Stuka JU-87


One of the best anti-tank aricraft of World War 2
One of the experiences from WW1 and part of the "Blitzkrieg" tactics, was the usage of aircraft as a highly mobile air artillery to support troops on the ground. One mean of deliver efficient air support with high accuracy of this kind was to utilize dive bombing.

A dive bomber is a light bomber aircraft that dives directly against its targets in order to provide greater accuracy. Diving as step as possible (vertically) at the target, striving for following the direction the bombs will take, the aircraft will release the bombs very close to the target (low level) at high speed. This more or less circumvents all of the major effects of drag and gravity which allows a dive bomber to accurately place bombs on small targets with relative ease. Additionally, no complicated precision gear (like the Norden bombsight) is needed. Since the dive bomber had a tremendeuos ability to deliver highly accurate fire. Dive bombers were preferably used to attack high value targets such as strong defensive positions, bunkers, ships, bridges, etc.


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Development
 

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Germany became influenced by Sweden and USA and started to develop their own dive bomber airplanes and tactics. In 1933 Ernst Udet witnessed a demonstration of divebombing techniques, perfomed by US. Air Force with F8 Curtis Hawk "Hell divers". Deeply impressed he suggested that Germany should implement this in the Luftwaffe. Göring promised Udet to buy him two Curtiss Hawks on the condition that he joined the Nazi party. Accepting the deal, Udet became a major proponent of the dive bomber concept, taking credit for having introduced it to the Luftwaffe (who were already interested in such designs but used Udet as a front). Several models were tested and came into use, but the most memorable outcome was the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka ("Sturzkampfflugzeug" = eng"diving fighter airplane"). The Stuka was based upon the Junkers K-47, and quickly became a great success...


THE STANDARD STUKA: The Ju 87B-1 may serve as an example of a standard Stuka. It flew with a crew of 2, the pilot and a rear-gunner. The engine was an 880kW Junkers Jumo 211Da that could pull the aircraft up to 385km/h. It had an operational ceiling of 8000m and a range of only 600km. Its armament was three 7.9mm machine guns (1X MG81 in each wing for the offensive role and 1X rear for the defensive role). It could carry either 1x 500kg bomb under the body of the aircraft or 4x 50kg bombs fitted to racks either under the fusilage or under the inboard portion of the wings. A third alternative were 1x 250kg bomb and 4x 50kg bombs. The standard Ju-87 was slow and had a limited range, making it wournable to fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery. It was a surprisingly accurate bomber, and the bombs were basically controlled by the pilot until the very last moment. Usually a wing of 30 Stukas would attack a target in 10 groups of three planes. The common practice of a pilot was to begin his dive at 15,000ft at an angle of 60-90°, turn on the siren, and dive earthward at up to 600km/h (350mph). He would drop the bomb at around 2,000ft, and then immediately pull up the nose and overcome a force of 4G to resume level flight. In adition to it´s weaponry the Stuka sometimes were equiped with wind-powered siréns on the wheel covers that made a terrible and frightening noice during the dive. Nicknamed "Trumpets of Jericho" - the sirén was probably the brainchild of Udet. The bombs were also sometimes equpied with whistles. The sirén and the whistles worked as an psychological weapon and imposed fear upon the enemy soldiers under attack.


 

From 1942 the Ju-87G-1 was developed to act as an anti-tank aircraft mainly on the eastern front. It was fitted with a 1400hp Junkers Jumo 211J engine. It had a maximum speed of 314km/h, a ceiling of 8000m and a very limited range of only 320km. The reduced speed and range was due to the armour plating installed to protect the pilot and gunner when flying low-level tank busting missions. It was armed with two [Flak-18 37mm cannons] in pods under the wings and a 7.92mm machine gun in the back for the gunner
Henschel Krupp production turret

The Jumo 211 was an inverted V-12 aircraft engine, Junkers Motoren's primary aircraft engine of World War II. It was the direct competitor to the famous Daimler-Benz DB 601 and closely paralleled its development. While the Daimler-Benz engine was mostly used in fighters and destroyers, the Jumo engine was primarily used in bombers such as Junker's own Ju 88 and Ju 87
.Total production of the 211 series amounted to 68,248 engines with a production peak of 1700 engines per month in the autumn of 1942.
   Combat Service 
                           
