Swedish Ju86K

[The Stannum Liberator]

Someone asked me a while ago if I could put any information on the Swedish service of the Ju86K, or the B3 in Swedish service.
I'm including quotations from Mikael Forslund's Swedish Bomber Colours.

The Junkers Ju86K B 3, had a length of 15.5 m, a height of 4.9 m, a wingspan of 22.7 m, a maximum weight of 8,200 kg. The Cruising speed is 315 km/h which would allow for flight for about 3 hours, travelling 1,070 km with the B3C. The fuel tank could hold 1,500 liters of Gas. The plane had a service ceiling of 7,000m. The B 3 in all variations would continue in Swedish service from 1936-1958. It would be used as a medium bomber, a surveillance aircraft, and later as a troop transport.

They had a horrible track record with 19 out of the 56 aircraft being written off in crashes.

The Maximum Speeds of the different variants:
B 3 (Junkers 86A-1, using two 760 h.p. Pratt & Whitney Hornet S1E-G)-298 km/h
B 3A (Junkers Ju86K-4 using two 745 h.p. NOHAB Mercury III engines (License built Bristol Mercury III's) -315 km/h
B 3B (Junkers Ju86K-5 using two 880 h.p. NOHAB Mercury XII engines (License built Bristol Mercury XII's) -325 km/h
B 3C (Junkers Ju86K-13 using two 980 h.p. NOHAB Mercury XXIV engines (License built Briston Mercury XXIV's) -372 km/h
B 3D (Junkers Ju86K-13 using two 905 h.p. Bristol Pegasus XIX engines (bought from the Germans, the engines were Polish war booty, illegal purchase)-360 km/h


Crew: "B3 crew consisted of four; apart from the pilot, an observer/bomb aimer was located in the front turret, where he also was to man the front machine gun. A new personnel category was also introduced with the radio operator, whose main job was to stay in touch with ground stations as well as other aircraft. The radio operator was also to operate the machine gun in the retractable lower gun turret. This was usually known as Signalistholken (the radio operators nesting box). The radio operator would also assist the pilot in navigational duties, and establishing the position of the aircraft through cross bearings. During long range reconnaissance flights, the radio operator was to take photographs, using the hand-held HK 25 camera. The fourth crew member, usually a conscript, was an aerial gunner, operating the dorsal machine gun. The B3 could easily be fitted with a second set of controls, which made instructor/trainee pilot flights possible."
My Contact at the Flygvapenmuseum (Swedish Airforce Museum) was unaware of the second set of controls, but they are clearly visible in some photos taken from the inside of the plane inside the museum. (Photos Attached)


I think this is a good starting point, if anyone has any inquiries feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer!

p.s.I also have some neat stories about their use in the war.

 

[MiTasol]

Stories please

I like the way they stow the spare control column but what about the spare rudder pedals?

 

[The Stannum Liberator]

I like the way they stow the spare control column but what about the spare rudder pedals?

Maybe that's what the T shaped thing is on the floor in front of the hole for the control column?

And I'll put in some stories shortly

 

[MiTasol]

I think you are right. I had missed that. I wonder if it retracts down to floor level to provide access to the nose section. I will have to find time to look at some manuals on line.

 

[The Stannum Liberator]

STORIES:

Prior to the German invasion of Denmark, Sweden was actually using the B3's to watch the German troops along the border, and the Germans were actually so annoyed by the Swedish surveillance they filed a formal complaint through the embassy in Stockholm.

Here is a quote from my book on the B3 that talks about the Swedes' reaction to the German invasion of Denmark and Norway with their B3's,
"F1 was ordered to deploy the No.1 Squadron and a Staff flight to an area north of Helsingborg. The units were to arrive at 05.00 hours, ready for immediate action against a possible invasion. The No.2 Squadron was to maintain high operation readiness at their forward base at Torslanda near Gothenburg. By midnight, all details had been worked out, and orders distributed. The first Take-off was set at 2.30 hours, with the aircraft taking off at one-minute intervals. The aircraft would fly south toward Halmstad singly, with full combat readiness ten minutes before reaching the coast. The leading aircraft of each flight was to fly at an altitude of 500 m, with the rest following at an altitude of 400 and 300 m respectively. The respective flights were then to assemble at Båstad, Ramsjö, Hallands Vadero and Havs hallar. The No.1 squadron would then assemble over Båstad in line formation with 100 m of separation between each flight. The targets were to be landing craft, troop carrying ships and troops that had already reached the shore. The B3 bombers were to attack at an altitude of 100 m and then turn away eastwards at low level, landing at F6 Karlsborg. The bombers took off according to plan, despite darkness and low clouds. Most of the pilots had never taken off in such prevailing condition, but all aircraft, led by the Wing Commander, got airborne. With full fuel tanks and a bomb load of four 50 kg mine bombs, the B3 planes headed southwards."

Over the following weeks following the German invasion of Norway and Denmark, the B3 aircraft came into contact with German aircraft and naval vessels on several occasions.

• On April 13th, a No.2 Squadron B3 fired off warning shots against five Heinkel Forstunal He 111 bombers over Swedish territorial waters between Västeröarna and Marstrand.
• April 14th was very eventful, with a B3 being shot at simultaneously by a German naval vessel as well as a Bf 109. The B3 was lucky to escape into clouds. As well as two naval vessels were chased away by machine gun fire from B3s.
• On April 19th, German naval vessels fired against patrolling B3 aircraft, two days later, a B3 chased away a Heinkel He 111 from Laholm Bay.
• The next incident took place on April 26, when a Junkers Ju 88 and a B3 exchanged fire near Vinga. Apparently, the aircraft came so close to each other that B3 crew afterwards could smell gun powder. None of the aircraft sustained any hits.
  
  Here's just a really neat photo, (also showing a secondary pilot)
  
  

 

[MiTasol]

That is a large aircraft and crew to carry 200kg of mines so I presume they carried a larger disposable load with less fuel.

You say Here is a quote from my book on the B3 so that leads to the question What book?

Did you know that this forum does allow you to promote any book you write and there are multiple other authors on site?

 

[The Stannum Liberator]

That is a large aircraft and crew to carry 200kg of mines so I presume they carried a larger disposable load with less fuel.

You say Here is a quote from my book on the B3 so that leads to the question What book?

Oh no, I just meant I own the book, it's Mikael Forslund's "Swedish Bomber Colours"

And the reason they carried just four 50 kg bombs I think was more due to the shortage of bombs the Swedes had throughout the whole war. Strangely enough they ended up getting most of their larger bombs from Finland near the end of the war.

 

[The Stannum Liberator]

That is a large aircraft and crew to carry 200kg of mines so I presume they carried a larger disposable load with less fuel.

And yes, the Junkers Ju86K could carry up to 1000 kg, either 4 250kg bombs, or 2 500 kgs.
But the Swedes didn't have very many of them at all. From what I can tell, they basically only used the big bombs like that on their b17 dive bombers during the war, since they didn't really have anything else that could carry them, as their Hawker Hart dive bombers didn't have the bomb load, and they only really used their Caproni Ca.313s for reconnaissance.