Stuka 2 Dive Bomber Junkers Ju 87 Ww2 Luftwaffe Blitzkrieg T Shirt

Stuka side profile tee.  The Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber that spearheaded the "Blitzkrieg" in WW2.

• Brand new...professionally screen printed or DTG...NOT an iron-on transfer...
• GILDAN ULTRA COTTON brand used for men's tees, 100% pre-shrunk cotton...click here to check reviews.
• ANVIL 978 brand used for ladies tees, 100% pre-shrunk cotton...click here to check reviews.
• combined shipping for each additional only $1.00 ea...

FREE SHIPPING...when you order ANY  3 or more...U.S. only.

The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (taken from Sturzkampfflugzeug, "dive bomber") was a two-seat (pilot with a rear gunner) German Luftwaffe ground-attack airplane. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, the Stuka first flew in 1935 and made its combat debut in 1936 as part of the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. The aircraft was easily recognizable by its inverted gull wings, fixed spatted undercarriage and its infamous Jericho-Trompete wailing siren, becoming the propaganda symbol of German air power and the Blitzkrieg victories of 1939-1942. The Stuka Ju 87's design included several innovative features, including automatic pull-up dive brakes under both wings to ensure that the plane recovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high acceleration. Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective, the Ju 87 was vulnerable to modern fighter airplane, like many other dive bombers of the war. Its flaws became apparent during the Battle of Britain; terrible maneuverability, lack of speed and defensive armament meant that the Stuka required a plane escort to operate effectively. The Ju 87 operated with further success after the Battle of Britain, and its potency as a precision ground-attack aircraft became valuable to the German war effort in the Balkans Campaign, the African and Mediterranean Theaters and the early stages of the Eastern Front campaigns where Allied fighter aircraft resistance was disorganized and in short supply. However, once the Luftwaffe had lost air superiority on all fronts, the Ju 87 once again became an easy target for enemy fighter aircraft. In spite of this, because there was no better replacement, the type continued to be produced until 1944. By the end of the conflict, the Stuka Ju 87 had been largely replaced by ground-attack versions of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, however was still in use until the last days of the war. An estimated 6,500 Ju87s of all versions were produced between 1936 and August 1944.The Ju-87's principal designer, Hermann Pohlmann, held the opinion that any dive-bomber design needed to be simple and robust.

This led to many technical innovations, like the retractable undercarriage being discarded in favor of one of the Ju 87's distinctive features, its fixed and "spatted" undercarriage. Pohlmann continued to carry on developing and adding to his ideas and those of Dipl Ing Karl Plauth (Plauth was killed in a flying accident in November 1927), and manufactured  the Ju A 48 which underwent testing on 29 September, 1928. The military version of the Ju A 48 was designated the Ju K 47. Ernst Udet was the best proponent of the dive-bomber and the Ju87. After the Nazis came to power, the design was given priority. Despite initial competition from the Henschel Hs 123, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) German for the "Aviation Ministry" - turned to the designs of Herman Pohlmann of Junkers and co-designer of the K 47, Karl Plauth. During the trials with the K 47 in 1932,

 

the double vertical stabilizers were introduced to give the rear gunner a better field of fire. The main, and what was to be the most distinctive, feature of the Ju87 was its double-spar inverted gull wings.  After Plauth's death, Pohlmann continued the development of the Junkers dive bomber. The Ju A 48 registration D-ITOR, was originally fitted with a BMW 132 engine, producing some 450 kW (600 hp). The machine was also fitted with dive brakes for dive testing. The aircraft was given a good evaluation and "exhibited very good flying characteristics". Ernst Udet took an immediate liking to the concept of dive-bombing after flying the Curtiss Hawk II. When he invited Walther Wever and Robert Ritter von Greim to watch Udet perform a trial flight in May 1934 at the Jüterbog artillery range, it caused doubt about the ability of the dive bomber. Udet began his dive at 1,000 m (3,800 ft) and released his 1 kg (2 lb) bombs at 100 m (330 ft), barely recovering and pulling out of the dive. The Chief of the Air Weapons Command Bureau, Walter Wever, and the Secretary of State for Aviation, Erhard Milch, feared that such high-level nerves and skill could not be expected of "average pilots" in the Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, development continued at Junkers. Udet's "growing love affair" with the dive-bomber pushed it to the forefront of German aviation development. Udet went so far as to encourage all medium bombers to have dive-bombing capabilities.The design of the Ju 87 had begun in 1933 as part of the Sturzbomber-Programm.

