The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka: A Complete History

Utilizing this slow and relatively lightly armed World War II warplane, the German Luftwaffe spearheaded the Blitzkrieg assaults from Poland in 1939, through to North Africa and beyond. From the very first day of the second world war to the very last, the Ju 87 operated on the front line. Famed for its precision bombing, the Stuka s accuracy paid handsome dividends against such pinpoint targets as rail and road bridges, artillery, communications, fortresses, and enemy armor. Its added ability to linger over the combat zone providing continuous close air support to troops and proven capability in the field, was a major asset to the Luftwaffe throughout World War II. For a land-based aircraft, the Stuka earned a formidable reputation as an anti-shipping weapon. Off the coast of Norway, Dunkirk, in the Mediterranean and Arctic, the English Channel, and Black Sea, the Ju 87 chalked up an alarming list of destroyed ships. Later in the war she achieved legendary fame as a specialist anti-tank and night-attack aircraft. Peter C Smith, a leading authority on the history of dive-bombers and dive-bombing, relates the history of the Stuka and all its variants in great detail. Complemented by more than 250 photographs, comprehensive appendices, equipment and instrument layouts, and color profiles The Junkers Ju87 Stuka provides essential reading for researchers, historians, and modelers alike. . —- ISBN: 9780859791564 | ISBN10: 0859791564 | ISBN-13: 978-0859791564