The bomber was field-tested in the
Spanish Civil War by the
Condor Legion. Four Ju 86D-1s arrived in Spain in early February 1937, but after a few sorties one of them was shot down in late February–early March 1937 by
Republican fighters. A replacement aircraft was sent from Germany, but after two more were damaged in landing accidents, the remaining two aircraft were sold to the
Nationalist air force, where they remained in service until at least the end of the Civil War. The Ju 86 had proved to be generally inferior to the
Heinkel He 111 evaluated at the same time. A single
Gruppe of Ju 86 bombers (
III KG 1 "Hindenburg") remained in operational service at the start of the
Second World War and were used in the
invasion of Poland, but replaced soon after. The diesel-engined Ju 86A and Ds were quickly retired while the radial-engined Ju 86E and Gs were transferred to bomber training schools. Soon after the conflict started, the (Air Fleet) commanders raided their training schools for
Ju 52s as transport aircraft, together with their experienced aircrew instructors. This depletion continued with the formation of special bomber crews for the invasions of
Norway, the
Low Countries, and
Crete. This was to a severe blow to the pilot training programme, and Lt-Colonel
Paul Deichmann, Chief of Staff to the Luftwaffe's Chief of Training
Helmuth Wilberg suggested that Ju 86s with dual controls and instruments could be easily produced to replace the appropriated Ju 52s. However, his contention that "the need for air transport services would soon reach tremendous proportions" was simply brushed aside by the commander-in-chief of the
Luftwaffe,
Hermann Göring. In late 1942, all available aircraft, including Ju 86s, were pulled out of the training schools to reinforce the
Luftwaffes transport force in its attempt to supply the German
6th Army,
besieged at Stalingrad. The Ju 86s formed two transport
Gruppen, equipped with 58 aircraft, operating out of
Tatsinskaya Airfield. They were unsuited to the transport role, and suffered heavy losses (42 Ju 86s were lost by the end of January 1943) before being forced out of the airlift when the Soviets captured Tatsinskaya, not having the range to reach Stalingrad from the replacement airfields. More than 40 Ju 86s were lost in this endeavour while the survivors were reallocated to training bomber crews. Ju 86s operated by the Allies in the Second World War included 17 As more modern aircraft became available, the South African Ju 86s were passed from squadron to squadron, seeing their last use with
No. 22 Squadron SAAF, which used it along with the
Avro Anson in the coastal reconnaissance role, finally retiring its Ju 86s in September 1942. During March 1939, Hungary used its Ju 86s to bomb
Slovakian airfields and defensive positions during the
Slovak–Hungarian War. From June 1941, Hungary's Ju 86s began to be replaced by Italian
Caproni Ca.135 bombers. An independent bomber squadron, equipped with a mix of Ju 86s and Ca 135s was deployed in support of the Hungarian
Gyorshadtest (or Fast Corps) during
the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union. However, the Ju 86 was withdrawn from front line service by Hungary during 1942.
reconnaissance aircraft, with Jumo 207
turbocharged diesel powerplants. In January 1940, the
Luftwaffe evaluated the prototype
Ju 86P, which could fly higher than 12,000 m (39,000 ft), where it was felt to be safe from enemy
fighters. The British
Westland Welkin and Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-9PD were developed specifically to counter this threat. Satisfied with the trials of the Ju 86P prototype, the
Luftwaffe ordered that some 40 older-model bombers be converted to
Ju 86P-1 high-
altitude bombers and
Ju 86P-2 photo-
reconnaissance aircraft, with pressurized fuselage, no armament, and a crew of two. The Ju 86P operated successfully for some years over Britain, the
Soviet Union and North Africa. During early 1941, the reconnaissance version flew sorties over Britain, but these stopped when Hitler invaded Russia (
Operation Barbarossa). By mid-1942, the pressurized bomber version was available, and flew about a dozen nuisance raids over southern England. The RAF created a special interception squadron equipped with modified
Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXs, leading to one bomber attempting a raid on
Portsmouth being intercepted and damaged on 12 September 1942. After this, no further flights over England were attempted. In August 1942, a modified Spitfire Mk V shot down a Ju 86P over
Egypt at an altitude of 14,500 m (49,000 ft). After the loss of two more aircraft, the Ju 86P was withdrawn from service in 1943. A single unit operated the
Ju 86R, which was capable of even greater altitudes than the Ju 86P, between 1943 and mid 1944. ==Surviving aircraft==