Junkers Ju 87 Stuka: books - history and technology (2/2)

Junkers Ju 87 - Stukageschwader 1937-41 (Osprey)

The Ju 87 Stuka was the most feared weapon in the German arsenal in the first year of World War 2, the Luftwaffe using it to deadly effect during the Blitzkrieg between September 1939 and June 1940. Although vulnerable to the enemy fighters due to its moderate speed in level flight and general lack of manoeuvrability, the Ju 87 nevertheless soon came to symbolise the might of Nazi Germany as the mere handful of Stukageschwader supporting the Wehrmacht rampaging out of the Fatherland took a heavy toll of the Allied forces.

Contents: Preparing for War - The Blitzkrieg Era - The Myth is Exploded - Appendices.

Stukas Over Spain - Dive Bomber Aircraft and Units of the Legion Condor

In this concise study, the infamous Luftwaffe Stukas of World War II are shown in their earlier use during the Spanish Civil War as part of the Legion Condor.
Using text and photographic material from both Spanish and German archives, the famous Junkers Ju 87 and the lesser known Henschel Hs 123 are shown in rare war-era photographs, as well as in color profiles. The operational and technical details of both dive-bomber aircraft types are also presented, as well as the histories of the units that flew them.

Junkers Ju 87 - Stukageschwader of North Africa and the Mediterranean

The 'terror weapon' of the invasion of Poland, the assault on Scandinavia and the Blitzkrieg through western Europe, the Ju 87 Stuka had had its reputation severely dented during the Battle of Britain, where its vulnerability to fighter aircraft in hostile skies was savagely exposed.
Licking their wounds, the Stukageschwader were sent south-east from their bases in France to the warmer climes of the Balkans in early 1941. In mid-1941, again frustrated at the inability of the Italians to defeat numerically inferior Allied forces, the Germans arrived in North Africa. Included in the force were Ju 87s.
However, like operations on the African continent, their efforts were doomed to failure, and from mid-1942 onwards the Stuka proved to be little more than cannon fodder for Allied fighters.

Contents: From the English Channel to the Sicilian Narrows - 'Picchiatelli - Operations Marita and Merkur - Campaigns in North Africa - Operations in Southern Europe - Appendices.

Ju 87 Stuka vs Royal Navy Carriers : Mediterranean (Osprey)

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.

Stukas over the Mediterranean 1940-1945 (Luftwaffe at War)

This enthralling pictorial guide reveals the formidable power of one of the most feared warplanes of all time. The Ju 87 Stuka dominated the opening campaigns of World War II. It was a primary weapon of German Blitzkrieg tactics and the concept of lightning warfare.
Together with the panzer, it transformed air and land warfare, with countries falling in days and weeks, rather than after campaigns lasting years.

With more than 100 photographs and detailed commentary, "Stukas over the Mediterranean" examines the role of German and Italian Ju 87s in such diverse campaigns as the attack on Yugoslavia, the battle for Crete and operations by the night flying squadrons.

Ju 87 Stukageschwader of the Russian Front (Osprey)

This final volume of the Osprey trilogy on the Luftwaffe dive-bomber charts its fortunes in the toughest theatre of all: the Eastern Front. Written by John Weal, a leading authority on the Luftwaffe, this book examines how, following its comprehensive defeat over the English Channel in the summer of 1940, the Stuka was able to restore its fearsome reputation over the Eastern Front.

Contents: 1: Summer 1941 to summer 1942 - 2: Summer 1942 to summer 1943 - 3: Summer 1943 - 4: Autumn 1943 - Index.