MPM Profile - Junkers Ju 87 A Stuka

Ju 87 V3 v letu. Ju 87 V4

Vsechna autorska prava vyhrazena.Zadna cast teta publikace nesmf byt reprodukovana v jakekoliv podobe bez svolenf autarlL All author rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproducea in any form without the permision of authors. The drawings © Petr Tymal, Miroslav Rohlena, Petr Palata and Tomas Poruba English Translation © Martin Velek © MBI - Bfly M., Prague, 1991 Printed in Czechoslovakia

The Ju 87 V3 in fly

tazitclne podvozkovc nohy s robustnfm kapotovanflll. Ocasn! plochy zustaly dvojite jako u K-47,

Junkers Ju 87A STUKA

ale kabina jii. byla zaktyta clenitymi prekryty. Po prohlfdce a schvalcnl dfcvene makety na sklonku roku 1934, RLM schvalilo stavbu tff prolotypu. Teplvc v lednu 1935 vydalo RLM oficialnf

(Miroslav BUy)

specifikace pro druhou fazi vyvojc stcemhlavych bombarderu a obeslalo jimi ostatol firmy. Je nutne podotknout. ie specifikace byly warnoll merou ovlivncne konstrukd .Iu 87, Krome Junkerse se do souteie zapojily take firmy Arado s Ar 81, Heinkel s He 118 a Blohm lin Voss s letounem Ha 137.

Je jell malo takory-ch typu, ktcryl11 se padafilo zapsat se tak hluboko do dejin svetoveho letectvi. Junkers 1u 87 se stal jednfm z nicll a pravem. Na plvnf pahled neohrabany velk)' jednomotorovy stfemhlavy bombarder se projevil jaka neobycejne

ucinna

zbran. Na rozdfl od letoullu stcjnc

katcgorie v jinych leteclvech, poui.fvanych hlavne k ulokum oa plovoud die, Junkers Ju 87 V"Lnikl pfedevsim k baji proti pOlcmnfm cHum.

se stavela soucasne s trupclll, ale vncjsl casti samostatne. Ovladad plochy zavesene na odtokove hrane byly systemu Junkers, sterbinove. Vnitfni a stfednf sekce plnily funkci vztlakovych klapek, vnejsf pak kfidelek. Aerodynamicke bndy, dulciily pIVek ke snfzenf rychlosti ve stremhlavem letu,

Predchudcem podstatne "slavnejSich" pozdejsich verzi Ju 87b, -0 a -G byl typ Ju 87A. Ye sve dobe predstavoval vyvrcholenf dlouhodobcho v)'Zkumncho programu v oblasti stfcmhlavcho

bombardovanf, pfi kterem dulei.itou ulohu sehrala cionast nemcckych konstrukteru v z3vodcch umistcnych mimo uzemf Nemecka. Duvody byly proste. Podpisem Versailleske smlollvy prestalo 5

Koncem leta 1935 opustil prvn! prototyp Ju 87V-I vyrobn! halu. Od svych konkllreni'nich protcjsku se lisil v mnoha sI11erech. Mel pomecne tluste kffdlo lomene do "W", jehol stfednf cast

koncem1. svetove vall)' nemecke letectvo existovat a nadcji na znovuzrozenf pfinesla az smlouva

o spolupraci mezi Nemeckem a SSSR pOdcpsana dnc 16. dubna 1922 v Rapallu. Jako prvni zalozil ve Filach u Mos,,"-\/)' tovarnu profesor Hugo Junkers a Krome nf take mensl firmu v Turecku. Ale pro budoucnost nejvice udelala JUllkersova filialka AB Flygindustri ve Svedskem Malmo

vSak na pf\<'nlll1 prototypu jdte ncbyly. S jcjich umfstcnim se pocftalo na spodnf strane kfldla za nabeznou hranou. Ocasni plochy. dvojite, odpovidaly typu K-47, retah vsech nosnych a ovladadch ploch byl duralory. Hlavnf podvozkove nohy s hydropneumatickymi tlumici, ukotvenc v mfste lomenf kffdla, obepfnaly mohutnc acrodynamickc kI)'ly. V trupu ovalncho prurezu sed eli pilot a stfelec/radista zady k sobe pod dlouhym prosklenym pi'ekrytem, Do kabiny vstupovali doprava odklapenymi vstupnfrni castmi. Pohon zajist'oval britsky motor Rolls-Royce Kestrel V, kapalinou chlazeny dvanactivalec do "Y" s kompresorem,

0

vykonu 391kW (532 k).

~

Limhamnu s celokovovym jednoplosnfkem Junkers A 48 (se svcds""--ym oznacenlrn K-47). Letoun byl resen jako dvournlstnystfhad s moi.llostf stfemhlavych utokll na pozemnf die. Prototyp POPIVe vzlell v roce 1928 a po tragicke smrti hlavnfho konstruktcra ing. Plautha pfcvzal dalsf ryvoj typu ing. Pohlmann. Intenzfvnf zkous,,"--y typu A 48, vedcne jii. na nemeckem uzeml, mely pro vyvoj Ju 87 nesmfrny VY-lnam a celkove ovlivnily i konstrukci tahota typu. Ai do ledna 1933 probfhaly zkollsk-y tajne a letectvo vykazovalo typ A 48 pouze jako "cvicn)"'. 30. ledna 1933 prevzal politicke vedeni Nel11ccka Adolf Hitler a vsechno se dalo do pohybu. Pres odpor nekterych vysok-ych dustojnfku Luftwaffe se jiz na poi'atku roku 1933 Technicky urad RLM rozhodl zahajit dvoustupnovYprogram vyvoje stfcmhlaveho bombarderu. Vysledkem plvnf· ho stupne, tzv. Soforl Program, byly prototypy fireln Fieseler (typ Fi 98) a Henschel (typ Hs 123). Do vzduchu se dostaly pocfitkcm roku 1933, ale pro seriovou vyrobu Technicky urad vybral jen Hs 123. Pozadu nezustavala ani Junkcrsova skupina vc Svedsku, ktera

