The Ju-88 was developed in the late 1930s as a fast bomber, designed to support the Army. As such, it not only carried a decent bomb load, but was also stressed as a dive bomber. Germany put all their emphasis into tactical bombers, ignoring the importance of strategic bombing, much to their later regret. In fact, only the UK and US were successful in fielding a large fleet of strategic bombers during the war, a factor that helped in overall victory.

Though used in small numbers during the campaigns of late 1939 and early 1940, it was the Battle of Britain where they saw their greatest use and where their lack of strategic range was realized. Though developed into a myriad of types for various missions, such as photo recon, night fighter, torpedo bomber, heavy fighter, and so on.

The aircraft was also developed into the Ju-188 and Ju-388 through the use of more powerful engines, modified airframe and upgraded electronics. It was eventually the night fighter role that saw its greatest use during the last years of the war. As with other German aircraft, it was provided to some of its allies and was also used post war by France in somewhat large numbers.

A familiar format is followed by this book in that there are several sections, each of which provides a historical background as well as photos of the types in question. This is as much a photo book as it is a strict history of the type. It is a format that has worked well with other titles in the series and this one is no different. The quality of the photos is quite good and they are fairly large and well reproduced.

Overall it is an interesting title and one that makes a nice addition to the series.   

December 2022

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