Stuka: Hitler's Lethal Dive Bomber

By Alistair Smith

“A very nice release about the most recognizable German aircraft of the Second World War” from the author of Rommel’s Army in the Desert (Inscale.org).

The photographs in this collection belonged to Luftwaffe Stuka rear gunner and radio operator Erich Heine. The collection includes photographs of flights of Stukas in formation, operating training aircraft, and a selection of different Luftwaffe uniforms and flight gear. The photographer was based for a period in Czechoslovakia, was shot down over the Ukraine in August 1943 and for a time was listed as missing in action.

This collection offers a unique insight into the German experience of World War Two, providing the opportunity to access materials that have never been published before

“The book very ably documents the war career of the aircraft and the pilots, reproducing some outstanding images of war.” —Firetrench

“The most remarkable thing about this album is that it contains photographs of perhaps the most famous Stuka ace, Hans-Ulrich Rudel.” —Inscale.org

“The photographs . . . show the life of Erich and Luftwaffe Stuka crew members through training/deployment/leave and include funerals of squadron members . . . The narrative gives a good overview of the Stuka in service and the photographs show varied views of the aircraft and day to day life within the squadron.” —WW2 Talk

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jan 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781783408962

Alistair Smith

Alistair Smith is an internationally known consultant, author and trainer. He has spoken to tens of thousands of teachers across the world and has written a number of books including: The Brain's Behind It: New Knowledge about the Brain and Learning, Help Your Child to Succeed: The Essential Guide for Parents and Accelerated Learning: A User's Guide. He is the designated learning consultant to the Football Association. He is also the author of Learning to Learn in Practice (ISBN 9781845902872).

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Bibliography

Introduction

The Junkers Ju87, along with the early Panzers of the German army, was the epitomy of Blitzkrieg. Arguably the Stuka (from Sturzkampfflugzeug) is the most recognisable German aircraft of the Second World War. It is immediately identifiable, with its peculiar inverted gull wings and odd undercarriage.

Most of all it is associated with the bizarre attachment of the so-called Jericho Trumpet. This terrifying, wailing siren was designed to instil fear in the enemy and make the aircraft a true weapon of horror.

The Ju87 made its first operational appearance in the skies over Spain during the civil war in 1936. It would go on to be one of the primary images and weapons of the early Second World War period. By 1942 the aircraft’s inherent vulnerabilities had become all too obvious. In fact its shortcomings had become clear as early as the late summer of 1940. During the Battle of Britain the Germans had to resort to providing the Stukas with fighter cover. The Stuka was slow, it had a relatively poor defensive armament and, above all, it did not move well enough in the air.

However, even after the Battle of Britain the Stuka remained a primary weapon of Germany in its campaigns in the Balkans and in North Africa. It was even used to great effect in the east, on the Russian front. Its true vulnerabilities had begun to show once the Allies had reorganised their fighter defences to such an extent that the Ju87 became easy prey.

The legend of the Ju87 lived on, largely due to the fact that the Germans had not developed a credible replacement. Towards the end of the war the Ju87 still remained in the skies and in fact production did not cease until 1944. However, by this stage the primary role, that of a dive bomber, had been usurped by the Focke Wulf Fw190.

This photographic album belonged to a Stuka gunner and radio operator (Bordenfunker) Erich Heine. Unfortunately we do not know a great deal about this individual but we do know that he did survive the war and that there is an implication that he was shot down over the Ukraine in 1943. He almost certainly became a prisoner-of-war of the Russians. It is probable for this reason that the photographs all seem to relate to the early stages of the war. They follow his training and his assignment to a Ju87 squadron. What is particularly remarkable is the fact that he survived. Many Stuka crewmembers had a very limited life expectancy.

The other remarkable thing about this album is that it contains photographs of perhaps the most famous Stuka ace, Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Rudel flew some 2,530 combat missions. The photographs featuring Rudel in this album are obviously of an early period, as they show him celebrating his 200th combat mission. Rudel was a prominent Nazi; he was highly decorated and would go on to claim some 2,000 targets destroyed, including a Russian battleship, hundreds of tanks, armoured trains and a host of static targets, including bridges. Rudel, by the end of the war, found himself in Bohemia and in immediate danger of falling into the hands of the Russians. He led an aerial armada in an epic escape attempt and landed at Kitzingen in Bavaria, which was then in the hands of the Americans. He would spend nearly a year as a prisoner-of-war before imigrating to Argentina in 1948. He died in 1982.

This photograph album was put together by Erich Heine. He was born on 21 March 1921 and died at the age of thirty-six on 23 March 1957. We can only speculate on why he died so young. Perhaps he died during his period of imprisonment with the Russians, or more likely he died young as a result of his injuries and his treatment whilst he was a prisoner-of-war. We do know that he was shot down on 21 August 1943 over Central Ukraine and was posted as ‘missing in action’.

The album contains some unique photographs of Stukas in formation. They also cover some of the training aircraft and, poignantly, photographs of the funerals of some of Heine’s comrades. The undoubted star of the photograph album is the Ju87 itself. Around 6,500 were built between 1936 and the summer of 1944. It was a simple and a robust aircraft. Remarkably, the original Ju87 prototypes, the design of which had begun in 1933, were to be powered by a Rolls Royce Kestrel engine. In fact the aircraft manufacturer bought ten for the prototypes. It was one of these prototypes that killed Junker’s chief test pilot Willy Neuenhofen along with the engineer Heinrich Kreft.

It would appear to have been enemy action that led to the loss of the aircraft belonging to Erich Heine. Placing him geographically and in line with the reported loss of the aircraft over the Ukraine in August 1943, we can assume that the probable point at which he was shot down was near to Kharkov. This was in the aftermath of the cataclysmic battle of Kursk, which took place between the beginning of July and the last week of August 1943. The period from the middle of July had seen the Russians take the offensive and the Germans falling back. Stukas would have been extensively used throughout the whole operation and would have been vital in trying to blunt the Russian armoured thrusts, that were threatening to overwhelm the German forces in the region. German aircraft losses during the battle of Kursk alone were in excess of 800.

This photograph album is now owned by James Payne. The author is indebted to James for access to this album and the opportunity to research and write about these intriguing photographs, which feature such an iconic, if terrifying, aspect of the Second World War. Should readers wish to obtain their own copies of these photographs in high resolution then they should go James’s own military photo archive THROUGH THEIR EYES, at www.throughtheireyes2.co.uk.

Chapter One

Portraits

The album has an interesting selection of professionally posed portraits, as well as snapshots of individuals. It would appear that the vast majority of these photographs, particularly those of Erich Heine, were taken at the very beginning of