German Empire (1917)

Reconnaissance and Infantry Liaison aircraft: 227 Built

Intro

The Junkers J.I represented a massive leap in aircraft design philosophy, while also being a truly exceptional combat airplane in its own right. Designed to fly close along the frontlines and support infantry operations, the J.I was uniquely capable thanks to its armor plated fuselage and duralumin construction. It was exceptionally durable, able to resist both machine gun fire and weather that kept its wood and canvas contemporaries grounded. As a reconnaissance, supply delivery, and ground harassment aircraft, the Junkers J.I was both the best of its day, and a sign of things to come.

Professor Junkers

Hugo Junkers holds a position of immense importance in aviation, being the creator of the all-metal airplane and the founder of one of history’s most famed airplane firms. Junkers himself was born in February of 1859 in the Rhineland Town of Rheydt, the third of eight children. He would not stay and work at the family textile company after leaving school, instead going on to study at the Universities of Berlin-Charlottenburg, Karlsruhe, and Aachen. He completed his studies in 1888, obtaining a degree as a Baumeister, or factory official, and entered the field of gas engine design in Wilhelm von Oechelhauser’s firm, the Deutsche Continental Gasgesellesschaft. In time, the two of them would go on to found a new joint venture, the Versuchsstation fur Gasmotoren von Oechelhaeuser und Junkers, a laboratory for gas engine development. His work at this laboratory would go on to see him develop the first opposed piston, two stroke engine, calorimeters for testing gasoline, and many smaller domestic appliances from gas stoves to water heaters. It was in 1895 that he founded Junkers and Co. in Dessau to manufacture these appliances, this venture also being the foundation for his later efforts in aviation.

In 1897, he would both be made a Professor of Thermodynamics by the University of Aachen, and he would marry his wife Therese Bennhold. At the university, he was made head of the engineering laboratories, and founded his own workshop there to secure a place to continue his experiments. His work there would progress quickly from both his personal drive, and considerable funds from the patent revenue from the products he developed. This combination of experience with metalworking, a secure lab, and his considerable engineering talents, would see Prof. Junkers enter the field of aviation well equipped.

It was in 1910 that his colleague Prof. Hans Reissner would suggest he venture into the field of aviation, and the two would work together at the University of Aachen, building an experimental wind tunnel, and a very early all-metal airplane prototype. As these projects continued, he would go on to move all of his work to his own laboratory in Dessau. At this new lab, Dr. Junkers combined the experimental wind tunnel work from Aachen with his theories on aircraft design, notably, that of all-metal construction.

The Tin Donkey

Prior to the 1920’s the conventional materials and layout for airplane construction was a biplane made from wood, and skinned in fabric, with struts and bracing wires providing the structural support for the wings. Prof. Junkers felt that the inherently high parasite drag of biplanes, combined with the external supports, was a major handicap in aircraft design, and he believed that metal construction would completely revolutionize airplane development. Using a thick, rigid wing that was internally supported, the resultant aircraft would be aerodynamically cleaner, and the internal space within the wing could be used to store fuel or cargo.

His first major effort to build such an aircraft began near the end of 1914, as a privately funded venture with the assistance of the engineers Otto Reuter and Otto Mader. Initially, the project was funded by a large influx of cash from Junkers and Co., but they received Military support by June of 1915, and they were contracted by the Army to produce the new aircraft. Supplied with tooling and material’s from Dr. Junker’s own enterprise, they proceeded, and in four months they had built their plane.