typem K-47 uskutccnila fadu

PIVnf let uskutecnil Ju 87V-l dne 17. zafl1935 v Dcssau. Ackoliv na zemi vypadal nemotorne,

novych zkousek. Lctoun vybaveny pffstroji specialnc konslruovanymi pro ucely stremhlavellO

z letu se jevil jako lehce ovladatelny. V prlibehu zkousek doslo ke zvetsen! chladii'e pod pfidi, ale

bombardovanf vykazoval takovou pfesnost zasahu, i.e

stroj Ictal stale bez aerodynamick-ych brLd. Bohuzel, dne 24. ledna 1936 se behem jednoho letu

0

5

budoucnosti a vyuzitf stfcmhlavcho

bombardovanf bylo praktick)' rozhodnuto. Vyslcdk-y zkousck ze Svedska uplatnila u skutecneho

odlomila prava smerovka a letoun presel do vyvrtk)', ktera skoncila havarif.

stremhlaveho bombardcru skupina inzenyru firmy Junkers Y Dessau. Vedl ji osvedccny

Druhy prototyp J u 87V -2 odstartoval az po vySetfenf pffcin havarie plVnfho. Zjistena

ing. Hermann Pohlmann, kterYse mohl pochlubit znacnymi zkusenostmi s kon"Slrukd celokoYov)'ch

konstrukcnf vada mela za nasledek pfekonstruovanl ocasnfch ploch a prototyp dostal novou vetsf

letadel. Projekcnf prace na typu,jemu:l. RLM pfidelilo CIslo 87, zacaly u Junkersu v roce 1933. Pohlmann

a jednoduchou svislou ocasnf plochu. Druhy prototyp uz mel nemeck-y dvanactivalec Jumo 210Aa o vykonu 455kW (618 k) a pod vnejSimi i'astmi kffdla konei'ne i aerodynamicke vyklopne brzdy

zvolil pro novy lctoun kfldlo lomene do "W" v dolnoplosnem uspofcidanf, coi. melD pffzniv)ivliv na

firmy Junkers. Letoun dokoncili zacatkem bfezna 1936 a nesl civilnf poznavad znacku D·UHUH.

pilotuv v)ihled kupredu dolU. Krome toho toto I'eSenf umoznilo pouzft pomcme krcitke neza-

Vzapetf nasledoval tfeti prototyp.Iu 87V-3 (D-OKYQ) s mime zvetsenou svislou ocasni plochou a motorcm ulozenym nlz, pro leps! vyhlcd z kabiny pfes pHd'. Na rozdfl od dvoulistc dfevenc u J II

1

vbreznu oba prototypy prcletly do Rechlinu. Zde se I11clovc dvou zkusebnfeh etapach rO'l..hodnollt,

87V-A, 1110t01Y prototypu V-2 a V-3 pohanely tHliste kovovc vrtule Junkers-Hamilton 0 3,4 m. Jeste

zkouskach preSly tyto IetOlll1Y k jcdnotcc IIStG.l62 Immelmann, kdc poslquzily k porovnavadm zkouskam. Ale v letc uzzavod zacaly opoustct prvnf seriove Ju 87A-l, v podstatc shodne sJu 87A-0.

ktera z prih1<:iSenyeh konstrukd obstoji. Vi pIvof elapa testll urCila, kdo by se mohl stat vflezem souteze. Do uvahy pfipadaly I-Ieinkel

jednotck stremhlavyeh bombardcrfl dvouplosne I-Is 123A nahrazovat. Veleni letcctva s nimi

sHe 118V-2 nebo Junkers sJu 87, ale

Zpocatku byly dodavky vclmi pomale, ale jakmi1e se vyroba rozebehla naplno, zacal)".Tll 87A-l

1.1

tom mcla rozhodnout az druha etapa.I-Ieinkel, ackolivby1

puvodne zamyslelo vyzbrojit sest jednotck. ale nakonee se doslaly jen ke ctyfem - I a II (St.G.162)

aerodynamid.)' podstatne Cistcjsf, propadl liZ v plvnfm lydnu celvna. TefSi, slozitejsf a ne zcela

pozdeji pecznacena na St.G.1G3 a dale pak na St.G.2), I(SLG.262) ve skutecnosti uvedena do slu1.by

vyvojove dotazeny I-lcinkel moll I pi'cdveSI utoky jell pod llhlcm 50°, col. nebylo mozne naz~at

jako Ill(SLG, 162, p'ozdCji s oznaCenl111 IISLG,2) a 1l(SLG,165) pozdeji jako Ill/St,G, 51),

0

steemhlavym (rtokem. Oproti tomu Ju 87 pr'cdvcdl teme[ svisle uloky bez obtiil. Junkers se siee

