One of the most versatile and lethal aircraft of the Luftwaffe during World War II, the Junkers Ju-87 has been tested in numerous versions. The link you find on this post provides a collection of pictures showing several of them, some exclusive and never before seen by me in other publications. To see the photos, visit the link below:
http://aviacaoemfloripa.blogspot.com.br/2011/02/variantes-do-ju-87-stuka.html
Best Regards!
The problem with the JU-87 was that it was a single purpose strike aircraft that relied on air superiority to do its job. It was in fact obsolete after the fall of Poland and France - they were pulled from the Battle of Britain due to shocking losses.
What you're seeing in all those variants is an effort to find a use for the aircraft, since they had a lot of them and the Luftwaffe loved them. After mid 1940, the only real successes they had with them are the early stages of the invasion of the Soviet Union (where the OKW had air superiority), and in a limited role as a tank buster with big friggin' cannons mounted on the wings.
Everything they needed the JU-87 to do after the campaigns in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and France could be better handled by the JU-88.
The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.
Kind of like the A10 Warthog. Without air superiority it would be a deathtrap.
Ray
Many of those pictures are pre-war pre-production variants. The folding wings and catapults were for the versions planned for the Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier. The G-model tank buster version, with 37mm cannon under each wing, became successful after it was decided to make those airframes dedicated to the AT role, rather than modules used as the situation required. They flew successfully alongside of anti-tank versions of FW 190's until the end of the way. AT Stuka pilot Hans Ulrich Rudel destroyed more than 500 Soviet tanks flying all the way until the end of the war, landing his Stuka on the US control airfield a Kitzingen German on May 8. He was subsequently an adviser in the design of the A-10.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote