KAGERO
27 JUNKERS Ju87 STUKA V2 WW2 GERMAN LUFTWAFFE DIVE BOMBER *DECALS* StG
By Marek
J Murawski
SOFTBOUND BOOK with TEXT IN BOTH
ENGLISH & POLISH. ***INCLUDES COLOR
DECALS***
-------------------------------------
Additional
Information from Internet Encyclopedia
The Junkers Ju 87
or Stuka (from Sturzkampfflugzeug,
"dive bomber") was a two-man (pilot and rear gunner) German dive
bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, the Stuka
first flew in 1935 and made its combat debut in 1936 as part of the Luftwaffe's
Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
The aircraft was easily recognisable by its inverted gull
wings and fixed spatted undercarriage. Upon the leading edges of its faired
maingear legs were mounted the Jericho-Trompete
("Jericho trumpet") wailing sirens, becoming the propaganda symbol of
German air power and the blitzkrieg
victories of 19391942. The Stuka's design included several innovative
features, including automatic pull-up dive brakes under both wings to ensure
that the aircraft recovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out
from the high g-forces.
Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective against
ground targets, the Ju 87, like many other dive bombers of the war, was
vulnerable to modern fighter aircraft. Its flaws became apparent during the
Battle of Britain; poor manoeuvrability and a lack of both speed and defensive
armament meant that the Stuka required a heavy fighter escort to operate
effectively.
The Stuka operated with further success after the Battle
of Britain, and its potency as a precision ground-attack aircraft became
valuable to German forces in the Balkans Campaign, the African and
Mediterranean theaters and the early stages of the Eastern Front campaigns
where Soviet fighter resistance was disorganised and in short supply.
Once the Luftwaffe
lost air superiority on all fronts, the Ju 87 once again became an easy target
for enemy fighter aircraft. In spite of this, because there was no better
replacement, the type continued to be produced until 1944. By the end of the
conflict, the Stuka had been largely replaced by ground-attack versions of the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190, but was still in use until the last days of the war. An
estimated 6,500 Ju 87s of all versions were built between 1936 and August 1944.
Some notable airmen flew the Ju 87. Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the most
successful Stuka ace and the most highly decorated German serviceman of the
Second World War. The vast majority of German ground attack aces flew this
aircraft at some point in their careers.
The Ju 87 was a single-engined all-metal cantilever monoplane.
It had a fixed undercarriage and could carry a two-person crew. The main
construction material was duralumin, and the external coverings were made of
Duralumin sheeting. Parts that were required to be of strong construction, such
as the wing flaps, were made of Pantal (a German aluminum alloy containing
titanium as a hardening element) and its components made of Elektron. Bolts and
parts that were required to take heavy stress were made of steel.
The Ju 87 was fitted with detachable hatches and removable
coverings to aid and ease maintenance and overhaul. The designers avoided
welding parts wherever possible, preferring moulded and cast parts instead.
Large airframe segments were interchangeable as a complete unit, which
increased speed of repair.
The airframe was also subdivided into sections to allow
transport by road or rail. The wings were of standard Junkers double-wing
construction. This gave the Ju 87 considerable advantage on take-off; even at a
shallow angle, large lift forces were created through the aerofoil, reducing
take-off and landing runs.
Performance in the diving attack was enhanced by the
introduction of dive brakes under each wing, which allowed the Ju 87 to
maintain a constant speed and allow the pilot to steady his aim. It also prevented
the crew from suffering extreme g forces and high acceleration during
"pull-out" from the dive.
The fuselage had an oval cross-section and housed a
water-cooled inverted V-12 engine. The cockpit was protected from the engine by
a firewall ahead of the wing center section where the fuel tanks were located.
At the rear of the cockpit, the bulkhead was covered by a canvas cover which
could be breached by the crew in an emergency, enabling them to escape into the
main fuselage. The canopy was split into two sections and joined by a strong
welded steel frame. The canopy itself was made of Plexiglas and each
compartment had its own "sliding hood" for the two crew members.
The engine was mounted on two main support frames that
were supported by two tubular struts. The frame structure was triangulated and
emanated from the fuselage. The main frames were bolted onto the power plant in
its top quarter. In turn, the frames were attached to the firewall by universal
joints. The firewall itself was constructed from asbestos mesh with dural
sheets on both sides. All conduits passing through had to be arranged so that
no harmful gases could penetrate the cockpit.
