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Developed as a transport, the aircraft was also employed as a bomber with German and Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). When Germany went to war in Sept. 1939 the Luftwaffe had 552 transport aircraft of which 547 were Ju 52s. The aircraft, which flew on every front, were vital to the German assaults on Norway, Denmark, Holland, and Crete, and for operations on the Eastern front as well as in North Africa. During the war the Ju 52 served as a troop and paratroop transport, medical evacuation aircraft, cargo carrier, and glider tug. The Ju 52 was a tri-motor, low-wing aircraft with a relatively large cargo compartment. The fuselage was made of corrugated duralumin skin. It had a fixed, tail-sitting undercarriage. When employed as an airliner the Ju 52 could carry fifteen to seventeen passengers; as a troop carrier it could carry twenty soldiers and their equipment. The first Junkers-produced Ju 52 flew on Oct. 13, 1930, as a single-engine transport. A succession of single and then tri-motor development aircraft followed, some fitted with skis and floats. The first definitive tri-motor aircraft flew in April 1932 with production following for commercial use by several nations. The first military version was delivered in 1934, intended for use as a bomber. During 1934-1935, 450 aircraft were delivered to the German Air Force; production in Germany totaled 4,845 aircraft.
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