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The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was the best known Sturzkampfflugzeug (German: dive bomber, literally plunging combat aircraft) in World War II, instantly recognisable by its inverted gull wings, fixed undercarriage and infamous wailing siren — though these were only fitted to a few aircraft, the extra drag being unwelcome on an already sluggish aircraft.

General description

File:Luftsieg ueber Polen.jpg

Nazi propaganda image "Air victory over Poland" with an artistic vision of a Junkers Ju 87

The Stuka's design featured some innovative features, including automatic pull-up dive brakes under both wings to ensure that the plane recovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high acceleration, and a wind-powered siren under its nose that wailed during dives to frighten its victims. These were named "Trumpets of Jericho" by Junkers and were a form of psychological warfare. Its rugged fixed undercarriage allowed it to land and take-off from improvised airstrips close to the battlefront, giving close support to the advancing German forces. In all, almost 6,000 Ju 87 were built between 1936 and August 1944.

It was a Ju 87 that achieved the first Axis air victory during World War II, on September 1, when a Luftwaffe Ju 87 pilot shot down a Polish PZL P.11c fighter aircraft piloted by Capt. Mieczysław Medwecki.

Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective, the Stuka suffered from low speed and maneuverability, with little defensive armament, making it highly vulnerable to enemy fighters. The Germans learned during the Battle of Britain that air superiority must be obtained before ground attack aircraft could be effectively used. After the Battle of Britain, the Stuka was little used in western Europe, but it remained effective further south where Allied fighters were in short supply, most notably in the Battles of Crete and Malta. Perhaps the prime example of its vulnerability to fighters was the shooting down of five Stukas in the space of a few minutes, by the Australian ace Clive Caldwell in a P-40 Tomahawk on December 5, 1941, over Libya. Stukas were used in vast numbers on the Eastern Front, although the steady rise in Soviet airpower as the war progressed meant that Stuka squadrons suffered very heavy losses by the final stages of the war.

Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the most notable Stuka ace, and the most highly decorated German soldier of World War II. (Hermann Goering was awarded the Großkreuz des eisernen Kreuzes, but not for achievements in battle.)

The diving procedure

Flying at 4,600 meters (15,000 ft), the pilot located his target through a bombsight window in the cockpit floor. After opening the dive brakes and slowing his throttle, he then rolled the aircraft 180°, automatically nosing the aircraft into a dive. Red tabs protruded from the upper surfaces of the wing as a visual indicator to the pilot that in case of a g induced black-out, the automatic dive recovery system would be activated. The Stuka dived at a 60 - 90 degree angle, accelerating to 600 km/h (350 mph).

When the aircraft was reasonably close to the target, a light on the contact altimeter came on to indicate the bomb-release point, usually at a minimum height of 450 m (1,500 ft). The pilot released the bomb by depressing a knob on the control column to release weapons and to initiate the automatic pull-out mechanism. A clutch located under the fuselage would swing the bomb out of the way of the propeller, and the aircraft would automatically begin a 6 g pullout.

Once the nose was above the horizon, dive brakes were retracted, the throttle was opened, and the propeller was set to climb. The pilot regained control and resumed normal flight. The remaining bombs under the wings were used for other targets.

Tank destroyer (Ju 87G)

File:Ju87g 37mm.jpg

Ju 87 G-2 with 37mm guns

With the G variant, the aging airframe of the Ju 87 found new life as an anti-tank aircraft. Deployed on the Eastern Front in the early months of 1943 and armed with two 37 mm cannons mounted on underwing gondolas, each loaded with a 6-round magazine of high-explosive tungsten ammunition, the Kanonenvogel (or "cannon-bird" as it was nicknamed) proved spectacularly successful at the hands of the Luftwaffe ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel. While still slow, its stable attitude, large wings and low stall speed were valuable in the acquisition of slow moving targets, such as assault boats and ground vehicles. The Ju 87G even influenced the design of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, with Hans Rudel's book, Stuka Pilot, being required reading for all members of the A-X project ^[1].

Other designs

The concept of dive bombing became so popular among the leadership of the Luftwaffe, that it became almost obligatory in new aircraft designs. Later bomber models like the Junkers Ju 88 and the Dornier Do 217 were fitted for dive bombing. Even the giant Heinkel He 177 bomber was initially supposed to have dive bombing capabilities — a requirement that contributed much to the failure of the design.

