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For educational purposes
For many in the opening years of the Second World War, the vision of the menacing, gull-winged Stuka dive bomber, plunging vertically earthwards, its sirens wailing like banshees before releasing its bomb load.
Became the very embodiment of the terror created by the new form of 'Blitzkrieg' warfare unleashed on Europe by the German Wehrmacht in September, 1939.
Designed to assist ground operations, the Stuka was always to be found operating with the leading elements of the army in France, North Africa, and Russia as 'flying artillery'.
In this wide-ranging presentation the Stuka is seen in action on all fronts, as well as the Hs-129s and Fw-190 in action in Russia.
For many in the opening years of the Second World War, the vision of the menacing, gull-winged Stuka dive bomber, plunging vertically earthwards, its sirens wailing like banshees before releasing its bomb load.
Became the very embodiment of the terror created by the new form of 'Blitzkrieg' warfare unleashed on Europe by the German Wehrmacht in September, 1939.
Designed to assist ground operations, the Stuka was always to be found operating with the leading elements of the army in France, North Africa, and Russia as 'flying artillery'.
In this wide-ranging presentation the Stuka is seen in action on all fronts, as well as the Hs-129s and Fw-190 in action in Russia.
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00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:59Transcription by CastingWords
01:19Transcription by CastingWords
01:20It was the effectiveness of the Junkers-Sturzkampflugzeug, or dive bomber, better known by its contraction
01:26to Stuka in the Polish campaign, that confounded many of its critics within the Luftwaffe.
01:32Indeed, its remarkable success not only formed the basis of its notoriety as a weapon of fear,
01:38but also saved the type from an early demise.
01:41The decision had already been taken prior to the invasion of Poland
01:45to actually phase the Stuka out of production at the end of 1939.
01:50On the 1st of September 1939, the Luftwaffe could deploy nine Stuka-gruppen to the attack on Poland.
01:57Indeed, the Stuka has the distinction of initiating the first action of the conflict
02:02when three of the type from the third Gruppe of Stuka-Geschwader 1
02:06bombed Polish defences guarding a bridge over the Vistula.
02:14This returning Ju-87C has had to jettison its undercarriage.
02:18It was one of only a small number built to operate from the never-completed aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin.
02:25During the raid on the Polish naval base at Heller, it's been hit by flak,
02:30prompting the pilot to employ the fitted explosive bolts to blow away the damaged undercarriage.
02:36The early destruction of the bulk of the Polish air force
02:39eliminated any potential danger to the Stuka from marauding enemy fighters.
02:44Thus, almost from the opening hours of the Polish campaign,
02:48the Stuka-gruppen operated with virtual impunity.
02:50Their ability to strike at tactically significant targets
02:54was helped in no small measure by the intelligence acquired by army cooperation
02:58and reconnaissance flights, which provided accurate information
03:02of the deployment of movement of Polish forces.
03:38Above all, the effectiveness of the Stuka came with the marriage of its ability
03:42to place a bomb quite accurately on target
03:44and the psychological effect generated by the noise it created when in a dive.
03:49In appearance, it looked like a bird of prey,
03:52but the addition of wind-driven sirens to enhance the noise generated by its diving on a target
03:57proved a revelation to the Germans as much as it did to the Poles.
04:02They were to be the first hapless victims of what has since become seen
04:05as the Stuka's principal attribute, its ability to scare the wits out of its enemy.
04:11Known to its crews as the Trombones of Jericho,
04:14the sirens attached to the upper section of the undercarriage spats generated a fearsome howl,
04:20and it was knowledge of their effect gained in the Polish campaign
04:23that was applied in France and Russia
04:25and came to be seen as an integral element of the type.
04:30Few weapons ever invented have come to be seen as a scourge,
04:34but for many in Europe, whether soldier or civilian,
04:36this term was the only one sufficiently appropriate to describe its appalling impact on morale
04:43in the opening years of the war.
04:49Whilst the best known of all dive bombers,
04:51the genesis of the Stuka can be traced back to experiments with such aircraft
04:55carried out in secret by the Germans before 1939
04:58and in direct contravention of the Versailles Treaty.
