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Tank buster ...

The Junkers Ju 87 G „Kanonenvogel“ 

From the original to the model

An independent part of the collections of the Hanover-Laatzen Aviation Museum are the more than 1,000 scale models, primarily of the international standards 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32.

Such true-to-original miniatures allow viewers of the museum's technical history to gain an ‘overview’, not only of the individual exhibit (sometimes even as the only possibility of a real three-dimensional display, if there is no surviving original), but also of the lines of development of aircraft construction by means of sequencing and juxtaposition. Sometimes they even close gaps in the presentation of the originals. The quality of their craftsmanship alone is a pleasure to behold.

Today, in our ‘Model of the Month’ series, we present our miniatures in various scales of the last version of the ‘Stuka’: the Ju 87 version G armoured fighter, unofficially known as the ‘Kanonenvogel’ – „Cannon bird“.

The Junkers Ju 87 G in 1/72 scale from Revell. This last series of the original was a pure ground attack aircraft with two 37mm cannons - and a remarkable operational record.

The models

To our recollection, the oldest kit of such a version of the Ju 87 was released by the British company FROG in the mid-1960s, followed by kits from Revell, Italeri, Hasegawa, Trumpeter and other manufacturers in all versions and common scales from 1/24 to 1/144.

In addition to the A, B and D versions, our museum also displays the G version of the tank destroyer in 1/72 and, with a wingspan of a app. 60 cm in 1/24 scale in its display cases in Hall 2. A large model of the original D version in 1/8 completes the exhibits of the type.

The original

In an attempt to counter the numerical superiority of the Soviet Army in terms of battle tanks and vehicles, several designs of ground attack aircraft of existing or newly constructed types with large-calibre machine guns from 30 to 75 mm, in particular the long-barrelled Flak 18 BK of 37 mm calibre, were created on the German side from the turn of the war in 1943.

A Ju 87 G-2 of the summer of 1944. The model in 1/72 was built by Karl Kössler, Cremlingen. A member of the museum association and former head of the Federal Aviation Office of Germany, many more of his models can be found in our exhibition.

Defensive

The most successful aircraft here was the Junkers Ju 87, which at this time was already primarily used as a ground attack aircraft in the strategic defensive role. In the first years of the war, the A and B series of this aircraft had made a significant contribution to the Wehrmacht's successes in Poland, the Western Campaign and the Balkans with pinpoint bombing attacks against bunkers, bridges, anti-aircraft positions, ships and logistics centres, and was now available in the D version as a tried and tested weapon system.

Although the rather slow and vulnerable type required fighter protection, it was then able to achieve considerable success with little effort. And compared to the ground, the skies above the Soviet Union were still a reasonably safe space for the Wehrmacht at that time.

The side view of a St.G 3 aircraft, used in the Baltic States, shows the type's characteristic articulated wings and undercarriage panelling. The defence armament was a twin MG in the rear of the cabin.

Simple conversion

After all, the conversion of the D-1, D-3 and D-5 versions to the G-1 and G-2 was quite simple - the dive brakes, the bomb harness with deflector fork, the wing armament were removed and dismantled, a 37 mm BK (a modified Flak 18 MK) was attached under each wing by means of a carrier and with 6, later 12 rounds per weapon.

425 kg per weapon and the additional air resistance made the aircraft even more sluggish to fly, but the success from late summer 1943 exceeded expectations...

The Junkers Ju 87 G flown by Hans-Ulrich Rudel in 1/24. The most decorated soldier in the Wehrmacht - with one warship sunk and over 500 enemy tanks and combat vehicles destroyed - was later politically controversial due to his statements in the Federal Republic of Germany. 

Of the total of around 5,800 Ju 87s produced, only app.200 were converted to the G-1 - and with the increased wingspan of the D-5 - to the G-2.

Outstanding weapon

These destroyed thousands of Soviet tanks and combat vehicles, entire armoured trains and even landing craft during the retreat of the last year and a half of the war. In a specific military-historical situation, an outstanding weapon had emerged from the emergency solution.

 

The two long-barrelled machine guns under the wings, each with 12 rounds of ammunition, are striking. The yellow wingtips were used for friend or foe identification.  In front of it, the most powerful and most feared Soviet fighter in 1944, the Lavochkin La-7.

But what specific military-historical situation was this? Two totalitarian systems with fully developed industrial production in a war of annihilation, in which one side brought a higher technical quality, the other a high numerical superiority; large geographical areas and ruthless deployment resulted in massive success and loss figures.

It was precisely these conditions that led to the highest ever number of fighter pilot kills - Erich Hartmann with 352, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301, Günther Rall with 275, Otto Kittel with 267, Walter Novotny with 258 confirmed aerial victories...

A word in passing. The moral dimension of every war is not the focus of a technical history museum. And it is a broad field: ‘You can't write world history from a moral point of view’, as Goethe universally said. Commemorating the victims of war and violence is always a personal endeavour; a museum's claim should always be objective.

The 1/72 model from the Revell kit with the engine panel removed, including the Junkers Jumo 211 J, a suspended V-12 cyl. in-line engine. The cockpit of this kit is also excellently detailed..

Come on in!

Have we managed to arouse your curiosity? Then visit us at the Aviation Museum - over 40 sports, training, passenger and fighter aircraft, helicopters and gliders in the original and faithful replicas, a large engine and turbine section and over 1,000 scale models await you!             

 sb


You can contact the author of the Model of the Month series here: Autor-MdM