The fuel system comprised two fuel tanks between the main
(forward) and rear spars of the (inner) anhedral wing section of the port and
starboard wings, each with 240-litre (63 US gal) capacity. The tanks
also had a predetermined limit which, if passed, would warn the pilot via a red
warning light in the cockpit. The fuel was injected via a pump from the tanks
to the power plant. Should this shut down, it could be pumped manually using a
hand-pump on the fuel cock Armature. The powerplant was cooled by a 10-litre
(2.6 US gal), ring-shaped aluminium water container situated between
the propeller and engine. A further container of 20-litre
(5.3 US gal) was positioned under the engine.
The control surfaces operated in much the same way as
other aircraft, with the exception of the innovative automatic pull-out system.
Releasing the bomb initiated the pull-out, or automatic recovery and climb,
upon the deflection of the dive brakes. The pilot could override the system by
exerting significant force on the control column and taking manual control.
The wing was the most unusual feature. It consisted of a
single center section and two outer sections installed using four universal
joints. The center section had a large negative dihedral (anhedral) and the
outer surfaces a positive dihedral. This created the inverted gull, or
"cranked", wing pattern along the Ju 87's leading edge. The shape of
the wing improved the pilot's ground visibility and also allowed a shorter
undercarriage height. The center section protruded by only 3 m (9 ft
10 in) on either side.
The offensive armament was two 7.92 mm
(.312 in) MG 17 machine guns fitted one in each wing outboard of
undercarriage, operated by a mechanical pneumatics system from the pilot's
control column. The rear gunner/radio operator operated one 7.92 mm
(.312 in) MG 15 machine gun for defensive purposes.
The engine and propeller had automatic controls, and an
auto-trimmer made the aircraft tail-heavy as the pilot rolled over into his
dive, lining up red lines at 60°, 75° or 80° on the cockpit side window with
the horizon and aiming at the target with the sight of the fixed gun. The heavy
bomb was swung down clear of the propeller on crutches prior to release.
Among the many German aircraft designs that participated
in the Condor Legion, and as part of other German involvement in the Spanish
Civil War, a single Ju 87 A-0 (the V4 prototype) was allocated serial number
29-1 and was assigned to the VJ/88, the experimental Staffel of the Legion's fighter wing. The aircraft was secretly
loaded onto the ship Usaramo
and departed Hamburg harbor on the night of 1 August 1936, arriving in Cadiz
five days later. The only known information pertaining to its combat career in
Spain is that it was piloted by Unteroffizier
Herman Beuer, and took part in the Nationalist offensive against Bilbao in
1937. Presumably the aircraft was then secretly returned to Germany.
In January 1938, three Ju 87 As arrived. Several problems
became evident - the spatted undercarriage sank into muddy airfield surfaces,
and the spats were temporarily removed. In addition, the maximum 500 kg
(1,100 lb) bomb load could only be carried if the gunner vacated his seat,
therefore the bomb load was restricted to 250 kg (550 lb). These
aircraft supported the Nationalist forces and carried out anti-shipping missions
until they returned to Germany in October 1938.
After that, during the Catalonia Offensive in January
1939, the Junkers Ju 87 returned to Spain and took part in multiple bombings.
On the morning of 21 January 1939, 34 Heinkel He 111, along with some escorts
and three Ju 87B, attacked the Port of Barcelona, five days before the city was
captured by the Fascists. 29 Republican fighters were defending the city. There
were more than 100 planes fighting and, while a Stuka was dive-bombing a ship,
a Republican Polikarpov I-15 managed to put himself behind him. After a long
fight, the pilot, Francisco Alférez Jiménez, shot down the Stuka near el
Vendrell, in Coma-ruga, but the Stuka was capable of landing on the beach
without crashing. That was the only time a Stuka attacked the capital of
Catalonia.
