The Junkers Ju 87 B Stuka dive-bomber and the aircraft carrier
represent two key combat innovations of World War II. Rich with
photographs and personal accounts, this new volume focuses on the
air-sea action during the British evacuation operations in Norway in May
1940 and German air attacks in the Mediterranean in 1941-1942.
Ju 87 dive-bombers, originally developed for pin-pointing bombing
missions against land targets and Allied naval vessels were deployed by
both the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica against the Allied
forces. Included in such a target were perhaps the greatest prize of all
for a Stuka pilot: a British aircraft carrier.
This superbly illustrated book looks at the duel between the Ju 87 Stuka
and the aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. Despite their gun
protection ('pompoms') and their squadrons of fighters, these immense
and mighty vessels proved irresistible targets to determined and
experienced Stuka aces as they endeavored to stop British naval
intervention in the campaigns in Norway, Malta and Crete. By 1941, the
Ju 87 had become known by the British as a fearsome aircraft following
its operations in France, specifically at Dunkirk, as well as in the
Balkans. For the Luftwaffe, it was an aircraft in which they still had
great confidence despite its mauling in the Battle of Britain during the
summer of 1940. This book examines the key attributes and shortcomings
of both aircraft and carrier by analyzing various compelling episodes
including the dramatic attacks on Ark Royal by Stukageschwader
(St.G) 1 off Norway in April 1940, the strikes by the Luftwaffe's St.G
1, St.G 2 and the Regia Aeronautica's 237° Squadriglia against
Illustrious in Malta harbor. Aside from outstanding photography and
artwork, this volume also include numerous personal accounts from Stuka
crews, the pilots of carrier-borne fighters opposing them and the
sailors embarked in the various carriers that came under attack.
