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At War
Stuka at War
An illustrated history of the development, deployment and war record of the Junkers Ju.87 Stuka dive bomber in World War II.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
14 people want to read
About the author
Peter C. Smith
131 books5 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Born Peter Charles Smith in North Elmham, Norfolk, in 1940, eldest son of Ernest & Eileen. Educated at Hamonds School, Swaffham. Married Patricia nee Ireson 1963. Two children, son Paul David and daughter Dawn Tracey.
Editor Balfour Books, Cambridge; Cape Sun, London; World War II Investigator, London.
After living in London, Kent and Cambridge now resides in a north-Bedfordshire village with his wife and Annie the Black Labby.
Born Peter Charles Smith in North Elmham, Norfolk, in 1940, eldest son of Ernest & Eileen. Educated at Hamonds School, Swaffham. Married Patricia nee Ireson 1963. Two children, son Paul David and daughter Dawn Tracey.
Editor Balfour Books, Cambridge; Cape Sun, London; World War II Investigator, London.
After living in London, Kent and Cambridge now resides in a north-Bedfordshire village with his wife and Annie the Black Labby.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 24, 2025
The STUKA AT WAR is a great book on the subject, even if the text is only a little over 100 pages long. The tradeoff is close to another 100 pages of period photographs. In addition to that you have a Foreword by none other than Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the most famous of the Stuka pilots.
The Stuka, otherwise known as the Ju-87, was a German dive bomber used by the Nationalists in Spain and later during World War II. The word Stuka is actually part of the long German name for dive bomber, but like the 'Tiger' and '88,' by association it took on an image that struck fear into its opponents. It had gull shaped wings and usually wheel spats on its fixed landing gear. One example I have seen is hanging from the ceiling, as if diving, in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Those reading about WWII will be familiar with the German Blitzkrieg operations in the early part of the war. All other things aside which made their lightning attacks possible, it was mainly the German tanks, referred to as Panzers, and the Stukas which led the way. Tanks move faster than marching infantry and any strong point or artillery position hindering their advance would be dealt with by Stukas which would dive down and drop their bombs with pinpoint accuracy. As if the diving plane which seemed to be coming at you personally wasn't bad enough, sirens were attached to the plane which grew ever louder during the dive, which often made men run or seek shelter with broken moral.
After knocking France out of the war Hitler eyes turned towards Britain. Once again the Stukas led the way, only now they were sinking shipping around the British Isles. They turned their attention to the radar stations on the coast but now they started to encounter British Spitfires and Hurricanes armed with eight or more machine guns at a time when many fighters only carried two. If German fighters weren't around for protection the Stukas suffered many losses. The Stukas were therefore pulled back from battle which led the British to believe the days of the Stuka were past. But this was not to be.
When Germany attacked Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete the Stuka came into its own again. With German fighters driving the enemy from the sky the Stukas could once again play havoc. Those stubborn British couldn't get it through their thick heads that Stukas were still dangerous. So with proper escort, Stukas were sinking Allied ships again in the Mediterranean.
Germany next turned on Russia and yet again the Stukas proved their worth as flying artillery, allowing the Panzers to steamroll across Russian territory. But as we know, it would be a long war and the Russian Bear fought back with a vengeance, driving the invaders back the way they came. Many times it was the Stukas that were used to stop Russian breakthroughs. Rudel, mentioned earlier, had two 37mm cannons attached to his wings and he was personally responsible for destroying over 500 Russian tanks, not to mention the host of vehicles and field guns!
The Stukas fought their last battles at night as Allied fighters now ruled the skies.
The Allied propaganda referred to the Stuka as a terror weapon. Maybe they were really thinking of the German He-111 and Do-17 medium bombers that laid waste to cities like Guernica, Warsaw, and Rotterdam. The Stuka was a precision instrument, whereas American, and especially British bombers, leveled cities on a scale larger than any German raid. And then there was Hiroshima. So who had the real terror weapon?
The Stuka, otherwise known as the Ju-87, was a German dive bomber used by the Nationalists in Spain and later during World War II. The word Stuka is actually part of the long German name for dive bomber, but like the 'Tiger' and '88,' by association it took on an image that struck fear into its opponents. It had gull shaped wings and usually wheel spats on its fixed landing gear. One example I have seen is hanging from the ceiling, as if diving, in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Those reading about WWII will be familiar with the German Blitzkrieg operations in the early part of the war. All other things aside which made their lightning attacks possible, it was mainly the German tanks, referred to as Panzers, and the Stukas which led the way. Tanks move faster than marching infantry and any strong point or artillery position hindering their advance would be dealt with by Stukas which would dive down and drop their bombs with pinpoint accuracy. As if the diving plane which seemed to be coming at you personally wasn't bad enough, sirens were attached to the plane which grew ever louder during the dive, which often made men run or seek shelter with broken moral.
After knocking France out of the war Hitler eyes turned towards Britain. Once again the Stukas led the way, only now they were sinking shipping around the British Isles. They turned their attention to the radar stations on the coast but now they started to encounter British Spitfires and Hurricanes armed with eight or more machine guns at a time when many fighters only carried two. If German fighters weren't around for protection the Stukas suffered many losses. The Stukas were therefore pulled back from battle which led the British to believe the days of the Stuka were past. But this was not to be.
When Germany attacked Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete the Stuka came into its own again. With German fighters driving the enemy from the sky the Stukas could once again play havoc. Those stubborn British couldn't get it through their thick heads that Stukas were still dangerous. So with proper escort, Stukas were sinking Allied ships again in the Mediterranean.
Germany next turned on Russia and yet again the Stukas proved their worth as flying artillery, allowing the Panzers to steamroll across Russian territory. But as we know, it would be a long war and the Russian Bear fought back with a vengeance, driving the invaders back the way they came. Many times it was the Stukas that were used to stop Russian breakthroughs. Rudel, mentioned earlier, had two 37mm cannons attached to his wings and he was personally responsible for destroying over 500 Russian tanks, not to mention the host of vehicles and field guns!
The Stukas fought their last battles at night as Allied fighters now ruled the skies.
The Allied propaganda referred to the Stuka as a terror weapon. Maybe they were really thinking of the German He-111 and Do-17 medium bombers that laid waste to cities like Guernica, Warsaw, and Rotterdam. The Stuka was a precision instrument, whereas American, and especially British bombers, leveled cities on a scale larger than any German raid. And then there was Hiroshima. So who had the real terror weapon?
March 18, 2024
First published in 1971, and revised in this 1980 edition, 'Stuka at War' is one of many in the popular 'at War' series of aviation titles from publishers Ian Allan. The emphasis is on accounts of Stuka operations during WW2, well supported by over 220 excellent photos. Unfortunately, the captioning of the pics is often spectacularly wrong, including the classic error of repeating the same pic about 40 pages apart with different contradictory captions.
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