The thrilling story of a 1942 duel in the stratosphere between Germany’s Junkers Ju-86 high-flying spy plane and a specially modified Spitfire in the hands of a daredevil prince.

The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to Swissair and five to Deutsche Luft Hansa. In addition a single civilian Ju 86Z was delivered to Sweden’s AB Aerotransport.

The bomber was field-tested in the Spanish Civil War, where it proved inferior to the He 111. Four Ju 86D-1s arrived in Spain in early February 1937, but after a few sorties one of them was shot down on 23 February by Republican fighters with the loss of three crewmen killed and one captured.

A replacement aircraft was sent from Germany, but in the summer of 1937 another was lost in an accident, and the three remaining aircraft were sold to the Nationalist air forces. Ju 86s were again used in the 1939 invasion of Poland, but retired soon after.

In January 1940, the Luftwaffe tested the prototype Ju 86P with a longer wingspan, pressurized cabin, Junkers Jumo 207A-1 turbocharged two-stroke, opposed-piston diesel engines and a two-man crew.

The Ju 86P could fly at heights of 12,000 m (39,000 ft) and higher on occasion, 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.[12]

Sources: YouTube; Wikipedia
