Pumnul Tarii, Junkers Ju-88A-4 Royal Romanian Air Forc

PUMNUL TARII

Ju-88A-4 in Romanian colors. To do this, I needed to L'Arsenal set for Ju-88A-4 variant, because Romania in WW II, used this type, besides Ju-88D.

I'll use a lot of aftermarket sets, of which one to use the best parts.
Model - REV04728 Ju-88 A-1 "Battle of Britain"
A-4 conversion set - L'ARSENAL KC3202
Interior Set - CMK CMK5206
Photoetched set (interior, exterior, seatbelts, masks, placards) - BigEd EBIG3278
Bombs racks - MDC
SC250 and SC500 bombs - MDC
Crew access ladder - PFM PROFIMODELLER 32016
MG81 machine guns - MASTER AM32026
Cockpit decals - AIRSCALE AS32LUFT
Cockpit placards - AIRSCALE AS32SCH
Cockpit masks - MONTEX-MASK SM32092




The Ju-88A4 was the best "heavy" bomber of Royal Romanian Aeronautics during WWII and was very much loved by the airmen who flew it, like cdor. av. (VR) Dan Stoian.

In March 1943, the 6th Bomber Group began training with the newly arrived Ju-88A4s. By June it was declared ready for action and moved to the front with its 25 bombers. The first mission took place on 18 June, but the first losses occurred on 22. Things got worse and after one month of combat the group had lost 8 airplanes and another 6 were under repairs.

Some of the pilots and the remaining airplanes were transferred to the elite 5th Bomber Group, which was also converting to the Ju-88A4. By 10 August their training was complete. The first missions of the 5th Bomber Group on the new airplanes was on 15 August. The group continued to operate on the front throughout 1943 and 1944 and the losses were replaced by the Germans. They also claimed some sixteen VVS fighters shot down, the first of which was on 20 September against two Airacobras.

The events of 23 August 1944 caught them by surprise. Only one Ju-88A4 squadron (the 77th) could be raised for the new anti-Axis campaign. Because of the severe losses and maintenance problems, the remaining five Ju-88A4s were joined with the Ju-88D1s of the 2nd Long Range Recon Squadron in October. They operated together until the end of the war, on 12 May 1945.
The plane are part of the 80th Squadron, of the 5th Bomber Group.
I chose this registration because it preserves a remnant of the German code, very unusual on Romanian aircraft.(thank you Cantacuzino)

After working for almost six months, I managed to finish it. Hope you enjoy.

Well, good job! Congratulations!

Looks great!

Only one objection: isn't it too glossy? Haven't you sprayed a matte laquer at the end?

Unfortunately, the light played tricks on me. It is almost matt.

It is beautifull, congratulations !

Very nice! 10+

was the Ju 88 A deployed in "heavy dive bombing" misions?
i know that existed ju 88 dive bomber versions bur romania used only level bombing and observation versions

Even if not planned at base, dive bombing was occasionally performed by the Romanian crews as instant decision.
That was my understanding in a worlwar2.ro topic with a link to a TV show ("Antena 3" ?) were and old gentleman in his 90's, former pilot of Ju-88, could not get additional retirement benefits because of 2 or 3 months missing from his required 10 years of military service.
This means that the Romanian crews also got diving training from their German instructors.

P.S: In a documentary I learned that some German crews dismantled the dive brakes attached to the bomber version of Ju-88 (they were not ordered that) because that additional drag slowed the cruise speed, even when the device was not in use.

This post has been edited by Florin on February 13, 2013 12:41 am

Very nice!

That 90 years old gentleman was G-ral Dan Stoian. Indeed they performed diving training with german instructors. Probably starting with 1943 there were few bomber missions in needs for such diving bombing on eastern front.