Ju 188 A-2

Ju 188 A-2

Do 217 M-1

He 177 A-5

Ju 188 A-2

Do 217 M-1

He 177 A-5

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.3	5.3	5.3

Class:

Bomber

Frontline bomber

Research:54 000

Purchase:185 000

Show in game

Description

The Ju 88 was one of Junkers proposals for the Schnellbomber (high-speed bomber) program. It featured a unique airframe design and had relatively low drag compared to other bomber designs. Over the years, the Ju 88 went through multiple revisions and variants, such as the Ju 88 A-4. In 1939, the RLM issued a specification for a new line of Schnellbombers. Junkers submitted the Ju 88 B, which was an A-1 airframe fitted with much more powerful engines. Although the performance left much to be desired, work continued.

Junkers also submitted the Ju 288 for RLM's new requirement, but it became clear to both Junkers and RLM that it wouldn't be ready any time in the near future. RLM was essentially left with no choice but to accept whatever performance gains the Ju 88 B had against the growing Soviet and British air forces. The numerous upgrades led to the Ju 188, which was heavily upgraded over the original Ju 88. It featured more defensive armament and airframe changes. Part of the RLM's requirement also stated that the new bomber had to be capable of mounting the BMW 801 radial engine. The Ju 188 A's were fitted with the Jumo 213 engine, while the Ju 188 E variant was fitted with the BMW 801 engine.

The Ju 188 A-2 was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury". Although it was intended to be a light bomber that could hit high speeds, the Ju 188 still has very respectable bomb loadouts, with one loadout consisting of up to 3,000 kg of bombs. However, although the 188 is classified as a bomber, it lacks a bombsight. The Ju 188 A-2 has a structural limit of 675 km/h (419 mph), so players can quickly dive to enemy bases to accurately drop bombs.  As for defensive armament, the Ju 188 A-2 comes with five turrets, ranging from 7.92 mm machine guns to 20 mm cannons.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 6 000 m520 km/h

Turn time32 s

Max altitude11 200 m

Engine2 х Junkers Jumo 213А

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight14 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	495	477	11200	33.4	34.5	5.4	5.4	750
Upgraded	547	520		30.7	32.0	11.3	8.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	310	457	428	280	~12	~9

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 370	< 360	< 450	> 290

Survivability and armour

Crew5 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear310 km/h

• 5 mm steel in front of rearmost dorsal gunner*
• 6 mm steel on top of dorsal gun ammo
• 6 mm steel under and in front of ventral gunner*
• 6 mm steel around turret ring of dorsal gunner**
• 6 mm steel in front of dorsal gunner
• 6 mm steel in front of dorsal gunner's face
• 6 mm steel behind base of pilot's seat
• 8 mm steel - pilot's seat
• 60 mm bulletproof glass in front of rearmost dorsal gunner*
• Self-sealing fuel tanks (1 in central fuselage, 2 in each wing)

*Note that the gunner is rear-facing.

**The "dorsal gunner" and not the "rearmost dorsal gunner" is the one closer to the pilot.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 403 → 3 087

RB6 950 → 8 930

SB11 562 → 14 857

Total cost of modifications47 400

86 500

Talisman cost1 500

Crew training52 000

Experts185 000

Aces940

Research Aces480 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

110 / 220 / 490 %

166 / 166 / 166 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 190 Radiator Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 190 Airframe Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 180 Compressor Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 180 Wings repair Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 300 290 Engine Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 300 290 Cover Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 310 Engine injection Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 310		mg_turret_belt_pack Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 190 SC 250 Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 190 Flamm C 250 Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 190 mg81_turret_new_gun Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 180 mg15120_turret_belt_pack Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 180 SC 500 Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 180 Flamm C 500 Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 180 mg131_turret_belt_pack Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 300 290 SC 1000 Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 300 290 mg131_turret_new_gun Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 310 mg15120_turret_new_gun Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 310 SC 1800 Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 310

Armaments

Suspended armament

The Ju 188 A-2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (500 kg total)
• 6 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (1,500 kg total)
• 6 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (2,000 kg total)
• 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (1,500 kg total)
• 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (2,000 kg total)
• 2 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bombs (2,000 kg total)
• 2 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bombs + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (3,000 kg total)
• 1 x 1,800 kg SC1800B bomb + 1 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bomb (2,800 kg total)
• 1 x 1,800 kg SC1800B bomb + 3 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (2,550 kg total)
• 4 x Flam C 250 incendiary bombs
• 6 x Flam C 250 incendiary bombs
• 2 x Flam C 500 incendiary bombs

Defensive armament

The Ju 188 A-2 is defended by:

• 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, nose turret (250 rpg)
• 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, top dorsal turret (250 rpg)
• 1 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun, lower dorsal turret (500 rpg)
• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine guns, ventral turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Usage in battles

While utilising a stock version of the aircraft, choosing the option to use the 50SC x 10 payload performs best for when rushing ground troops, of course, when possible, drop them more on one target. As soon as you have better payload options, you also have the opportunity to go for bases.

At the beginning of the match, you should always go into a shallow dive to maximise your speed, and by that the chance to get to your target before anybody else, and cover the underside of the plane by simply flying close to the ground. Your 20 mm cannon on top of the the canopy is deadly, and as soon as you have the universal belt unlocked, you can shoot down multiple enemy fighters before going down yourself. However, try to avoid head-ons because of your glass cockpit and mind that your 20mm can't fire directly behind the plane because the rudder blocks it.

If you have all loadouts unlocked, the one with the 2x1000kg, 2x250kg and 10x50kg is the best for destroying bases. The 2x250kg drop at the same time from your wingtips and with one 1000kg bomb, the other 11 bombs are enough for a second base in Arcade mode. In Realistic mode, it is advised to open the bomb door before reaching the target, and to tap the bomb key 4 times to drop the appropriate number of bombs. This will guarantee the destruction of one base, and leave you with a total of nine 50 kg that can then be used for ground striking or to possibly damage another base. This is also the loadout with the most payload so you should use it for the airfields as well. Concerning ground targets, you can use the loadout you prefer, just make sure you have 3 bomb drops before you get to the 50 kg bombs in the bomb bay.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fast bomber, faster than the Do 217 series
• Manoeuvrable, even better with empty payload when returning to base
• Versatile payload options with 3,000 kg of maximum payload
• Defensive armament is an upgrade from the Do 217 series
• Durable, can survive hits that might down other bombers of similar size
• Rear gunners are protected by several armour plates
• Top 20 mm turret has a full circle traverse
• Powerful engines
• Fast-deploying landing gear
• WEP can be used for long periods of time

Cons:

• Doesn't have the ability to dive bomb accurately
• No armour from the front
• Abysmal stock payload

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ju 188 A-2 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Ju-188 A-2 Spade Review. Good, but not worth a 5.3 BR - Joseph 2000

Ju 188 A-2 - Update 1.97 Dev Server - TheEuropeanCanadian

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke Aktiengesellschaft)
Fighters	Ju 88 C-6 · Ju 388 J
Strike Aircraft
Ju 87	Ju 87 G-1 · Ju 87 G-2
Bombers	Ju 88 A-1 · Ju 88 A-4 · Ju 188 A-2 · Ju 288 C
Ju 87	Ju 87 B-2 · Ju 87 D-3 · Ju 87 D-5 · Ju 87 R-2 · Ju 87 R-2 Libya
Export	▄Ju 87 D-3 · ▄Ju 87 R-2 · ▄Ju 88 A-4