Ju87 Junkers Stuka Dive Bomber 100″ Wingspan

Designer: Ziroli

Wing Span: 100”

Length:   77”

Weight: 26 to 30 lbs.

Engines:  3 to 4.2 cu. in gas

The Ju87 Stuka dive bomber was built by Junkers and entered service in 1937 with the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War.

Designed as a dive bomber and ground support aircraft, it excelled at both of these duties.  As a dive bomber, it had many state of the art features at the time it was designed. One feature was an automatic dive recovery that would engage even if the pilot was unconscious.  As a very effective terror weapon, the Stuka had Jericho Trumpets installed on the wings or landing gear that screamed as they dived.  It was very demoralizing to ground troops.  

Over 6,000 were built between 1937 and 1945 and remained in operational duty throughout the war.  They were very effective early in the war but later when Germany lost air superiority, they became vulnerable to fighters because of poor armament and slow speed.

The Junkers Ju87 was powered by a Jumo inverted V12 water cooled engine.  Top speed in dives was in the neighborhood of 340 mph.  The Ju87 was the only dive bomber during WWII that actually dove at 90 degrees vertical.