The Ju 87 was to be powered by the British Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine. 10 were ordered by Junkers on 19 April 1934 for £ 20,514:2:6 (twenty thousand five hundred fourteen pounds, two shillings, and six pence). The initial Ju87 prototype, which was initially built by AB Flygindustri in Sweden and secretly brought to Germany in late 1934, was to have been completed in April 1935, however due to the inadequate strength of the airframe, construction was not completed until October 1935. However the mostly complete Ju-87 V1 W.Nr.c  4921 (minus non-essential parts) took off for its maiden flight on 17 September 1935. The aircraft originally did not carry any registration, however later was given the registration D-UBYR. The flight report, by Hauptmann Willy Neuenhofen, stated the only problem was with the small radiator, which caused the power plant to overheat. The Ju 87 V1, powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine V12 cylinder liquid-cooled engine, and sporting a twin-tail crashed on 24 January 1936, killing pilot Willy Neuenhofen. The square twin fins and rudders proved too weak and during dive testing, they collapsed and the airplane crashed. The accident happened after the airplane entered into an inverted spin during the testing of the terminal dynamic pressure in a dive. The crash prompted a change of tail design to a single vertical stabilizer. To withstand strong forces during the dive, heavy plating was fitted, along with brackets riveted to the frame and longeron, to the fuselage. Other early additions included the installation of hydraulic dive brakes that were fitted under the leading edge and could rotate 90°. The most notable feature of the Ju 87 was its inverted gull wings, as demonstrated in this photograph. Also visible are the two separate sliding "hoods" of the canopy The RLM was still not interested in the Ju 87 and was not impressed that it relied on a British Rolls-Royce power plant. In late 1935, Junkers suggested fitting a DB 600 in-line engine, while the final variant would be equipped with the Jumo 210. This was accepted by the RLM as an interim solution. The reworking of the design began on 1 January 1936. The test flight could not be carried for over two months for a lack of adequate airplane. The 24 January crash at Kleutsch near Dresden had already destroyed one machine and killed Junkers' chief test pilot, Willy Neuenhofen and his engineer Heinrich Kreft. The second prototype was also beset by breakdowns in the design. It had its twin stabilizers removed and a single tail fin installed due to fears over stability. Due to a shortage of power plants, instead of a DB 600, a BMW "Hornet" engine was fitted. All these delays set back the testing until 25 February 1936. By March 1936, the second prototype, the V2, was finally fitted with the Jumo 210Aa power plant, which a year later was changed in favour of a Jumo 210 G (W.Nr. 19310). Although the testing went well, and the pilot, a Flight Captain Hesselbach, praised its performance, Wolfram von Richthofen told the Junkers representative and Construction Office chief engineer Ernst Zindel that the Ju 87 stood little chance of becoming the Luftwaffe's main dive bomber, as it was underpowered, in his opinion.  On 9 June, 1936, the RLM ordered the cessation of development, in favour of the Heinkel He 118, a rival design. Apparently, the next day, Ernst Udet canceled the order, and development continued. On 27 July 1936, Udet crashed the He 118 prototype, He 118 V1 D-UKYM. That same day, Charles Lindbergh was visiting Ernst Heinkel, and as a result, Heinkel could only communicate with Udet by telephone. According to this version of the story, Heinkel warned Udet about the propeller's fragility. Udet failed to consider this, so in a dive, the engine over sped and the propeller broke away. Immediately after this incident, Udet announced the Stuka Ju 87 the winner of the development contest.

Ju 87A
The second prototype had a redesigned single vertical stabiliser and a 610 PS (449 kW, 602 hp) Junkers Jumo 210 An engine installed, and later the Jumo 210 Da. The first A series variant, the A-0, was of all metal construction, with an enclosed cockpit. To ease the difficulty of mass manufacturing the leading edge of the wing was straightened out and the ailerons' two aerofoil sections and had smooth leading and trailing edges. The pilot could adjust the elevator and rudder trim tabs in flight, and the tail was connected to the landing flaps, which were positioned in two parts between the ailerons and fuselage. The A-0 also had a flatter engine cowling, which gave the pilot a much better field of vision. In order for the engine cowling to be "flattened", the engine was set down nearly .25 m (10 in). The fuselage was also lowered along with the gunner's position, allowing the gunner a better field of fire. The RLM ordered seven A-0s initially, however then increased the order to 11. During early 1937, the A-0 was tested with varied bomb loads. The underpowered Jumo 210 A, as correctly pointed out by von Richthofen, was insufficient, and was quickly replaced with the Jumo 210 D power plant. The A-1s differed from the A-0s only slightly. As well as the installation of the Jumo 210 D, the A-1 had two 220 L (60 US gal) fuel tanks produced into the inner wing, however it was not armored or protected.  The A-1 was also intended to be fitted with two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns in each wing, however this was dropped due to excessive weight. The two that remained would be fed a total of 500 rounds of ammunition that was stored in the undercarriage "spats". The pilot would rely on the Revi C 21C gun sight for the two MG 17s. The gunner had only a single 7.92 mm (.312 ) MG 15, with 14 drums of ammunition, each containing 75 rounds. This represented a 150 round increase in this position from the Ju-87 A-0. The A-1 was also fitted with a larger 3.3 m (10.8 ft) propeller. The Ju 87 was capable of carrying a 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb if the airplane was not carrying the rear gunner/radio operator. This was due to the fact, that even with the Jumo 210 D power plant, the Ju-87 was still underpowered for operations with more than a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb load. All Ju 87As were restricted to 250 kg (550 lb) weapons (although during the Spanish Civil War missions were conducted without the gunner).
