The Junkers JU88 was to the Luftwaffe what the De Havilland Mosquito was to the RAF, an extremely versatile aircraft which competently performed various roles from light precision bomber, to anti-shipping attack aircraft, to night-fighter. However, it was in this latter role that the later JU88G variants of the JU88 really came into their own.

By late 1943 the RAF's night bombing campaign against Nazi Germany had become, as much as anything, a battle of science. As fast as British scientists invented new electronic navigation and bombing aids to make the RAF's bombers more accurate and effective, so their German counterparts came up with new counter-measures to combat this. In the field of radar, however, the Luftwaffe night-fighters enjoyed a distinct advantage over their British adversaries with the introduction of the highly advanced FuG 220 (FunkGerät = Radio Equipment) Lichtenstein SN-2 Airborne Interception radar. As this operated in the same frequency band as the German Freya ground-based early-warning radar, Lichtenstein was extremely difficult for the RAF to detect or neutralise with the types of Window anti-radar jamming counter-measures then in service.

Aircraft fitted with the Lichtenstein SN-2 equipment were instantly recognisable by the prominent Hirschgeweih (Stag's Antlers) antenna array mounted on their nose. This is plainly visible in the images below. In addition to the SN-2 airborne interception radar, the JU88G-1 was also fitted with the FuG 227 Flensburg direction-finding equipment which homed-in on the signals emitted by the 'Monica' tail-warning radar fitted to RAF night bombers at that time. So accurate was the Flensburg equipment that a skilled operator could not only single-out individual bombers but could guide their pilot to within visual range at night from distances of up to 45 miles. The Flensburg equipment can be identified by the dipole aerials fitted to the outer wing panels of the JU88G-1.

In addition to the advanced avionics equipment which enabled the JU88G-1 aircraft to home-in on their targets with great precision, they also packed a devastating punch in the form of a quartet of MG151 20mm cannon firing explosive shells capable of downing any Allied bomber in their sights . This armament was housed in an under-belly blister that replaced the ventral bomb-aimer's position in the original JU88 bomber model.

Later variants of the JU88G were also fitted with the Schrägemusik (Jazz Music) weapons package. This consisted of an additional pair of fuselage-mounted 20mm cannon aft of the wings and angled to fire upwards and forwards, allowing the JU88G to pass beneath an unsuspecting bomber and destroy it from below.

The aircraft depicted in this modification carries the identification markings and Night-Owl insignia of 11/NJG2 (NachtJägerGeschwader 2), the only Luftwaffe unit to later operate the two-seater radar-equipped version of the Me262 jet fighter during the last months of the war.

This modification replaces the standard Messerschmitt Bf109G in the Mission Builder or Dynamic Mission Editor (DME):

Select Create > Flight  > Axis  > BF 109G

WARNING: This modification uses high-resolution (512 x 512) images and should only be installed on computers whose video cards support high-resolution textures. Attempting to install high-resolution textures on a system with a video card which does not support them may cause the game to crash.

Before installing this or any other custom modification, you are advised to take a backup your original ww2.sqs archive.

Extract the contents of this archive to the WWII Fighters\Data directory. Assuming the default installation, this is: C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\WWII Fighters\Data. The files will be extracted to a new directory WWII Fighters \Data\JU88G1. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the WWII Fighters\Data\JU88G1 directory

To install, double-click on the JU88G-1 Installation.bat icon, as shown below. This will open up a DOS session and the installation will proceed in this window. When the installation is complete, a message saying "DONE...CLOSE DOS SESSION" will be displayed in the window. Close the DOS session by clicking on the 'X' close button in the top right corner of the window. Installation is now complete. Note:- some versions of Windows will automatically close the DOS window after installation is complete.

Such is the precision and devastating firepower of the JU88G-1 night-fighter that the outcome is almost inevitably in its favour once within striking range of an Allied bomber. Mission designers should take great care to route their RAF night bombers well away from known JU88G-1 night-fighter bases and their operational areas.

Note
This first release version of the JU88G-1 modification is strictly an AI (Artificial Intelligence) aircraft and is not intended to be a flyable fighter plane. If the BF109G is selected for mission flying after this modification has been installed, whilst the external aircraft views will be those of the JU88G-1, the cockpit views will still be those of the standard Messerschmitt Me109. I do intend to introduce a fully flyable version of this modification at a later stage.
 

     © December 2005