Junkers setbacks with crashes of prototypes in 1937 and 1938. Further refinements enabled certification in 1939 and spurred South African Airways to make an initial order for two aircraft fitted with US-built Pratt & Whitney engines. Just as the aircraft was being readied for its first commercial flights, World War II began. With the outbreak of hostilities, all models were requisitioned by the Luftwaffe for military air-transport roles, and later, long-range maritime patrol. Military aircraft production was begun by the company in the 1930s and eventually monopolized all its resources. Perhaps the most notable design was the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka"
Junkers Ju 290 were constructed for "special purposes" by Junkers. Their works numbers are unknown. What those "special purposes" were, or if they ever came to be, is unknown. A number of Ju 290s survived the war, the Allies evaluating at least three examples, none of which was known to have survived intact into the 21st century. Junkers Ju 290 The Junkers Ju 290 was a German large, four-engine long-range transport and maritime patrol aircraft used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II that had been developed from an earlier airliner. The Junkers 290 was developed directly from the Ju 90 airliner,