The Ju-87 A-2 was retrofitted with the Jumo 210Da fitted with a two-stage supercharger. The only further significant difference between the A-1 and A-1 was the H-PA-III controllable-pitch propeller. By the summer of 1938, 262 Ju 87 As had been built , 192 from the Junkers factory at Dessau, and a further 70 from Bremen. The current more powerful Ju 87 B model started to replace the Ju 87A at this time. The next major variant was the Ju87 B-1 with a considerably larger engine, its Junkers Jumo 211D generating 1,200 PS (883 kW, 1,184 hp), and the fuselage and landing gear were completely redesigned. This current design was again tested in Spain, and after proving its abilities there, production was ramped up to 60 per month. As a result, by the outbreak of World War 2 the Luftwaffe had 336 Ju-87 B-1s on hand. The B-1 was also fitted with "Jericho trumpets", essentially noise-making propellers with a diameter of 0.7 m (2.3 ft). This was used to damage enemy morale and enhance the intimidating effect of dive-bombing. After the enemy became used to it, they were to be withdrawn. The devices also caused a loss of some 20–25 km/h (10-20 mph) through drag. Instead some bombs were fitted with whistles installed on the fin of the bomb to produce the noise after release. The trumpets were a suggestion from Generaloberst Ernst Udet (but some authors say they were an idea from Adolf Hitler himself).  The Ju87 B-2s that followed had some improvements and were built in a number of variants that included ski-equipped versions (the B-1 also had this modification), and at the other end, with a tropical operation kit called the Ju87 B-2 trop. Italy's Regia Aeronautica received a number of the B-2s and named them the Picchiatello, while others went to the other members of the Axis, including Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The B-2 also had an oil hydraulic system for closing the cowling flaps. This continued in all the later designs. Production of the Ju 87B started in 1937. 89 B-1s were to be built at Junkers' factory in Dessau and another 40 at the Weserflug plant in Bremen by July 1937. Production would be carried out by the Weserflug company after April 1938. But another 352 Ju-87 B-1s were manufactured at Junkers up until March 1940. From August 1938 to March 1940 the Weserflug company manufactured  740 Ju-87s. In total an estimated 700 Ju-87 B-1s and 230 B-2s were delivered to the Luftwaffe of which 550 were built at Junkers. The remaining machines were manufactured at Weserflug's Bremen factory. A long range version of the Ju-87 B was also produced, known as the Ju 87 R. They were primarily intended for anti-shipping missions. Internal fuel capacity was increased by adding two inner-wing 240 L (60 US gal) fuel tanks and by using two 300 L (80 US gal) under-wing drop tanks. This increased capacity to 1,080 liters. Bomb carrying ability was reduced to a single 250 kg (550 lb) bomb if the airplane was fully loaded with fuel. The naval variant of the Ju-87B was known as the Ju-87C, and these were built to operate from the airplane carrier Graf Zeppelin. The carrier was never completed, and all of these were converted back to the Ju87 B standard. The Ju 87 R-1 had a B-1 airframe with the exception of a modification in the fuselage which enabled an additional oil tank. This was installed to feed the engine due to the increase in range after the addition of the extra fuel tanks. The Ju 87 R-2 had the same airframe as the B-2, and strengthened to ensure it could withstand dives of 600 km/h (370 mph). The Jumo 211D in-line engine was installed, replacing the R-1s Jumo 211A.  Due to an increase in overall weight by some 700 kg (1,540 lb), the Ju 87 R-2 was 20 mph (32 km/h) slower than the Ju87 B-1 and had a lower service ceiling. The Ju87R-2 had an increased range advantage of 360 km (220 mi). The R-3 and R-4 were the last R variants developed. Only a few were built. The R-3 was an experimental tug for gliders and was installed with an expanded radio system which was installed so that the crew could communicate with the glider crew by way of the tow rope. The R-4 differed from the R-2 in the Jumo 211J powerplant. Like the R-3, it was manufactured  only in limited numbers.At Breman the Westerflug Works built 471 Ju87R-2s and 145 Ju 87R-4s. 143 of the 145 manufactured Ju 87R-4s were delivered as two were destroyed on test flights. The tropical versions were initially named the Ju87 B-2/U1. This was eventually designated the Ju 87 B-2 trop, equipped with tropical emergency equipment and sand filters for the power plant.

