Junkers Ju 52  ' Tante Ju'     Part 1


Take a trip aboard a magic ship - a vintage 1930's Junkers Ju 52 airliner in Gstaad Switzerland - - -

In Europe in the 1930's you might have seen a poster like this advertising Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline.  They flew many different aircraft but the most famous and easily recognizable was the Junkers Ju 52.

The Ju 52 first flew in 1931, and was manufactured in license until 1952.  It was tough and reliable.  It was used to carry freight and or passengers from the vjords of Norway and the Canadian northland, to the tropical islands of the south Pacific.  

It was powered by three engines giving potential passengers in the early days of civil aviation confidence that even if one engine failed, they could still safely arrive at their destination in one piece.






It was the main axis transport aircraft during World War 2 and gained the nickname of 'Tante Ju' or 'Auntie Ju'  It was also called 'Iron Annie' and the 'flying boxcar'..

Here is a picture of its tough corrugated aluminum skin. 

At left is a picture of the passenger cabin - here the interior finish is absent showing the structural members.  In wartime service this is what it would have looked like.







 




Ju 52 interior as used as an air ambulance.













Here is one last video of a 1936 Lufthansa Junkers Ju 52 D-AQUI over Hamburg Airport, in 2015.