The Ju 88 was an obvious choice when the Luftwaffe began to look for a long range high speed reconnaissance aircraft to replace the Dornier Do 17. Work on a dedicated reconnaissance version began in earnest in 1940. While this D-series was under development a number of A-1 and A-5 bombers were modified to act as reconnaissance aircraft. This involved the removal of the ETC bomb racks and dive brakes and the installation of up to three cameras in the rear bomb bay and a hand operated nose camera in the bombardiers’ position. These Ju 88A-1 (F)s and A-5 (F)s came into service in the early summer of 1940, in time to carry out reconnaissance missions over Britain in advance of the Battle of Britain.

These interim aircraft were followed by pre-production D-0s and early D-2s later in 1940. Around 1,500 D-series aircraft were produced. They normally carried either Rb 70/30, Rb 50/30 or Rb 20/30 cameras depending on the target to be photographed.

D-1

The D-1 and D-2 entered service out of sequence. The D-1 was based on the improved A-4, which itself entered service after the less advanced A-5. The planned D-1 was thus delayed into 1941, while the D-2 filled the gap.

The D-1 carried its cameras in a new location, behind the rear bomb bay. This allowed it to carry the same internal payload as the A-4, including the full range of internal fuel tanks, giving it significantly longer range than the D-0 and D-2.

uitvoering: