Junkers Ju 287

1944

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Junkers Ju 287

The Ju 287 was an unconventional jet bomber prototype with forward swept wings. Two of the engines were fixed to the sides of the front fuselage, two under the wings. The Ju 287 used the fuselage of the , the tail of the Ju 388, the main wheels of the Ju 352 and the nose wheel of a Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Only one was built. Development continued postwar in the USSR.

Junkers Ju 287

Specification 
 MODELJu 287 V3
 CREW4
 ENGINE6 x 800kg BMW 003A-1 turbojets
 WEIGHTS
  Take-off weight21520 kg47444 lb
  Empty weight11920 kg26279 lb
 DIMENSIONS
  Wingspan20.11 m66 ft 0 in
  Length18.6 m61 ft 0 in
  Wing area58.3 m2627.54 sq ft
 PERFORMANCE
  Max. speed856 km/h532 mph
  Ceiling12000 m39350 ft
  Range2125 km1320 miles
 ARMAMENT4000kg of bombs

3-View 
Junkers Ju 287A three-view drawing (1000 x 601)

Junkers Ju 287

Comments
Betp Piedabuena, e-mail, 21.01.2015 05:10

No es la base del su 47??, como la fac. Junkers quedo en manos de lAS FUERZAS ARMADAS RUSASA EN LA ii GUERRA MUNDIAL

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Trevor Webb, e-mail, 08.06.2014 16:04

The photo does show the Ju-287V1 first prototype which was only built to prove the low speed characteristics of a forward swept wing. It only had four engines, one under each wing and one each side of the nose. The next prototype the Ju-287V2 had a possible production configuration with three engines in clusters under each wing. This was 80% complete when the war finished. The Ju-2878V3 had an engine each side of the nose and a podded pair under each wing. Work had commenced on this aircraft at the end of the war. All three were captured by the Soviet forces and transported back to the USSR (CCCP) and the V2 and V3 were completed and along with the V1 were flown in the USSR. The technical group from Junkers were also taken to the USSR.

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Vahe David Demirjian, e-mail, 05.08.2020 Trevor Webb

The Ju 287 V2 and V3 were never flown in the USSR after WW2. The Ju 287 version flown in the USSR that you're talking about was the EF 131. The second prototype Ju 287 had the same airframe as the V1, but the elevators were lowered by 12 inches, the main undercarriage struts with an inward cant, and the nose undercarriage pants painted in a bright color. The Ju 287 V2 indeed had six engines (four BMW 003s, two Jumo 004s), like Ju 287 V3 and EF 131; the engine configuration originally was to comprise four underwing BMW 003s and two fuselage-mounted Jumo 004s, but was later changed to two underwing pods of three engines, the Jumos slung under the BMW 003s. The Ju 287 V3 and production Ju 287 had an airframe based on the Ju 288 and Ju 388. Three more Ju 287 prototypes were planned, of which V5 and V6 were armed.

Going back to the EF 131, this had the same airframe as the planned production Ju 287, but had a slightly longer fuselage, six Jumo 004Bs, and seven RATO boosters. First flight was on May 23, 1947, but the aircraft did not enter production and the program was canceled in June 1948.

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deaftom, e-mail, 14.02.2012 05:35

The photograph shows the first prototype, the only Ju 287 to be built and flown. The three-view shows the proposed refined production development, which, however, never was built.

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Vahe David Demirjian, e-mail, 05.08.2020 deaftom

The engine arrangement depicted in three-view drawing was the original engine arrangement for the production Ju 287 as well as Ju 287 V2. However, aerodynamic issues popped up with the fuselage-mounted engines during wind tunnel tests at Dessau, so the engine arrangement was changed to two clover leaf-shaped underwing pods of three engines. Also, the gun turret is left out in this drawing, because the production Ju 287 had a tail gun turret, which could be a controlled by a periscopic sight.

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Ben Beekman, e-mail, 12.03.2011 21:56

Take a look at the forward swept wing of the Grumman X-29. It flew hundreds of test flights in the 1980's to evaluate certain advantages thought to exist including spin-free characteristics. Apparently, though, any advantages discovered were outweighed by the design's disadvantages and work on the concept was eventually halted.

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Karl, 08.03.2009 19:52

Only 1 was built? I got 2!

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Vahe David Demirjian, e-mail, 05.08.2020 Karl

Only the first Junkers Ju 287 prototype was completed and flown. The second Ju 287 prototype (RS+RB) was nearing completion when the Ju 287 program was cancelled in September 1944. The Ju 287 V3 (which mirrored the design of the planned production Ju 287) was 80-90 percent complete by the time that WW2 in Europe ended. Lommel (2004) states that the fourth Ju 287 prototype (planned prototype for the production Ju 287) was 60% complete, and it also noteworthy that two more Ju 287 prototypes (V5 and V6) were armed, unlike V3 and V4.

References:

Jack, U.W. Junkers Ju 287 und EF 131. Aviatik 2-4, 1990-1991.

Lommel, Horst, 2004. Junkers Ju 287: The World's First Swept-Wing Jet Aircraft. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.

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Johnny Fireball, 29.08.2008 10:57

Editorial note:

The first prototype was intended to evaluate the concept, and was cobbled together from the fuselage of a Heinkel He 177, the tail of a Junkers Ju 388, main undercarriage from a Junkers Ju 352, and nosewheels taken from crashed B-24 Liberators.

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Mauricio Quiroz, e-mail, 03.07.2008 00:21

Does this one made it to the sky?

@Mexico

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Matt Sipple, 08.07.2008 15:34

I thought it was destroyed by the SAS?

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Vahe David Demirjian, e-mail, 05.08.2020 Matt Sipple

The Germans hid the first and second Ju 287 prototypes in the forest at Brandis, camouflaging them with branches, and they eventually blew up both planes with explosives to prevent them from falling into Allied hands. However, the Americans entered Brandis in April 1945, and the remnants of the second Ju 287 prototype, including the wings, would be used in the construction of the EF 131 bomber.

Lommel, Horst, 2004. Junkers Ju 287: The World's First Swept-Wing Jet Aircraft. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.

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