As with other modern German machines of war, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) became the proving ground for the Ju 52. The German government supported the fascist Nationalists in their battle against the established Republicans which were backed primarily by the Soviet Union. In this combat zone the Ju 52 served in both bomber and transport roles.
When Germany invaded neighboring Poland in September of 1939, the Ju 52 was again used in whatever role was required of it though by this time the Luftwaffe had acquired several dedicated bombing platforms for frontline use. The Ju 52 was used to deliver German paratroopers and supplies while some bombing sorties were conducted as well. VIP transport forms then emerged (indeed Ju 52s shuttled Adolph Hitler about on multiple occasions) as did MEDEVAC models, light vehicle transports and glider tows. During the invasion of the Netherlands, where scores of Ju 52 were used to deliver German paratroopers, hundreds were lost to the effective Dutch air defense network. Despite this, the Germans prevailed and continued their march to Paris, France. Ju 52s were also in action during the invasion of Crete where more paratroopers were dropped and their service continued in the Norwegian, North African and Soviet campaigns as those war zones became part of the bigger picture.
Obsolete as a bomber by 1939 standards, the Ju 52 was nonetheless a rugged and reliable aircraft with good handling qualities and remained in widespread use as a transport throughout the rest of the war. Later models were "up-gunned" to feature 4 x 7.92mm defensive machine guns. Its construction allowed for relatively speedy manufacture and operation under the harshest of conditions proved the design sound over and over.
Even with the close of the war in Europe during May of 1945, the Ju 52 soldiered on into the post-war years. While many Ju 52s were scrapped nearly 600 examples emerged from French and Spanish production in the immediate post-war period. No longer under German control, Avions Amiot of France rebranded the Ju 52 as the Amiot AAC-1 "Toucan". Spanish-produced versions were built under the CASA brand label as model numbers 352 and 352L. French production spanned from 1945 until 1947 and the Spanish commitment followed from 1945 until 1952.
In all, 4,845 Junkers Ju 52s were produced from 1931 to 1952. Very few are flyable today (2015).
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