Junkers Ju 87

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Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
Junkers Ju 87D "Stuka"
Junkers Ju 87D
Type: Dive fighter
Design country:

German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire

Manufacturer:

Junkers

First flight:

September 17, 1935

Commissioning:

Spring 1937

Production time:

1937 to 1944

Number of pieces:

5752

The Junkers Ju 87 was a single-engine fighter aircraft from the time of the Second World War from German production. The low- wing aircraft developed by Junkers Flugzeugwerk AG with gull wing wings , rigid chassis and a two-man crew was used by the German Air Force and the air forces of allied countries. Its main task was precise daytime bombing as part of tactical operations as a dive bomber ( Stuka ). Later versions of the D series were mainly used as ground attack aircraft.

history

A Ju 87 in the Soviet Union
Ju 87 D in action (the landing gear fairing was sometimes removed on muddy field airfields)
Junkers Ju 87 B "Picchiatello" of the Italian Regia Aeronautica

development

In April 1934, the Aviation Technology Department in the Heereswaffenamt (from 1935: Technical Office in the Reich Aviation Ministry ) issued a tender to the aviation industry . Because of the inadequate bomb sights for level flight, the new machine should be able to attack point targets in a dive - an operational idea that was pursued in Germany as well as in the USA at the time. In addition to the Ju 87 developed by Hermann Pohlmann at Junkers, the Heinkel He 118 and the Arado Ar 81 were also created in response to the tender . The comparison flight in 1936 was won by the Ju 87. The tender for a light dive fighter aircraft, for which the Blohm & Voss Ha 137 , Fieseler Fi 98 and Henschel Hs 123 were developed, running almost simultaneously, but completely independently of it , has nothing to do with this . Both processes are often mixed up in the literature.

Typical of this machine, which was best known for its use as a dive fighter (Stuka), were the pronounced gull wing wings , the rigid landing gear with characteristic fairing and the demoralizing howling sound of its siren (" Jericho trumpet ") during a fall attack.

The first test samples had a double tail and a British twelve-cylinder - V engine type Rolls-Royce Kestrel . The first flight of the Ju 87 V1 took place on September 17, 1935. On January 24, 1936, a demolition of the twin tail unit during attempts to dive led to the Ju 87 V1 crashing near Kleutsch . The pilot Willy Neuenhofen and his test engineer Heinrich Kreft were killed.

In the second prototype Ju 87 V2, the pre-series A-0, and the series A-1 and A-2 were carburetor - aircraft engines of the type Junkers Jumo 210 used with capacities of 600 to 700 hp. Part of the A-2 series and all other versions were powered by more powerful Junkers Jumo 211 with direct gasoline injection and outputs from 1000 to 1500 hp.

commitment

A dozen of the then highly secret Ju 87 A and B were used from 1938 in the Spanish Civil War in the 5th squadron of Jagdgruppe 88 (5th J / 88) of the Condor Legion, among others from Calamocha and La Sénia . In May 1938, four arbitrarily selected small towns without any military significance in the hinterland of the province of Castellón (Albocácer, Ares del Maestre, Benasal and Villar de Canes) were bombed for test purposes, killing a total of 38 people.

At the beginning of the Second World War , around 200 Ju 87 A were given to school units and replaced by the heavily modified and more powerful Ju 87 B-1. The 366 aircraft that were operational at the start of the war had a larger vertical tail, a new landing gear fairing and an improved cabin. In addition, a small number of Ju 87 C-0s were available, equipped with hooks, folding wings and additional marine equipment as carrier aircraft for the planned aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin , and delivered to land-based units. In addition, a long-range version Ju 87 R was already being planned.

On August 15, 1939, the Stuka accident in Neuhammer occurred , the worst catastrophe of the German Air Force before the Second World War. On the military training area Neuhammer (Silesia) 13 Ju 87s of Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 flew into the ground during a dive demonstration from too low a height, with all 26 crew members perishing.

Thanks to the German air superiority , the Ju 87 was initially used successfully as a close air support aircraft for the advancing army troops in the attack on Poland in 1939 and then in the French campaign in 1940 . The Ju 87, a symbol of the Blitzkrieg tactics, dates from this time . For this purpose, it was used in special Sturzkampfgeschwader, of which there was Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 and 77 . In addition, the IV. Group of Lehrgeschwader 1 was equipped with it.

