Junkers Ju 160

Jet Tales.  The Lufthansa Magazine.  4/78.

I found a couple of old issues of Lufthansa Magazine in a thrift shop in Ottawa.  One had an interesting article on the Junkers W33/34.   Another had this piece on the Ju 160:

" Heinkel Werke's success with its record-breaking, single-engine He 70 Blitz, did not go unnoticed at Junkers Werke in Dassau.  Junkers had been competing against the He 70 with its Ju 60, a somewhat ill-conceived design.  While the Ju 60 carried more payload than the He 70, it was slower, mainly because its undercarriage retracted only half-way.  Lufthansa used this single aircraft experimentally on a Balkan route.

With its new development, the Ju 160, Junkers succeeded in producing an efficient commercial aircraft with a cabin for six passengers.  Production of the first machine in this series began June 1, 1934; it was christened 'Lynx'.  Others followed, all bearing the names of beasts of prey, such as 'Polecat'. 'Marten'. 'Leopard', 'Panther'. "Wolf', 'Puma', 'Weasel', 'Tiger' and 'Lion'.  By the end of 1936, Lufthansa had 18 of these aircraft.

Streamlining was all important in both Blitz and Ju 160.  Aerodynamic molding of the airframe, a polished skin and flush riveting helped make the Ju 160 fast.  Also, the undercarriage retracted completely into the wings.  As was normal with Junkers aircraft, the flaps and ailerons stretched the full length of each wing and were installed so as to give a modified biplane effect.  Later on, a 650-hp BMW engine further improved the performance of the Lufthansa versions.

Most of these machines, which were used on German domestic routes, were broken up in 1940."