancaster,Wellington and typhoon,they are still my favourite aircraft to this day,
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In what sense do either the 88 or 188 have a "mosquito-shaped" cockpit?
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It's amazing we are only 33 years removed from the Wright brothers first flight here.
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Great vid man👍. Thanks!
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the 188 is a very cool plane
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No way! Literally last night I learned about this plane because I was curious about the history of BMW's logo. It isn't actually based on propellers in the sky, but I still went down the rabbit hole and landed on the Wiki page for the JU-88.
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Yup, that was a brilliant post, never heard of this variant. Thank you.
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I have pictures of the ju 388 from the war. They are from my fathers army Air corps unit. Captured in Germany and examined by by fathers unit and flown to Wright Patterson.
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I really enjoy your ideas. Well researched and delivered.
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Nice - the Ju 88 was one of my first impressions of the Luftwaffe-Bombers
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Great video, many thanks. What a very generous gift this was to the RAF. Hitler had a fascination with dive bombing and the requirement for the JU88 to also be a dive bomber hampered it's R & D process somewhat. However to Junker's credit they were still able to turn it into an excellent platform as a multi role aircraft.
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Loved the quote at the end! Very fitting for German tech...although I wasn't aware that the 188 had autopilot! It must've been a gyroscopic-based system similar to what made the torpedoes and V1's travel at a level and true course?
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Luckyly it wasn't available during Battle of Britain, but when the Luftwaffe attacked in early 1944( the Blitz) the air defences were largely improved, and a lot of these aircrafts were shot down by NF Mosquitoes.
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Outstanding as usual.