During the Battle of Britain in August 1940, attacks were flown against targets in southern England. Here the use of the Ju 87 as a bomber led to high losses. The reasons for this were the low speed and insufficient defensive armament. The aircraft could only be used effectively outside of the immediate combat support for ground troops if the escort was guaranteed by fighter planes , which the Air Force did not succeed against the Royal Air Force .

After that, the Ju 87 was mainly in the versions D and G of use as a dive bomber and attack aircraft for close air support and armored fighting over the Mediterranean, Africa and on the Eastern Front reserved. A special version of the tank destroyer was armed with two 37 mm cannons instead of bombs. This tank destroyer, the Ju 87 G, was first used by the unit led by Hans-Ulrich Rudel . After Hermann Göring, Rudel was the most highly decorated soldier in the Wehrmacht and, among other things, destroyed 519 Allied tanks. The Soviet soldiers called the Ju 87 a Lapotnik (bast shoe maker ) because of its rigid chassis .

From April 1943 Ju 87s served in Luftlandegeschwader 1 as tow planes for the cargo glider DFS 230 .

The Ju 87's last decisive battle missions in the Mediterranean were when fighting the Italian troops on Kefalonia and Corfu in September 1943 and when fighting British land and naval forces in the Aegean Sea in October and November 1943 ( Dodecanese campaign (1943) ), in particular at the Battle of Leros from November 12 to 16, 1943.

The Italian , Bulgarian and Romanian air forces also used Ju 87s. The Ju 87 in the versions D-3 and D-5 was used by Romania from 1943 against both the Soviet Union and - after the end of the alliance with Germany - against troops of the Wehrmacht.

Despite all its weaknesses, the Ju 87 was the most successful dive fighter aircraft of World War II. In 1939 and 1940 in particular, it was an extremely effective weapon, which owed its reputation not least to National Socialist propaganda . A typical example of this was - apart from the newsreels - the propaganda film Stukas , produced by UFA in 1941 and directed by Karl Ritter .

production

Assembly hall, 1942

The Ju 87 was manufactured by the Junkers aircraft works in Dessau and the Weserflug in Bremen and Berlin-Tempelhof . From 1941 onwards , numerous parts were manufactured in branch factories in Bunzlau , Kalisch , Rabstein , Königswald and Biskupice . At Weserflug, 40 Ju 87 D-3s were converted to G-2s. 100 aircraft were converted into night warplanes at Blohm & Voss in 1944 .

Before the war, the Ju 87 was not approved for export. Only one machine was exported to Japan in 1937 . After fascist Italy entered the war , the country ruled by Mussolini received a total of 97 aircraft in 1940/41. Four Ju 87s were delivered to the Kingdom of Hungary for testing in 1940.

Construction figures for the Ju 87 up to November 30, 1944

version Junkers WFG total construction time
A. 192 70 262 July 1937 - September 1938
B-1 311 386 697 September 1938 - May 1940
B-2 56 169 225 February 1940 - October 1940
R-1 105 105 January 1940 - May 1940
R-2 472 472 June 1940 - July 1941
R-4 144 144 May 1941 - October 1941
D-1 592 592 August 1941 - July 1942
D-3 1559 1559 May 1942 - November 1943
D-5 1488 1488 May 1943 - September 1944
G-2 208 208 December 1943 - July 1944
total 559 5193 5752

Versions

Junkers Ju 87 A

Ju 87 A

  • first series version, Junkers Jumo 210 engines with 640 and 680 hp
  • Armament: a MG 17 in the right wing, a movable MG 15 in the rear, bomb load maximum 500 kg
Junkers Ju 87 B

Ju 87 B

  • First large-scale production version, Junkers Jumo 211 engines with 1100, later 1200 hp
  • Armament: two MG 17 in the wings, a movable MG 15 in the rear, bomb load maximum 1000 kg
Model Ju 87 C: Illustrates folding wings, catch hooks, catapult fittings

Ju 87 C

  • Ju 87 B with equipment for use on the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin . The five aircraft ordered by Junkers were delivered between April and October 1941.
  • after the failure of the carrier project, it was dismantled to stand Ju 87 B.

