Before the Allies would gain air superiority over the skies of France and Germany, the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bomber would reign supreme. The system, for a time, became the terror of both civilian and soldier alike, as the screaming howl of it's "Jericho Trumpet" sirens filled the sky with a shriek before letting lose with the aircraft's payload. In essence, the dive bomber was, for the first time, being used to critical effect - an almost forecasting of the capabilities of today's direct-strike precision bombing.
The Ju 87 grew out of four similar prototypes fitted with slightly different powerplants and airframes. The final of the four prototypes of the Ju 87 V1 series would end up as the official and initial production models for service with the German Luftwaffe. The system, among other weapons and tactics, would be utilized to stunning effectiveness with Germany's participation in the Spanish Civil War - these particular Stukas would be flown by the famed "Condor Legion" from 1938-1939.
Once the invasion of Europe was in full swing, the Stukas appeared over the skies of Poland in the invasion of that country, laying waste to both military and civilian targets. The weapon earned it's deadly reputation early on due to it's ability to precision strike at will. The stage would ultimately be set for the Battle of Britain, where countless Ju 87 Stukas would be thrown into the fray.
The Battle of Britain exposed various performance and capability issues with the Ju 87 Stuka. British aircraft were capable of attacking the system at will unless the Ju 87 was supported by escort craft. As a result, the Ju 87's were temporarily withdrawn from aggressive service in the battle after heavy losses began to mount.
Not to be outdone, the Ju 87 was refined in the Ju 87D model and posted to the East Front and the North African Campaigns just a year later. The Ju 87G model was then conceived of as a "tank buster" and armed with twin 37mm cannons. This system would provide some much needed success to the series in what would later prove to be one of the most successful aircraft designs of the war.
The Ju 87 was crewed by a pilot and a rear-gunner situated in a rear cockpit position. The gunner maintained a twin-7.92mm machine gun arrangement and was charged mostly with defending the aircraft from rear-approaching aggressors. The Stuka flew with gears fixed in the down position and flaps were extracted when the bomber would enter into a dive.
To put the value of this war machine in perspective, Luftwaffe pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel would be credited with the downing of three major Allied navy ships - a battleship, a destroyer and a cruiser - on top of another 519 armored vehicles (mostly Allied tanks) destroyed. To that end, interest in dive bombing increased on the side of the Allies, resulting in several successful tries at such a weapon. In all, production of the Ju 87 Stuka series numbered some 5,709 aircraft in various makes and models making it one of the most recognizable of all the German aircraft - if not by name then by visual appearance.
General characteristics (Ju-87 B-2)
* Crew: 2 * Length: 11.00 m (36 ft 1.07 in) * Wingspan: 13.8 m (45 ft 3.30 in) * Height: 4.23 m (13 ft 10.53 in) * Wing area: 31.90 m² (343.37 ft²) * Empty weight: 3,205 kg (7,086 lb) * Loaded weight: 4,320 kg (9,524 lb) * Max takeoff weight: 5,000 kg (11,023 lb) * Powerplant: 1× Junkers Jumo 211D liquid-cooled inverted-vee V12 engine, 1200 PS (1184 hp, 883 kW) * Propellers: Three-blade Junkers VS 5 propeller, 1 per engine o Propeller diameter: 3.4 m (11 ft 1.85 in)
Performance
* Never exceed speed: 600 km/h (373 mph) * Maximum speed: 390 km/h @ 4,400 m (242 mph @ 13,410 ft) * Range: 500 km (311 mi) with 500 kg (1,102 lb) bomb load * Service ceiling: 8,200 m (26,903 ft) with 500 kg (1,102 lb) bomb load
Armament
* Guns: 2× 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine gun forward, 1× 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun to rear * Bombs: Normal load = 1× 250 kg (551 lb) bomb beneath the fuselage and 2× 50 kg (110 lb) bombs underneath each wing.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
