The Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' (a contraction of the German word
Sturzkampfflugzeug, ie dive bomber) was arguably the Luftwaffe's most
recognizable airplane, with its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted
undercarriage.
Designed by Hermann Pohlmann as a dedicated dive bomber and
ground-attack aircraft, the prototype first flew in 1935, and made its
combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the
Spanish Civil War. After several design changes in the light of
operational experiences, the 'Stuka' went on to serve the Luftwaffe and
Axis forces, from the invasion of Poland in 1939, through the Battles of
France and Britain in 1940, over the North African desert and the across
Mediterranean, the invasion of Russia and the subsequent bitter fighting
in that vast area, and following several more design changes and
upgrades, continued to serve through to the end of World War Two.
This latest addition to the growing Flight Craft range, follows the
previous well established format, in that it is split in to three main
sections. The first section, after offering a concise design and
development history, continues with coverage of the various subtypes,
from 'Anton' to 'Gustav' and their operational use from the Spanish
Civil War to the end of World War Two.
This is followed by a 16-page full color illustration section featuring
detailed profiles and 2-views of the color schemes and markings carried
by the type in Luftwaffe and Axis service. The final section lists as
many of the injection-moulded plastic model kits produced of the Junkers
Ju 87 in all the major scales that the authors could find details of,
including the brand new Airfix 1/72 and 1/48 scale kits which were
released while this book was being written, with photos of many finished
models made by some of the world's best modelers.
As with all the other books in the Flight Craft range, whilst published
primarily with the scale aircraft modeler in mind, it is hoped that
those readers who might perhaps describe themselves as 'occasional'
modelers, or even simply aviation enthusiasts, may also find that this
colorful and informative work offers something to provoke their
interests too.