Ju 87 R

  • "R" for range, like Ju 87 B but 300 l additional tank under each wing for double the range, maximum bomb load of 500 kg with additional tanks
  • often used against shipping in the English Channel or in the Mediterranean

Ju 87 D

  • most built model series
  • Aerodynamic revision with additional coolers under the wings and a smaller cooler under the engine, from D-5 with a larger span (15 m instead of 13.80 m)
  • the armor was improved and the maximum take-off mass increased to ≈6500 kg
  • Engines from 1300 to 1500 HP and higher fuel capacity for ≈1400 km range
  • Increase of the bomb load up to 1800 kg, replacement of the movable MG 15 in the rear stand with a movable twin MG 81 Z
    • Attack aircraft versions from D-5 with two 20-mm MG 151/20 cannons instead of the MG 17 in the wing bends, no dive brakes
A Ju 87 G in the Soviet Union

Ju 87 G (G-1 and G-2)

  • Attack aircraft and tank destroyer, also known as "Kanonenvogel" and "Panzerknacker"
  • G-1 conversion from older Ju 87 D, G-2 conversion and new construction with enlarged wings of the D-5.
  • Armament: two 3.7 cm FlaK 18 cannons under the wings and the movable MG 81 Z in the rear stand, no bombs carried
  • Range of ~ 1200 km slightly below the Ju 87 D.

Ju 87 H.

  • Training aircraft with dual controls, emerged from the Ju 87 D.

Ju 87 T

  • Carrier version for the Graf Zeppelin based on the Ju 87 D, only in the planning stage

Preserved machines

Junkers Ju 87 G-2 (Royal Air Force Museum Hendon)
Wreck of a Ju 87 in the Auto and Technology Museum Sinsheim

Today there are only two complete Ju 87s left.

One is in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The last fully preserved Ju 87 in Europe is in the Royal Air Force Museum Hendon , Great Britain .

In Germany, a damaged Ju 87 can be seen in the Auto and Technology Museum in Sinsheim , which was recovered from a depth of 90 meters near St. Tropez . In addition, the German Museum of Technology Berlin owned two Ju-87 wrecks that had been found in the Russian tundra . One is still on display, the second wreck was sold to Paul Allen's Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (FHCAM) . In November 2018, the FHCAM announced that the R-4 with the serial number 6234 should be restored to flyable.

In September 2014, the wreck of an Italian Ju 87 R-2 belonging to Regia Aeronautica was found off the Croatian island of Zirje, which had to ditch on April 12, 1941 after an attack on the Yugoslav naval base of Jadrtovac in the Adriatic Sea. The aircraft is in relatively good condition and is likely to be recovered.

Countries of operation

During the battle of Tali-Ihantala (June 25 to July 9, 1944), Finland was supported by the German Reich with around two dozen Ju 87s in the Kuhlmey battle group .

Technical features

Automatic dive

Sketch of the fall process with the automatic dive brake

In order to ensure safe interception even if the pilot was briefly unconscious as a result of the high g-forces , an automatic dive and interception system was built into all Ju 87s, which made it much easier for the pilot to aim at, approach the target and then intercept. By activating the automatic, the dive brakes were extended, whereupon a trim tab on the elevator brought the machine into a top-heavy flight condition. In addition, the control stick was limited to a deflection of 5 °. When a pre-calculated dropping height was reached, the pilot triggered the bomb (s), which caused the automatic system to pull the trim tab back, the aircraft became heavier on the tail and the interception process was initiated. So that the bomb under the fuselage could not get into the propeller after it was triggered, a deflector fork led it out of the propeller area. Usually the fall was flown at an angle of 70 to 90 °.

siren

In the early versions of the Ju 87, noise devices were installed on both chassis panels, the propellers of which were driven by the airflow. These so-called Jericho trumpets were used to amplify the howling sound during a fall attack. As part of psychological warfare , they were intended to demoralize the enemy. There were also bombs with noise generators on the tail fins.

According to the Chief of Staff of the XXXXVIII. Panzer Corps Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin , Soviet soldiers "soon accepted the shock and fragmentation effects of Stuka attacks quite unimpressed".

Technical data (Ju 87 B and D)