The Junkers J.1 was as revolutionary a design in airplane development as had been seen since the invention of the plane itself. It was a steel mono winged plane, and the first to feature cantilevered wings, which were spar-less and consisted of a steel framework welded to an inner, corrugated skin, over which it was skinned in smooth sheet steel. Aluminum alloys were sought after, but in the end, steel was all that was available. It proved to be an extremely sturdy, but also very heavy aircraft, weighing in at 1010 kg when set for takeoff. Beyond the original benefits Prof. Junkers envisioned for his new planes, the war, and the subsequent mass production of airplanes had shown there were more practical challenges in operating wood and fabric aircraft. As the number of airplanes increased, storage space became a premium, and canvas biplanes cannot be allowed to sit in poor weather lest their wooden frames and canvas skin become warped. Pilots in combat also soon discovered their greatest fear beyond the enemy’s guns, fire, which no matter how minor at first, often became a death sentence to anyone who’s plane began to burn. However, a metal aircraft with a canvas cover can sit in nearly any weather without issue, and a fire aboard such a plane isn’t liable to spread rapidly. A pilot could ditch his plane in most circumstances, saving him from a very grisly end.

The J.1 was taken to Doberitz where it would be tested by the Army, as Dessau lacked a proper airfield. Lt. Theodore von Mallinckrodt of the German Army would be the first to fly it, finding some novelty in a metal aircraft. Much of the test team was critical of the new plane, nicknamed the ‘tin donkey’, feeling that it would be too heavy to fly, and that it was suicide to fly a plane without bracing wires. Unbothered, the lieutenant began with short hops along the ground before the first full flight test in December. It flew well at first, but with harsh vibration being noted once the plane was brought to high speed. The Army team found the flight characteristics acceptable, but found that the wings had compressed the fuselage of the plane. They were also critical of its extremely low climb rate and lackluster turning performance, but all were impressed when the aircraft achieved a speed of 170 km/h in level flight, making it the fastest plane yet built. Even with its modest 120hp straight 6 Mercedes engine, its speed managed to impress ace pilot Oswald Bolcke who had a chance to inspect the aircraft the next year.

As an experimental aircraft, it was an undeniable success, having proven both that an all metal aircraft was well within the material restrictions of the time, and that massive reductions in drag were possible using this construction. The experimental plane was thus followed by a fighter aircraft, the Junkers J.2. Similar to, but far more refined than the ‘tin donkey’, the J.2 was the first all-metal fighter aircraft ever designed, but it was never accepted for service and the Idlfieg lost interest when it was clear certain performance metrics could not be met. As with the J.1, the fighter still used a 120hp engine, and with its smaller wings, it possessed even higher wing loading, as well as the sluggish climb rate of the experimental J.1. A new 160hp Mercedes engine also failed to bring the aircraft up to the necessary performance requirements.

However, the J.2 was not the only project of that year, as another design featuring new construction methods was also in the workshop through 1916. The Junkers J.3 would never be completed, but it was the first Junkers project to feature the famous corrugated duralumin skin. Given that it was still a fairly soft material, the bends in the skin would give it the necessary strength to not only act as lifting surfaces, but also structurally reinforce the entire structure by taking shear forces. It would also use a new tubular framework for the wings, built up around a set of stronger tubular spars. While this aircraft would never be finished, these new features would be carried over into the firm’s next design, which would prove to be its first major success.

Reconnaissance under fire

By the end of 1916, not only had the war on the Western front grown into a vicious battle for trench lines between an unsurvivable no man’s land, but aircraft had been proven to be an essential means of understanding the depth of this new and horrible form of warfare. Enemy trenches could only be surveyed from high ground, vulnerable to enemy fire, and the build up of forces were completely hidden from their traditional opponent, cavalry. Aerial reconnaissance thus became invaluable in mapping out labyrinthine trenchworks, finding the positions of enemy guns, and observing the movements of the enemy away from the front lines. Two-seater recon planes were adopted, and fighters were later developed to shoot them down and seize control of vital airspace, but through 1916 the offensive use of aircraft began in earnest. While a canvas biplane had no hope of attacking reinforced trench lines, unable to resist machine gun fire, they could attack enemy infantry at the foremost positions or as they moved through no-man’s land.

