Ju-52 (Wrk.nr. 6590) off KEA island

Ju-52 (Wrk.nr. 6590) off Kea Island

In 2009, the diving team of “Kea Dive Expedition,” utilizing position coordinates as well as a side-scan sonar image provided by Assistant Professor of the Department of Geology at the University of Patras, Mr. Giorgos Papatheodorou, located the wreck of an unidentified aircraft near the northwestern coast of Kea. The dives that followed confirmed it to be a German transport aircraft of type Ju-52. After a series of dives during a second mission, the team managed to recover the aircraft’s identification plate, but due to heavy corrosion, it was not possible to read the serial number.
Identification eventually came through a routine log entry of a German rescue aircraft, a Dornier 24 (Werknummer 3214), which, from August 13, 1943, belonged to the German Air-Sea Rescue Squadron 7 (Seenotstaffel 7), based in Faliro. According to this record, on September 6, 1943, the rescue Dornier 24, crewed by Leutnant Pfaffendorf, Oberfeldwebel Becker, Feldwebel Steinbock, Feldwebel Bohnke, Obergefreiter Rausch, and Feldwebel Lind, took part in the search and rescue operation of a Junkers 52 with construction number (Werknummer) 6590, belonging to I/TG 4—that is, the First Group (I = Erste Gruppe) of Transport Wing 4 (TG 4 = Transportgeschwader 4), which was based at Kalamaki in the Saronic Gulf area. The aircraft had been lost following a sea landing northwest of Kea due to fuel supply problems to the engines. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the propellers of the submerged aircraft were found intact. Of those on board the Junkers 52, one was lost and two were injured, while all others were safely transported to Athens.

Transportgeschwader 4:

Transport Wing 4 (Transportgeschwader 4) was established on May 4, 1943, and consisted of four Groups (Gruppe I – IV), operating from the airfields at Tatoi, Kalamaki, and Tanagra. The Wing Commander (Geschwader kommodore) was Oberstleutnant Richard Kupschus, and the commander of the First Group (Gruppe I), to which the Kea Junkers 52 belonged, was Major Rüdiger Jakob, based in Kifissia. All officers of the Wing Headquarters Unit (Geschwaderstab) resided at the well-known Cecil Hotel in Kifissia. Groups I and II (Gruppe I, II) of Transportgeschwader 4, along with the Geschwaderstab, were disbanded in October 1944.

Ju 52/3m:

The tri-motor Junkers 52/3m transport aircraft of Kea represents one of the most well-known aircraft types mass-produced to support German military operations during World War II. In Greece, this type was used in two major military operations: the Battle of Crete in 1941 and the Battle of Leros in 1943.
Apart from the first major operation at Narvik, Norway in 1940—where paratroopers were deployed on a large scale for the first time—the battles of Crete and Leros were the only operations in which German paratroopers were also deployed on such a scale. The Battle of Leros, in particular, was the last operation in which the elite German paratrooper corps, the Fallschirmjäger, was used.

Technical Characteristics:

Type: Transport aircraft
Crew: Three (two pilots and one radio operator)
Manufacturer: Junkers
Length: 18.90 meters
Wingspan: 29.25 meters
Height: 4.50 meters
Wing area: 110.50 square meters
Empty weight: 6,510 kg
Maximum takeoff weight: 10,990 kg
Engines: Three BMW 132 (nine-cylinder)
Power: 660 PS each
Maximum speed: 290 km/h
Range: 1,200 km
Maximum altitude: 6,300 meters
Armament: One MG 15 machine gun (7.92 mm) with DT 15 double-drum magazines (75 rounds) (Kea aircraft)
Transport capacity: 18 fully equipped soldiers

Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke A.G. was founded in 1895 by Hugo Junkers. Arguably the most important German aircraft manufacturer of its time, with innovative ideas, it developed and produced some of the most successful all-metal aircraft of the Luftwaffe. The company, which initially manufactured water heaters, began producing military aircraft in the 1930s.
Perhaps its most famous model was the Ju 87, known as the STUKA, a dive bomber that became one of the Luftwaffe’s most powerful weapons. The most important and, according to many, the most successful aircraft was the Ju 88—a light bomber with multiple roles and several variants such as the Ju 188 and Ju 388, none of which surpassed or replaced the original model.
Junkers also produced the JUMO (Junkers Motoren) engines from 1920 onward, becoming the first German company to manufacture modern engines suitable for aviation use. Its first engine was the JUMO 211. After the war, Junkers merged with Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), focusing on research into the future of aerospace transport.
Production of the Ju 52 began in 1930 as a single-engine aircraft (Ju 52/1m). Later, to increase power and operational capability, two additional engines were mounted on the wings, creating the tri-motor version (Ju 52/3m). The first flight in this configuration took place in April 1931. It was equipped with three Pratt & Whitney engines of 525 or 550 HP, depending on the version. Later, BMW engines of types 123A-3 and 132T/-2 were installed, producing 725 and 830 horsepower respectively.
Approximately 5,000 Ju 52s were built. By the end of the war, only about 50 remained airworthy. The Ju 52 served multiple roles, as evidenced by the approximately 13 variants of the base model. Its primary role was as a transport aircraft, but it was also used as a bomber (Ju 52/3mg3e), for paratrooper deployment, commercial use, glider towing, and more. Production ceased in early 1945.

Dive

The orientation of the aircraft on the seabed is southwest. The maximum depth is 65–67 meters, and the minimum approximately 60 meters. All three engines are present, and the aircraft remains largely intact without significant breakage. No armament was identified during the dives.

Sources:

https://keaexpedition2008.wordpress.com
https://burdigalaproject.wordpress.com
ProfilePublications, The JunkersJu52Series, Number 177
BMW Museum,Moteur d’avion BMW 132 de 1933, de Junkers Ju 52
https://commons.wikimedia.org/ File: Munster MG15 (dark1)
Aviation Archaeology