Vstup Ju 87A-1, zvanych podlc pfsl11cne vcrLe Anton, do radove sluzby sice znamenal krok

stal v!them sou tHe, ale 0 jeho shiovc vyrobe rozhodla ai havarie He ] 18V-2 dne 26. ccrvna 1936.

kllpredu, ale "ypracovat nejlepsf a ncjvhodncjsf bojove taktiky ph beznych mfrovych manevrcch peece jen nebylo to pra\'e. Jedinccna moznost sc nablzela ve Spanclsku, kde U:l. od (istopadu 1936

TepIVe pak zavody Junkers zfskaly smlouvu na seriovou vyrobu. V listopadu 1936 vzletl prototyp Ju 87V-4, ktery jii piedstavoval s.riovou podobu letaunu,

plisobiia znama Legic Condor. Ostatne Nemei nCbyli sami, kdo takto uvazoval. 1\'a spanclskem

Krome zjemniHych tvaru zahrnoval mnozstvf uprav. K tem nejdulezitejsfm patfily peedev.sim

ncbi se behem obcanske valky prohanely nejcn !ctouny z Ncmecka, ale take z Italic, Francie a

zbrane. Letoun nesl v prave poIoville kffdlajeden pcvny kulomct Rheinmetall- Borsig MG 17 raze

samozrcjme Sovctskeho svazu. TCplVC v prosinei 1937 byly tfi Ietollny J u 87A-I, uvolnene jed notkou

7,92 mm s nabojovou schrankou ulozcnou v kapote prave podvozkove nohy. Pozorovatcl (1'adista)

IISLG. 163 Immclman, poslany v ramci Legie Condor do Spanclska, kde se staIy soucasti jednotl...)'"

stf-elec ovladal pohyblivy klilomet MG 15 slcjnc rM.c lIrccny k obranc prostorll za letollnem. Pf'eklyt

Kampfgruppc KG.88. K plvn!mu nasazcnf doslo azvunoru 1938 vbojich 1.1 TerlleIu, sevcrozapadne

zadnf casti kabiny s kulomClem se od predchazejfcich prolotypu vyrazne li.sil l1Clpadnym plynulym

od Valencie. NejvyrazllcjSf bojovc ryslOupClll se ale odehralo behem ncjvctsfho a nejkIVavejsiho

prechodem do hfbelu trupu. Ncmenc dfilczitou SOUC<:1Stl se stala montaz maleho okcnka v pod laze

stretnutf v leta va lee, v bitvc na feee Ebro, ktcra probfhala od 25. retvence do 16. lislOpadu 1938.

primo mczi pedaly noznfho flzcn!, ktcrc pilotll lImo1.l1ovalo zamfeit na cil pI-ed zaluljcnfm vlastnfho

Piloti SlUk, kreff behem prvnfho poloIet! nabl'ali urcite zkusenosti. urocili na mosty a na dalSf

stI'cmhlavcho letu. Behcm utoku pak pilot zamifeni zpfcsnil pOlllod optickeho zalllerovacc

bodove dIe s llcuvcriteillou

Revi C 12A (nekterc prallleny jcj lIvadi jako Slukavisier nebo Stuvi) umisteneho nad pffstrojovou

hlave (Itoky na moralku rcpublikansl...jch obnl11cu. S.panelske bojiste melD na dalSf vyvoj Stul...)'

deskou. Ale nejvyznamnejsfm prvkem vybavenf byla '1klopna vidliee ukorvena pohyblive ve dvou

znacny vii\'. protoze trojicc IetOlIllU dob.zala mllohcm vlcc. Zlomiia dlouholrvajici nedtivcru k teto

ph~snostl.

NeHI trcba pl'ipominat, jak-y vliv mel)' rakto vcdenc slrem-

otocnych bodech na pohim! piepaiee v trupu. Bez nl by totii stfcmhlavc bombardovani "cbylo

zbrani a i

mozne. Na kondeh tohoto pakovehozaffzenibylyzaml.. .yp1'o uchycenf pumy, kterou vestremhlavem

slavllcho stihace z I. svetovc valJ...y Manfrcda von Richthofcna). Stal se dokonee jcjim zastancem.

letu vidlice vyncsla mimo okrllh vrtlile. Jcdnodueholl upravou rozperky vidlice, zmcl10u polohy

Spolu s dalsfmi dustojnfl..)' Luftwaffe pomahal vypraeovavat system flzenf a navadcnf letmmu na

spojovadch sroubu, letoun moh! nest pumu

1.1

takoveho odpuree, jal...i-m byl major Wolfram Freiherr von Richtohofcn (bratrancc

hmotnosti 250 nebo 500 kg. Pumu pilot uvolllOval

ell ze zcmc. Krome toho se na lctounech Ju 87A-l pravidelne stfidaly osadky j pozcmni personal

elektrid,)' tlaCitkem DKIX na fid!c1 pelee nebov pffpade nutnosti mcchanicky, zatazenim za rukojet'

z Nemecka. proto1.e nasazenf slouzilo i k vycviku velite1ll budoucfch Stukagruppen Luftwaffe. Ve

ve tva1'u "1''' na prave strane pristrojove desk)'. Novinkou bylo i zaflzenf, ktere po odhozu pum

S.panelsku sc take poprve objevila na kapotach podvozku nova psychologieka zbrail - proudcm