Condor Legion and the Spanish Civil War
Among the many German airplane 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 airplane 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 A-s arrived. Several breakdowns 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 plane opposition, and this lesson was to be learned later at great cost to the Ju 87 crews.
All Stuka Ju 87 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. On 1 September 1939, the Wehrmacht invaded Poland triggering WW2 . 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 Stuka Ju 87s 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 initial air victory during World War 2 on 1 September 1939, when Rottenführer Leutnant Frank Neubert of I./StG 2 "Immelmann" shot down a Polish PZL P.11c fighter piloted by Captain Mieczys?aw 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.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. The campaign was not the classic Blitzkrieg of fast-moving armored 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 specialized 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 Ju 87 was to prove the most effective weapon in the Luftwaffe's armory carrying out the latter. On 9 April, the initial 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 latest Ju 87R, which differed from the Ju 87B by having increased internal fuel capacity and two 300l under wing drop tanks for more range.The Stukas, however, had numerous successes against Allied Naval vessels. HMS Bittern was sunk on 30 April. The French large destroyer Bison was sunk along with HMS Afridi by Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 on 3 May 1940 during the evacuation from Namsos. Bison's forward magazine had been hit killing 108 of the crew. Affridi, who had attempted to rescue Bison's survivors was sunk with the loss of 63 sailors.The Stukawaffe had learned some lessons from the Polish and Norwegian campaigns.

The failures of Poland and the Stukas of I.StG 1 to silence the Oscarborg fort ensured even more attention was paid to pin-point bombing during the Phoney War period. This was to pay off in the Western campaign. When Fall Gelb began on 10 May 1940, the Stuka Ju 87 helped swiftly neutralize the fortress of Eben Emael. The HQ of the Commander responsible for ordering the destruction of the bridges along the Albert Canal was stationed in the village of Lanaeken (14 km/ mi to the north). However the Ju 87 demonstrated its accuracy when the small building was destroyed after receiving four direct hits. As a result only one of the three bridges was destroyed allowing the German Army to rapidly advance. The Sturzkampfgeschwader were also instrumental in achieving the breakthrough at Sedan. The Stukawaffe flew 300 sorties against French positions, with StG 77 alone flying 201 individual missions. When resistance was organized, the Ju 87s were vulnerable. For example, on 12 May, near Sedan, six French Curtiss H-75s from Groupe de Chasse I/5 attacked a formation of Ju 87s shooting down 11 out of 12 unescorted Ju 87s without loss to them.The Luftwaffe also benefited from excellent ground-to-air communications throughout the campaign. Radio equipped forward liaison officers could call upon the Stuka Ju 87s and direct them to attack enemy positions along the axis of advance. In some cases the Stukas responded to requests in 10–20 minutes. Oberstleutnant Hans Seidemann (Richthofen's Chief of Staff) said that "never again was such a smoothly functioning system for discussing and planning joint operations achieved".During the Battle of Dunkirk many Allied ships were lost to Ju 87 attacks. The French destroyer L' Adroit had already been sunk on 21 May. The paddle steamer Crested Eagle was sunk on 28 May 1940. The British destroyer HMS Grenade was sunk on 29 May and several other vessels damaged by Stuka attack. On 29 May, the Allies had lost 31 vessels sunk and 11 damaged. In total, 89 merchantmen (of 126,518 grt) were lost, and the Royal Navy lost 29 of its 40 destroyers (8 sunk, 23 damaged and out of service). Allied air power was ineffective and disorganized, and as a result the Ju 87 losses were mainly due to ground fire. Some 120 machines, one-third of the Stuka force, were destroyed or damaged to all causes. For the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe's Order of battle consisted of five Geschwader equipped with the Ju 87. Lehrgeschwader 2's IV.(St), Sturzkampfgeschwader 1's III. Gruppe and Sturzkampfgeschwader 2's III. Gruppe, Sturzkampfgeschwader 51 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 3's I. Gruppe were committed to the battle. As an anti-shipping weapon the Ju 87 proved a potent weapon in the early stages. On 4 July 1940 StG 2 struck success when it attacked a convoy in the English Channel sinking four freighters, the Britsum, the Dallas City, the Deucalion and Kolga. Six more were damaged. That afternoon 33 Ju 87s delivered the single most deadly air assault on British territory in history, when 33 Ju 87s of III./StG 51, avoiding Royal Air Force (RAF) interception, sank HMS Foylebank in Portland Harbor killing 176 of its 298-strong crew. One of Foylebank's gunners, Leading Seaman John F. Mantle continued to fire on the Stukas as the ship sank. