The Junkers Ju87 Stuka

The Junkers Ju 87 ‘Stuka’ (a contraction of the German word Sturzkampfflugzeug, ie dive bomber) was arguably the Luftwaffe’s most recognizable airplane, with its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage.

Designed by Hermann Pohlmann as a dedicated dive bomber and ground—attack aircraft, the prototype first flew in 1935, and made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. After several design changes in the light of operational experie...