05:02However, the notion of the dive bomber was never accepted,
05:05and the period leading up to the war would continue to see fierce arguments
05:09between those for and those against inclusion of the type in the new Luftwaffe.
05:18The first aircraft to be designed and built for the Luftwaffe as a dive bomber
05:22was the Henschel HS129, which entered squadron service in late 1935.
05:27Its service life was short, being shifted to the ground attack role
05:32after experiences in Spain.
05:33It gave Stirling service in this capacity on the Eastern Front through to 1944.
05:42The appointment of Ernst Udette, a firm supporter of the dive bomber
05:46as head of Luftwaffe's technical supply department,
05:49saw a firm commitment to the expansion of the Stuka Gruppen.
05:53Udette's enthusiasm had been fostered by seeing Curtis Hawk fighters
05:57being used as dive bombers in the USA.
06:00Goering purchased two to entice Udette into the Luftwaffe.
06:03It was also Udette who saved Junker's submission
06:07for a new, more advanced dive bomber
06:09from being rejected by the head of the Luftwaffe's development section.
06:15The Ju-87 was blooded in Spain.
06:18Three Antons served with KG-88, and their success in action
06:22prompted expansion of the Stuka Gruppen in Germany.
06:26With the emergence of the more refined B model in 1938,
06:30the Anton was retired, and none were in frontline service
06:33on the 1st of September 1939.
06:36Although the newsreel made much of the involvement of the Stuka
06:40in the German invasion of Denmark and Norway,
06:42only one Stafel of the dive bombers was actually committed.
06:46It was, however, equipped with a new variant,
06:49the long-range Ju-87R.
06:51Clearly seen are the sirens fixed to the undercarriage
06:54and the 66-gallon underwing fuel tanks.
06:59First Stafel of Stuka Gruppe I had taken delivery of their new charges
07:03just a few weeks before the operation began in early April.
07:06By the end of that month, it was operating from bases in southern Norway
07:10and flying sorties against the ships of the Royal Navy,
07:13which had been committed in force to the fighting in the fjords
07:16around Trondheim and Narvik.
07:19The opening of the German campaign against the West on 10 May 1940
07:23saw the Stuka Gruppen supporting the mobile forces,
07:26which provided the cutting edge of the offensive plan to defeat the Allies.
07:30From supporting the glider-borne assault on the Belgian fortress at Eben-Emal
07:35to the continuous dive-bombing assaults on French troops
07:38defending the Meuse crossings,
07:40the Stuka Gruppen proved themselves invaluable.
07:43Employed as flying artillery,
07:45they blasted a path across northern France
07:47for Guderian and Rommel's panzers.
07:50By leapfrogging from forward base to forward base,
07:53they were able to keep up with the fast-advancing panzer spearheads.
07:56It was from such operating procedures that the epithet was coined
08:00which best encapsulates the Stuka's role throughout the war.
08:04Where the infantry go, the Stukas go.
08:14For the pilot of the Stuka, the diving procedure was quite specific.
08:18Once over the target, he would set his flaps to the cruise position.
08:21The elevator trims and rudder trim would also be fixed in the cruise position,
08:26as was the pitch of the air screw.
08:28Switching on the contact altimeter,
08:30the pilot would then adjust it to the correct altitude mark.
08:33He would then set the supercharger to auto,
08:36throttle back on the engine,
08:38close the cooler flaps,
08:39and open his dive brakes.
08:41The last action automatically activated the pull-out mechanism
08:44and the safety pilot,
08:46while at the same time tipping the whole plane over on its nose
08:49to begin its dive.
08:51As the plane began to plummet, sirens screaming,
08:54he would gauge his angle of descent by matching the horizon
08:57against lines etched on his starboard cockpit window,
09:01although an experienced pilot could do this
09:03by aiming with the nose of the plane as it fell earthwards.
09:07The Stuka was one of the very few dive bombers built
09:10that could actually drop at 90 degrees to the vertical,
09:13by which time it had reached a velocity of about 335 miles an hour,
09:18with the absolute airspeed for a dive redlined at just over 400.
