Amazing (Thus Far) Stuka Book

That is really quite interesting!

On 14 November a Ju 87 raid was directed at shipping in the Dover Straits. When no shipping was located the secondary target (the CH Radar Station behind Dover) was selected. But….I have not yet found any evidence that the site itself was attacked on that day.

I’d be really interested to know where your father was stationed, and what other details you might be able to supply!

If you look at the statistics for the use of the Ju87 against British targets in 1940 they are quite surprising.

As for the legend that they had to be withdrawn from the battle after losses on 16 and 18 August 1940…well….you’ll have to wait for the boo….;)

my dad who was in the army stationed in Kent says they were dive bombed by stukas in November 1940, alway wondered whether he got his plane recognition right

I can´t remember the exact issue, but remember reading a quite long article in Signal , the german propaganda magazine, about both the creation of the Stuka and about their pilots, explaining the clockwork automatic-release-and-pull-up-mechanism – and the effects the ensuing G-force had on the pilot.

Jon

Making it through the Battle of Britain part now. The book gives an interesting analysis of the Stuka as it was used in the weeks leading up to the Battle of Britain as well as the Battle itself. It made for interesting reading I thought.

Makes me think of the Stuka in a slightly different manner as it relates to the Battle of Britain. In short, yes, they took plenty of losses, but they seemed to do quite a good amount of damage…especially to naval vessels.

I’ll stay with the updates if anyone is reading…I just find this book to be quite a good read.

Still chugging along through the book, and there are some fascinating photos of Ju-87B’s on the production line. According to the text, the Stuka was designed with ease of maintenance and assembly in mind. They are even diagrams in the text of loadout plans (i.e. the various bomb sizes the Ju-87B could carry) and various points on the fuselage for jacking up the tail (to sight the guns), lift the aircraft off the ground, etc.

Quite a good read for a technical geek like myself. If you like the Stuka, you really owe yourself this book. It’s a bit pricey, but at well over 300 pages and tons of photos and diagrams it’s well worth it.

I’m learning quite a bit.

Are you sure those kills weren’t when he was flying the Fw-190?

Not sure will have a look but know he was a very accomplished pilot.

Gotta love the Stuka. It’s just such an amazingly wicked-looking beast. Shame there’s so few kicking around, but there’s a couple of flying replicas on the go (America and, strangely, Russia).

I’ve never read much about them, though. Maybe I need to start…?

Are you sure those kills weren’t when he was flying the Fw-190?

In any plane an exceptional pilot can prevail..Hans-Ulrich Rudel shot down 9 planes in his aircraft.What was the total of aircraft shot down by Ju87,s?

If you look at the statistics for the use of the Ju87 against British targets in 1940 they are quite surprising.

As for the legend that they had to be withdrawn from the battle after losses on 16 and 18 August 1940…well….you’ll have to wait for the boo….;)

I think as a precision bombing tool the Stuka was right up there with the best bombers – in terms of results, compare it’s pinpoint (approaching GPS standard at times) bombing accuracy to the area bombing accuracy prevelant at the time. I understand that The Battle of Britain was the Stuka’s first test against consistent, determined enemy fighter oppostion (although I daresay there are likely to have been similar inteventions by allied fighters during the Blitzkrieg). Similar encounters were learned the hard by Fairey Battles, Defiants, etc. on the allied side. To be tested in combat and have tactical shortcomings revealed can be a brutal business. The Battle of Britain ‘legend’ has coloured the Stuka’s overall reputation unfairly, I think.

As a boy, I was suckered in to this school of thought when reading about the Battle of Britain. If I’d read first about Stuka contribution to the war in Russia my youthful point of view would not have been as jaundiced. Hey-ho, that’s jingoistic post-war analysis and narrow reading selection for you!

Sea fury, I think I saw some stall speeds listed but Ill have to go back and look in my new book.

Thanks all for the other comments.

Certainly the Stuka is an interesting airplane. I can’t help but wonder if its badreputation after the BoB wasn’t a bit overinflated. Certainly it was vulnerable to fighters, but weren’t most aircraft not designed as fighters vulnerable?

I haven’t checked, but I’d say you were right about Dieppe – certainly French coast.

The Luftwaffe used the French coastal area for bombing practice with 109s, 190s and Ju 87s. They used practice bombs made from concrete, and these had a glass phial of some smoke-generating chemical that created a “puff” on impact, although this one seems to have just splashed into the water.

Up around Cap Gris Nex there are many of these concrete bombs (250kg) to be found, and some in the museum there. I was offered one, but the idea of the chaos that might be caused if I tried to bring back a bomb-shaped lump of concrete on the tunnel rather put me off the idea!

Deauville was another area used for Ju87 dive-bombing practice.

Maybe going off topic I recentley got a copy of the Osprey book by John Weal Stukageschwader 1937-41. On page 79 there is a photo showing a bomb splash reportedly indicates a near miss on a British cliff top anti aircraft emplacement, the location hasnt been identified at the time the book was published, but I think it may be Dieppe?
Any thoughts on this.
Ian

I’ll admit…the Stuka is one my favorite aircraft. I don’t know if that’s acceptable to some given it’s history and notoriety, but I just find it a fascinating airplane, and I’m always trying to learn more about it.

It’s just an airplane, a “tool”.

As Jon pointed out, its the leaders and the pilots that followed ordered (more or less) that brings its notoriety.

It is a fascinating aircraft, though!

A frightening airplane to see – if you were on the ground.

But again:

Stukas didn´t strafe civilians. Their pilots did, possibly on order.

Jon

A lot of myths about the Stuka, too.

I suspect that the bombing and strafing of civilians (France and Belgium) is, at least to some extent, one of them!

Lots of fables, too, regarding their part in the Battle of Britain.

A Stuka thread- excellent. Phantom II, I share your interest in this aircraft, it holds a fascination for me that I can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it’s the purposeful shape, or the excellence at it’s dive bombing role, or its versatility, or that I once had a Dinky Stuka complete with a bomb into which you could insert a cap (never worked!)

A gentleman some years ago flew a Stuka reproduction in Russia – a curious choice, i’ve always thought, considering some spectators are survivors of the Great Patriotic War. An interesting project!

I have the follwing books:

Stuka Ju-87 by Lt Col AJ Barker,Bison Books, ISBN 08612 4138 X

Junkers Ju 87 Stuka by Manfred Griehl, Arlife, ISBN 84037 198 6

The latter is very thorough in the development of the various marks, numbers produced etc, a weighty tome indeed.

Rosevidney1, you may wish to contact Mr Griel at

Postfach 2162
55011 Mainz
Germany

for stalling figures, none are published in his book (his address is in the front of the book).

Prepare to be flamed by Stuka Haters due to its associations with strafing civilians, terror weapon. I won’t defend the Nazis, but I reserve the right to be as interested in the Stuka as others are by the 109.

I have never discovered the landing or stalling speeds for the Stuka. :confused:Oddly they are not mentioned at all in the type Flight Manual. I know they would vary according to the weight of the aircraft at the time but I have seen nothing in print. Any ideas please?

I keep getting asked about my book “Stuka Attack!”, btw…

It was scheduled for publication 1 Oct 2012, but now due out early April 2013. It contains accounts of all the Ju 87 attacks against UK targets.