Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - 05:43 AM UTC
Junkers JU 52 is No. 81 in the Warpaint series. When the late Richard Burton finally reveals the traitor at the end of 'Where Eagles Dare' the gallant escapees continue their journey aboard a captured Junkers Ju52. While the great Burton is no longer with us his ride home still is. Although the Junkers Tri-motor would never achieve the fame and widespread use as its American counterpart, The Douglas C-47 Skytrain, it would still carve its niche in the annals of history.
Starting life as a single engined machine it quickly added another pair of engines to its corrugated frame at the behest of the German airline DLH. The emergent Luftwaffe would soon latch onto the type using it as a bomber, albeit disguised as a transport, and despatching it to Spain where it was by the Legion Condor. Having performed well in Spain the Ju 52 was then built in large numbers as a transport for Germany's adventures across the world between 1939 to 1945. When the German regime finally collapsed in 1945 there was still a role for the Ju 52 to play, in both France and Spain production would continue with both countries using their aircraft for combat operations in Vietnam and Morocco respectively. And as for Burton's escape aircraft, it still resides in Switzerland while the actor can still be seen on the screen. Written by Kev Darling this latest Warpaint covers all versions of this rugged transport and is illustrated in colour by Richard J.Caruana. Unique 1:72nd scale plans are also included as well as lists of usage and production details.

Junkers JU 52
Author: Kev Darling.
Price: £12.00

For more information on the product above, please visit Warpaint Books.

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Comments

Thanks a bunch for this Tim. Iron Annie is one of my personal favorites. The Discovery Channel/Military Channel recently broadcast a great Wings of the Luftwaffe episode on it. One funny JU 52 story: Apparently during the Spanish Civil War when the Germans first started contributing aircraft (Ju 52s) Lufthansa hadn't quite yet cancelled passenger service to Spain so at the same time Lufthansa was flying passengers into and out of Spain with Ju 52s the Spanish/Germans were dropping bombs on them with Ju 52s. Apparently it was a bit embarrasing at the time. Anyway, funny story. Jim
FEB 23, 2011 - 01:11 PM
The combat history of the Ju-52 didn't end in 1945. The French flew some after the war, in Algeria and Vietnam during their struggle to retain these countries as colonies. They also turned a few over to the Syrians, who used them against Israel in the 1948 war.
FEB 23, 2011 - 04:14 PM
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