In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 airlines, including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa, as both a passenger carrier and a freight hauler.

In a military role, large numbers flew with the Luftwaffe, being deployed on virtually all fronts of the Second World War as a troop and cargo transport; it was also briefly used as a medium bomber.

[2] On 13 October 1930, the first prototype, designated Ju 52ba, performed the type's maiden flight; it was initially powered by a single Junkers-built liquid-cooled V-12 engine, capable of generating up to 590 kW (800 PS).

When Junkers declined, the Nazis responded by demanding ownership of all patents and market shares from his remaining companies, under threat of imprisonment on the grounds of High Treason.

Despite Hugo Junkers' objections, his company, designs, and name would be pressed into military service to serve the militaristic regime that had gained power in Germany.

The dominant production model was the Ju 52/3mg7e, featuring advances such as an autopilot, enlarged doors to the cabin, and other general enhancements.

The final wartime model to be developed, designated Ju 52/3mg14e, featured improved armour protection for the pilot and a bolstered defensive armament.

[2] The fuselage was of rectangular section with a domed decking, comprising a tubular steel structure that was entirely covered by the corrugated metal skin.

[2] A port-side passenger door was placed just aft of the wings; this entrance also acted as a loading hatch for freight, the lower half functioning as a platform to ease cargo movements.

[citation needed] In late 1931, James A. Richardson's Canadian Airways received (Werknummer 4006) CF-ARM, the sixth-built Ju 52/1m.

By 1935, 97 Ju 52s were being operated by numerous airlines; early customers included Finland's Aero O/Y, Sweden's AB Aerotransport, and Brazil's Syndicato Condor.

[4] The Ju 52 was heavily used by Luft Hansa, it was able to fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours; both this route and the London-Berlin service was frequently operated by the type.

[citation needed] Bolivia acquired four Ju 52s in the course of the Chaco War (1932–1935), mainly for medical evacuation and air supply.

[20] According to Smith, the Ju 52 gained a formidable reputation; the type having been reportedly used in practically every major military engagement in support of Nationalist forces.

Lightly armed, and with a top speed of only 265 km/h (165 mph) — half that of a contemporary Hurricane — the Ju 52 was very vulnerable to fighter attack, and an escort was always necessary when flying in a combat zone.

Many Ju 52's were shot down by antiaircraft guns and fighters while transporting supplies, most notably during the desperate attempt to resupply the trapped German Sixth Army during the final stages of the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943.

Staffel in Kampfgeschwader 1 transported a company of Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) and a battalion of infantry to the northern part of Jutland, and captured the airfield at Aalborg, vital to support the operation in southern Norway.

[25] During the Norwegian campaign, the Luftwaffe's Ju 52s performed a total of 3,018 sorties, 1830 of which had been carrying troops while the remainder transported cargo and various supplies.

Some Ju 52's, both floatplanes and landplanes, were also used as minesweepers, known as Minensuch — literally, "mine-search" aircraft in German — and fitted with a 14 m (46 ft) diameter current-carrying degaussing ring under the airframe to create a magnetic field that triggered submerged naval mines.

It was during this campaign that the Ju 52 performed a crucial role in carrying out the first large-scale air attack with paratroops in history during the Battle for The Hague.

In addition to the paratroop drops, they also directly landed in hostile territory to deploy assault troops, such as at Ypenburg Airport, on public highways around The Hague, and on the River Meuse (the latter using float-equipped aircraft).

[29] During the opening days of the Netherlands campaign, many German aircraft were shot down by Dutch AA-fire; a total of 125 Ju 52s were lost and 47 damaged; author Hooton considered these losses to have been relatively costly for the Luftwaffe.

[30] Although transport operations with the Ju 52 were noticeably curtailed after the initial days of the invasion, the type continued to aerially supply forward ground troops.

[31] During August 1940, Nazi German decided to base large numbers of Ju 52s at airfields in the Lyon, Lille, and Arras areas.

[33] That began two catastrophic weeks in which more than 140 aircraft were lost in air interceptions,[34] culminating on 18 April with the "Palm Sunday Massacre" in which 24 Ju 52s were shot down, and another 35 staggered back to Sicily and crash-landed.

For example, British European Airways operated 11 ex-Luftwaffe Ju 52/3mg8e machines, taken over by the RAF, between 1946 and retirement in 1947 on intra-U.K. routes before the Douglas DC-3 was introduced to the airline.

[11] French airlines such as Societe de Transports Aeriens (STA) and Air France flew Toucans in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

In the USSR, captured Ju 52s were allocated to the Civil Air Fleet, being found particularly suitable for transporting sulphur from the Karakum Desert.

In Yugoslavia the Ju-52 was in use by Yugoslav Air Force, which also heavily financed flying clubs such as Letalski center Maribor and supported many parachuting sports activities with them.

Yugoslav plane number 208 dropped paratroopers for the last time in 1960 at Maribor Airport and today is preserved in the Aeronautical Museum Belgrade.