Junkers Ju 87D/G Volume II
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Authors: Marek J Murawski & Marek Rys
Publisher: Kagero
ISBN: 978-83-62878-97-0
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 116
The second volume in Kagero's series on the Junkers Ju 87D/G is upon us, and it makes for an excellent counterpart to the first volume. While that initial book covered the design and development of the Ju 87D/G, this one focuses on the operational history. This is done by splitting the book into two main sections. The first covers the pilots, and the second covers the units that flew the Ju 87D/G.
Of course, no book on the late Ju 87 would be complete without some mention of Hans-Ulrich Rudel, and the pilot section begins with him. This section focuses solely on Ju 87D/G aces, and in addition to Rudel the book covers Erwin Hentschel, Alwin Boerst, Ernst Kupfer, and Friedrich Lang. These short histories include personal anecdotes along with solid background research, resulting in a very interesting read.
For the unit section, these are short overviews of all the Luftwaffe units that flew the Ju 87D/G Stuka, and break down the Geschwader into the different Gruppen. A nice touch is the addition to each unit title that includes the fuselage code. This makes identifying photos of Stukas much simpler. The units documented include Sturzkampfgeschwader (St.G) 1, St.G 2, St.G 3, and St.G 77.
Throughout both the aces section and the unit section, the book is packed with good photos showing the Ju 87D/G in action. Following the written text, there are a handful of scale drawings, then several pages of 3D renderings of overall aircraft and detail views.
This is a nice addition to the Kagero monograph line and a great end to the two-volume set on the late-mark Stukas. My thanks to Casemate Publishing for the review copy.