0

automatid.)' vyrovnavalo Ietoun zc str·cmhlavcho lelU v pfipadc. 1.e by pilot ztratil vcdomi vlivcm

vzduchu pohanena sirena - zvana take jako "Trubka z Jerieha". .Jejfm pOllzitfm se ZVllkovy efekt

velkeho pfctf1.enf. Intenzivni zkousl.)'zamerene zcjmena na steemhlave bombardovan! pokracovaly

vydavany ph stremhlavem Jetu vysunlltymi brzdicimi mff1.emi jeste nasobil.

a1. do jara 1937. Nedostatecnyvykon motoru Jumo 21OI\a vSak ncumoZilOval vyuiitf pine (lIlOsnosti

Vykony techlo IetoUI1U odpovidaly jejieh robusrnf konstrukei: rozmerllm a vykonll pohonnc

letounu a omezoval nejvysSf naklad pum na pouhyeh 500 kg. Tato hmotnostvsak pripadaJa v uvahu

jednOlky. Maximalni rychlost bez zavcscl1e pumy sc pohybovala na hranici 320 km/h v 3700 m, ale

jen v prfpade, ie by !ctOUI1 Ictel jcn s pilotem. V pNpade, 1.c osadku rvofili dva mllzi, mohla sc

s 250 kg pumou se snizila na 290 km/h. Ale na telo fronrc vyssi v)'rkony jeste pfilis nesehazely, protoze

zavcsovat jen 250 kg puma.

letounyopcrovaly pod dosratecne silnou stfhacf oehranou.

V temie roee vsak IetOUI1 dostal '1konnejsi pohonnou jednolku Jumo 210Ca

vykol1u

Dojem nemotornosti letounu l1a zemi znasobeny' pohybcm po neupravcnych Ietistfeh spanelske-

477kW (650 k) a s ni se na obou stranach pod ryfuky objevily i nove vstupni otvolY k olejovemu

ho bojiste, se odrazil i v pojmcl1ovanf jednoho zc strojll- .Iolanthe (viz zadn! strana obalky). Jmcno

0

chladici. Soucasne doslo i k (Iprave kridla_ Mfsto puvodoL mfrne vzad lomenc nabeznc hrany byla

patfilo prasatku. hlavllimu hrdinovi v tchdy popularnf ncmccke komcdii 'Trable s Jo1antou".

zavedena jednodussi prima. Opravy se dotkly i svisle ocaso! plochy, kte1'a pal\. mcla hranatejsi tvar

Zajfmavym faktem je skutecl1ost, ie emblem prasMka na kapote podvozku nosil1eloun JlI 87A·2.

a I...-Ylova plocha pak plynulc prc('hazela do trllpu. Konstrukteri take prodlouzili podvozkovc nohy

A podlc dochovanyeh fOlografif jako jediny. Zajimavy i proto, ze vsechny prameny svornc uvadeji,

a lIpravili jejich kapotovanf. Zmfnene upravy naslcdovne zavedli i do shiove vyroby.

i.e ve S.panelsku bojovaly jen slroje.lu 87A-1. Lze vsak predpokladal, ze zmlncny letoun byl dodan

I pies odpor nckterych vysokych dllstojniku Luftwaffe, prvni lelOun Ju 871\-0 z desetikusove nulte scric opustil montal.nf linku v Dessau jiz pocatkcm rokll 1937. Po nezbytnych tovarnich

2

jako nahrada za nektcry z Ju 87A-l. Pokud jdc zcela odlisny.

0

emblemy na kapole podvozku, jiny letoun ncsl

Ju 87 A-I

Vyroba scric .Iu 87A-I nelrvala dlouho a uz koncem roku 1937 ji na montaznfch linkfich nahradila novcjsl

VCl7C

Ju 87A-2. IlIavl1l zmenou byla montaz vy-konnejslho 1110toru Jumo 210Da

s dvoustupnov)'1ll komprcsorcm as vykonem507kW (690 k). Od svych predchudcu se navenek lisily take novym Iva rem sl11croveho kormidla s vice zi:lob1cnym homlIn rohem a jinak uspofadanymi \')'V
rCZC1VU

vykonu a ani

OSWln! systcmycinnost posadky nezjcdnodllsovaly - pilot musel prcd a po utoku "rutnc" nastavovat

Rozpeti

13,80

111

Delka

10,80

m

Vyska

4,16

m

31,90

m-

?

"Ttuli, ovladat chod komprcsoru a otcvlrat a zavfral zaluzic vodnlho chladice. Toto ncpHjemnc

Nosn. plocha

zatizclli pilota odpadlo a1 u nasledujfci scric .Iu 87B. jejfz vyvoj prave probfhal. Vyroba verze A

I-Imotnost prazdncho letounu

2315

kg

skoncila pomeme b17:o. V hlavnll11 zavodc v Dcssau jiz v kvetnu 1938 po dokoncenf 192. kllsu a

Vzlctova hmotnost

3400 •

kg

v berJlnskcm zavode firmy Weser montaZi 70_ kusu Ju 87A-2 l1a podzim tehoz roku.

M na zmlncnou vyjimku, ostalnl Antony letaly ve slllzbach Luftwaffe u domacfch jcdnotek. Aktivnl sluzba vsak !let rvala dlouho a postllpnc zaraly pfcclHlzel ke skolnlm jednotkam. 0 Sluku projevila zajcm i jina Ietectva. Ncjvaznejsfm zajcmcem bylo Japonsko, kam se koncel11 roku 1937 dostaly dva kusy Ju 87A-2. Oba stroje smontovali

1I

finny Mitsubishi, ale japonske Ictectvo je

pouzilo jen k porovnavadm zkouskam. Pomcrne velky pocct Antonu sc "dozil" ivan..) '. i kdy1. pravdepodobnost, ie by si zavalrily. jc miziva. patrnc nejdele se udrzely ve sluibc Mad'arskeho

.

Maximalnf rychlost

294 *

km/h

ve vyscc

3000

m

Dostup

7000

m

500

km

Dolct s 250 kg plll110U

Rozmcl)' Ju 87 A-2 byly stejne.

kralovskcho 1etectva, kde jc pouzlvaly jdte v roce 1943. Take zde jen ke cvicn)'m (Icelum. Zcelajiny charakter mel pfflct nckolika Ju 87A-'? do Ccskoslovenska. Spolu s oSlatnlmi letouny Luftwaffe se zurastnily obsazovanl ccskoslovcns....-ych Ictist' a prvnf Stuka (513 + ??, 5 = 5chulen) pfistala na olomouckem Ictisti uz 16. brczna 1939. V podstate slo take jen

0

takove vetsf "cvitenf".

Antonyse ske v aktivnl sluibe ncudd.ely pfflis dlouho, ale slalysc dulefirym meznfkel11 vevyvoji typu a nazoru oa tento typ zbrane v Nemecku.

3

Junkers Ju 87A Stuka

The design work on the new type. whose number. alloted by RLM. was 87, started at Junkers company in 1933. Pohlmann had chosen a W -crankcd low-set wing. allow·ing pilol a quite good view forward and downl1ward. This 1<.I)'out also allowed designing the l"lxed undercarriage with relatively

by Miroslav Bily

ShOl1 struts and streamlincd "[rousers". The twin-finned cmpenni:igc was similar to Lhe one used on K 47, hut the COCKpits were covered by a rather complex canopy. After the inspection of wooden mo{'k.up towards the end of 1934 the

There

afC

om many types that succeeded in engraving themselves into the pages of histOIy of

RLM ordered building of three prototypes. Not until JanllCuy 1935 issued the RLM an official

the aviation so much. Dut the crank-winged Junkers Ju 87 belongs among them, and justly SQ. The

specifications for

large, clumsy-looking single engincd dive bomber proved itself as an extraordinarily efficient

other prospective contenders.

thC"~ccol1d phase

of the dive bombers development and submitted them to the

weapon, at least in the opening stages of its operational career. The main lask of the Sluka was

It should be noted thai the specification were strongly innucllced by the design of the Ju 87.

perceived as the combat with land targets, a major difference to the dive bombers in the other

Besides Junkers also the Arado with Ar 81. the Heinkel company (with the lIe 118) and Blohm

countries, whose main objective was to attack shipping.

und Voss (then Ilamburger Flugzeughau) with their I-Ia 137 took place in Ihe contest.

The predecessor of all the substantially more infamous 1u 87B's. D"s and G's was the 1u 87A. h was the result of a long development in the dive-bombing field. undertaken by the German engineers and designers working outside of German's territory. The reasons for this were simple: With the signing of the Versailles Treaty after the end of the

By the end of May. 1935 the first prototype Ju 87VI (V for Versuchslllllster - test article) left the prototype shop. The firsl of thc Stuka line. whose name W<.iS to gain a fearsome significance laler on. showed for the first time its Ihick.lmv·set and W-bent wing wilh the centrc scclion built IOgeLhcr with fuselagc.

WWI the German air force ceased to exist and the hope of its rebirth came only after the signature

outer panels

of the Coopcration1'reatybetwecn Soviet Russia and Germany, signed on April 16,1922 at Rapallo.

airfoils set behind and below the trailing edge of the wing. forming a slot there. The inner and

The first to found an aviation faclolY in Russia was Professor HugoJunkers with his Fili plant near

middle sections were used as naps. outer for lateral control as ailerons.

Moscow. Another Junkers factory. albeit smaller, was set up in Turkey. But the most important for the future Sluka was Junker's branch company Flygindustri AD in

(IS

separate units. The control surfaces were of Junkers-wing design, with narrow

The aerodynamic brakes. the important feature enabling the dive bomber to kcep the speed during the near-vertical dive reasonably lOW,. were not fitted on the first prototype. They wcre to

Sweden Malmo·Linhamn and its all-metal. A 48 (Swedish designation K-47) monoplane. This

be located on the forward undcrsurface of the wings outv.rard of the undercarriage. The twin tail

aeroplane was a tandem two.place fighter with secondary dive·bombing capacity. The prolOtype

surfaces, ofall·mctal construction, reminded strongly of the K47. All control surfaces were covered

was flown for the first time in 1928 and after the tragic death of its chief designer, DiplJng.Plauth,

with stressed metal skin. The main undercarriage legs. with hydropneumatic shock absorbers, were

development was taken over by Dipl.lng.Pohlmann.111e intensive testing of the /\ 48" undertaken

enveloped in huge streamlined trousers.

already on the Gcnnclll territory. was of immense importance for the future development of the Ju 87 and generally influenced its design. Up to the January. 1933, the tests were conducted secretly. the German air force labelling the type as "training". On January 30th. 1933, certain Adolf Bitler took the political power in Germany and the things began to roll. Despite the strong resistance of some high officers of the newly.created Luftwaffe, the Technischen AmI (Materiel Office) of the RLM (Reich's Air Ministry) decided to slart a Iwo-stage programme of the development of a dive bomber. The results of the first stage, so-called Sofort-Program, were the prototypes of the Fieseler Fi 98 and of the Henschel Hs 123. They took to the air at the beginning of 1935: but for the series production only the Henschel was chosen by Technischen Amt. The Junkers' Swedish group was not idle, eilher: and subjected the K 47 to new series of tests. The aeroplane., equipped with airbrakes and OIherspecialized dive·bombimg gear, displayed such a tremendous accuracy of hits that the future and realization of the divebombing idea was virtually secured. The results of bombing in Sweden werc best used, quitc naturally. by Junkers design team

In the oval-section fuselage sat the crew· pilot and wireless operator/air gunner (gunner facing

led by the venerable Dipl.Ing. Hermann Pohlmann, who could boast a profound knowledge of rhe

to the rear). under a complex glasshouse canopy, whose sections were hinged on the starboard side

all-metal aircraft design.

for crew access.

4

The aeroplane was powered by the British Rolls-Royce KeSlrel V, a water-cooled supercharged V-twelwe engille of 390 kW (530HP). The first flight of the Ju 87V-I took place on September 17th, 1935 in Dessau. Dt:spite its clumsy

the bomb. which was, so fastened to the YOke, swung out beyond the propeller circumference. By a simple adjustment of the yoke bridle and of the conncctin screws either the 250kgor 500kgbomb f could be carried.111c pilot released the bomb electrically. by the DK IX button switch on the control

look on the ground, the Ju 87 was well controllable. The test flying proved the necessity of enlarging the chin radiator: the prototype never had the

A novelty was the automatic pull·out device that performed the recovery from a dive even if the

dive brakes. Unfortunatelly, on January 24th. 193u. the starboard fin and rudder paned company

crew (pilot) was blacked-out by the high g·fon:es.

wilh the rest of the aircraft, which fell into a spin and crashed. The second prototype took to air only after the analysis of the causes of the crash of the first.

The intenSive tests aimed mainly at the perfection of the dive bombing techniques were conducted up to the spring of 1937. Dut the insufficient power of the Jumo 210Aa did not permit

The previous design error caused the redesigning of the double empennage to a larger single-fin one. The second prototypc was powered by an indigenous inverted V-twelve: the JUl110 2101\a of

load to 500kg. This could be carried only when the crcw was Iimitcd to pilot only. When two men

455kW (618l-IP) and its lowcr ouler wing pancls carried the dive brakes of Junkers design. The

were on board the bomb load was shrunk to a single 250kg bomb.

column, or. if necessary. manually. by pulling at the T-handlc on the right-hand instrument panel.

to c"l'loit fully the maximum load-carrying ability of the airframe and limited the highest bomb

aeroplanc was finished in the bcginning of March 1936 and was given the civil registration

The same year, 1937, witnessed the installation of a more powerful engine, the Jumo 210Ca of

D-UIIUI-l. SOOI1 followed the third prolOtype,Ju87V-3 (D-OKYQ), wilhslightlyel11arged VC!'lic"1 tail. The enginc thrust line was lowered for better visibility over nosc. In contrast to a two-bladed

477 kW (650 liP), with prominelll oil cooler air inlets 011 the cngine cowling side panels under the

wooden airscrew used on the Ju 87V-l, the engines on V-2 and V-3 prototypes drove three-blade::d metal Junkers/I Iamilton Standard airscrews of 3,4m diameter. Both surviving prototypes were flown in March to Rerhlin where two series of tesrsshould have decided which of the competing types was to win_ Already the first round of tests hinted strongly at the final winner of the contest. Both Heinkel with his lie 118V-2 and Junkers with the Ju"87 came out of the first test as possible finalists, with the decision planned for the second round of the fly-off. Heinkel, albeit aerodynamically cleaner

exhaust stuhs. At the same time the wing planfonn was simplificd, with a straight leading edge instead of the original slightly swept-back one. The vertical tail was also modified. with more angular outline and a smooth transition of the fin to the fuselage. The designers also lenghtened the undercarriage legs and modified their spats. The above mentioned changes were subsequently introduced lO the series production. Despite the resistance of cenain high-ranking Luftwaffe officers the first Ju 87A-O of the ten-piece preproduction series left the production line at the Dessau plant already in the early 1937.

than Ju 87, fell through in the first week of June. Heavier, more complex and plagued with some

After the necessary factory tests these machines were alotted to the I/St.G. 1621mmelmann, where they were used for comparative trials. The summer of 1937 brought about the beginning of the

design shortcomings. the I-Icinkcl was able to dive under only 50 degree angle, hardly a suffj(:iently "diving" aLtack. ContralY to this lhe Junkers Ju 87 demonstrated almost vertical dives effortlessly.

at the start, but with the growing pace of production the A-I version of Stukas begun to replace

Junkers woon the contcst, but still. its final vicHHy and ensuing scries production was decided only after the He 118V-2 cr<Jshed on June 26th, 1936. Only then the contract for production series was signed with Junkers company. In Novcmbcr 1936 lhe Ju 87V-4 prototype,. the model for the production serics Stukas. took to the air for the first timc. Besides gencraly refined COntours it carried a wealth of modifications.

production of the true series' Ju 871\-1. virtually identical to the A-O' s. The deliveries were slow the biplane Us 123A's at the dive-bombing units. 'The original aim of the Luftwaffe's high command was to equip six unit with the Ju 81's, but finally they mustered mat'hines only for four units: I and JIISt.G.162, (later redesignaled as St.G.l63. later still as St.G.2), I/St.G.262 (but introduced into service as 1II/SLG.162.larer desigl1"tcd I/Sl.G.2) and the the 1Il/St.G.165 (later as 1Il/Sl.G.51).

