Junkers Ju 390

Different sources present different accounts of the history of the Ju 390 V2.

Historians Kössler and Ott state that the Ju 390 V2 was completed during June 1944, with flight tests beginning at the end of September 1944.^[6]

Historians Griehl and Dressel state that the Ju 390 V2 was assembled in Bernburg and first flown in October 1943. This would place its construction and first flight at nearly the same time as that of the Ju 390 V1. They further said that it was configured for a maritime reconnaissance role. Its fuselage had been extended by 2.5 m (8.2 ft), and it was said to be equipped with FuG 200 Hohentwiel ASV (Air to Surface Vessel) radar and defensive armament consisting of five 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon.^[7] Historian Green claims different armament, specifically four 20 mm MG 151/20s and three 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns.

Authors Karl Kössler and Günter Ott, in their book Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, 90, 290, 390. Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie ("The Big Dessauers... History of an Aircraft Family"), also examined the claimed flight, and debunked the flight north of New York. Assuming there was only one such aircraft in existence, Kössler and Ott note it was nowhere near France at the time when the flight was supposed to have taken place. According to Hans Pancherz' logbook, the Ju 390 V1 was brought to Prague on 26 November 1943. While there, it took part in test flights which continued until late March 1944.

German author Friedrich Georg claimed in his book that Test pilot Oberleutnant Joachim Eisermann recorded in his logbook that he flew the V2 prototype (RC+DA) on 9 February 1945 at Rechlin air base. The log is said to have recorded a handling flight lasting 50 minutes and composed of circuits around Rechlin, while a second 20-minute flight was used to ferry the prototype to Lärz

Ju-390 project pilot Haupt Hans Pancherz claimed after the war that only one Ju-390 was ever flown. At a hearing before British authorities on 26 September 1945 Professor Heinrich Hertel, chief designer and technical director of Junkers Aircraft & Motor Works also asserted the Ju-390 V2 had never been completed.

They also assert that the Ju 390 V1 prototype was unlikely to have been capable of taking off with the fuel load necessary for a flight of such duration due to strength concerns over its modified structure; it would have required a takeoff weight of 65 tonnes (72 tons), while the maximum takeoff weight during its trials had been 34 tonnes (38 tons). Another explanation for this is that prototypes are never flown at maximum gross weight for their maiden flight until testing can determine the aircraft's handling characteristics. According to Kössler and Ott, the Ju 390 V2 could not have made the US flight either, since they indicate that it was not completed before September/October 1944