Junkers Ju 87

       Today features the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, a single-engine monoplane attack aircraft with an unusual story and an equally unusual appearance. The Ju 87 was designed by Hermann Pohlmann for Junkers. A prototype flew in 1935, and the plane entered service after in 1937. During the early years of World War 2, the Ju 87 was commonly featured in Nazi propaganda after finding success in the invasion of Poland. Around 6,000 Ju 87s were constructed between their entry into service and 1944, when it was determined that without air superiority in Europe, Ju 87s were too vulnerable to continue flying sorties.

    The Ju 87 was designed based on the philosophy that dive bombers should be simple and robust. Its inverted gull wings provided several benefits. Firstly, they generated more lift at low speeds, which improved performance during takeoff and landing. The dip in the center of the wing gave the pilot better visibility to the front of the aircraft when landing, and the shape resulted in higher ground clearance, granting it space for larger bombs. It was powered by a Jumo 211 inverted V-12 capable of producing up to 1,200 horsepower, but this wasn't enough to compensate for the increased drag caused by the inverted gull wing and the constantly extended landing gear. The top speed of the Ju 87 could barely break 230 mph, which meant it was unable to escape enemy fighters if it was intercepted without escort.

    Most Ju 87s were equipped with two to four forward-facing 7.92x57mm MG 17 machine guns, and two rear-facing MG 81 guns in the same caliber for the gunner. Later variants replaced the forward-facing machine guns with a pair of 20mm MG 151 cannons. A slim number on the Eastern Front were converted into Ju 87G "Kanonenvogel" (cannon birds) that carried 37mm cannons beneath their wings. Their performance suffered heavily as a result. The Ju 87 saw great success early in the war during the invasion of Poland and the low countries, during which the sirens attached to their landing gear proved damaging to enemy morale. However, the success of the Ju 87 couldn't last. They proved useless against advanced fighters in the Battle of Britain, and were gradually replaced in the ground attack role after 1943 until the eventual cancellation of their production in 1944.

    The siren on the Ju 87 Stuka was known as the "Jericho Trumpet," and was powered by air flow. While it was demoralizing for enemies, it also served as an audible indicator of speed for pilots during their dive. I found a picture of a Ju 87G, equipped with large 37mm cannons. The inverted gull wings are visible, as the wing dips leading away from the fuselage before angling upwards toward the wingtip. I also retrieved a short audio recording from YouTube showing what the sirens may have sounded like from the ground.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SPAD S.XIII

Image
     This week, we're diving into the SPAD S.XIII. The S.XIII was a biplane developed by the French company Société pour l'Aviation et ses Dérives , or SPAD. It was introduced in 1917, and was intended to be a combination of the previously successful S.VII along with the improved airframe of the S.XII. It saw service with the French  Aéronautique Militaire, the Royal Flying Corps and the US Army Air Service. In fact, the United States entered the war without an effective fighter and ended up adopting the SPAD S.XIII as its primary fighter. Over the duration of the war, the French delivered 893 S.XIIIs to the US Army Air Service, equipping nearly all of the American fighter squadrons. Overall, SPAD produced 8,472 S.XIIIs, making it one of the most produced fighters of the war.     The S.XIII  was a relatively conventional design for the time. It was a single-engine craft with wooden wings. The major difference from previous SPAD designs was its size and...
Read more

Sopwith F.1 Camel

Image
     For this first week, I'd like to take a look at the Sopwith F.1 Camel! The Sopwith Camel was a British biplane introduced during the first world war. Camel served extensively with the United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps and the United States Army Air Service, as well as other allied nations in more limited capacity. For the duration of its service in the war, Camel proved to be shockingly effective, scoring 1,294 air-to-air kills, more than any other aircraft in World War I.      Camel was incredibly maneuverable, due to the heaviest components being placed towards the front of the plane. The engine, weapons, fuel, and pilot all sat in line with or in front of Camel's wings. While this design provided an advantage in aerial dogfights, the arrangement also made it a difficult aircraft to fly. It was notably prone to entering dangerous spins during more violent maneuvers, and would leave pilots scrambling to recover control of their craft.  ...
Read more

Albatros D.III

Image
      Germany employed several notable combat craft throughout the first World War. In this post we'll focus on the Albatros D.III. Designed by  Albatros Flugzeugwerke, the D.III was a fairly straightforward development based on previous Albatros models. It entered German service in December of 1916, and was also license-built in Austria-Hungary. The Albatros is largely credited with bringing the German  Luftstreitkräfte  air superiority during the early months of 1917 in a period of the war known as Bloody April. Throughout the period, the British Royal Flying Corps suffered somewhere between 245 and 275 air losses. The Germans would lose 66 aircraft. The D.III undoubtedly made its mark on the war during Bloody April, but would be outclassed in the latter months of 1917 as new fighters such as the Sopwith Camel and SPAD S.XIII were introduced onto the battlefield.     The Albatros D.III  was an iterative design that built upon the previ...
Read more