The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was the most famous Sturzkampfflugzeug (German dive bomber) in World War II, instantly recognisable by its inverted gull-wings and fixed undercarriage.
The Stuka's design featured some innovative features, including an automatic pull-up system to ensure that the plane recovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high acceleration, and wind-powered sirens on the wheel covers that wailed during dives to scare its victims. (A similar technique is shown in the movie Apocalypse Now). 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.
The Stuka was sturdy, accurate, and very effective, but also slow, unmaneuverable, underarmed, and vulnerable to enemy fighters. The Germans learned in 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 (notably in the attacks on Crete and Malta), and was 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.
More than six thousand Ju 87 were built between 1936 and August 1944.
General Characteristics
(Models not listed include the Ju87C naval derivative of the Ju87B, intended for use on the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin; the Ju87E naval derivative of the Ju87D; the Ju87R long-range version of the Ju87B; the Ju87H disarmed versions of the equivalent D-models for use as trainers; the Ju87K export models; the Ju87D-5 and later models with increased wing span.)
Ju 87A
Ju 87B
Ju 87D
Ju 87G
Production
1936-1938
1938-1941
1941-1944
refitted Ju87D
Role
ground attack
ground attack
improved ground attack
tank-buster
Length (m)
10.8 m
11.5 m
11.5 m
11.5 m
Wingspan (m)
13.8 m
13.8 m
13.8 m
13.8 m
Height (m)
3.90 m
3.77 m
3.77 m
3.77 m
Wing area (m²)
31.90 m²
31.90 m²
31.90 m²
31.90 m²
Empty weight (kg)
2273 kg
2760 kg
2810 kg
3600 kg
Maximum weight (kg)
3324 kg
4400 kg
5720 kg
5100 kg
Engine
Junkers Jumo 210D
Junkers Jumo 211Da
Junkers Jumo 211J
Junkers Jumo 211J
Power (hp)
720 hp
1200 hp
1420 hp
1420 hp
Power (kW)
530 kW
883 kW
1044 kW
1044 kW
Maximum speed (km/h)
310 km/h
340 km/h
354 km/h
344 km/h
Dive speed (km/h)
550 km/h
600 km/h
600 km/h
Range with bombs (km)
800 km
600 km
1165 km
1000 km
Ceiling (m)
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
1×7.9 mm MG17
2×7.9 mm MG17
2×7.9 mm MG17
2×7.9 mm MG17 2×37 mm BK3,7
Rear guns
1×7.9 mm MG15
1×7.9 mm MG15
1×7.9 mm MG81Z (twin MG81)
1×7.9 mm MG81Z (twin MG81)
Max Bombs (kg)
250 kg
500 kg
1800 kg
none
-> The Ju 87A was able to carry a single 500 kg bomb but only without the rear gunner and at short ranges. -> The Ju 87B might have been able to carry a single 1000 kg bomb but only without rear gunner and at short ranges. -> The Ju 87D was able to carry this huge bomb load only at short ranges.
The JunkersJu87 or Stuka was the best known Sturzkampfflugzeug (German dive bomber) in World War II, instantly recognisable by its inverted gull wings, fixed undercarriage and infamous wailing siren.
A Ju 87G-2, captured by British troops in Germany in 1945, is displayed in the RAF Museum in London.
The Sinsheim Auto and Technik Museum displays the remains of an aircraft that crashed near Saint-Tropez in 1944 and was raised from the sea-bed in 1989.
Unfortunately for Junkers, both the company and the man, the Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1932 and all German aviation development was shifted away from long-range civil aircraft types.
Junkers then adapated the Ju 89 to passenger use, introducing the JunkersJu 90, one of the first planes specifically designed for scheduled trans-Atlantic flights to the US.
Prior to WWII, it is noted that the JunkersJu 52 was utilized in the Spanish Civil War, where it took part in the Condor Legion's destructive raids on Durango and Guernica in 1937 which illustrated to the world - for the first time - the destructive potential and horror of strategic bombing.
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