24.02.2010, 21:55
The Ju-86 with the in-line engines had diesel engines. The requirement was for extreme range, not speed. Whoever heard the Ju-86 was fast simply heard wrong.
Even pre-war it was too slow to compete. Swapping out the inline diesels for normal radials helped a little, but it was still a dead-end as far as the Luftwaffe was concerned. Junkers asked (and promptly got) permission to sell it as an export aircaft, which is why a handful served in other nations.
A very small number of high-altitiude recon models were made with no weapons and pressurized cabins. They took pictures of the channel area and Britain, but were removed from duty once stripped-down spitfires finally got up to their altitude.
The highest intercepts in the war were recorded on Ju-86Ps, almost up to 50,000 feet in height! The exact altitude varries depending on who you read, though. There was more than one intercept before the Germans stopped using them.
Even pre-war it was too slow to compete. Swapping out the inline diesels for normal radials helped a little, but it was still a dead-end as far as the Luftwaffe was concerned. Junkers asked (and promptly got) permission to sell it as an export aircaft, which is why a handful served in other nations.
A very small number of high-altitiude recon models were made with no weapons and pressurized cabins. They took pictures of the channel area and Britain, but were removed from duty once stripped-down spitfires finally got up to their altitude.
The highest intercepts in the war were recorded on Ju-86Ps, almost up to 50,000 feet in height! The exact altitude varries depending on who you read, though. There was more than one intercept before the Germans stopped using them.