While Germany had employed ground attack squadrons in early 1916, it was the use of British infantry contact patrols using fighters and two-seaters through the battle of the Somme that spurred them to develop these tactics further. Moreover, they wanted specialized infantry harassment aircraft beyond their unmodified two-seater biplanes. Losses among these units were high, and the Idflieg, or the Inspector of Aviation forces, produced specifications for a specialized Infantry aircraft. This new plane was to be equipped with armor plate which would enclose the pilot, gunner, engine, and fuel stores with a minimum thickness of 5mm. They were also given a low minimum ceiling of 1500 meters, given they were designed for ground attack and low level reconnaissance. To make a note, this series was designated the I-type, but given the older German writing of I, it appeared as a J, and this series has subsequently been noted as the J type ever since.

Albatros and AEG both promised armored versions of their successful C.XII and C.IV models respectively, but Junkers approached the specification with a new concept entirely. While he was forced to build a biplane according to the Idflieg’s specifications, he was still granted considerable leeway with the design. Junkers himself would not be as hands on with this project as he had been the J.1 .2 and .3, over its necessity of being a biplane, so instead he elected to put the project in the hands of a team of engineers. The design of the Junkers J 4, would be managed by Dr-Ing Otto Mader, along with teams headed by the engineers Otto Reuter, Hans Steudel, and Franz Brandenburg.

While it was a biplane, the new aircraft still drew from the experiences and design philosophy of previous projects. Its wings featured corrugated duralumin skin over the multi-sparred, tubular duralumin framework and were in a sesquiplane arrangement, with the lower wing being significantly smaller in length and chord than top. They were connected by an inner set of struts, but being self supporting, they needed no bracing wires. Its armor protection was comprehensive, half of the fuselage consisted of an octagonal steel compartment which contained the engine, pilot, gunner, and fuel. Rear of this armored section was a tubular frame which ended with a conventional tail section. Unlike Junkers’ earlier underpowered efforts, this new plane was equipped with a significantly more powerful 200hp Benz B.IVa straight six engine. This model was among the more powerful aviation engines in German service, excluding those built for airships.

Three prototypes were ordered on November 3rd 1916, and delivered the following January as J.425/17, 426/17, and 427/17. On the 28th, one prototype with the 200hp Benz IVa was flown by German officer Arved von Schmidt without armor plate for testing. Taking off from snow 20 cm deep, Schmitt took the plane up to 250 meters and reached a speed of 155 km/h, finding that the aircraft was stable, if tail heavy. The demonstration was impressive enough to get an order for 100 planes on February 19, 1917. The Junkers J 4 was thus accepted into service as the Junkers J.I, under the German Air Service’s designation system. Some minor changes before mass production included a redesigned vertical stabilizer, overhung balanced ailerons, and a balanced rudder.

Given that the workshops at Dessau had yet to receive an order for a mass produced aircraft, building the new planes at a fast enough rate proved difficult. There were two major challenges, first was that while Prof. Junkers was a brilliant inventor, he and his firm were fairly inexperienced when it came to aircraft production, and second, given that this was the first mass produced-all metal aircraft, the methods of mass producing an all metal plane would be learned with it. The Army foresaw this becoming an issue and brought in Anthony Fokker, a master in aircraft production, in order to set up an aircraft factory alongside Junker and Co. in Dessau. The new Junkers Fokker Werke AG. was thus established to build a completely new production line for planes, as subcontractors could not be used to build components, as was the case for wooden planes. The arrangement worked well, with Junkers and Co. engaged in the experimental work and providing designs, while JFA handled the job of meeting the production orders, which in total amounted to 350 planes. In spite of the new facilities, bottlenecking, and the loss of one of the armor plate manufacturers to flooding, would restrict the number of planes built to far below this number.

The Flying Tank

The first J.I to see service was the first off the production line, no. 100/17, which was sent to the front in August of 1917 where it served with the Flieger-Abteilug 19. On one of its first missions, the unit commander flew the plane on a low altitude recon mission near Ypres, Belgium, and found that the plane was not only faster and better handling than the Albatros and AEG J types, but that he had received 11 hits to his aircraft, without issue. FA-19 continued to fly the aircraft, and on one occasion on September 23, 100/17 was hit 85 times, without suffering serious damage.

