Junkers Ju-87 in Naval Service

c6000 Dive Bombers total (1936-45).

The Junkers Ju-87 "Stuka" (from its full ordnance name, "Sturzkampfflugzeug", lit. "dive bombing aircraft") is one of these legendary air machines of WW2. It looked odd right from the start back in 1935 from its first flight, long career from Spain to Poland, France, Greece, North Africa and the Eastern Front as its replacement never came past 1942, saw it instead upgraded into its last "Dora" Variant. Pyscologically effective at the start of the war on ground troops with a so recoignizable siren howl and very sturdy, the Stuka was neverthless surclassed by most allied fighters as early as 1940, however when well used it was still deadly accurate and effective. But for what we are concerned with, the Stuka was also known for its actions against ships throughout the war, how it claimed hundreds of thousands of tons of merchant shipping and warships sunk when the Kriegsmarine did not even had a carrier, and conversely the "naval stuka" development for the Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin, the "Casear" or Ju 87C.

The Carrier Bomber: Ju 87 "Casear"

Ju 87 B mit Ausrüstung für den Einsatz auf dem Flugzeugträger Graf Zeppelin. Zwischen April und Oktober 1941 wurden die bestellten fünf Flugzeuge von Junkers abgeliefert. nach dem Scheitern des Trägerprojekts wieder auf Stand Ju 87 B zurückgebaut

Specifications Ju 87C
Crew:
Lenght
Wingspan
Wing loading
Power/mass
Height
Wing area
Empty weight
Max TO Weight
Propulsion
Propeller
Top speed
Service ceiling
Rate of climb
Range
Ferry range
Gun Armament
Armament underwing

The Ju 87 in naval action

The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka achieved major success in anti-shipping and naval attack roles during World War II, sinking numerous allied warships and merchant vessels.
""Like the Slow-But-Deadly Douglas SBD, the Stuka turned out to be a superb anti-shipping weapon. Stuka pilots quickly learned to attack from astern, so they could easily follow a ship’s evasive actions. They often dived on a ship at a 45- degree angle and fired their machine guns as a telltale.“When the first of our…bullets were observed to be hitting the water in front of the ship’s bow, we pulled the bomb release,” said one former Stuka pilot quoted in Peter C. Smith’s book Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. “There was very little chance for a merchant ship of any size attacked with this Stuka tactic,” Smith wrote. While the RAF was dismissing the Stuka as irrelevant after its poor showing in the Battle of Britain, Ju-87s essentially destroyed the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet. RAF Air Marshal Arthur Tedder said, “Our fighter pilots weep for joy when they see [Stukas].” At the time, he was reassuring Royal Navy Admiral Andrew Cunningham, whose armored-deck aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, and its support ships, would soon be battered so badly by Stukas off Malta that it was out of action for nearly a year. Stukas also thoroughly chased the Royal Navy out of Norway’s waters.""

Norway (April 1940)

Stukas from Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 attacked British naval forces, scoring dramatic hits against targets like the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

The English Channel (1940)

Following the fall of France, Stuka units targeted British shipping lanes and coastal convoys in the Channel before high fighter losses forced their withdrawal.

Malta

"The Junkers Ju 87 B Stuka dive-bomber and the aircraft carrier represent two key combat innovations of World War II. Rich with photographs and personal accounts, this new volume focuses on the air-sea action during the British evacuation operations in Norway in May 1940 and German air attacks in the Mediterranean in 1941-1942. Ju 87 dive-bombers, originally developed for pin-pointing bombing missions against land targets and Allied naval vessels were deployed by both the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica against the Allied forces. Included in such a target were perhaps the greatest prize of all for a Stuka pilot: a British aircraft carrier. This superbly illustrated book looks at the duel between the Ju 87 Stuka and the aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. Despite their gun protection ('pompoms') and their squadrons of fighters, these immense and mighty vessels proved irresistible targets to determined and experienced Stuka aces as they endeavored to stop British naval intervention in the campaigns in Norway, Malta and Crete. By 1941, the Ju 87 had become known by the British as a fearsome aircraft following its operations in France, specifically at Dunkirk, as well as in the Balkans. For the Luftwaffe, it was an aircraft in which they still had great confidence despite its mauling in the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940. This book examines the key attributes and shortcomings of both aircraft and carrier by analyzing various compelling episodes including the dramatic attacks on Ark Royal by Stukageschwader (St.G) 1 off Norway in April 1940, the strikes by the Luftwaffe's St.G 1, St.G 2 and the Regia Aeronautica's 237° Squadriglia against Illustrious in Malta harbor. Aside from outstanding photography and artwork, this volume also include numerous personal accounts from Stuka crews, the pilots of carrier-borne fighters opposing them and the sailors embarked in the various carriers that came under attack."

Crete (1941)

Operating across the Mediterranean, Stukas struck Allied shipping and heavily damaged the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious inside Malta harbor.

The Aegean Sea (October 1943)

Groups like I./StG 3 engaged in intense aerial and naval battles near Rhodes, sinking Royal Navy destroyers and damaging cruisers.

Tactics and VulnerabilitiesSteep Dives: Pilots executed near-vertical dives to target the lightly armored upper decks of warships with high precision.Sirens: Ram-air "Jericho Trumpet" sirens sounded during dives to break enemy morale and provide speed feedback.
Vulnerability: Slow speeds made Stukas easy targets for fast enemy fighters when air superiority was lost.