It will be difficult to find in World War II aircraft, which would be the Soviet soldiers as well as soldiers of the Allied armies, feared and hated more than the Junkers Ju 87. Without exaggeration, it is said, that "thing" is the best dive bomber of its time. Much more interesting is that the Ju 87 was the number of very remarkable technical solutions.
Editor's note: Photos used in the material are the pictures taken by reporters during the Second World War. The purpose of their use - a reflection of historical reality, and not the propaganda of German Nazism or fascism.
"The Ugly Duckling" of the Luftwaffe
Junkers Ju-87 "Stuck" - amazing aircraft. A single-engine dive bomber, two members of the crew (pilot and gunner) was able to become the best attack aircraft of World War II. The first flight of the machine has made September 17, 1935, and already in 1936, S-87 was put into service. Chief designer of the aircraft was
Herman Pollman. We used the "thing" until the end of the war. Today, in many historical films S-87 is endowed with great symbolic meaning, like machines MP-40 tanks "Tiger" and "Panther" bomber "Stuck" was the personification of the military power of Nazi Germany.Surprising is the fact that in terms of aviation "Stuck" at the time of creation was, if not frankly ambiguous, there's really very odd dive bomber. The fact that the Junkers Ju-87 very mediocre speed, not the best maneuverability and poor aerodynamics. The reason for this is primarily fixed landing gear, which will be discussed later. The "thing" was a very robust and reliable aircraft.
In the meantime, it is worth saying that in the beginning of the war it was S-87 made a huge contribution to the "blitzkrieg" against France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The first time the aircraft was used in Spain in 1936 as part of the Condor Legion. During the war years in Germany have created more than 6.5 million "pieces."
Interesting fact: The name "thing" comes from the «Sturzkampfflugzeug» - dive bomber.
Unison "Jericho pipe"
Dive S-87 with a further drop the bomb was the most important task of the combat aircraft. Most often carried out by pilots of the Luftwaffe dive at an angle of 40-50 degrees without the use of air brakes. In a controlled fall bomber speed steadily increased, making it difficult to work the enemy anti-aircraft guns. This was the strength of the "Junkers". In this case, if the air brakes are activated, they can own, without the help of the pilot to bring the aircraft out of the dive.
Distinctive couple, "Pieces" was the use of a special siren, nicknamed "the trumpets of Jericho». This device has operated the flow of oncoming air. As a result, during the dive plane he uttered a terrible howl. To change the tone of the howl pilot I knew when it was time to display S-87 from the height without the use of instruments. In addition, "the trumpets of Jericho" helped to demoralize the enemy troops on the battlefield. We used this siren until 1943.
As for the chassis, then the "thing" they were not cleaned at all. This was done solely from the utilitarian considerations. Command wanted to S-87 could sit even on improvised airfields near the front line and support the advancing troops. In fact, the aerodynamics of the car was sacrificed to the maximum number of sorties.
broken wings
Terrified S-87 only in the first years of the war. Despite the fact that he has always remained the best dive bomber is a military aircraft S-87 has a number of drawbacks. Already during the Battle of Britain, it became clear that due to the low speed and poor maneuverability use the "thing" without the domination of German fighter planes in the air - bad idea. After 1943, it became clear that the S-87 no longer meets the requirements, which specifies the situation at the front. However, the change to a new plane from Germany had neither the time nor the resources.
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A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/230519/50465/