Junkers J.1

In 1916 the German Inspectorate of Aviation Troops issued a specification for an armored ground attack aircraft. Junkers responded with one of the most revolutionary aircraft of World War One, the Junkers J.1. The Junkers J.1 airframe was constructed entirely of duraluminum tubes almost completely sheathed in corrugated dural sheet. The front fuselage was constructed of 5mm armored steel to protect crews from enemy fire. Initially the rear fuselage, fin and rudder were covered with fabric but later production had the fin and rudder sheathed in corrugated dural sheet as well. Development continued post armistice when even the rear fuselage was covered with corrugated dural sheet. This fully corrugated aircraft design would remain a Junkers feature well into the 1930's.

Nicknamed 'the flying tank' or 'removal van', the Junkers J.1 was the A-10 Thunderbolt of its day, designed to attack enemy ground targets while remaining impervious to ground fire. Despite being heavy, relatively slow and requiring a long take off and landing area, the J.1 was popular with its crews due to the protection provided by its armored front section and all metal airframe.

The J.1's specifications as follows;
Wingspan 52.5'
Length 29.7'
Max speed 96.3 mph
Total number built 227 from May 1917 to January 1919
Armament consisted of a 7.92mm machine gun, stick grenades and bombs.

The Kit


This was Wingnut Wings first kit to be released back in 2009 and though it was without a doubt a major step forward in quality and ease of assembly for WWI kits  it was not without a few issues but none of them particularly difficult to over come. These are covered in the build review link below. From the standpoint of ease of assembly this kit with virtually no rigging should be a good starting point for someone wanting to start a WWI collection.

While most of the kits in the WNW series can be built out of the box to an excellent level of detail there seems to always be some after market items to enhance things. Many of them are for the engines which are small kits in and of themselves but they can be enhanced with wiring, spark plugs and valve springs. I have not given in to any of this yet and probably won't until I start building and find I have the desire to do some enhancement.

Links to kit builds or reviews

An excellent in box review can be found here and a build review here

If you are interested in finding other reviews a good place to look is here. Just enter the aircraft name and search.

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Updated  5/3/18