During the ‘30s, the German aviation industry developed passenger or
postal transport airplanes that could be easily declined and converted
into military versions. Officially set up to be a civilian airplane to
perform commercial duties, the Junkers Ju 86 was a monoplane twin-engine
aircraft that, in the bomber version, equipped the squadrons of the
nascent Luftwaffe. The Junkers Ju-86 was used, similarly to the Heinkel
He 111 and the Dornier Do-17, as a medium-range bomber during the
Spanish Civil War in 1936 under the Condor Legion insignia. Thanks to
its two Junkers Jumo 205 engines, the Ju-86 was able to reach the
maximum speed of 300 km / h and to carry up to 1,000 kg of offensive
load. The Junkers Ju-86 participated to the early stages of the Poland
Campaign but it was soon replaced by more modern and effective
aircrafts. In addition to the Luftwaffe, it was used by Swedish and
Hungarian air forces.
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