Ju-88 D In the middle of 1940, the Luftwaffe command and the Junkers design team began to create a reconnaissance modification of the Ju 88 aircraft. The new vehicle was supposed to replace the Dornier Do 17P aircraft, which were used for reconnaissance at that time. The reconnaissance aircraft created on the basis of the Ju 88A was given the designation Ju 88D. Even before the serial production of Ju 88D vehicles began, a number of bombers were hastily converted into reconnaissance aircraft. The converted vehicles were designated as Ju 88A-1 (F) and Ju 88A-5 (F) (the letter F is short for Fernaufklaerungs (long-range reconnaissance)). The converted aircraft had their outer and inner bomb racks and air brakes removed. The four-leaf doors of the bomb bay were replaced with double-leaf ones. Two cameras were installed on the left side of the rear bomb bay, and one on the right side. An additional fuel tank with a capacity of 1450 liters was placed in the front bomb bay. In addition to three cameras fixed in the bomb bay, a small hand-held camera was placed in the cockpit.

The first scouts converted from bombers entered service in 1940.

In 1940, German aircraft builders produced 330 Ju 88D reconnaissance aircraft. The reconnaissance equipment consisted of the Robot Rb 70/30 or Rb 50/30 cameras, designed for shooting from high altitudes, and the Rb 20/30 camera, which was used for photographing from low altitudes.

Various modifications of the Ju 88D slightly differed from each other in the way the photographic equipment was installed. On the Ju 88D-0 and early Ju 88D-1, the camera lenses protruded beyond the hull lines and were covered by an anti-reflective system. On Ju 88D-2 and Ju 88D-4 aircraft, the lenses did not protrude beyond the fuselage contours.

Junkers 88D-0, D-2. In the middle of 1940, the Junkers plant in Dessau produced a trial series of reconnaissance aircraft Ju 88D-0. A few weeks later, the production of the Ju 88D-2 series began. Both versions were based on the Ju 88A-5. Ju 88D-0 aircraft were equipped with Jumo 211B-1 engines, and Ju 88D-2 aircraft were equipped with Jumo 211G-1 or 211H-1 engines. Additional drop fuel tanks with a total capacity of 300 liters were suspended on bomb racks under the wings. The first new scouts Ju 88D-0 received l. (F) / 122, and Ju 88D-2 - l. (F) / 123.

Junkers 88 D-1. At the beginning of 1941, the first Ju 88D-1 aircraft were built, based on the Ju 88A-4 bomber. Three cameras were installed on the aircraft, but in practice only two were used, located on the left side of the bomb bay. The Ju 88D-1s could carry bombs like regular Ju 88A-4s. A system was provided for heating cameras with exhaust gases from a running engine. The bomb bay with cameras was separated from the rear fuselage by a removable partition. On external ETC bomb racks, Ju 88D-1 aircraft could carry bombs or drop fuel tanks.

Junkers 88D-3. Aircraft Ju 88D-3, which is a variant of the Ju 88D-1, were adapted for operation in tropical conditions. The Ju 88D-3 was equipped with air filters on the air intakes of carburetors and radiators, and was also equipped with desert survival equipment. In the field, several serial Ju 88D-1s were converted in a similar way, which received the designation Ju 88D-1 Tgor (Tgor is an abbreviation for the word Tropisch (tropical)).

Junkers 88D-4. The Ju 88D-4 was a tropical version of the Ju 88D-2. At first, such aircraft were designated Ju 88D-2 Tgor.

Junkers 88D-5. The last variant of the Ju 88D aircraft was the Ju 88D-5, powered by Jumo 211G or 211H engines. The VDM screw, which was used before, was replaced with a Junker VS 11 screw. Two cameras were installed on the reconnaissance aircraft.

Photo	Description
	The Ju-88D-0 from l.(Fern.)/Aufklarungsgruppe-122, summer 1940, Norway
	Ju-88D at winter
	Ju-88D from 2./Aufklarungsgruppe-122, Russia

Ju 88 T-1 with BMW-801D air-cooled engines

In March 1943, an order was received for 50 reconnaissance aircraft and an additional 60 BMW 801D engines with a GM 1 nitrous oxide injection system to increase power at high altitudes. In addition to the gas tanks built into the wing and fuselage, such vehicles carried two plywood hanging tanks with a capacity of 900 liters under the center section, due to which the total fuel supply was brought up to 5380 liters. The aircraft was a three-seater, defensive armament consisted of a single MG 131 machine gun in the upper rear defensive mount.

In fact, until July 1943, only 17 Ju 88T-1s were produced (by re-equipment from early Ju88D-1s), further production at the Junkers enterprise ceased due to a shortage of engines, which were intended primarily for the FW 190A fighters. A small number of Ju88T-1s were additionally obtained, also by conversion from A-4 bombers, after the involvement of the repair shops of the Deutsche Lufthansa company. Here, three cameras of the Rb 20/30, Rb 50/30 or Rb 75/30 type were built into the fuselage of the former "bomber". The T-1 modification vehicles did not become widespread, but the presence of one or two vehicles is noted in a number of long-range reconnaissance units that survived by the summer of 1944; for example, in 2(F)/123.

The prototype of the reconnaissance Ju 88T-2 (factory No. 1687) first took to the skies in October 1943. It differed from its predecessor in a more complex power plant, providing for the presence of both the GM 1 system and the MW 50 water-methanol forcing device, used at low and medium altitudes. It was the complexity and excess mass of the power plant that led to the abandonment of further development of such a modification.

Ju 88 T-3 with Jumo 213A liquid-cooled engines

The next modification of the scout was the Ju 88T-3. The vehicle was equipped with Jumo 213 engines with GM 1 devices, a FuG 16ZY radio station, and some specimens with a FuG 217 radar. Actually, the Ju 88S-3 bombers were converted into the T-3 variant at the Staaken plant by DLH (there was an order for the conversion of 30 vehicles) . In the rear bomb bay, there was room for hanging ten photobombs, so the size of the built-in gas tank was smaller than that of the T-1 modification aircraft. The mass of the power plant increased markedly, so the T-3 usually carried only one 900-liter gas tank on the external sling, which led to a decrease in flight range (3170 km at cruising speed). The maximum flight speed at an altitude of 8500 m was 610 km / h with a normal flight weight with an external tank and 655 km / h with a minimum weight without external hangers.

Bibliography

• "Aviation of Luftwaffe" /Viktor Shunkov/
• "Encyclopedia of military engineering" /Aerospace Publising/