Among the most important was the introduction of armament. The aeroplane carried a fixed 7,92mm Rheinmeral-I30rsig MG 17 machine gun in the starboard wing, with its ammunition in a

The introduction of Ju 87A-l's (they were called Anton according to the German phonetic alphabet) into the service was a definite step forward, but to develop the best and most efficient

tray in the starboard undercarriage trouser. The observer/wireless operator/gunner had a flexible MG 15 of the same calibre for the defence to the rear. 11,e fourth proto.ypc differed from its

combat tactics during the peacetime war games etc.was hardly possible. The unique opportunity offered itself in Spain, where the infamous Legion Condor was active since November 1936.

predecessors by a markedly smooth transition of the rear canopy contour to the fuselage. Another important innovation was the installation of lhe aiming window in the cabin Ooor. directly between rudder pedals. thal enabled pilot to aim visually at the target before pushing over to the dive. During the dive itself lhe pilot corrected its trajcctOly using the Revi C 12A reOcclOr sight (some

Germans thought that the Spanish battlefield was a good arms-testing ground. The Spanish sk-y was full ot not only German aircraft, but there roamed also the Italian. French and of course Soviet aeroplanes. The Stukas, three Ju 87A-l from the IISt.G.163 Immelmann, were sent to Spain in

sourccs state that its namc was Stukavisier or Stuvi), located above the instrun!ent panel. The single

December, 1937, to become part of the Legion Condor -K"tllpfgruppe (K.G.) 88. The "87's" were blooded in february 1938 in action at Tefucl, northwest of Valencia. But their most important

most important piece of hardware on the Stuka was thc dive bombing YOke" hinged at two points on the lower firewall. This device enabled the dive bombing with a large calibre bomb to be

combat took place during the bloodiest and bitterest battle of the whole Spanish civil war, at Ebro front, from 25th July to 16th November 1938. The Stuka pilots, who gained some experience during

perfected. On the outer (lower) ends of the yoke there were the locks for the lugs on the body of

the first half-year of fighting. attacked the bridges and oth~rpinpoint targctswithamazingaccuraey.

5

The diving attacks of this kind had profound effects all the morale of the Republican defenders. The Spanish battleground also innuenccd the devclopmcnt of the Sluka more than meets Ihe eye: the trio of "AnIons" cleared the smoke of suspicion that surrounded this weapon ane even persuaded such a staunch opponent of dive bombingas Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (cousin of the famous Red Baron. Manfred von Richthofen, fabled \VW.1. fighter pilot.) to become its supporter instead. Together with other Luftwaffe officers he helped to develop a system of ~ontrolling and largeting the Stukas from the ground. The rOlation of Stuka aircrews as well as ground crews between front and homeland helped to establish a cadre of future experienced personnel and commanders for Slukagruppen. It was the sweet Spanish air which was torn for the first time by the scream ofa new psychological weapon: The wind-driven sirens (Jericho trombones) on the undercarriage lrousers ofatlackingSrukasadded wthe howling of the deployed dive brakes and sometimes were powerful enough to rout some resistance. But the actual performance corrcsponded closely to the stout airframe, its generous size and the meagre power of the engine. The maximum speed wilhout bomb was around 320 km/h at 3700 m, but with a 250 kg bomb slung under the belly the speed fell to 290 km/h. These deficiencies did nm demonstrate themselves at the front as the air superiority of the fascist forces ensured protection to the slow Stukas. The impression of clumsiness the Stuka exuded when on the ground was strengthened by their wallowing on the unpaved aistrips close w Spanish fronts and found its expression in the nickname of one of Legion Condor machines - J.olanthe the pig (see back cover). The piglet's namesake was the star of certain German movie comedy"Troublc about Jolanthe". More interesting than that is Ihe fact Ihat this badge was carried on aJu 870-2 (!) the only machine oflhis sub-type pholographed in Spain..loe presence o~ the A-2 version is puzzling as all sources state unanimously that in Spain flew only the Ju 87A-l's. It could be surmised that this machine was supplied as a replacement for a Ju 87A·!. As far as the badges on the undercarriage trousers, another machine carried quite different onc. The production series of the Ju 87A-I was quite short and by the end of 1937 it was superceded by the more modern Ju 87A-2. The main change was substitution of the more powerfuiJum0210Da with a two-stage supecharger, producing507 kW (690 HP). The more marked visual difference was also the outline of rudder with more rounded top corner and different layout of trim tabs. Neither the Ju 87A-2 boasted sufficient engine power reserve, with pilots being rather busy without modern systems that would have taken the burden off their shoulders: they have to change manually the pitch of the propeller before and after the dive, control the function of the compressor and open and close the louvres on the water cooler. This annoying and distracting burden for pilot was only removed with the new series, the Ju 87B, that was under development then. The production of the A was ended quite soon, in May 1938 in the main plant in Dessau aftcr finishing of 192nd maChine, the Berlin factory of the Weser ending the assembly in autumn 1938 afler 70 machines buill. With the exception of "Spanish" machines all"Antons" served in the Luftwaffe home units. The active "first-line" service with Luftwaffe ended quite soon, the machines gradually being trasferred to training units.

