Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader of North Africa and the Mediterranean
By (Author) John Weal
Illustrated by John Weal
Illustrated by Mike Chappell
Illustrated by Mark Styling
Illustrated by Iain Wyllie
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Osprey Publishing
24th July 1998
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Military vehicles
European history
Second World War
Modern warfare
623.7463
Paperback
100
Width 184mm, Height 248mm, Spine 7mm
384g
The 'terror weapon' of the invasion of Poland, the assault on Scandinavia and the Blitzkrieg through western Europe, the Ju 87 Stuka had had its reputation severely dented during the Battle of Britain, where its vulnerability to fighter aircraft in hostile skies was savagely exposed. Licking their wounds, the Stukageschwader were sent south-east from their bases in France to the warmer climes of the Balkans in early 1941. In mid-1941, again frustrated at the inability of the Italians to defeat numerically inferior Allied forces, the Germans arrived in North Africa. Included in the force were Ju 87s. However, like operations on the African continent, their efforts were doomed to failure, and from mid-1942 onwards the Stuka proved to be little more than cannon fodder for Allied fighters.
Arguably the finest profile artist in the business, John Weal's love of German aircraft makes his work a treat for students of the subject. He has written several Aces volumes, and two books on the JU 87 in the companion series Combat Aircraft.