Junkers Ju 87

Decline and end of production

After evaluating Ju 87 operations on the Eastern Front Hermann Göring ordered production limited to 200 per month in total. General der Schlachtflieger (General of Close-Support Aviation) Ernst Kupfer decided continued development would "hardly bring any further tactical value".

Adolf Galland, a fighter pilot with operational and combat experience in strike aircraft, said to abandon development would be premature, but 150 machines per month would be sufficient.

On 28 July 1943, strike and bomber production was to be scaled down, and fighter and bomber destroyer production given precedence.

On 3 August 1943, Milch contradicted this and declared that this increase in fighter production would not affect production of the Ju 87, Ju 188, Ju 288 and Ju 290.

This was an important consideration as the life expectancy of a Ju 87 had been reduced (since 1941) from 9.5 months to 5.5 months, to just some 100 operational flying hours.

On 26 October, General der Schlachtflieger Ernst Kupfer reported the Ju 87 could no longer survive in operations and that the Focke-Wulf Fw 190F should take its place.

Milch finally agreed and ordered the minimal continuance of Ju 87 D-3 and D-5 production for a smooth transition period.

In May 1944, production wound down. 78 Ju 87s were built in May and 69 rebuilt from damaged machines.

In the next six months 438 Ju 87 Ds and Gs were added to the Ju 87 force as new or repaired aircraft.

It is unknown whether any Ju 87s were built from parts unofficially after December 1944 and the end of production.

Overall some 550 Ju 87 As and B2s were completed at the Junkers factory in Dessau.

Production of the Ju 87 R and D variants were passed to the Weserflug company, which was to produce 5,930 of the 6,500 Ju 87s produced in total.

During the course of the war little damage was done to the WFG plant at Bremen.

Attacks throughout 1940-45 caused little lasting damage and succeeded only damaging some Ju 87 airframes, which was in "contrast" to the Focke-Wulf plant in Bremen.

At Berlin-Templehof little delay and damage was caused to Ju 87 production, despite the heavy bombings and large-scale destruction inflicted on other targets.

The WFG was again unscathed.

The Junkers factory at Dessau was heavily attacked, but not until Ju 87 production had ceased.

The Ju 87 repair facility at the Wels aircraft works was destroyed on 30 May 1944, and the site abandoned Ju 87 links.

Operational history

Condor Legion and the Spanish Civil War

Among the many German aircraft designs that participated in the Legion Condor and Spanish Civil War, a single Ju 87 A-0 (the V4 prototype) was allocated serial number 29-1 and was assigned to the VJ/88, the experimental Staffel of the Legion's fighter wing.

The aircraft was secretly loaded onto the Spanish ship Usaramo and departed Hamburg harbor on the night of 1 August 1936, arriving in Cadiz five days later.

The only known information pertaining to its combat career in Spain is that it was piloted by Unteroffizier Herman Beuer, and took part in the Nationalist offensive against Bilbao in 1937.

Presumably the aircraft was then secretly returned to Germany.

In January 1938 three Ju 87 As arrived. Several problems became evident - the spatted undercarriage sank into muddy airfield surfaces, and the spats were temporarily removed.

In addition, the maximum 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb load could only be carried if the gunner vacated his seat, and the bomb load was therefore restricted to 250 kg (550 lb).

These aircraft supported the Nationalist forces and carried out anti-shipping missions until they returned to Germany in October 1938.

The A-1s were replaced by five Ju 87 B-1s. With the war coming to an end they found little to do and were used to support Heinkel He 111s attacking Republican positions. As the Ju 87 A-0 had been, the B-1s were returned discreetly to the Reich.

The experience of the Spanish Civil War had been invaluable - air and ground crews perfected their skills, and equipment was evaluated under combat conditions.

Although no Ju 87s had been lost in Spain, however, the Ju 87 had not been tested against numerous and well-coordinated fighter opposition, and this lesson was to be learned later at great cost to the Stuka crews.