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for remaining at his post despite being mortally wounded. Mantle may have been responsible for the single Ju 87 lost during the raid. During August, the Ju 87s also had some success. On 13 August Messerschmitt Bf 109s of Jagdgeschwader 26 were sent out in advance of the main strike and successfully drew off RAF fighters, allowing 86 Ju 87s of StG 1 to attack RAF Detling unhindered. The attack killed the station commander, destroyed 20 RAF airplane on the ground and a great many of the airfield's many buildings. However, Detling was not an RAF Fighter Command station. The Battle of Britain proved for the initial time that the Junkers Ju 87 was vulnerable in hostile skies against well organized and determined plane opposition. The Ju 87, like other dive bombers, was slow and possessed inadequate defenses. Furthermore, it could not be effectively protected by fighters, because of its low speed and the very low altitudes at which it ended its dive bomb attacks. The Stuka Ju 87 depended on air superiority, the very thing being contested over Britain. It was withdrawn from attacks on Britain in August after prohibitive losses, leaving the Luftwaffe without precision ground-attack airplane. Steady losses had occurred throughout their participation in the battle. On 18 August, a day known as the 'hardest day' as both sides suffered heavy losses, the Stuka Ju 87 was withdrawn after 16 were destroyed and many others damaged. According to the Generalquartiermeister der Luftwaffe, 59 Stukas were destroyed and 33 damaged, to varying degrees, in six weeks of operations. Over 20% of the total Ju 87 strength had been lost between 8 August and 18 August. The myth of the Stuka Ju 87 was shattered. In return, the Ju 87s sank six warships, 14 merchant ships, terriblely damaged seven airfields and three radar stations, and destroyed 49 British aircraft, mainly on the ground. On 19 August, the units of VIII. Fliegerkorps moved up from their bases around Cherbourg-Octeville and concentrated in the Pas de Calais under Luftflotte 2, closer to the proposed invasion area. On 13 September, the Luftwaffe targeted airfields again, with a small number of Ju 87s crossing the coast at Selsey and heading for Tangmere. After a lull, anti-shipping operations attacks were resumed by some Ju 87 units from 1 November 1940, as part of the modern winter tactic of enforcing a blockade. Over the next ten days seven merchant ships were sunk and damaged, mainly in the Thames Estuary for the loss of four Ju 87s. On 14 November, 19 Ju 87s from III./St.G 1, with escort drawn from JG 26 and JG 51, went out against another convoy as no targets were found over the estuary, the Stuka Ju 87s proceeded to attack Dover, their alternate target. Bad weather resulted in a decline of anti-shipping operations, and before long the Ju 87 Gruppen began re-deploying to the soon to be Eastern Front, as a part of the concealed build-up for Operation Barbarossa. By spring 1941, only St.G 1 with 30 Ju 87s remained facing the United Kingdom. Operations on a small scale continued throughout the winter months into March. Operations included ships at sea, the Thames Estuary, the Chatham naval dockyard and Dover and night-bomber sorties over the Channel. These attacks were resurrected again in the following winter. In response to the Italian defeats in Greece and North Africa the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ordered the deployment of some German forces to these theatres. Amongst the Luftwaffe contingent deployed was the Geschwaderstab StG 3 which touched down in Sicily in December 1940. In the next few days, two Gruppen- some 80 Ju 87s - were deployed under X. Fliegerkorps. The first task of the Korps was to attack British shipping passing between Sicily and Africa. The Ju 87s first made their presence felt by subjecting the British airplane carrier HMS Illustrious to heavy attack. The crews were confident that they could sink it as the flight deck had an area of about 6,500 square meters. On 10 January 1941, the Stuka Ju 87 crews were told that four direct hits with 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs would be enough to sink the carrier. The Ju 87s delivered six and three damaging near-misses, but the ship's engines remained untouched and she made for the besieged harbor of Malta. The Italian Regia Aeronautica was equipped for a while with the Ju 87s.  