6

Stuka allracted also some customers from ahroad. The Japanese were interested so that they hought two Ju 871\-2, delivered by the end of 1937. Both machines were assembled by Mitsubishi. bUI Japancs military used them only for comparative purposes. Quite a big proportion of Antons survived lip to the W\V II. but the chance that they were used militarily is negligible. Prohably longest sClving examples were used by the Hungarian Royal Air )-:'orce, where some new training missions as liHe as 1943. Of quite different nat un: was the arrival of sevcrdl Ju 871\'s al Czechoslovak airfields during the shameful occulJ.3tion of the mutilated remains of the post-MuniCh Czechoslovak rcpubli<: on 15th of :\1
Ju 87 A-I Span

13.80

111

Lenght

10,80

01

Height

4.16 31,90

Wing area Empty Normal loaded

,

2315

kg

3400 •

ka0

294 *

Max. speed

01

01-

km/h

at height

3000

01

Service ceiling

7000

m

500

km

.

Range

With 250 kg bomb Dimensions for Ju 87 A-2 were same.

v

mota rove laze engine mounting

Jumo210 Da

oil cooling inlets

.-_.....

.'

.'\

....i ..~

.t.

..;......

.

kapalinovy chladic

.

liquid cooler

7

palivova nadrf fuel tank

...................

pro

pumu

250kg for

424 ± 1mm

8

500kg bomb

524 ± 1mm

air brake

aerodynamicka brzda

zataien6

Ju87A-l_

vysunute

~

retra~ extended .~

,,

l,.." ~ ";, :-_:.- . .

~r.

_

~

Ju 87A-2

ktid6lko aileron

L

vdetailu in close-up

9

A

c

8

, E

/

10

/

Ju87A-l Ju87A-I

12

Ju 87 A-I v letu. Desaty seriov)' letoun Ju 87 A-I The tenth production airplane Ju 87 A-I

Ju87A-linfly

,

..

Ju 87 A-2, St.G. 165 Stuka v Olomouci, 16. bfezen 1939 (sbfrka J. Zazvonil) Stuka in Olomouc, 16th March 1939

14

Ju 87 A-2, B6 + 04, Mad'arskeho kralovskeho letectva, 1943 Ju 87 A-2, B6 + 04, Hungarian Royal Air Force, 1943 (sbfrka Bernad Denes, Budapest)

,"

o

123m

;;1iIiiI";j;j!'.' !

=;;j;;;;;;;;;;;l;;!=;t;;;;;;jl

0;1;1

1;1;'

IS

hlavni pfistrojova deska main instument panel

PILOTNI PROSTOR COCKPIT

'~-.

,

,, )

C"'I, ,

! ,i ____ ___ .I''

'

'------_ .... '

nofni fizeni z boku

16

pedal - side view

Leva strana pilotniho prostom

Port cockpit side

pildtni sedadlo

pilot seat

Fuhrerroum

2

~~,

-:

I

----

'\

:I_--r--~ \,

--.,

,

,

",

\

,

, , , ,, ,, ,\' ... w' • -

fidicf paka

yoke control stick

~---------;17

ZADNiSTRELEC REAR GUNNER kulomel MG 15

~ 18

'--:"'-

L~~ __L:=====-_~~

machine gun

_J

:se:da:dlO~SI:fe:lce_:gU:nn:er:sea~l

0000000 ·00000

kulomet MG 17 machine gun

prava podvozkova noha starboard undercarriage leg

ostruhove kolecko- ~

1",;

tail wheel

19

Ju87A.2,letecke skoly (Stukaschulen)

Ju87A·2, airschool

Ju87A·2 vjaponskjch barvach Ju87A.2 in Japanese colours kryt podvozku z vnitfnf strany

undercarriage fairing - inside sides

hneda brown

~adi;j'~T~e:nt:o~l:e:to:un~bYI

umfsten na letecke z3kladne v Tokorozawe na konci roku 1940. V pffpade sirsfho poufitf bylo pfideleno k6dove oznaeenf IRENE. This aircraft was placed on display at Tokorozawa Air Base in late 1940. In case of larger use code name IRENE was allocated.

20

~ olivove zelena olive green

~

seda grey

~

~imnete si zbytku

bfleho ktfre Note the rest of white cross

Ju 87A·2, SI.G.l11S, 1938, Nemecko I Germany

Ju 87A·2, SI.G.l11S, 1938, Nemecko I Germany

RLM61

RLM62

tmavehnMa dark brown

zelena green

RLM63 zeleno ~eda green gray

~

~

m

RLM65 svetle modra light blue

D 21

Iu 87 A-2; 52 + L25

Trojice Iu 87 A-2 v letu. Trio of Iu 87 A-2 in fly

Foto: Archiv NTM - Praha J aroslav Zazvonil Bernad Denes a shirka autora