Junkers Ju88C-4

In the years before the outbreak of WW2, the German Luftwaffe introduced into service two categories of fighter planes. Besides the single-engined fighter types such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109s, there were also twin-engined, heavily armed fighters of the Zerstörer (destroyer in English) category put into the service. The most well known Zerstörer type of the pre-war era was the Messerschmitt Bf 110. During 1940, it became clear that the type could not cope successfully with some of its assigned tasks due a lack of speed. At that time, the Luftwaffe"s main high-speed bomber (schnellbomber) was the Junkers Ju 88, and its performance was such that it was clear that it could be easily converted into a heavy fighter too. The Junkers designers were well aware of the fact, and as early as 1938 they carried out a series of flight tests using the V-7 prototype with lower overall weight, and armed with one 20mm cannon and three 7.9mm machine guns. Following the successful tests production was commenced, by converting 20 Ju 88A-1 machines to Ju 88C-2 fighter specification. These airframes were fitted with shorter-span wings, a cannon and three MGs. The same type of armament was used also with the later fighter version designated as the Ju 88C-4, which was built from the specification of the Ju 88A-5 bomber variant and featured a standard span wing with earlier Jumo 211F or G powerplants.