In 1939, Italian government asked the RLM to supply 100 Ju 87s. Italian pilots were sent to Graz in Austria, to be trained for dive-bombing airplane. In the summer, 1940 about 100 Ju 87B-1s, some of them ex-Luftwaffe machines, were handed over to their Italian ally, and delivered to 96° Gruppo Bombardamento a Tuffo. The Italian Stuka Ju 87, re-named "Picchiatello", was in turn assigned to Gruppi 97°, 101° and 102°. The "Picchiatelli" were used against Malta and Allied convoys in Mediterranean, in North Africa (where took part in conquering Tobruk). Some of the Picchiatelli saw action in the opening phase of the Italian invasion of Greece in October 1940. The numbers were low and ineffective. The Italian forces were quickly pushed back. By early 1941 the Greeks had pushed into Italian occupied Albania. Once again Hitler decided to send military aid to his allies. In March, the pro-German Yugoslav government was toppled. A furious Hitler ordered the attack to be expanded to include Yugoslavia. Operation Marita commenced on 7 April. The Luftwaffe committed StG 1, 2 and 77 to the campaign. The Stuka Ju 87 once again spearheaded the air assault with front line strength of 300 machines, against minimal Yugoslav resistance in the air, giving the Ju 87s a fearsome reputation in this region. Operating unmolested they took a heavy toll of ground forces, suffering only light losses to ground fire. The effectiveness of the dive-bombers helped bring about Yugoslav capitulation in just ten days. The Ju 87s also took a peripheral part in Operation Punishment - Hitler's retribution bombing of Belgrade. The dive-bombers were to attack airfields and known anti-aircraft gun positions whilst the level bombers struck civilian targets. Belgrade was terriblely damaged, and 2,271 people were reported killed and 12,000 injured. In Greece, despite British aid, little air opposition was encountered. As the Allies withdrew and resistance collapsed, the Allies began evacuating to Crete. The Stukas proved effective in inflicting severe damage on Allied shipping. On 22 April, the 1,389 ton destroyers Psara and Ydra were sunk. In the next two days, the Greek Naval base at Piraeus lost 23 vessels to Ju 87 attack. During the Battle of Crete the Ju 87s also played a significant role. On 21/22 May 1942, the Germans attempted to send in reinforcements to Crete by sea, however lost 10 vessels to "Force D" under the command of Rear-Admiral Glennie. The force consisting of HMS Dido, Orion and Ajax forced the remaining German ships to retreat. The Stukas were called upon to deal with the British Naval threat. On 21 May, HMS Juno was sunk, and the next day, battleship HMS Warspite was damaged and the cruiser HMS Gloucester was sunk with the loss of 45 officers and 648 ratings. The Ju 87s also crippled HMS Fiji that morning, (she was later finished off by Bf 109 fighter plane bombers) whilst destroying HMS Greyhound with a single hit. As the Battle of Crete drew to a close the Allies began yet another withdrawal. On 23 May the Royal Navy also lost HMS Kashmir, Kelly sunk followed by HMS Hereward on 26 May; Orion and Dido were also severely damaged. Orion had been evacuating 1,100 soldiers to North Africa and lost 260 of them killed and another 280 wounded during the attacks.  The Sturzkampfgeschwader faithfully supported Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel's Deutsches Afrikakorps in its two year campaign in North Africa, helping it achieve considerable success. However, as the tide turned and Allied air power grew in the autumn of 1942, the Ju 87 became very vulnerable, and losses were heavy. The entry of the Americans into North Africa during Operation Torch made the situation far worse: the Stuka was obsolete in what was now a fighter-bomber's war. The Bf 109 and Fw 190 could at least fight on equal terms after dropping their ordnance , however the Ju 87 could not. The Junkers' vulnerability was demonstrated on 11 November 1942 when 15 Ju 87Ds were all shot down by United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Curtiss P-40Fs in minutes. By 1943, the Allies enjoyed total air superiority in North Africa. The Ju 87s ventured out in Rotte strength only, often jettisoning their bombs at the first sight of enemy aircraft. Adding to this trouble the German fighters had only enough fuel to cover the Ju 87s at their most vulnerable; on take off. After that the Ju 87s were on their own. The dive bombers continued to support operations in Southern Europe; after the Italian surrender in September 1943, the Ju 87 helped Germany achieve the last campaign-sized victory over the Western Allies. The Greek Dodecanese Islands had been occupied by the British; the Luftwaffe reacted by committing 75 Stuka Ju 87s (of StG 3 with bases in Megara and Rhodos) to recover the Islands. With the RAF bases some 500 km away the Ju 87 helped the German landing forces to achieve a rapid conquest of the Islands.
