World War II Combat Aircraft Photo Archive

Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” Part 2
The D-variant of the Luftwaffe Dive Bomber

AirDOC

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

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The Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” was having a tough time in 1940.

Increasing fighter opposition prevented the dive-bomber from providing the close air support duties that had proved so devastating in the earlier months of the war.  To improve the aircrafts’ performance, a number of improvements were made which resulted in the “Dora”.

Amongst the changes made during the “D” series was a revised canopy, more powerful engine, improved weapons system, and increased wingspan.

The book takes a look at this variant and a lot of information is packed between the 64 pages.

There are 125 period black and white photographs that cover all facets of the aircrafts’ history. We start off on the assembly line and proceed to see close-ups of inside the cockpit and around the canopy. Other parts of the airframe are also on show and these are dispersed throughout the rest of the publication.

The captioning is very informative and does more than just describe the obvious. It’s done in both English and German languages which is also the case with the text. The translation of the narrative is quite good with most of the meaning coming through seamlessly.

There are 14 pages devoted to this task. Each is divided into 2 halves to cater for the bilingual aspect of the presentation. The development of the Ju 87 B and R variants into the “Dora” is clearly conveyed to the reader as is the subsequent operational evaluation. There were quite a few versions of the Ju 87 D and these are all given adequate space between the covers.

Other sections highlight the flame dampening system, ordinance, bomb-sight, armament, wheels and skis.

Richard Caruana supplies the 1/72 scale drawings and these cover 5 pages. “4 views” are provided for the D-3 “late” and D-5, with single side views catering for the D-1, D-5, D-7, and D-8. It would have been nice to have a printed rule on each page to reassure the reader that the plans have not been distorted during the printing process.

Colour profiles are not forgotten and 5 examples come courtesy of Herbert Ringlstetter.  These display a single D-1, D-3, and D-8, along with 2 D-5s.

So if you want a publication that gives you a solid grounding in the type, then this is an excellent addition to your library.

Thanks to AirDOC Publications for the sample.

AirDOC Publications may be viewed and purchased online from their website

Review Copyright © 2011 by Rob Baumgartner
This Page Created on 19 July, 2011
Last updated 22 July, 2011

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