- Yes
- No
The Ju 388K was built as a high-altitude bomber, meant to evade enemy fighters by flying at an operational altitude of around 13km, carrying a bomb-load of up to 3000kg, with a maximum speed of around 600kph.
The Ju 388 was designed by aerospace engineer Bernard Cruse, who had also developed the Ju-188. The first prototype 388 was converted from a Ju-188T interdictor type. Compared to the Ju 88 and Ju 188, the Ju-388 demonstrated much improved stability, but overall reduced landing characteristics. The name “Störtebeker”, referring to the Baltic Sea pirate Klaus Störtebeker, was chosen for this project.
The tale of Störtebeker goes as follows: After a fierce battle off the coast of Helgoland on the 22nd April 1401, between Störtebeker’s ship the “Toller Hund” (Great Dog), and two Hamburg armada ships, Störtebeker and 72 of his crew were captured. After being sentenced to beheading in Hamburg, the judge explained to Störtebeker, showing him his 72 men lined up in a neat single-file row, that after he was decapitated, he may attempt to run the length of the line, and every man he would pass on his dead-man’s run, may be spared. The tale goes, that after having his head cut off, Störtebeker started a sprint, and cleared all 72 men before falling over dead, setting his entire crew free.
The Ju 388K was built in a small serial production (K-1) of 15 airframes, but was never delivered to the Luftwaffe, as the Jägernotprogram (Fighter Emergency Program) of 1944 forced any and all bomber efforts to be stopped. Instead, the 15 already built Ju 388 K-1s were modified into Ju 388L (L-1) reconnaissance aircraft in late 1944.
The “-1” in K-1 refers to the engine model, with “-1” being the BMW 801J, and “-3” referring to the Jumo 213E engine. The K designation refers to the operational model, in this case, K means bomber. All 15 K types were built as K-1s, while only the reconnaissance variant had both L-1, and L-3 types constructed. The K-1s were modified into L-1 types before being delivered to the Luftwaffe.
Specifications:
Crew: 3
Length: 15,2m
Wingspan: 22m
Height: 4,35m
Max take-off weight: 14000kg
Engines: 2x BMW 801J (1810hp)
Maximum speed: 616kph
Range: 2250km
Service ceiling: 13100m
Armament: 3000kg of bombs (internally), 2x 13mm MG 131 (remote conntrolled tail-turret)
I think this airplane could be a nice tech-tree follow-up to the Ju 188 we already have ingame. It represents one of the penultimate tactical propeller bombers Germany created during the war, while having decent overall performance, the Ju 388K would be a reliable and well-rounded bomber for Germany at a BR rating of around 5.7 or 6.0.