On 1 September 1939, the Wehrmacht invaded Poland,
triggering World War II. Generalquartiermeister
der Luftwaffe records indicate a total force of 366 Ju 87 A and Bs were
available for operations on 31 August 1939. The first Ju 87 operation was
destroy Polish demolition charges linking the rail routes across the Danzig
corridor from East Prussia and Pomerania. To do this, Ju 87s were ordered to
perform a low-level attack on the Polish Army Garrison head quarters. II. and
III./StG 1 targeted the cables along the embankment and the electricity plant
and signal boxes at Dirschau (now Tczew, Poland. At exactly 04:26 CET, a Kette ("chain" or flight of
three) of Ju 87s of 3./StG 1 led by Staffelkapitän
Oberleutnant Bruno Dilly
carried out the first bombing attack of the war. The Stukas attacked 11 minutes
before the official German declaration of hostilities and hit the targets. The
Ju 87s achieved complete success. However, the mission failed as the German
Army delayed their advance allowing the Poles to carry out repairs and destroy
all but one of the bridges before the Germans could reach it.
Operation Weserübung began on 9 April 1940 with the
invasions of Norway and Denmark, Denmark capitulated within the day whilst
Norway continued to resist with British and French help. The campaign was not a
Blitzkrieg of fast-moving
armoured divisions supported by air power as the mountainous terrain ruled out
close Panzer/Stuka cooperation. Instead, the Germans relied on paratroops, airborne
troops transported by Junkers Ju 52s and specialised ski troops. The Ju 87s
were given the role of ground attack and anti-shipping missions. The Ju 87
proved to be the most effective weapon in the Luftwaffe's armoury carrying out
the latter task.
The Ju 87 units had learned some lessons from the Polish
and Norwegian campaigns. The failures of Poland and the Stukas of I./StG 1 to silence the Oscarborg fort, ensured even
more attention was paid to pin-point bombing during the Phoney War period. This
was to pay off in the Western campaign. When Fall Gelb began on 10 May 1940, the Stuka helped swiftly neutralise the fortress of Eben Emael,
Belgium. The headquarters of the commander responsible for ordering the
destruction of the bridges along the Albert Canal was stationed in the village
of Lanaken (14 km/ mi to the north). However, the Stuka demonstrated its accuracy when
the small building was destroyed by four direct hits. As a result, only one of
the three bridges was destroyed, allowing the German Army to rapidly advance in
the opening days of the Battle of Belgium. The Ju 87 provided to be a useful
asset to Army Group B in the Low Countries. In pitched battles against French
armoured forces at Hannut and Gembloux Ju 87s effectively neutralised artillery
and armour.
The Ju 87 units were also instrumental in the Battle of
France. It was here that most of the Ju 87-equipped units were concentrated.
They assisted in the breakthrough at Sedan, the critical and first major land
battle of the war on French territory. The Stukawaffe flew 300 sorties against French positions, with StG
77 alone flying 201 individual missions. The Ju 87s benefited from heavy
fighter protection from Messerschmitt Bf 109 units. When resistance was
organised, the Ju 87s could be vulnerable. For example, on 12 May, near Sedan,
six French Curtiss H-75s from Groupe de Chasse I/5 (Group Interception)
attacked a formation of Ju 87s, shooting down 11 out of 12 unescorted Ju 87s
without loss. For the most part, Allied opposition was disorganised. During the
battles of Montcornet, Arras, Bolougne and Calais the Ju 87 operations broke-up
counter attacks and offered pin-point aerial artillery support for German
infantry.
The Battle of Britain proved for the first time that the
Junkers Ju 87 was vulnerable in hostile skies against well-organised and
determined fighter opposition. The Ju 87, like other dive bombers, was slow and
possessed inadequate defences. Furthermore, it could not be effectively
protected by fighters because of its low speed, and the very low altitudes at
which it ended its dive bomb attacks. The Stuka depended on air superiority,
the very thing being contested over Britain. It was withdrawn from attacks on
Britain in August after prohibitive losses, leaving the Luftwaffe without
precision ground-attack aircraft.
In response to the Italian defeats in Greece and North
Africa, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ordered the deployment of some German
forces to North Africa and the Mediterranean Theatre. Amongst the Luftwaffe contingent
deployed was the command unit StG 3, which touched down in Sicily in December
1940.
The Italian Regia Aeronautica was equipped for a while
with the Stukas. In 1939, the Italian government asked the RLM to supply 100 Ju
87s. Italian pilots were sent to Graz in Austria to be trained for dive-bombing
aircraft. In the spring of 1940, between 72 to 108 Ju 87 B-1s, some of them
ex-Luftwaffe aircraft, were delivered to 96° Gruppo Bombardamento a Tuffo. The
Italian Stuka, renamed Picchiatello,
was in turn assigned to Gruppi
97°, 101° and 102°. The Picchiatelli
were used against Malta, Allied convoys in Mediterranean and in North Africa
(where they took part in conquering Tobruk). They were used by the Regia
Aeronautica up to 1942.