By October, the unit had accumulated enough experience to give an account on using the aircraft. In addition to its excellent protection from bullets and shrapnel, the plane could be flown confidently in weather that kept all others grounded, and it had an excellent glide ratio, which meant that in the event of engine failure, a pilot could still glide his plane back over to friendly lines and evade capture. However, it also required a long take off run and it had a higher landing speed than most aircraft. Luckily, these were issues that could be solved by instruction from more experienced pilots, and practice. Overall, the Junkers J.I proved to be an excellent aircraft from the appraisal of FA 19.

After its front line trials with FA 19, the Junkers J.I would begin to be distributed to the Schutzenstaffel, or protection flight units, whose job was to patrol the area between the opposing trench lines. This entailed a variety of missions from escorting two-seater recon aircraft to ground attack missions, with each unit consisting of some sixty seven men and six planes. Up until 1918, this role was filled by more versatile two seater aircraft like the Halberstadt CL.II, but come the winter of 1917, a small number of armored J type planes were entering service with them. This included four Junkers J.Is issued to the Schusta in December of 1917, a number which would grow to sixty by August of the following year, alongside 186 armored planes of other manufacturers. The nature of this change was revealed more fully when the Schusta were redesigned Schlachtstaffel, or attack flights, during the March offensive, as their escort role was dropped.

The Junkers J.I was used as a support aircraft whose role was primarily reconnaissance and infantry liaison work. The rear seat was equipped with a 7.62mm machine gun, and occasionally a 20mm Becker auto cannon in service, but ground attack was a secondary use of the aircraft. Its most important job was to survey areas of the battlefield that were in contention, to take photographs of bottlenecks in the terrain, or send reports of urgent developments directly to divisional HQ’s via wireless telegraph. First and foremost, the mission of J.I crews was to assist in communicating the state of the changing battlefield, an important task as in the spring of 1918 the war was again entering a mobile phase. Likewise, messages were also delivered from the HQ to the frontlines, as the telegraph wires were easily knocked out by artillery fire. Aircraft were directed by signalers, attached to infantry brigades, by the use of flares, lamps, and fabric strips to mark the position of friendly forces and enemy positions. Working with the signallers, the J.I’s crews could deliver messages to forward commanders from their headquarters, as well as supplies, like food and ammunition, to difficult to reach frontline positions.

In an offensive role, the most powerful tool accorded to the plane was its radio, which could be used to direct artillery, and could also be used to direct the plane to tenuous areas of the frontline to render support directly. While it was typically the job of the Schlachtstaffel to render support near friendly forces, and harass traffic behind the enemy lines, the lack of a bomb load and a standardized forward gun arrangement meant the offensive capabilities of the Junkers J.I were quite limited. The observer/gunner could engage using the mounted machine gun, but they were totally overshadowed by the lighter, unarmored two-seaters, which carried nose mounted guns and could be fitted with bomb racks.

In service, crews rendered excellent service with these aircraft, and many swore by them. One Lieutenant Wagner of Flieger Abteilung 268 flew a mission on March 28th, at an altitude of 80m over the front. During the mission, his observer was wounded, and his own helmet was shot through, but his plane, No. 128 received over 100 hits which did nothing to impede it. The Leutenant was amazed by this, as he’d overflown the enemy trenches, something that would have been suicidal in nearly any other aircraft. These encounters were fairly frequent, as one of the main tasks of the Junkers J.I units was to overfly the enemy trenches and locate the position and size of enemy reserves.

