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Junkers Ju EF 128

1945 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

Junkers Ju EF 128 History

The Emergency Fighter Program (EFP), created by the Luftwaffe during the final phase of World War II (1939-1945), grew out of desperation, the threat of Allied air bombing operations and the arrival of the new Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Early work had produced the futuristic Heinkel He 162 "Volksjager" single-seat, single-engine fighter, but this design was outdated due to rapid technological advances during the war.

As such, a successor to this design was sought to comply with the EFP program guidelines.

Junkers beat Messerschmitt and others to win the contract to develop a new high-altitude interceptor. Engineers designed it with simplicity in mindone pilot, one engine, and as much wood as possible was used during construction (metal was valued at the end of the war).

The resulting design became the EF 128, a sturdy fighter with high wings and no tail. Instead, small rudders were installed on the trailing edge of each wing main plane. The main aircraft is significantly swept back to improve aerodynamic efficiency at high speeds.

The single-seat cockpit is mounted behind the short nose cone assembly. The deep fuselage encases vital components such as avionics, fuel and engines - the latter will be Heinkel HeS 011 series turbojets. The unit is drawn in through a pair of shallow air intakes mounted on either side of the hull.

This allows space under the cockpit floor for up to 4 x 30mm MK 108 automatic cannons. The landing gear is a retractable tricycle arrangement.

Junkers engineers predicted that their planes would travel more than 900 km/h - resulting in a fast interceptor. Also, the tailless design will help with agile systems.

Junkers submitted their winning design in February 1945, and work progressed to the stage using wind tunnel models (data were actively collected and evaluated) and airframe models. Unfortunately for Germany's war effort (and Junkers' workers), the war ended in May after Hitler's suicide.

This effectively ended all work on the ambitious and fascinating Junkers EF 128 small interceptor.

At the time of the German surrender, Junkers was also concentrating on developing a two-seater night fighter. In this version, the fuselage of the original EF 128 will be lengthened to accommodate the extra crew.