Maintenance in North Africa
Ju 87 R-2 / Trop, work no. 5954 in the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
  • Length: 11.00 m
  • Height: 3.77 m (top of the mast to the ground)
  • Wingspan : 13.80 m (B-1), 15.00 m (from D-5, G-2)
  • Wing area: 31.9 m², 33.60 m² (from D-5, G-2)
  • Weight: empty: approx. 2750 kg (B-1, D-1), with payload 4250 kg (B-1), 5720 kg (D-1), 6585 kg (D-5).
  • Powerplant: a liquid-cooled Junkers Jumo 211 V12 engine with hanging cylinders
    • Ju 87 B-1: Jumo 211A with 1000 PS (736 kW) takeoff power
    • Ju 87 B-2: Jumo 211D with 1200 HP (883 kW) takeoff power
    • Ju 87 D / G series: Jumo 211J with 1420 PS (1044 kW) takeoff power
  • Top speed: 390 km / h (B-1), 408 km / h (D-1), 402 km / h (D-5)
  • Service ceiling : 8000 m (B-1), 7320 m (D-1, D-5)
  • Range: with typical bomb payload 550 km (B-1), 820 km (D-1, D-5)
  • Armament Ju 87 B :
    • two 7.92 mm MG 17 rigidly in the wing creases
    • a 7.92 mm MG 15 movable in the rear
    • Bomb load:
      • a single bomb of up to 500 kg under the fuselage (overload: up to 1000 kg)
      • typically one 250 kg bomb under the fuselage and four 50 kg bombs under the wings
  • Armament Ju 87 D :
    • two 7.92 mm MG 17 (D-5: two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons) fixed in the wing bends
    • a 7.92 mm twin MG 81 Z movable in the rear
    • Bomb load:
      • a single bomb of up to 1400 kg under the fuselage (D-5 overload: up to 1800 kg)
      • typically one 500 or 1000 kg bomb under the fuselage, four 50 or 70 kg bombs under the wings
      • Drop container AB 250, AB 70 and AB 50 each with 224, 50 or 40 fragmentation bombs, thick-walled 1 kg
      • various special armaments such as 2 kg fragmentation bombs or containers with several machine guns possible

See also

literature

  • Eric M. Brown Famous Air Force aircraft 1939–1945. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-87943-846-3 .
  • Junkers Ju 87 D-1 / The noise device. In: Aviation Lexicon. Verlag ES Mittler & Sohn, 1978, p. 3895 ff.
  • Hans Peter Eisenbach: Front operations of a Stuka pilot. Mediterranean and Eastern Front 1943–44. Helios, Aachen 2009, ISBN 978-3-938208-96-0 .
  • Helmut Erfurth: From the original to the model: Junkers. Ju 87. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 1999, ISBN 3-7637-6017-2 .
  • Olaf Groehler : History of the Air War 1910 to 1980. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1981.
  • Friedrich König: The History of the Air Force. (= Landser Library. Vol. 3, ZDB -ID 1175798-x ), Pabel, Rastatt 1980, p. 146.
  • Christian Möller: The operations of night battle groups 1, 2 and 20 on the Western Front from September 1944 to May 1945. With an overview of the formation and use of the disturbance and night battle groups of the German Air Force from 1942 to 1944. Helios, Aachen 2008, ISBN 978- 3-938208-67-0 (Also: Munich, University of the Federal Armed Forces, dissertation, 2007).
  • Kenneth Munson: Bomber. Patrol and transport aircraft 1939–1945. 3. Edition. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1977.
  • Wolfgang Wagner: Hugo Junkers aviation pioneer - his aircraft. (= German aviation. Vol. 24). Bernard & Graefe, Munich et al. 1996, ISBN 3-7637-6112-8 .

Web links

Commons : Junkers Ju 87  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Olaf Groehler: History of the air war 1910 to 1980. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1981, p. 163.
  2. ^ German biography: Pohlmann, Hermann - German biography. Retrieved September 5, 2019 .
  3. ↑ ¿Por qué Hitler bombardeó cuatro pacíficos pueblos de Castellón? El País , December 25, 2015 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ Alexander Ivanovich Pokryschkin: Heaven of War. Military Publishing House of the GDR , Berlin 1974, p. 45.
  5. ^ Royal Air Force Museum , London: Transportation Gallery: 1941 Junkers Ju-87R-2 Tropical Stuka. ( March 24, 2008 memento on the Internet Archive ) Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.
  6. ^ Battle of Britain Aircraft Collection. ( Memento of November 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (archive page).
  7. ↑ Junkers Ju-87 | Technology Museum Sinsheim. Retrieved September 5, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Junkers Ju 87 R-4 Stuka. In: Collection. Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum, November 10, 2018, accessed November 12, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Heiko Müller: Stuka rests in the Adriatic. In: Aviation Classics. No. 4/2015, pp. 38-40.
  10. ↑ Ju-87 Stuka Discovered. Video footage of a dive to the Ju 87 off Sibenik. Retrieved September 5, 2019 .
  11. ↑ cf. Photo In: historyofwar.org.
  12. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin : tank battles. A study of the use of tank units in World War II. Neckargemünd 1963, p. 170.