Second World War

All Stuka units were moved to Germany's eastern border in preparation for the invasion of Poland.

On the morning of August 15, 1939, during a mass formation dive bombing demonstration for high ranking commanders of the Luftwaffe at Neuhammer training grounds near Sagan, 13 Ju-87 with 26 crew members were lost when they crashed into the ground almost simultaneously.

The planes dived through cloud, expecting to release their practice bombs and pull out of the dive once below the cloud ceiling, unaware that on that particular day the ceiling was too low and unexpected ground mist formed, leaving them no time to pull out of the dive.

Poland

On 1 September 1939, the Wehrmacht invaded Poland triggering World War II .

Generalquartiermeister der Luftwaffe records indicate a total force of 366 Ju 87 A and Bs were available for operations on the 31 August 1939.

At exactly 0426, a Kette ("chain" or flight of three) of Ju 87s of 3./StG 1 led by Staffelkapitän Oberleutnant Bruno Dilly carried out the first bombing attack of the war.

The aim was to destroy the Polish demolition charges wired to the Dirschau bridges over the Vistula River.

The Stukas attacked just 11 minutes before the official German declaration of hostilities and hit the targets.

However, the mission failed and the Poles destroyed the bridge before the Germans could reach it.

A Ju 87 achieved the first air victory during World War II on 1 September 1939 in the morning, when Rottenführer Leutnant Frank Neubert of I./StG 2 "Immelmann" shot down a Polish PZL P.11c fighter, while it was taking off from Balice airfield, piloted by Captain Mieczysław Medwecki, who was killed in the engagement.

The Luftwaffe had a few anti-shipping naval units such as 4.(St)/TrGr 186.

This unit performed effectively, sinking the 1540-ton destroyer ORP Wicher and minelayer ORP Gryf of the Polish Navy (both moored in a harbour).

On one occasion six Polish divisions trapped by encircling German forces were forced to surrender after a relentless four-day bombardment by StG 51, 76 and 77.

Employed in this assault were the 50 kg (110 lb) fragmentation bombs which caused appalling casualties to the Polish ground troops.

Demoralized, the Poles surrendered. The Stukas also participated in the Battle of Bzura which resulted in the breaking of Polish resistance.

The Sturzkampfgeschwader alone dropped 388 tonnes (428 tons) of bombs during this battle.[86]

Once again, enemy air opposition was light, the Stukawaffe (Stuka force) losing just 31 aircraft during the campaign.

Norway

Operation Weserübung began on 9 April 1940 with the invasions of Norway and Denmark, Denmark capitulated within the day whilst Norway continued to resist with British and French help.

The campaign was not the classic "Blitzkrieg" of fast-moving armoured divisions supported by air-power as the mountainous terrain ruled out close Panzer/Stuka cooperation.

Instead the Germans relied on Fallschirmjäger (paratroops), airborne troops transported by Junkers Ju 52s and specialised ski troops.

The strategic nature of the operation made the Stuka essential.

The Ju 87s were given the role of ground attack and anti-shipping missions.

The Stuka was to prove the most effective weapon in the Luftwaffe's armoury carrying out the latter.

On 9 April, the first Stukas took off at 10.59 hours from occupied airfields to destroy Oscarsborg Fortress, after the loss of the German cruiser Blücher which caused disruption of the amphibious landings in Oslo through Oslofjord.

The 22 Ju 87s had helped suppress the Norwegian defenders during the ensuing Battle of Drøbak Sound but the defenders did not surrender until after Oslo had been captured. As a result, the German naval operation failed.

StG 1 caught the 735 ton Norwegian destroyer Æger off Stavanger and hit her in the engine room. Æger was run aground and scuttled.

The Stukageschwader were now equipped with the new Ju 87 R, which differed from the Ju 87 B by having increased internal fuel capacity and two 300l underwing drop tanks for more range.