Junker Ju-87 R-2 (Late) Stuka

Ju 87 Stuka is a German dive bomber (Sturzkampfflugzeug) and ground-attack aircraft. It first flew in 1935 and made its combat debut during Spanish Civil War (Luftwaffe's Condor Legion) in 1937, then served the Axis forces during World War II. 

The aircraft is easily recognisable by its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage. Upon the leading edges of its faired main gear legs were mounted the Jericho-Trompete (Jericho trumpet) wailing sirens, becoming the propaganda symbol of German air power and the so-called Blitzkrieg victories of 1939–1942. The Stuka's design included several innovations, including automatic pull-up dive brakes under both wings to ensure that the aircraft recovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high g-forces.

The Ju 87 operated with considerable success in close air support and anti-shipping at the outbreak of World War II. It led air assaults in the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Stukas were critical to the rapid conquest of Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France in 1940. Though sturdy, accurate, and very effective against ground targets, the Stuka was, like many other dive bombers of the period, vulnerable to fighter aircraft. During the Battle of Britain, its lack of manoeuvrability, speed and defensive armament meant that it required a heavy fighter escort to operate effectively.

To accurately deliver ordnance Stuka used concept of dive bombing - diving directly at the target at an steep angle, normally between 45 to 60 degrees or even up to a near vertical dive of 80 degrees with Ju87, releasing bombs at low altitude and abruptly pulling-up after dropping bombs. The tactic dated from an experimental Allied sortie in World War I. It was the subject of considerable exploration in the 1920s by U.S. Naval and Marine Corps fliers, who developed it into a standard tactic to be used against the lightly armoured upper decks of warships, though Ju87 Stuka was first aircraft which used it to devastating effect during invasion of Poland in September 1939. 

After the Battle of Britain, the Stuka was used in the Balkans Campaign, the African and Mediterranean theatres and the early stages of the Eastern Front, where it was used for general ground support, as an effective specialised anti-tank aircraft and in an anti-shipping role. Once the Luftwaffe lost air superiority, the Stuka became an easy target for enemy fighter aircraft. It was produced until 1944 for lack of a better replacement. By 1945 ground-attack versions of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 had largely replaced the Ju 87, but it remained in service until the end of the war.

An estimated 6,500 Ju 87s of all versions were built between 1936 and August 1944.