Grosseto, Italy, 20 May 1943: a German transport aircraft of the Luftwaffe’s Lufttransportstaffel 290 (LTS 290) destroyed on the ground by an air raid of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force’s American heavy bombers. The aircraft is the former Deutsche Luft Hansa’s Ju 90 D-ADFJ “Baden” Werk Nummer 900003 delivered to airline on 20 May 1939, later switched to Luftwaffe, Stammkennzeichen GF+GA, fuselage code J4+FH, used for briefly time also with Iraqi colors when the III Reich supported the Iraqi up rise. On March 28th, 1943 was allocated to LTS 290 at this time based at Grosseto before returning in July 1943 in Mühldorf am Inn (Bavaria). Victor Sierra



Destroyed at Grosseto

An Junkers Ju 90, perhaps the V8 as indicated by the dorsal turret, of Luftwaffe’s Lufttransportstaffel 290 parked on an Italian airport (notice in background a S.79 in front to a hangar), during loading operations with the rear ramp lowered for a personnel transport mission. The first appearance in Italy of this large, wing span 35,30 m, four engines transport aircraft, at beginning developed and built as long range civil airliner for Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH), came from April 1940, when some DLH’s Ju 90 were used for transport services to and from Viterbo and the Germany. Later, on November 1942, the Luftwaffe’s Ju 90 returned to stops in Italy when, closed the commitment on Eastern Front, was employed for transport missions over the Mediterranean sector. Victor Sierra

Stop in Italy

Grosseto airport, Italy, March-April 1943: a pair of Junkers Ju 90 of the Luftwaffe’s Lufttransportstaffel 290 (LTS 290) which on Spring 1943 received all the exemplars of this four-engines at beginning designed and produced as civil airliner for Lufthansa already operated by the German Air Force in the Mediterranean Theater from Italian bases as well as in the Eastern Front where, on January 1943, delivered supplies to German troops at Stalingrad. On December 1943 the LTS 290 became the Transportfliegerstaffel 5 (Tr.fl.St. 5) which early 1944 was used for the evacuations of Crimea. In August 1944 the Transportfliegerstaffel 5 was transformed in the 14./TG4 (14./Transport Gruppe 4) which in September and October of the same year was committed in the evacuation of German troops from the Greece. In total the Ju 90 built was 18: 16 was destroyed before the end of the war and the other two captured, by the Allies, were scrapped shortly after. The aircraft in foreground of this photo is the Ju 90V-8, developed directly for the Luftwaffe, first flight September 1941, original civil registration D-AQJA, W.Nr. 4920, Stammkennzeichen DJ+YE, military code J4+BH, equipped with machine-guns turrets (total one MG-151 and five MG-131 (photo Bundesarchiv Bild 1011-561-1130-39A). Victor Sierra