Off the top of my head, the He111 usually had a greater load carrying capabilities IIRC than contemporary Ju88s and greater defensive firepower (though still inadequate), but the Ju88 is faster and much more versatile.
And the Ju88 proved more capable of being upgraded and thus remaining a competeative aircraft throughout WW2. A (rather extreme) comparison for the He111 and Ju88 might be the Wellington and the Mosquito respectively.
I think the nod would go to the Ju88. More contemporary design, more easily adapted to a variety of support roles. I honestly like the pre-war Heinkel 111 better than the "green-house" nosed war-model. Another comparison might pit the He111 against the Dornier Do-17Z "Flying Pencil" as it too was a pre-war design. (commercial air and mail service... IIRC.) Tim
HE 111 v JU 88 I'm not sure that it is valid to make this comparison since the question is which of the two is the better "bomber", whereas most of us are responding in a manner that compares them as "aircraft". If only the latter category applies, then unquestionably the 88 is the better aircraft since it was such a superb all rounder. For example, Coastal Command Sunderlands were generally regarded as relatively formidable by the Luftwaffe who called them "The Flying Porcupines" by dint of their high number of defensive weapons. Yet, many Sunderlands fell victim to 88's whereas I have never heard of one being shot down by a -111 ! But, taken as a bomber, it is likely that the 88 carried less of a bomb load and over a shorter distance than the -111, thus making the -111 the better bomber. BG
I was really surprised to see how the similar the performance of these two aircraft was, I had expected to find that the Ju-88 had much better specs than the He-111. Some slight advantages to the Ju-88, but overall, especially as bombers, the two are remarkably even. In the end, the versatility of the Ju-88 won out, some 10,000 bombers being produced and close to 5,000 other types, mostly night fighters. There were about 7,000 He-111 produced.
Yeah, especially given all the German propaganda extolling the Ju 88 as a "wonder bomber". IIRC, the initial prototype qualified as the Mosquito of its time, performance-wise. Then came the changes the Luftwaffe high command demanded... :roll:
I don't see how their is any similarity in the performance of the 111 vs the 88 First the Ju-88 was a smaller aircraft, but the max weight was just as heavy as the He-111 and it could carry the same bomb load (4,000lb) but was more than 40 mph faster....(and this is just the a4 bomber version!!)
this is not related to the question, i just thought i would share that that my grandpa worked in the same heinkel factory that made the 111, after the war.
The key to a bomber is range and bomb load, they rarely operated at max speed, the really important specs like cruise speed (and operating ceiling) are maddeningly difficult to find. Both aircraft were produced in a large variety of types, so you have to be careful when comparing them. I think the Ju-88A4 and HE-111H3 were Battle of Britain contemporaries, so I looked at them for comparison. The Ju-88 had a wing span about 2m shorter and was about 2m shorter in length than the He-111. Weights of the two were similar, the He-111H3 (7720) was actually lighter (empty) than the Ju88A-4 (8,000kg) but max loaded weight (14,000kg) was the same. Max range gives a slight edge to the Ju-88, 1790 km vs 1750. The He-111H-3 had a range of 1,200 km with max bomb load. The Ju-88A-4 was indeed faster (max speed 433kph) than the He-111H-3 (max speed 415kph). Unfortunately I have no info on A-4 cruise speeds. Later Ju-88 variants with more powerful engines were much faster. The fact is the Ju-88 had double the produciton and was a much more versatile machine than the He-111. But comparing them as (Battle of Britain) bombers, they were very close. Ju-88A-4 http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/2833/ ... 8data.html He-111H-3 http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/2833/ ... 1data.html
This is the Empty weight performance of the He-111H3 against the fully loaded performance of the Ju-88A4! At maximum weight the He-111 could not exceed 205 mph (330 km/h)! Maximum speed of the A4 was 292 mph (470 km/h) and maximum cruising speed 248 mph (400 km/h) at 16,405 ft (5000 m). Service ceiling of the a4 was 26,900 ft (8,200 m) compared to 25,590 ft (7,800 m) of the he-111 (wich dropped to 5,000m fully loaded). Initial climb rate He-111H3: 270m per minute Initial climb rate Ju-88A4: 400m per minute So i would say yes the Ju-88 out performed the He-111 by far!
Yep, Ome_Joop, you are right. You people need to remember, that He-111 was a civilian transporter disguised as a bomber, while Ju-88 was a bomber from the get go.
There was an experimental tank killer version of the Ju 88 that mounted a 75 mm automatic cannon, which could kill any tank with one shot. The gun was so heavy, however, that it cut the plane's performance to the point that it became a sitting duck for fighters and the project was abandoned.
I'd say the He-111 was designed as a bomber and disguised as a civilian transport. I believe the LW may have even played the same game during the development of the Ju-88.
