Junkers Ju 86

Junkers · Germany · first flew 1934 · bomber

The Junkers Ju 86 was a German twin-engine aircraft designed in the early 1930s to serve simultaneously as a civil airliner and a military bomber, reflecting the clandestine rearmament policy of Nazi Germany. High-altitude pressurised reconnaissance variants could reach altitudes beyond fighter interception during the early war years.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	16.46 m fuselage
T — Tail	Twin fin

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Corrugated Junkers skin on a twin-engine low-wing monoplane
Twin oval tail fins
Designed as both civil airliner and covert military bomber

Identify by the twin oval fins, corrugated metal skin (early variants), low tapered wing, and twin radial engines. The high-altitude variants have a notably longer wingspan than the standard bomber.

Specifications

The Junkers Ju 86 has a length of 16.46 m (54 ft).
It has a wingspan of 22.6 m (74 ft).
Its maximum speed is 340 km/h (211 mph).
Typical crew: 4.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in 1934 and entering Luftwaffe service in 1936, the Ju 86 saw combat in the Spanish Civil War and the early campaigns of World War II. Special high-altitude reconnaissance variants with Jumo diesel engines and extended wingspans conducted overflights of British territory into 1941.

Variants

Variants include the Ju 86A-E bomber series, the Ju 86P pressurised high-altitude bomber/reconnaissance version, and the Ju 86R with further increased wingspan for extreme altitude operations.

Where you'll see it

Operated by the Luftwaffe and exported to Bolivia, Chile, Portugal, and South Africa (SAAF); Lufthansa also operated the airliner version, the Ju 86Z.

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