Perhaps the most well-used aircraft in the Luftwaffe of the Second World War was the Junkers Ju-88 series. Originally designed as a Schnellbomber relying for defense on the ability to outrun enemy fighters, it was eventually used as a long range fighter and night fighter, as well as a deadly dive-bomber and torpedo bomber.

The prototype first appeared in 1936, and by 1945 16,000 aircraft of all variants had been built, more than any other German twin-engine aircraft. Design of the Ju 88 began in response to a 1935 RLM requirement for an unarmed, three seat, high speed bomber, with a payload of 800–1,000 kg. Study EF59 evolved into two parallel designs, Ju 85 and Ju 88, which appeared in 1936. The Ju 85 differed from the Ju 88 due to the use of a twin fin tail unit, and was never put into service. Use of annular radiators for the Jumo 211 engines meant that the aircraft could alternatively be powered by a radial engine, which happened with several sub-types.

By 1938, radical modifications from the first prototype in response to a 1937 RLM requirement promoted by Ernst Udet produced a "heavy" dive bomber. The wings were strengthened, dive brakes were added, the fuselage was extended, and the number of crewmen was increased to four. This redesign extended the development of the aircraft. Production was delayed drastically by developmental problems. Although planned for a service introduction in 1938, the Ju-88A-1 finally entered squadron service with only 12 aircraft on 1 September 1939. Production was painfully slow; only one Ju 88 manufactured per week, since problems continually kept cropping up. The Ju 88C series of heavy fighter was also designed very early in 1940, but kept secret from Göring, as he only wanted bombers.

The Ju-88A-1 was the first combat-ready version. The four man crew had three defensive 7.62mm machineguns. Power came from two Jumo 211B 1 or G engines. Use of the Ju-88A-1 in the blitzkrieg revealed severe deficiencies in the aircraft, and they were modifed as rapidly as possible with the airframe modifications of the Ju-88A-4 which was expected to be the “definitive” bomber, while still utilizing the engines of the A-1. This sub-type was the Ju-88A-5 and it adopted increased rear upper defensive armament of two machine guns, which were later housed in the bulged rear canopy that would be used by the A-4. Ju-88A-1s were modified as rapidly as possible with the new A-4 wings and the aircraft first saw action in the Battle of Britain.

The first major combat was in the Norwegian campaign. On 9 April 1940, Ju 88s of I/KG 30 dive bombed and helped damage the battleship HMS Rodney and sink the destroyer HMS Gurkha in cooperation with Heinkel He 111s of KG 26. However, four Ju 88s were lost, the highest single loss of the aircraft in combat throughout the campaign.

Widespread use of the Ju-88 came with the blitzkrieg in May 1940. Being particularly good as a dive bomber, Ju-88s claimed the destruction of 234-248 Allied aircraft on the ground between 10-13 May. Attacks on the French rail system between 11-24 May by I and II/KG 54 paralyzed French rail transport. On 17 June Ju-88s of KG 30 attacked and sank the ocean liner RMS Lancastria off St. Nazaire, killing 5,800 evacuated British and French troops.

Ju-88 losses in the Battle of Britain exceeded those of the Dornier Do 17Z and Heinkel He 111H, despite the Ju-88 being faster and deployed in smaller numbers than either of the others. Ju-88 losses over Britain in 1940 amounted to 303 aircraft between July and October 1940. Do 17 and He 111 losses for the same period amounted to 132 and 252 machines destroyed respectively. This was largely due to lack of experience in the aircraft on the part of crews who were newly converted onto it. Of 39 lost in July 1940, only 20 were the result of enemy action, the others being written off in training accidents, crashes or malfunctions over the Continent.

The first Ju-88A-4s appeared toward the end of the Battle of Britain, but the Ju-88A-5 soldiered on into early 1942, seeing action on all fronts.

Joachim Helbig - Bomber Ace:

The premiere Ju-88 bomber pilot of the war was Joachim Helbig, who was eventually credited with sinking 182,000 tons of Allied shipping in 480 missions.

Born in 1915, Helbig joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was an observer in Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1), the first unit to take the Ju-88 into action during the invasion of Poland. His two friends, Oberleutnant Fritz Sohler and Oberleutnant Gerhard Schröder, taught "Observer" Helbig to fly and he earned his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate (Erweiterter Luftwaffen  Flugzeugführerschein), also known as the “C Certificate,” confirming proficiency on multi engine aircraft. Helbig's informal training was unique in the entire Luftwaffe bomber force.

Helbig saw further action in the Norwegian Campaign and the Battles of the Netherlands, Belgium and France. His most memorable mission was on 15 August 1940. He and his 4 Staffel took off from Orléans at 4:45 pm, with their primary target RAF Worthy Down. Over the English coast the formation of200 Ju-88s from LG 1, Ju-87s from Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1) escorted by Bf-110Cs of Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2), and Bf-109Es of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27) and Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53), were intercepted by 14 squadrons British fighters from 10 and 11 Groups totaling 170 Hurricanes and Spitfires. The mission turned out to be disastrous for Helbig’s Staffel, with only Helbig and his crew returning in their heavily damaged aircraft. Thirty-two members of 4 Staffel were taken prisoner.

For his military success in these campaigns Helbig received the Knight's Cross on 9 November 1940. He then transferred to the Mediterranean theater of operations and operated against Malta, the British Mediterranean Fleet and in support of the Afrika Korps. Helbig was the 20th recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on 28 September 1942 for support of Erwin Rommel's 1942 summer offensive and the sinking of 182,000 GRT of enemy shipping. This total included the sinking of the British destroyers HMS Kipling, HMS Jackal and HMS Lively off Crete on 11 May 1942. In response, in June 1942 British commandos attacked his unit at their base in Heraklion, and succeeded in blowing up seven of his Ju-88s.

Helbig’s success in surviving seemingly hopeless situations was due to his excellent crew, which included Oberfeldwebel Franz Schlund who, on 30 August 1941, became the first Luftwaffe radio operator to be awarded the Knight's Cross. Schlund drove off attacking fighters on a mission against the Warrington Propeller Works located north of Liverpool and also contributed to the success of other missions, including the adestruction of the lock entrance to the Manchester Ship Canal at Eastham and the attack on the pilot training airfield at Penrose. In more than 200 combat missions, Schlund successfully fought off 13 attacks by enemy fighters.

In August 1943 he was made Geschwaderkommodore of Lehrgeschwader 1 operating against the Allied invasion forces in Italy. His two notable successes were the bombing of the port of Brindisi in December 1943 in which an ammunition ship was blown up which nearly destroyed the harbor. On 30 January 1944, his Ju-88A-5, L1+AM, was destroyed in an aerial attack by American bombers. This aircraft, which was solely piloted by Helbig himself, was the only Ju-88 to survive more than 1,000 hours of combat operations. On the night of 12-13 May 1944, he led the entire of LG 1 and KG 30 on two missions to Corsica to bomb the 340th Bomb Group at Alesani Airfield. The 340th had lost all their B-25s two months earlier in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and had only 12 aircraft left after the Corsica raid. As one American said, “Those nice silver B-25s did a great job of reflecting the firelight to guide the Germans to their target.” Helbig’s raid, the last bombing raid by the Luftwaffe on the Western Front, was memorialized in Joseph heller’s famous novel, “Catch 22" where Milo Minderbinder bombs his own airfield as part of a commercial business deal with the Germans.