The Junkers J.I was considered totally unsuitable in aerial combat, given its low speed and ponderous maneuverability. Though, there is one known encounter between an American fighter and a Junkers J.I, which might very well be the only air engagement with the rare armored scout. Major Charles Biddle of the USAS 103rd Squadron, was flying his Spad XIII on May 15, 1918. While returning towards his side of the lines, after a weapon malfunction ruined an interception of a German recon plane, he encountered a ‘peculiar two seater’. Coming down to take a look, it lacked the hallmarks of most German planes of its type, but its unmistakable crosses marked it as an enemy plane. He also noted its extremely low speed, calling it ‘the slowest bus you ever saw’ and remarked he made two miles for its one. The Major dove on the plane and took up position fifty yards below its tail, then he made a mistake. He pulled up to take a shot at the Junkers, but he had misjudged the distance and ended up in the propeller wash of the German two-seater, shaking his aircraft and throwing off his aim. He dove to escape the view of the enemy gunner, but now was underneath his target. The German pilot then began to turn to bring the Spad into view of his gunner, and after several swerves to try to shake the American from beneath his plane, he succeeded. Now out of the Junker’s blind spot, Major Biddle was now the target of the gunner who, and in the words of the Major himself found himself in the crosshairs of “some of the quickest and most accurate bit of shooting that I had come up against”. The shot put a hole through the Spad’s radial engine and into Biddle’s left leg above the knee. He dove, to escape the gunner and head for friendly lines, wounded and with his engine failing. He landed in a field of shell craters, his plane turning over, in a fortunately escapable wreck. Major Biddle was likely the opponent of pilot Feldwebel Ernst Schafer, and Lieutenant Wilhelm Paul Schriber of Flieger Abteilung (A) 221, who subsequently overflew the plane and took photographs of their victory.

Construction

The Junkers J.I was an all metal aircraft built from nickel-steel and duralumin. The forward fuselage was an octagonal compartment built from steel with an armor thickness of 5mm, though late production aircraft used a thickness of 3.5mm for their sides, and 6mm for the rear. The armor was impervious to small arms fire, and enabled the aircraft to overfly enemy trench lines at low altitude. The entire forward fuselage was built up around four large duralumin longerons, and joined to the rearward section, which had a tubular construction. The rear section was skinned with fabric, though the tail section was of duralumin construction with the rudder initially being fabric skinned, before it too was changed to corrugated duralumin later in production. Some very late examples of this aircraft had a corrugated aluminum skin over the rear fuselage, though these do not seem to have been delivered to the Army. The fuselage was joined to the wings by a series of steel tubes covered with protective aluminum fairings, and sat atop the lower wing. The undercarriage of the aircraft featured a conventional construction of two vees, connected to the axle through a shock absorber. The axel was a steel tube 9ft long, with it and the other structural elements being covered by aluminum fairings. The tail skid was of a simple wood construction.

The aircraft had a sesquiplane wing configuration with the upper wing having a span approximately 38% longer than the lower. The fine details are disputed, but the upper wing had a span of some 16m and a chord of 2.50/2.25m, the lower a span of some 6m and a chord of 1.50/1.08. The upper wing had a set of balanced, hanging ailerons. Both the upper and lower wings were built in three sections, consisting of an inner panel which was attached via steel tube struts to the fuselage, and two outer panels. The wings were built around multiple tubular spars made from 40mm tubular duralumin, with the upper wing possessing ten, the lower only five. These spars ran the length of the wing and were connected to a number of steel brackets which connected them to a framework of smaller tubes, which joined the spars and stiffened the wing. This design gave the wing both incredible strength, which needed no structural struts or bracing wires, and was extremely resilient to gun fire, as only when many of the brackets or spars were damaged would the wing become compromised. The wings were skinned in .3mm duralumin sheets which were corrugated to strengthen them, as the duralumin alloy was very soft, and was used as a structural element of the wing which bore shear forces. One aircraft, no. 749/18, was equipped with long span upper wings to lower the take off run of the aircraft, the modification did not make it into production.

The control system of the aircraft also represented another departure from the conventional methods, eschewing the traditional wire control system for a more resilient push-rod system. The control systems were a duralumin stick and foot pedals for the rudders. The ailerons spanned the entirety of the outer wing panels and were connected to an aileron tube which ran parallel with the structural spars, which was articulated by linkages to the central control stick. The elevators had exterior stranded wires, which were articulated by the push rod system within the fuselage of the aircraft. The rudder operated much the same way. The cockpit furnishings were basic and the instrumentation consisted of a tachometer and fuel gauge, with a compass mounted on the wing.