09:23Once the plane had reached the preset altitude on the altimeter,
09:26a red light would come on,
09:28signalling the pilot to depress his control column,
09:31an action that engaged the automatic dive pull-out device
09:34and released the bomb.
09:36With the nose returned to the horizontal,
09:38he would return the propeller, dive brakes and flaps
09:41to their normal flying mode.
09:43Such actions lay behind the image
09:45of every plunging Stuka used in the war.
09:52With the Anglo-French armies having fallen back on the port of Dunkirk
09:56and the operation to evacuate as many soldiers from the port
09:59begun at the end of May,
10:00the attention of the Stuka Gruppen was diverted
10:03to frustrating British intentions.
10:06By May 29th, aircraft from all three Stuka Geschwader
10:10were involved in attacking the port, the beaches and the shipping.
10:13This footage was shot on the 1st of June,
10:15when the Stuka Gruppen launched three mass raids against the port and ships.
10:21The last major Stuka attack on Dunkirk
10:23was launched on the 2nd of June.
10:26By the time Dynamo ended on June 3rd,
10:28the Stukas had sunk seven French and six British destroyers,
10:32five large passenger ships and many dozens of smaller craft.
10:36A high toll, but the Stukas did not stop the evacuation.
10:40Although exaggerated RAF claims of shot-down Luftwaffe aircraft
10:44were later reduced to 262,
10:47with the actual loss of 132,
10:50a goodly number of these were Stukas.
11:08Although there had been occasions
11:10when the Stuka had shown itself vulnerable in the French campaign,
11:13particularly when operating in the absence of protective fighter cover,
11:17the impact of the aircraft was such
11:19that it had been seized upon by the propaganda ministry
11:22and projected to the German public
11:24as an invincible war-winning weapon.
11:27So when the Luftwaffe launched its aerial campaign against Britain,
11:31the Stuka Gruppen were as firm in their conviction
11:33as the rest of the Luftwaffe
11:35that victory over the RAF was a foregone conclusion.
11:39Victims of their own delusions,
11:40the Luftwaffe propaganda ministry were thus at a loss
11:44to know how to disguise the terrible drubbing
11:46the vaunted dive-bomber now received at the hands of the RAF.
11:51The newsreel film shown here,
11:53which dates from this period
11:54and purports to show Stuka's dive-bombing British targets,
11:58is fake.
11:59The RAF had revealed the Stuka for what it was,
12:02slow, unwieldy, poorly defended
12:05and quite vulnerable when sluggishly pulling out of a dive.
12:09On August 13th, 280 Stukas had been available
12:12for the assault on Britain.
12:14By the 19th, 41 had been shot down
12:17and the type pulled from the air offensive.
12:20The pause showing once again revived the argument
12:23between the pro- and anti-Stuka lobbies in the Luftwaffe.
12:27Within eight months, however,
12:28these mutual repriminations would once again be silenced
12:31as the type's fortunes were resurrected in the skies
12:34over Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete.
12:41With their noses and other parts of their airframes
12:44painted a bright yellow for the invasion of the Balkans
12:46in April and May 1941,
12:49these Ju-87B2s start out to bomb British forces
12:53in the Peloponnese in Greece.
13:01on August 13th, 28th, 200th up and hand
13:07inered andniiny on.
13:22Unlock the Paris commander
13:32THE END
14:05Operation Merita, the German invasion of the island of Crete by paratroop and glider assault, which began on May 20,
14:111941, is extensively supported by the Stuka Gruppen.
14:16The Gruppen of Stuka Geschwader II Immelman flew from bases of Molai and Mycenae on mainland Greece and from the
14:23island of Scarpanto.
14:25These were mainly Ju-87Rs fitted with the long-range tanks.
14:29With these, they were able to inflict heavy damage on British naval forces operating in and around the island,
14:36and involving British Commonwealth and other allied positions on Crete itself.
14:40Within days at the end of the battle, the Frike Gruppen were bringing their way to Poland and for their
14:46greatest challenge.
