The engine was the Junkers L88a,[2] which combined two six-cylinder inline L8 motors into an upright V-12 and had a two-stage supercharger plus intercooler to sustain power at high altitudes.

[3][4] The Ju 49 was built in typical Junkers fashion as a cantilever-wing monoplane of all-metal construction with stressed duralumin skin throughout, corrugated on the flying surfaces.

The aircraft had a fixed, split-axle main undercarriage which was noticeably tall, to accommodate the large-diameter propeller, plus a tailskid.

The pressurized cabin had five small portholes for the pilot, two forward, two sideways and one overhead, and there were two more, one on each side for the second crew member.

Externally this installation was characterised by a tall, inline vertical stack of exhausts, unlike the single sloping pipe of the L88a.

No absolute records were set, but the experience gained fed into later pressurized aircraft, particularly the Ju 86P bombers and reconnaissance machines.

Ultimately, the pressure cabin, insulated from the cold or heated was the way to allow crew and, eventually, passengers to travel in a normal environment.