The Junkers J.I was equipped with a 200 hp straight 6, Benz IVa engine. The similar 230 hp model had a dry weight of 370kg, a bore of 145mm, a stroke of 190mm, and a compression ratio of 4.91:1. It measured 1,990mm long, had a width of 530mm, and was 1150mm tall. It was water cooled, with the radiator mounted above the engine along the upper wing, its slats controlled by means of a lever above the cockpit. The fuel tank was a 98 liter seat-tank which took the place of the pilot’s typically wicker chair. It was made of sheet brass and had a channel through the back for the control rods for the tail section of the aircraft. It was divided into two sections so that a single bullet hole wouldn’t drain the entire tank. A pump drew fuel from this tank and delivered it to the gravity feed tank in the upper wing, if the pump broke the system could be driven by hand. A 38 liter oil tank was located behind the instrument panel. The engine was fitted with a 2.9m wooden propeller with a pitch of 1.9m. They were manufactured by Axial-Propeller Werke of Berlin and were issued with prop-spinners. The engine bay had two articulated panels which swung rearward to allow easy access to the Benz IVa engine, which was mounted atop two wooden engine bearers made from solid ash.

The plane could carry a variety of equipment for its missions, though these were mostly commonly a camera, and a wireless telegraph set. The observer, who was also the commander of the aircraft, operated both of these. The camera was a separate piece of equipment carried into and out of the aircraft by the observer and set within a built-in mount. This was set in the fuselage behind the armored section and accessible through a sliding sheet metal panel. The telegraph set was installed within the armored fuselage. Built by Telefunken, the W.T. was standardized across the service. It consisted of a sturdy, protected case and a 37 m aerial, with the alternative Huth made transmitter having a 38 m length.

In regular service, the aircraft carried no forward mounting weapons and carried only a rear mounted gun within a swivel mount, which was set within a turning wheel around the observer’s seat. This allowed him to traverse the gun 180 degrees and take aim at targets above and below the aircraft. This was a largely defensive weapon, but could also be used in a limited anti-infantry role. The gun was either a parabellum MG 14 or, more rarely, a Becker 20 mm autocannon.

The MG 14 was a 7.62mm machine gun derived from the common MG 08 in service with the German army. However, it was much more compact as the toggle-lock mechanism was reversed to a downwards action, it used an internal spring, and the ejection system was made to drop casings out the bottom of the receiver rather than the front. The result was that the receiver was narrower and slimmer compared to the more cumbersome infantry machine gun. They were also equipped with a buttsock and pistol grip, with some examples being equipped with an Oigee magnified reflector gunsight. The water cooling system was not used, and the jacket was perforated to reduce weight. The gun was fed from a cloth ammunition belt which was spooled within a metal drum, with one carried on the weapon and two in reserve. It had an adjustable rate of fire between 600-700 rounds per minute. An experimental armament of two fixed, downward facing machine guns for trench strafing was installed on one aircraft, but was not used in service.

The 2cm Becker autocannon was a powerful, if cumbersome weapon. It operated on API blowback and was loaded with ten and fifteen round box magazines. Ammunition loads could consist of solid shot or high explosive shells, which could prove absolutely devastating against canvas biplanes and effective at harassing infantry. It did however have a relatively low muzzle velocity of 490m/s and a slow rate of fire, between 250 and 300 rpm, depending on the manufacturer. These were installed aboard a few Junkers J.Is, but the machine gun armament was far more common.

Each plane came with a repair kit for surface damage and the following spare parts: 1 undercarriage axle, 2 spare wheels without tires, 1 tail skid with spring, 1 complete set of structural struts and associated connecting parts, 2 trestles, 1 lifting jack, 1 set of tools, and riveting materials.