Once the Stuka became too vulnerable to growing fighter opposition on all fronts, work was done to develop a replacement. All dedicated close support designs on the drawing board did not progress much further due to the war situation and technological obstacles. In response the Luftwaffe decided to settle on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft. The Fw-190 F and G series aircraft became good attack aircraft in their own right. The fighter bomber supplanted the Ju-87 along with other minor aircraft in the close support role from 1943 until the end of the war.

Variants

Ju 87A

Able to carry a single 500 kg bomb but only without the rear gunner and at short ranges.

Ju 87B

Able to carry a single 1000 kg bomb but only without rear gunner and at short ranges.

Ju 87R

Long-range version of the Ju 87B.

Ju 87C

Naval derivative of the Ju 87B, intended for use on the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin.

Ju 87D

Able to carry its maximum bomb load of 1,800 kg only at short ranges.

Ju 87 D-5

Increased wing span to 15.00 m and replaced the MG 17 with two MG 151/20 cannons to improve ground attack capability.

Ju 87E

Naval derivative of the Ju 87D, not built.

Ju 87H

Training version of the D-models with limited combat capability.

Ju 87K

Export models.

Survivors

Two intact Ju 87s survived and few more wrecks are on display today.

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has a Ju 87 R-2/Trop., this was captured in Libya 1941 and subsequently sent to the US.
A Ju 87 G-2, captured by British troops in Germany in 1945, is displayed in the RAF Museum in London.
The Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin has the wreckage of two complete aircraft that were recovered from separate crash sites near Murmansk in 1990 and 1994.
The Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum displays the remains of an aircraft that crashed near Saint-Tropez in 1944 and was raised from the sea-bed in 1989.
In October 2006, another Stuka was found underwater, near Rodos^[2].

Operators

Bulgaria
Croatia
Czechoslovakia (post-war captured)
Germany: Luftwaffe
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Romania
Slovakia
Yugoslavia (post-war captured)

Specifications

File:100 2500.jpg

model of Ju 87 G-1 with two guns


	Ju 87A	Ju 87B	Ju 87D	Ju 87G

Production	1936-1938	1938-1941	1941-1944	refitted Ju 87D
Role	ground attack	ground attack	ground attack	anti-tank
Length	10.8 m	11.1 m	11.1 m	11.1 m
Wingspan	13.8 m	13.8 m	13.8 m	13.8 m
Height	3.9 m	3.9 m	3.9 m	3.9 m
Wing area	31.90 m²	31.90 m²	31.90 m²	31.90 m²
Empty weight	2273 kg	2760 kg	2810 kg	3600 kg
Maximum weight	3324 kg	4400 kg	5720 kg	5100 kg

Engine	Junkers Jumo 210D	Junkers Jumo 211Da	Junkers Jumo 211J	Junkers Jumo 211J
Maximum Power	720 hp	1200 hp	1410 hp	1410 hp
Maximum Power	530 kW	883 kW	1037 kW	1037 kW
Maximum speed	310 km/h	383 km/h	408 km/h	375 km/h
Dive speed	550 km/h	600 km/h	600 km/h
Range with bombs	800 km	600 km	1165 km	1000 km

Ceiling	9430 m	8100 m	9000 m	7500 m
Climb		3000 m in 8.8 min	3000 m in 14 min	3000 m in 13.6 min
Forward guns	1×7.92 mm MG 17	2×7.92 mm MG 17	2×7.92 mm MG 17	2×7.92 mm MG 17 2×37 mm BK 37
Rear guns	1×7.92 mm MG 15	1×7.92 mm MG 15	1×7.92 mm MG 81Z (twin MG 81)	1×7.92 mm MG 81Z (twin MG 81)
Maximum bombs	250 kg	500 kg	1800 kg	none
Typical bombs	1×250 kg	1×250 kg + 4×50 kg	1×500/1000 kg + 4×50 kg	none

References

^ Boyd, the Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War; Coram, Robert; page 235
^ Ju 87 found near Rodos

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 ==Specifications==
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