Junkers Ju 52/1m

The Junkers Ju 52, best known in its Ju 52/3m form (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Junkers") and Iron Annie) is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced in 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted into a military transport aircraft by Nazi Germany. Development of the Ju 52 commenced in the late 1920s, headed by German aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel. The aircraft's design incorporated a corrugated duralumin metal skin as a strengthening measure, which was a material design pioneered by Junkers and used on many of their aircraft, including the popular Junkers F 13 1920s, the record-setting Junkers W 33, and Junkers W34. The corrugation was both a strength and a weakness; it provided increased structural strength but also increased aerodynamic drag. But more importantly it allowed the practical use of aluminum before newer alloys were developed. The Ju 52's maiden flight was performed on 13 October 1930. It was initially designed with a single-engine version and a trimotor version; the single-engine version was to be the freighter while the trimotor was the passenger airliner. In the long run, the trimotor configuration was produced in far greater numbers. The primary early production model, the Ju 52/3m, was principally operated as a 17-seat airliner or utility transport aircraft by various civil operators during the 1930s. Starting in 1933, the Nazi regime that had taken power in Germany demanded that Junkers produce military versions of the Ju 52. Thousands of Ju 52s were procured as a staple military transport of the Luftwaffe. The Ju 52/3mg7e was the principal production model. The Ju 52 was in production between 1931 and 1952. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 airlines, including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa, as both a passenger carrier and a freight hauler. In a military role, large numbers flew with the Luftwaffe, being deployed on virtually all fronts of the Second World War as a

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