Stuka
Ju 87 Junkers dive bomber

Stuka Ju 87 B

Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
Type: Two-seat German dive bomber.
History: Design of the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber and ground attack aircraft, by Dipl-Ing Pohlmann, began in 1933, and the Ju 87 V1 prototype first flew in early 1935. This was powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine and had twin rectangular fins and rudders, but the Ju 87 V2, flown in autumn 1935, was more representative of the production version, having a 610 hp Jumo 210A engine and a single tail. Following a 1936 pre-series batch of Ju 87 A-os, deliveries began in spring 1937 of the Ju 87 A-1 and the generally similar A-2. About 200 A-series were built before, in autumn 1938, there appeared the much­modified, Jumo 211-powered Ju 87 B, with enlarged vertical tail, redesigned cockpit enclosure and new-style fairings over the main-wheel legs instead of the earlier 'trousered' type.

A swarm of Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers. They were used in large numbers during the initial part of World War 2, and came to symbolise the concept of close support air operations for Blitzkrieg attacks by army Panzer formations.

Both A and B Stuka models were active with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War, but by September 1939 the Ju87As had been re-deployed as trainers, leaving a first-line strength of 336 as dive-bombers, all Ju 87 B-1 Stukas. Their ugly lines and wailing engines struck an especial note of terror throughout their comparatively uninterrupted attacks on Poland, France and the Low Countries during 1939­40, but against sterner opposition during the Battle of Britain their losses mounted rapidly.

Picture of a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka in the time of the Battle of Britain, taken from a propaganda colour movie.

Despite this, Ju 87 B production continued into 1941, induding substantial numbers for the Bulgarian, Hungarian, Italian and Romanian air forces; and the Ju 87 B continued to perform effectively in Luftwaffe service in the Mediterranean, the Balkans, North Africa and Russia, where Germany still maintained some measure of air superiority.

Flanked by a 1,102lb SC500 bomb, this Ju 87 B Stuka is seen on a Greek airfield during the Blitzkrieg campaign on the Balkans. This was the last campaign in which the Ju 87 demolished its targets and encountered little opposition.

In parallel production was the Ju 87 R, which from 1940 was employed for anti-shipping and other duties. The pre­war Ju 87 C, a 'navalised' version of the B with arrester hook and folding wings, was planned for the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin which, in the event, was never completed; instead, the few Ju 87 C-0s built served with a land-based unit, and others begun as C-1s were completed as B-2s.

Snow camouflaged Junkers Ju 87 B dive bomber taxiing in after a mission over the eastern front in winter 1941-1942.

Several sub-types were built of the next major series, the Ju 87 D. This had a cleaned-up airframe, uprated Jumo engine, armour protection, and increased armament and fuel. Most Ds were ground attack models, with weapon loads ranging from a single 1,800 kg under-fuselage bomb to a pair of underwing pods each with six 7.9 mm machine-guns. The Ju 87 D-5 introduced an extended wing of 15.00 m (49ft 2.6in) span; the D-7 was a more specialised version for ground attack at night.

Junkers Ju 87 D Stukas of I./StG5 on their way to a target near Leningrad early in 1943. Each aircraft carries three AB250 small bomb containers, eaach holding 108 SD-2 anti-personnel bombs or 17 SD-10 anti-armour bomblets.

Final operational variants were the anti-tank Ju 87 G, developed from the D-5, and the Ju 87 H dual-control combat trainer, produced by converting various Ju 87 D sub­types. The Ju 87 G, which entered service in 1943, carried a 37mm BK 3.7 cannon in a streamlined fairing beneath each wing, with which it became quite successful at knocking out Soviet T-34 tanks until better-dass Soviet fighters got the measure of it after the autumn of 1944. Production ended in September 1944, when more than 5,700 Ju 87s (all models) had been built.
Users: Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia.

Stukas over Poland, Blitzkrieg 1939.

Autumn 1941, on a road to Moscow. A German Stuka attacks field fortifications of the outer defence with board weapons. A hail of 2-inch high explosive shells goes down to the Soviet positions.