On 22 June 1941 the Wehrmacht commenced Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.  The Luftwaffe order of battle of 22 June 1941 contained four different Sturzkampfgeschwader. VIII. Fliegerkorps under the command of General der Flieger Wolfram von Richthofen was equipped with units Stab, II., and III./StG 1. Also included were Stab, I., II., and III. of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 Immelmann. Attached to II. Fliegerkorps, under the Command of General der Flieger Bruno Loerzer, were Stab, I., II., and III. of StG 77. Luftflotte 5, under the command of Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, operating from Norway's Arctic Circle, were allotted IV. Gruppe (St)/Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1). The initial Stuka Ju 87 loss on the Russian-German front occurred early at 03:40–03:47 in the morning of the 22 June. While being escorted by Bf 109s from JG 51 to attack a fortress at Brest, Oberleutnant Karl Führing of StG 77 was shot down by an I-153. The Sturzkampfgeschwader had suffered only two losses on the opening day of Barbarossa. As a result of the Luftwaffe's attention, the Soviet Air Force in the Western Soviet Union was nearly destroyed. The official report claimed 1,489 Red Army airplane destroyed. Göring ordered this checked. After picking their way through the wreckages across the front, Luftwaffe officers found that the tally exceeded 2,000. In the following two days the Red Armys reported the loss of another 1,922 airplane. Russian aerial resistance, whilst it continued, ceased to be effective, and the Luftwaffe maintained air superiority until the end of the year.
The Ju 87 took a huge toll on Russian ground forces, helping to break up counter-attacks of Russian armor, eliminating strong points, and disrupting the enemy supply lines. An example of the Ju 87's effectiveness occurred on 5 July when StG 77 knocked out 18 trains and 500 vehicles. As Panzergruppe 1 and 2 forged bridgeheads across the Dnieper river and closed in on Kiev the Ju 87s again rendered invaluable support. On 13 September Stuka Ju 87s from StG 1 destroyed all the rail networks in the vicinity as well as inflicting heavy casualties on escaping Red Army columns, for the loss of a single Ju 87. Days later, on 23 September, Hans-Ulrich Rudel (who was to become the most decorated serviceman in the Wehrmacht) of StG 2, sank the Soviet battleship Marat, during an air attack on Kronstadt harbor in the Leningrad area, with a hit to the bow with a 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bomb. Also during this action Lieutenant Egbert Jaekel sank the destroyer Minsk, while the destroyer Steregushchiy and submarine M-74 were also sunk. The Stuka Ju 87s also crippled the battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya and the destroyers Silnyy and Grozyashchiy in exchange for two Ju 87s shot down. Elsewhere on the Eastern front the Junkers assisted Army Group Centre in its drive toward Moscow. From 13-22 December, 420 vehicles and 23 tanks were destroyed by StG 77, greatly improving the morale of the German infantry, who were by now on the defensive. StG 77 finished the campaign as the most effective Sturzkampfgeschwader. It had destroyed 2,401 vehicles, 234 tanks, 92 artillery batteries and 21 trains for the loss of 25 Ju 87s to hostile action. At the end of Barbarossa, StG 1 had lost 60 Stuka Ju 87s in aerial combat and one on the ground. StG 2 lost 39 Ju 87s in the air and two on the ground, StG 77 lost 29 of their dive-bombers in the air and three on the ground (25 to enemy action). IV.(St)/LG1 operating from Norway lost 24 Ju 87s, all in aerial combat. In early 1942, the Ju 87s were to give the Germany Army (Heer) yet more valuable support. On 29 December 1941 the Soviet 44th Army landed on the Kerch Peninsula. The Luftwaffe was only able to dispatch meager reinforcements of four Kampfgruppen (note: not Kampfgeschwader) and two Sturzkampfgruppen, belonging to StG 77. With air-superiority, the Ju 87s operated with impunity. In the initial 10 days, ½ the landing force was destroyed, while sea supply lines were cut off by the Ju 87s inflicting heavy losses on Russian shipping. The Ju 87s effectiveness against Red Army armor was not yet potent. Later versions of the T-34 tank could withstand Ju 87 attack, in general, unless a direct hit was scored, but the Russian 44th Army had only obsolescent types with thin armor which were nearly all destroyed. During the Battle of Sevastopol the Stuka Ju 87s mercilessly bombed the trapped Red Army forces. Some Ju 87 pilots flew up to 300 sorties against the Red Army defenders. Luftflotte 4's StG 77 flew 7,708 combat sorties dropping 3,537 tones of bombs on the city. Their efforts help secure the capitulation of Red Army forces on 4 July. For the German summer offensive, Fall Blau, the Luftwaffe had concentrated 1,800 airplane into Luftflotte 4 making it the