Junkers Ju 87 Stuka - In The Movies

[Music] roger here we go attacking now the junkers ju-87 with its gall wings fixed landing gear and distinct siren is one of the most recognizable aircraft in history from any distance the stuka flew from 1936 right until the end of the war destroying thousands of ground targets despite its seemingly basic design on film radio controlled stuka models and cgi has created many dramatic dive bombing scenes so let's take a closer look at this icon of the luftwaffe the designing of the ju-87 started in 1933 at a time when dive bombing was still a new concept with airframes requiring innovation for stability due to the stresses dye bombing placed on aircraft despite looking primitive compared to many sleek later war aircraft the stuka used many design innovations including the use of different aluminum compounds the stuka design also took maintenance and construction into consideration using molded and cast parts avoiding welding wherever possible allowing airframe segments to be interchangeable for ease of repair the ju-87 subdivided airframe also lent itself to ease of transport by rail road or ship so i like what you've done there may help you one innovation impossible to overlook is the use of sirens sirens of course were an effective psychological weapon particularly against a poorly equipped or in-retreat enemy the pitch of a siren could also be used to gauge the speed of an aircraft but generally sirens are not as prolific as hollywood would suggest the sirens in fact were not overly liked by stuka pilots they could shear off in a dive or turn early models had no ability to turn off the siren and they marginally reduce speed of an already vulnerable aircraft sirens were a rare thing after 1941 so you can assume when you hear a siren in war movies past this time period it's most likely the tail gunner screaming [Music] interestingly the siren noise has become so synonymous with steep dives that it's often reused for virtually any aircraft in hollywood for its dramatic effect [Applause] another innovative feature of the stuka was an automatic pilot of sorts as dive bombing can place an enormous amount of gravitational force on a pilot blackouts could occur during many maneuvers an automatic system using the dive brakes helped ensure pilots recovered after their steep and low bomb runs there it is [Music] the ju-87 first saw combat in spain during the spanish civil war ju-87s flew at the condor legion supporting francisco franco and nationalist forces this allowed the luftwaffe to test tactics crews and aircraft the ju-87 saw limited but effective use in spain it was invaluable experience for air and ground crews however no testing was completed against coordinated modern fighters pre-world war ii production would be ramped up and by the outbreak of world war ii the luftwaffe had 360 ju-87 a's and bees available to aid in the blitz creek of poland and france [Music] the first action of world war ii the stukas performed was in poland they were the first aircraft to drop a bomb in the war and the first to get an air-to-air kill in april of 1940 during the norwegian campaign the ju-87s were again proven effective used in ground attack support roles and against shipping the accuracy of the stuka was proven against naval targets with even the british royal navy struggling to fight them off stugos would plague shipping for the entirety of the war by the end of the battle of norway the british navy ceased operating within range of ju-87s flying from norwegian airfields during the battle of france and the low countries ju-87s were instrumental to the success of blitzkrieg tactics used to rapidly advance west as german tanks broke through the lines they were able to rely on flying artillery support from ju-87s able to take out french artillery positions and disrupt counter attacks the defense of france quickly fell apart [Music] [Applause] after the fall of france it was the battle of britain where the stukas would be stretched beyond their intended use stukas were best at attacking shipping or providing close air support not for sustained combat against a well-prepared and organized air force on august 18 1940 a rate of 109 stukas saw a 21 loss of its force bf-109s could not guarantee the protection of stukas during their low dives and slow travel into and out of british airspace but this was not the end of the stuka it still caused significant grief for allied shipping including places like the mediterranean on the eastern front during operation barbarossa the invasion of the soviet union in 1941 the stuko is right in its element performing close air support roles in 41 the luftwaffe could protect the stuka with escorts and much of the soviet union's air force in the opening weeks was attacked with impunity while on the ground by stukas stuka's crushed soviet ground forces trying to reorganize counter attacks during the initial invasion [Music] it wouldn't be until air power shifted in 1943 and the battle of kursk that the stuka lost its strength to form many cohesive dye bomber units stukas became highly vulnerable without their escorts and the excellent fw190f was favored for ground attack roles as it could defend itself despite significant losses the ju-87 still took on ambitious targets even managing to sink three leningrad-class destroyers in the black sea before the red army pushed the german air force westwards and back towards germany [Music] in the last months of the war the german air force continued to use the stuka it remained an effective aircraft in finland able to spot tanks and supply vehicles on constricted wooded roadways on the german front the luftwaffe took advantage of the red army pressing ahead at a speed their own air force could not keep pace with and they continued to destroy ground vehicles at a surprising rate the stuka had two 7.2 millimeter machine guns one in each wing and a rear gunner radio operator it was slow and could not easily defend itself compared to contemporary fighter bombers what the stuka was was highly accurate easy to manufacture and repair and most importantly had some of the best experienced pilots and crews available some of whom had seen combat in spain since before world war ii alright i'm johnny and thanks for watching this little brief on the stuka please feel free to expand on the aircraft in the comments section below and we'll see you in the next video hey what kind of plane is it oh it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes and curtains in the window and wheels and it looks like a big tylenol

Channel: Johnny Johnson

Views: 281,390

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Id: RiGADkadUmk

Length: 9min 2sec (542 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 03 2022