Sturzkampfflugzeug — the Ju 87 “Stuka”

Sturzkampfflugzeug — the Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka”

Right side view of the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" — photo by Joe May

Left side view of the Sturzkampfflugzeug — photo by Joe May

When the Ju 87 existed only on the drawing board the concept of dive bombing existed but just barely. As single engine aircraft grew stronger with more powerful engines the world’s air forces tested the concept but the Luftwaffe was the force that developed dive bombing into a practice. The Stuka was designed to deliver ordinance with unheard of accuracy in a day when there were no computers to assist pilots in these aircraft. The Luftwaffe increased accuracy by eliminating variables such as wind drift, air density changes with altitude, humidity and airspeed.

The nose of the Stuka contained the inverted V-12 engine — photo by Joe May

How?

By designing an aircraft that could plummet from the sky*.

The pilot would roll inverted (the quickest way to get into a dive) and enter a dive at a very steep angle, typically between 60 and 90 degrees. Dive brakes would keep airspeed constant and lines scribed onto the pilot’s right side window panel were used to reference the horizon and vertical angles. The pilot would dive thousands of feet to release the bomb at 1500 feet (450m) or lower.

Crew compartment (notice the dive angle indication lines scribed onto the pilot's right hand window) — photo by Joe May

The Ju 87 had a mechanism that was not on other aircraft — one for automatic dive recovery — which protected the aircrew against g-induced loss of consciousness by giving the pilot several seconds to recover as the g-forces lessened. Once a climb was initiated the mechanism would continue to have the Ju 87 climb. Coming into service in 1936 but out of date by 1940 the Stuka came to epitomize the new type of warfare strategy developed by the German nation, the blitzkrieg.

Stooped Stuka (in what would have been a shallow diving angle for the aircraft) — photo by Joe May

Although retractable landing gear was becoming the norm during its design the Junkers firm opted for ruggedness and simplicity as the Ju 87 would be flying out of front line airstrips that would be continually relocated as the battle front shifted, so maintenance facilities were expected to be primitive. Fixed landing gear was decided upon and welding was kept to a minimum as bolted assemblies could be maintained more simply. The airframe was made of a few subassemblies so that the aircraft could be easily shipped.

Although thousands were built, only two complete Ju 87s are exhibited with three other wrecks on display.

The museums that have complete Stukas are:

• RAF Museum London
• Museum of Science & Industry — Chicago** (where the images, above, were taken)

The museums displaying recovered wrecks (intriguing to view) are:

• Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin wreck display with missing nose section
• Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum wreck display of the forward half of the aircraft
• Hellenic Air Force Museum wreck display with missing nose section

* I obtained much of this information from Wikipedia (though I generally trust Wikipedia it’s proper in research writing to verify information) and much of the technical data and flying techniques appear to come from this book: Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Manfred Greihl, 2001, ISBN 10-1840371987, 272 pp.

** a post was written of the Stuka previously, type “Stuka” into the search window and select ENTER to easily find it