largest and most powerful single air-command in the world. The Stukawaffe strength stood at 151. During the Battle of Stalingrad Stuka Ju 87s flew thousands of sorties against Red Army positions in the city. StG 1, 2 and 77 flew 320 individual sorties on 14 October 1942. As the German Sixth Army pushed the Red Armys into a 1,000 meter enclave on the West bank of the Volga river, 1,208 Ju 87 sorties were flown against this small strip of land. However, the intense air attack, though causing horrific losses on Red Army units, failed to destroy them. The Luftwaffe's Sturzkampfgeschwader made maximum effort during this phase of the war. They flew an average of 500 sorties per day and caused heavy losses among Red Army forces, losing an average of only one Ju 87 per day.  The Battle of Stalingrad marked the high point in the fortunes of the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. As the strength of the Russian Air Forces grew, they gradually wrestled control of the skies from the Luftwaffe. From this point onward the vulnerability of the Ju 87 to fighter aircraft attack caused losses to increase. The Stuka Ju 87 was also heavily involved in Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk. The Luftwaffe committed I, II, III./St.G 1 and III./StG 3 under the command of Luftflotte 6. I., II, III. of StGs 2 and 3 were committed under the command of Hans Seidemann's Fliegerkorps VIII.Hauptmann Rudel's cannon-equipped Ju 87 Gs had a devastating effect on Red Army armor at Orel and Belgorod. The Ju 87s participated in a huge aerial counter-offensive lasting from 16 July - 31 July against a Soviet offensive at Khotynets and saved two German armies from encirclement, reducing the attacking Russian 11th Guard Army to just 33 tanks by 20 July. The Soviet offensive had been completely halted from the air. However losses were considerable. Fliegerkorps VIII lost eight Ju 87s on 8 July, six on 9 July, six on 10 July and another eight on 11 July. The Ju 87 arm also lost eight of their Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross holders. StG 77 lost 24 Ju 87s in the period 5-31 July (StG had lost 23 in July-December 1942) while StG 2 lost another 30 machines in the same period. In September 1943, three of the Stuka units were re-equipped with the Fw 190 Schlachtgeschwader. In the face of overwhelming air opposition the dive-bomber needed heavy protection from German fighters. Some units like StG 2 Immelmann continued to operate with great success throughout 1943-45 operating the Ju 87 G variants equipped with 37 mm cannons, which became effective tank-killers, although in increasingly small numbers in the aftermath of Kursk, the Ju 87 strength had fallen to 184 machines in total. This was well below the 50 percent of required strength. On 18 October 1943 StG 1, 2, 3, 5 and 77 were redesignated into a combined unit known as Schlachtgeschwader. This contained other airplane such as the Fw 190. The Luftwaffe's individual dive-bomber units had ceased to exist. In the wake of the defeat at Kursk, the Ju 87s played a vital "fire-fighting role" on the southern wing of the eastern front. To combat the Luftwaffe the Red Armys could deploy some 3,000 fighter airplane, as a result the Stukas suffered heavily. StG 77 lost 30 Ju 87s in August 1943 as did StG 2 Immelmann, who also reported the loss of 30 machines in combat. Despite these losses the Ju 87s helped the 29. Armeekorps break out of an encirclement near the Sea of Azov. The Battle of Kiev also included substantial effort by Ju 87 units. Although again, unsuccessful. The Stuka units were now, with the loss of air superiority, becoming vulnerable on the ground as well. Some Luftwaffe Stuka aces were lost this way.  Bagration to Berlin; 1944-45By early 1944 the number of Ju 87 units and operational airplane entered into terminal decline. As the Russian summer offensive, Operation Bagration got underway, 12 Ju 87 Gruppen and five mixed Gruppen (including Fw 190s) were on the Luftwaffe's order of battle on 26 June 1944.Toward the end of the war the Ju 87 was replaced by ground-attack versions of the Fw 190, as the Stuka Ju 87 was no longer capable of operating under the conditions of Allied air superiority. Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey, a mixed airplane unit, which included large numbers of Stuka dive bombers, was rushed to the Finnish front in the summer of 1944, and was instrumental in halting the Russian fourth strategic offensive. The unit claimed 200 Red Army tanks and 150 Red Army airplane destroyed for 41 losses. The Luftwaffe continued to resist Russian aviation however it had little impact on the ground war. By 31 January 1945, 104 Ju 87s remained in their units. The other mixed Schlacht units contained a total of 70 Ju 87s and Fw 190s between them. Chronic fuel shortages were now keeping the Ju 87s grounded and sorties decreased until the end of the war in May 1945.