Junkers Ju 87D/G
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Monographs 54
Authors: Marek J. Murawski & Marek Rys
Publisher: Kagero Publishing
ISBN: 978-83-6287893-2
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 110
The Junkers Ju 87 gained quite a bit of fame in the early years of the war, with the Ju 87B operating effectively over Poland and France. As the war evolved, so did the Ju 87, and the later Ju 87D and Ju 87G Stukas soldiered on until the end of the war. This newest title in the Kagero Monograph series covers the later Stuka variants, and is the first of two volumes.
The book begins with the original development process that led to the Ju 87D, namely the desire to carry a bigger payload for longer distances at a faster speed. In other words, what everyone wanted for pretty much every airplane ever built. The Ju 87 had some challenges ahead of it, and the company addressed those needs by increasing engine power and refining the aerodynamics of the airframe as much as possible. The result was the Ju 87D, which was then used to develop the Ju 87G. The first section of the book covers the technical details of the Ju 87D/G family, with all the variant differences clearly documented.
The second main section of the book covers the operational story of the Ju 87D/G, from the Eastern Front to North Africa to foreign operators of the type. This is not meant to be a comprehensive operational record of the Stuka, but for a general overview the text is quite thorough. Further complementing this section are plenty of operational aircraft photos, which show off many of the different camouflages and markings worn by the Stuka in the various theaters it operated. Further adding to that are several 3D renderings of the aircraft, showing various external details of the aircraft in close-up detail.
This is a useful book for those looking for a solid all-around reference on the late-model Stuka. From the copious photo content to the well written text and capped with the nice color renderings, this book has a bit of everything. My thanks to Casemate Publishing for the review copy.