Junkers Ju-290 A-5, A Lufthansa 1946 scenario

Although it looks farfetched, this model isn't quite as fictional as most on these pages. In 1944 three Junkers Ju-290 A-5 aircraft were transferred from the Luftwaffe to the Lufthansa to augment the fleet of the airline. The aircraft were stripped of armaments and redisignated A-6. One of them was the werknr. 900178, which was registered as D-AITR and named "Bayern".

On the 6th of April 1945 this aircraft made a bad landing in Barcelona and was abandoned by the crew. The aircraft was sold to the Spanish by the Allies and the Spanish repaired the aircraft. It flew from 1950 to 1956 with the Spanish Air Force as 74+23.

When the German Lufthansa was reformed in the early 1950's it was looking for aircraft to operate. One of the options was the Ju-290 in Spain. Negotiations were conducted with the Spanish to acquire the aircraft for the Lufthansa. Worries about the lack of spares and the possibility to purchase Constallations and Convair 340's made that the deal didn't come through.

This model depicts the Ju-290 as it might have looked in the post war Lufthansa livery.

The model

The model is a conversion of the Revell Ju-290 A-5, produced by Classic Plane.