Junkers Ju87 STUKA
Author: Mike Guardia
Illustrators: Henry Morshead Adam Tooby
This 64 page paperback book is number 15 in the Air Vanguard Series of books that are available from Osprey Publishing.
In the opening days of the Blitzkrieg campaign, few aircraft could invoke as much terror as the Junkers Ju 87. Nicknamed the “Stuka” (an abbreviation of Sturzkampfflugzeug – the German term for “dive-bomber”), the Ju 87 was perhaps the most feared tactical bomber of the ETO. With its fixed landing gear and inverted gull wings, the Stuka was the most recognizable aircraft of the Blitzkrieg era. With profile plates, close-up photographs and battle scene artwork, this book reveals the design and development history of the aircraft and how the inclusion of its dive-activated siren changed it from a reliable and sturdy dive bomber into a psychological weapon, spreading panic in ground units. Mike Guardia goes on to explain how the Stuka became easy prey for Allied aircraft and how its influence waned in the final years of the war.
Contents
- Introduction
- Design and Development
- Technical Specifications and Production Variants
- Operational History
- The Postwar Post-script
- Further Reading
- Index
Air Vanguard #15 is an excellent overview of this aircraft from its design inception to the latter stages of World War II. Throughout its 64 pages the text is interwoven with color or B/W plates. The historian and wargamer will receive technical details along with colorful drawings. The modeler will use this book as a reference book for innovative ideas for creating dioramas or to see paint schemes and markings that were used during World War II. Overall this is a book which all readers will enjoy.
The MSRP of this book is $18.95
