Italeri Ju-87 B2/R2 Stuka Prm Edition

PHOTO ETCHED PARTSINCLUDED

DECALS FOR 4 GERMANVERSIONS

The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka was a two-seat dive-bomber/ground-attackaircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, the Stuka first flew in 1935 and madeits combat debut in 1936 as part of theCondor Legion during the Spanish Civil War . The aircraft was easilyrecognizable by its inverted gull wings, fixed undercarriage and its wailingsiren. The Stuka s design included several innovative features, includingautomatic pull-up dive brakes under both wings to ensure that the planerecovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out from theacceleration. Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective, the Ju 87 wasvulnerable to modern fighter aircraft, like all other dive bombers of the war.The Ju 87 was a single-engined cantilever monoplane and its structure wasall-metal. The main construction material was duralumin, and the externalcoverings were made of Duralumin sheeting. The wing was the most unusualfeature and consisted of a single center section and two outer sections. Thecenter section had a large negative dihedral and the outer surfaces a positivedihedral. This created the gull, or "cranked" wing pattern along theJu 87 s leading edge. The fixed armament consisted of two 7.92 mm MG 17 machineguns fitted in each wing. The rear gunner/radio operator operated one 7.92 mmMG 15 machine gun for defensive purposes. The Stuka automatically dived at a60-90 angle, holding a constant speed of 500-600 km/h due to dive-brakedeployment, which increased the accuracy of the Ju 87 s aim. When the aircraft was reasonably close tothe target, a light on the contact altimeter came on to indicate thebomb-release point, usually at a minimum height of 450 m. The Ju 87B series wasto be the first mass produced variant. In total an estimated 700 Ju 87 B-1s and230 B-2s were delivered to the Luftwaffe of which 550 were built at Junkers.