In March 1941, the pro-German Yugoslav government was
toppled. A furious Hitler ordered the attack to be expanded to include
Yugoslavia. Operation Marita commenced on 7 April. The Luftwaffe committed StG
1, 2 and 77 to the campaign. The Stuka once again spearheaded the air assault,
with a front line strength of 300 machines, against minimal Yugoslav resistance
in the air, allowing the Stukas to develop a fearsome reputation in this
region. Operating unmolested, they took a heavy toll of ground forces,
suffering only light losses to ground fire.
In Greece, despite British aid, little air opposition was
encountered. As the Allies withdrew and resistance collapsed, the Allies began
evacuating to Crete. The Stukas inflicted severe damage on Allied shipping. On
22 April, the 1,389 ton destroyers Psara
and Ydra were sunk. In the next
two days, the Greek naval base at Piraeus lost 23 vessels to Stuka attack.
During the Battle of Crete, the Ju 87s also played a
significant role. On 2122 May 1941, the Germans attempted to send in
reinforcements to Crete by sea but lost 10 vessels to "Force D" under
the command of Rear Admiral Irvine Glennie.
The dive bomber wing supported Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps in its two-year
campaign in North Africa; its other main task was attacking Allied shipping. In
1941, Ju 87 operations in North Africa were dominated by the Siege of Tobruk,
which lasted for over seven months. It served during the Battle of Gazala and
the First Battle of El Alamein, as well as the decisive Second Battle of El Alamein,
which drove Rommel back to Tunisia.
On 22 June 1941, the Wehrmacht commenced Operation
Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Luftwaffe order of battle of
22 June 1941 contained four dive bomber wings. VIII. Fliegerkorps under the command of General der Flieger Wolfram von Richthofen was equipped with
units Stab, II. and III./StG 1.
Also included were Stab, I.,
II. and III. of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2
Immelmann. The Ju 87 took a huge toll on
Soviet ground forces, helping to break up counterattacks of Soviet armour,
eliminating strongpoints and disrupting the enemy supply lines. A demonstration
of the Stuka's effectiveness occurred on 5 July, when StG 77 knocked
out 18 trains and 500 vehicles. The
Stuka was also heavily involved in Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk. The
Luftwaffe committed I, II, III./St.G 1 and III./StG 3 under the command of
Luftflotte 6. I., II, III. of StGs 2 and 3 were committed under the command of
Hans Seidemann's Fliegerkorps VIII. Hauptmann
Rudel's cannon-equipped Ju 87 Gs had a devastating effect on Soviet armour at
Orel and Belgorod. In the final months
of the war the ground attack groups were still able to impose operational
constraints upon the enemy. Most notably the aircraft participated in the
defence of Berlin. On 12 January 1945 the 1st Belorussian Front initiated the
VistulaOder Offensive. The offensive made ground in its early phases. However,
the Soviets soon outran their air support which was unable to use forward,
quagmire-filled, airfields. The Germans, who had fallen back on air bases resplendent
with good facilities and concrete runways, were able to mount uninterrupted
attacks against Soviet army columns. Reminiscent of the early years, the Luftwaffe was able to inflict high
losses largely unopposed. Over 800 vehicles were destroyed within two weeks. In
the first three days of February 1945, 2,000 vehicles and 51 tanks were lost to
German air attacks. The Belorussian Front was forced to abandon its attempt to
capture Berlin by mid-February 1945. The Ju 87 participated in these intense battles
in small numbers. It was the largest concentration of German air power since
1940 and even late as February 1945 the Germans were able to achieve and
challenge for air superiority on the Eastern Front. The air offensive was
instrumental in saving Berlin, albeit only for three months. The effort
exhausted German fuel reserves. The contribution of the Ju 87 was exemplified
by Hans-Ulrich Rudel, who claimed 13 enemy tanks on 8 February 1945.
Bulgaria - Bulgarian Air Force
Croatia - Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Drave Hrvatskeb
Nazi Germany - Luftwaffe
Kingdom of Hungary - Royal Hungarian Air Force
Kingdom of Italy - Regia Aeronautica
Kingdom of Romania - Royal Romanian Air Force
Slovakia Slovak Republic - Slovak Air Force