Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader 1937-41 (Combat Aircraft) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Aviation historian John Weal provides an interesting account of the development, introduction and early combat history of the German Junkers Ju-87 "Stuka" dive-bomber in Osprey's Combat Aircraft #1. The author deftly uses first-person accounts and unit histories to paint a fairly complete history of the Stuka in the first 18 months of the war. Readers should note that this volume only covers the period up to February 1941 and does not cover Stuka operations in the Mediterranean or the Soviet Union in '41.

The author spends about 13 pages in the first chapter discussing the development of the German dive bomber force in the mid-1930s, the formation of the first units and the activities of the Condor Legion in Spain (three Stukas participated in the war). This section is a bit too succinct, with little mention made of production issues and crew training. The second chapter discusses Stuka operations over Poland, Norway, the Low Countries and France in 1939-40. Although the Stuka performed well in these early operations, losses were fairly heavy, with 31 lost over Poland and 120 in the West - nearly half the original force. I wish the author had made some mention of production figures at this time, but he does state that most Stuka units started the Battle of Britain understrength. Many of the B/W photographs are superb and the ten pages of color plates are also excellent.

The last chapter covers the Stuka's role in the Battle of Britain. Although most accounts of the battle suggest that the early German anti-convoy operations had limited success, Weal makes the point that the Stuka attacks in July 1940 did indeed clear the channel of much British shipping and forced the Royal Navy to pull its destroyers back out of air range of the Stukas. However, the Stuka's success came to an abrupt end in August 1940 when the Luftwaffe shifted to attacks on RAF air bases and the Stuka squadrons suffered heavily from British fighters. In little more than a weak, heavy losses reduced the Stuka force from a `wonder weapon' to a tactical liability. Weal notes tha6t even when the Stukas made it to target, poor German intelligence often wasted their sacrifices by directing them onto low-value targets. The author provides several appendices (technical data, order of battles) as well as all-aspect line drawings. Overall, this volume is an interesting look at one of the Second World War's earliest `wonder weapons' and earliest technical disappointments.

The author, John Weal, has written many Osprey books relating to German aircraft of the second world war. This one, like most of the other he has written, provides many anecdotal and personal stories from a variety of pilots. However, it is lacking with respect to a higher level history regarding the development and deployment of the aircraft as well as to how the aircraft itself changed over the covered perioid. For example, there is no discussion as to why the aircraft was commissioned to begin with.

On the positive side the book has many very good illustrations on a wide variety of squadrons during the period in terms of both contemporaneous photographs as well as color plates that illustrate well many of the camo schemes used by squadrons equiped with aircraft of this type. In addition, there are very good plates on uniforms used by these squadrons during this time. Hence for the model or figurine builder, this book is a very good reference.

First printed in 1997, this 96-page book is one of the more entertaining products of Osprey Publishing. It contains not only dozens of photos, illustrations, and facts, but numerous first-hand stories from the men who flew the Stuka and those who fought against it. This book begins with the pre-war formation of the German dive bomber force and the Stuka's early years, continuing into the Condor Legion's service in the Spanish Civil War. Then comes the high time for the Stuka and the entire Nazi German war machine- the conquest of mainland Europe, starting with the invasion of Poland. The Stuka built its reputation in those days, swooping down out of the sky in mass numbers, its siren shrieking and overall having a devastating effect on enemy morale. It was not until the Battle of Britain that the Stuka, along with the rest of the Luftwaffe, met with opposition that it did not overrun and destroy within days. British resistance proved to be too much for the Ju-87, which was discovered to be slow, vulnerable, and not really as scary as it had once been believed to be. It was a capable dive bomber flown by skilled and brave pilots and gunners, but the Supermarine Spitfire was more than able to bring it down in large numbers.

This book is not a complete and total history of the Stuka, if for no other reason than because of its limited span of coverage- 1937 to 1941. But it is a solid reference book and entertaining to read. If you are interested in learning about the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka and its crews, I highly recommend it.