Flying and Servicing

The Junkers J.I was a ponderous, but steady aircraft to fly. Its top speed was decent for a two-seater, at 145 km/h, but its climb rate was extremely low. It took 77 minutes to reach 3km, though in service it typically operated below 1km, which only took 12 minutes to reach. Coupled with its wide turning circle, the plane earned itself nicknames like the flying ‘Tank’ or ‘Mobelwagen’, or translated, moving van. Given its low speed, it was typically given escorts. Its controls were responsive, though were different enough from its contemporaries to need some practice getting used to. The stick for instance could become shaky and uncomfortable to use if inputs were harsh and jerky. Its landing speed was also notably high, and it required a longer run for take off and landing, preferably made on compacted ground. These issues aside, most pilots were fairly confident in the aircraft, and when flown it was a very stable, especially in the wind and rain, which kept everything else grounded.

Crewmen were also very appreciative of the incredible amount of protection the aircraft afforded, allowing missions that would have otherwise been considered suicidal to be completed with a high level of confidence. Not only were all of the critical components of the aircraft all located within a nearly impervious armored compartment, but the wings were extremely durable and unlikely to fail even when struck continuously by machine gun fire. Perhaps best of all, the risk of fire damage was extremely low, and the fire resistant construction would give the pilot time to set the plane down. When all else did fail, and the engine gave out, the aircraft had a good glide ratio, and despite its weight, it could travel some distance without power, allowing the crew to cross back to friendly lines, or look for a safe place to ditch. Overall, the Junkers J.I was in all likelihood, the most durable aircraft to see action during the Great War, and certainly the best of the armored J type aircraft in service with the German Luftstreitkrafte. In the end, only one confirmed combat loss was noted in over its one year of service, performing one of the most dangerous missions.

Its metal construction also gave a number of advantages in the field. Most convenient of all was the fact that it could be stored outside in bad weather. While wood and canvas could not be allowed to stay wet and needed shelter from the rain, a Junkers J.I only needed to have its engine and crew compartments covered. The plane was also designed from the outset to be easily transportable, the wings, tail section, and struts could be easily decoupled and placed alongside the fuselage, allowing it to easily fit in a railcar or trailer. The lack of bracing wires made this easy, and also removed a great deal of the maintenance work. Basic repair tasks were fairly simple, and every plane came with a patching kit that made combat repairs easy, but specialized training was needed for larger components. Extensive repairs usually required the planes to be sent to depots where specialists could work on them, and was usually done in the case of extensive damage to the wings or fuselage. Larger single-piece components, like the struts, were simply replaced with spares if damaged.

Conclusion

The Junkers J.I proved to be a pivotal design in airplane development, as it not only introduced to the world a mass produced all-metal plane, but it also incorporated so many other innovations, such as its cantilevered wings and use of corrugated duralumin. They would provide a practically indestructible plane to what would have been very vulnerable crews, and in the years to come, these features would put Junkers well ahead in the civil air industry.

Illustrations

Credits

Written and edited by Henry H.

Illustrated by Arte Belico

Sources

Primary:

Instruction Manual for Junk. J. I Armored Biplane. Junkers-Fokker-Werke A.G. Dessau. Translated and reproduced in Flight The Aircraft Engineer & Airships Vol. 12. 1920.

Report on the Junker (sic) Armoured Two Seater Biplane, Type J.1*. Ministry of Munitions. Reproduced in Flight The Aircraft Engineer & Airships Vol. 12. 1920.

Secondary:

Junkers Aircraft of WWI Vol 1 Junkers J.1-J.4. Owens, Colin A. Aeronaut Books. 2018.

Junkers J.I. Grosz PM. Albatros Productions. 1993.

Junkers 52 A History 1930-1945. Forsyth, Robert & Creek, Eddie J. Crecy Publishing 2014.

German Observer’s Guns. Woodman, Harry. Albatros Productions 2001.

German Air Forces 1914-1918. Sumner, Ian. Osprey Publishing Ltd. 2005.