he Germans had relized that the dive bombing technique would allow a much smaller Luftwaffe to operate effectively in the tactical and ground support role, falling well within their idea of how to use a bomber aircraft. It was noted that air supperiority was vital for the success, so the first attacks were directed against runways, anti-aircraft artillery, etc. When air superiority was obtained the Stuka was deployed before the ground forces attack, operating from small frontline airfields, giving the advancing army a flexible responsive tool against the enemy forces. The Stukas assaulted known defensive strong points and key targets, clearing the way and soften up the line for the benefit of panzer and infantry units. By strafes and precision bombing the Stukas would attack targets such as: * troop concentrations * communication centers * fuel dumps * ammunition dumps * supply lines * roads - cutting them of This requiered a close cooperation between the ground forces and the Stukas. Through special ground to air coordinators ("Stukaleiters" - eng = "Stuka controller") - the panzer commanders could radio the Stukas to destroy any unexpected opposition or put down pinpoint precision bombing against an enemy position - very close to the own troops. The tight and smooth cooperation and communication between army and Luftwaffe commanders were the key elements in the successful campaign in 1940. Today we call this for Close Air Support (or Tactical Strike Support) and the aircraft are coordinated by a [Forward Air Controler - FAC]. The crossing at Meuse - 13th of May 1940, may serve as an example of tactics utilising the Stuka: * 120 Stukas were devided into three sections (40 airplanes/section). * At 7:00 hours Do-17 medium bombers attacked the defensive positions, followed by artillery fire observed from a "Fieseler Storch" artillery reconaissannce aircraft that was covered/escorted by a fighter support consisting of 80x "Me Bf-109s". * At 12:00 hours the first section with Stukas attacked in waves of 2-3 airplanes at the time. * The 2:nd section at an altitude of 12.000 feet looking for missed targets and attacking them. * The 3:rd section operated isolated from the other two sections, picking out single and moving targets. * At 15:00 hours, Do-17s and Ju-87s under protection from fighters, performed coordinated attacks together with artillery.






Stuka dive bombing target


 

PRE-DIVE CHECKLIST:

1. Landing flaps at cruise position.
2. Elevator trim at cruise position.
3. Rudder trim at cruise position.
4. Aircrew pitch set at cruise.
5. Contact altimeter on.
6. Contact altimeter set to release height.
7. Supercharger set to automatic.
8. Throttle pulled right back.
9. Cooler flaps closed.
10. Dive brakes opened.

THE DIVE SEQUENCE:

1. The pilot finds his target and begins diving. Dive brakes open, this automatically noses the aircraft over into a dive. Red tabs protrude from the upper surfaces of the wing as a visual indicator to the pilot : at the same time the automatic dive recovery system is actuated. The pilot aims the entire aircraft at his target using a simple gun-type sight (a marker on the canopy that he aligns with the target).

2. The Stuka dives at an angle between 60-90 degrees and accelerates to 600km/h (350mph). It would hold this speed with the help of the dive-brakes located on the wing, but this inevitably puts a lot of stress on the structure.

3. When the aircraft is reasonably close to the target, a light on the contact altimeter comes on to indicate the bomb-release point-usually at a minimum hight of 450m. The pilot releases 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 propellor, and it also starts pulling the plane up automatically incase the pilot have become unconscious.

4. When the bombs leave the cradl ethe pullout mechanism is activated and the airplane automatically initiates a 6g pullout, returning elevator trim tabs to normal position. Can be overridden by the pilot in emergency. Once nose is above horizon, dive brakes retract, throttle opens and air screw is set to climb. The pilot regains consciousness and control, and resumes normal flight. He use his remaining bombs under the wings for other targets.

 

Specifications

 
 

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 m˛ 31.90 m˛ 31.90 m˛ 31.90 m˛
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



stuka


The most famous Stuka ace must be Hans Ulrich Rudel that usually flew the Junkers Ju-87G-2 "Kanonenvogel". Rudel flew 2530 combat missions, and was granted almost no leave throughout his four years of active duty.

He was shot down 32 times with and many aircraft were brought back to base that were later written off, due to heavy combat damage. Rudel became wounded on many occasions, including the partial amputation of his right leg in the Spring of 1945, after which he continued to fly with a prosthetic limb. His most famous achivement occured in March 44. Rudel had landed behind Soviet lines to retrieve a downed German aircrew, but snow and mud bogged down the airplane - making it impossible to take off. Approaching Soviet troops forced them, to set the aircraft on fire and flee on foot. Barring their escape was the wide river of "Dnjestr". The Germans stripped to their longjohns, and swam across the ice-clogged river. Rudel's close friend and crewman, Erwin Henstchel, drowned a few meters from the far shore.

Rudel continued and were pursued by hundreds of Soviet troops, all intent on collecting the 100 000 ruble bounty which Stalin himself had placed on his head. During the escape Rudel became hit in the shoulder by a bullet as the Soviet soldiers chased him with dogs and from horsebacks. Through incredible ingenuity, audacity, and raw determination, Rudel escaped and made his way, alone but alive, back home, despite being more than 30 miles behind Soviet lines when he began his 24 hour trek. He was barefoot and almost naked in the sub-freezing winter weather, without food, compass, or medical attention.

All of Rudel's personal victories as a ground-attack pilot were achieved exclusively against the Soviets, operating under primitive condition. His confirmed victories (those witnessed by two or more fellow pilots) include: 518+ Tanks, 700 Trucks, 150+ Flak and Artillery positions, 9 Fighter/Ground Attack Aircrafts, the battleship "October Revolution", the cruiser "Marat" (in the harbour at Kronstadt), 70 landing crafts, and additional hundreds of bridges, railway lines, bunkers, etc. He also led the attack against the destroyers Kelly and Kashmir which resulted in their sinking (the 23 May 1941 south of Krete).

The 1st of January, 1945 Rudel was rewarded with the "Knight's Cross with Golden Oakleaves, Swords & Diamonds". Note that the Golden Oakleaves were awarded once during the entire war.


   


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