Junkers Ju 52/3m Passenger Airplane

Junkers Ju 52/3m Tri-motor Passenger Aircraft.

Junkers Ju 52/3m "Berlin Tempelhof" of the German Lufthansa airlines. The aircraft, originally named "Fritz Simon", was taken into Lufthansa service on 10 April 1936, and sold to the Norwegian DNL Airlines shortly thereafter, on 01 July 1936. Fitted with floats and marked LN-DAH, this plane flew in Norwegian coastal regions until captured by the German army in April 1940. It was subsequently used as a Wehrmacht troop transport. After the war, the Allies returned the aircraft to Norway, and in 1947 it was "married" to another Ju 52 of the former German Luftwaffe which was being scrapped for parts. The airplane has been carrying the Werksnummer 130714 id-number of the military fuselage since.

Retired from Norwegian service in 1956, the Ju 52, re-named "Amazonas", flew for the Equadorian "Transportes Aereos Orientales" from 1957 to 1963. For six years after that, the plane rotted away at Quito Airport, until a veteran US Airforce fighter pilot discovered the wreck and brought it to the USA in 1969. Another American purchased the plane in 1975 and flew it at several Airshows, until he sold it to Lufthansa. The plane landet at Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport on 28 December 1984 and it was then carefully restored at the Lufthansa-Werft in Hamburg. The restored plane took its first flight in April 1986, which marked the beginning of a new chapter in the life of this experienced Junkers Ju 52. The plane is now operated as a commemorative aircraft by the Berlin-Stiftung der Deutschen Lufthansa foundation, which handles flight planning and charter: www.lufthansa-ju52.de

Available Scale Model Kits

  • Junkers Ju 52/3m, 1:72 Revell 04305
  • Junkers Ju 52/3m, 1:72 Testors
  • Junkers Ju 52/3m, 1:87 ROCO 683

Technical Details

  • Junkers Ju 52/3 m
  • Type: tri-motor Passenger Airplane
  • Callsign: D-AQUI (historical), D-CDLH (new)
  • Engine: three 9-cylinder rotary Pratt & Whithney PW1340 S1 H1G Wasp
  • Power: 3 × 600 hp
  • Fuel Capacity: 1830 liters
  • Fuel Consumption: 420 liters/hour
  • Maximum Flight Time: ca. 4 hours 20 minutes
  • Range: ca. 825 km
  • Length: 18.90 m
  • Height: 6.10 m
  • Wingspan: 29.25 m
  • Wing Area: 110.50 m²
  • Takeoff Speed: ca. 120 km/h
  • Traveling Speed: 190 km/h
  • Maximum Speed: 250 km/h
  • Runway for Takeoff: ca. 500 m
  • Runway for Landing: ca. 350 m
  • Weight, empty: 8.200 kg
  • Maximum Takeoff Weight: 10.500 kg
  • Crew: Pilot, Co-Pilot, Flight Engineer, Flight Attendant, 16 Passengers
  • Production: 1932–1952 (ca. 5000 Units)

Historical Employment

  • International Civilian Airlines
  • German Luftwaffe
  • Spanish Airforce
    • Junkers Ju 52/3mg "Pava", Grupo de Bombardeo Nocturno 1-G-22
    • Junkers Ju 52/3mg3e, Legion Cóndor
  • Romanian Airforce
German Junkers Ju 52/3m Tri-motor Passenger Aircraft

The Junkers Ju 52 is easily identified by its unique engine sound which differs remarkably from any other sound pattern associated with modern air travel.

German Miniatures of World-War Two