14:50In spite of the almost total commitment of the Stuka Gruppen to Operation Barbarossa,
14:55the invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on June 22, 1941,
15:00film of them in action during the opening months of the campaign is virtually non-existent.
15:05This arose from their close support of the rapidly advancing panzer spearheads.
15:09They were thus required to leapfrog eastward from base to base, and from sector to sector, on almost a daily
15:17basis.
15:17This made it extremely difficult for the cameraman to keep pace with them.
15:22Only in northern Finland, where the fourth Stuka-Staffel of Lergeshvader I was operating against Soviet forces,
15:29defending the approaches to Murmansk and the city itself, from bases in northern Norway,
15:34was it possible to film the Stuka in action during this period.
15:39In this theatre, as in the Baltic states, Valorussia and the Ukraine,
15:44the Stuka was able to roam almost at will amid skies swept clean of enemy fighters
15:48and in conditions of Luftwaffe air superiority,
15:52generating the same fear and terror among the ranks of the Red Army
15:56that had made it the scourge of the French the summer before.
16:00Notable successes attributed to Stuka operations in this period
16:04included the sinking of a number of warships of the Soviet Baltic fleet at Kronstadt.
16:09The sinking of the battleship Marat was attributed to a young Oberleutnant
16:13by the name of Hans Ulrich Rudel,
16:15whose rise to fame and notoriety in the years ahead
16:18would be inextricably linked with that of his preferred mount, the Stuka.
16:49The Stuka
16:50With the failure of Operation Typhoon,
16:52the German attack designed to capture Moscow
16:55and the beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive on December the 5th,
16:58the Wehrmacht in the east also found itself
17:01facing an even more implacable foe,
17:04the Russian Winter.
17:06Reckoned to be the worst to hit the country for 50 years,
17:09the Stuka Gruppen found themselves having to maintain their machines
17:12and fly them into combat from open fields
17:15when the temperature might fall as low as minus 50 degrees below zero.
17:21Engines had to be run several times a night by ground crew
17:24to prevent them freezing up.
17:26Far from the weather providing them with a respite,
17:29the Stuka Grupper now found the demand for their services actually increase.
17:33While the deep snow made movement for mobile forces difficult,
17:37the heavy undercarriage and rugged nature of Junker's beast
17:40enabled it to cope with the conditions fairly well.
17:44In consequence, the Stuka Gruppen found themselves employed as fire brigade,
17:48shifted from one sector to another to contend with Soviet attacks,
17:52their pinpoint accuracy as flying artillery being used to the utmost.
18:18Some of the worst conditions were experienced
18:20by four Grupper of Lergesvarda I operating out of northern Norway
18:24in support of the Finnish-German attempt to take Murmansk.
18:27Flying over such forbidding territory in such appalling conditions
18:31often spelt death to any crew unfortunate enough to be lost on such a mission.
18:37Whereas the coal took most of those lost on operations in the Vast Tega,
18:42capture by the Soviets was often as cruel.
18:45They gave short shrift to many a Stuka Gruppe,
18:48for the Dye Bomber with its howling wail was an object of hate to Soviet troops.
19:16In the absence of any replacement, Junkers had embarked on an improvement programme for the Stuka.
19:21The Bertha was replaced by the new Dora.
19:24It was given a more streamlined nose, a more powerful engine,
19:27a new cockpit canopy, heavier defensive armament and armour protection.
19:31The new variant went into service in January 1942 with Stuka Geschwader II in Russia.
19:42The Dye was to be the most widely produced of all Stuka variants,
19:46some 3,000 from a total of just over 5,000 Ju-87s,
19:50so most units in early 1942 had to remain flying their war-weary B models.
19:56These 87 Bs, probably belonging to Stuka Group of 77,
20:00are in action over the Kerch Peninsula in the east of the Crimea
20:04at the tail end of the winter of 41-42.
20:07The weather is already on the turn with the snow giving way to the spring thaw.
20:12This Gruppe had seen extensive action in support of the forces of Army Group South
20:16since July 1941,
20:19and would be involved in the very heavy fighting in the Crimea
20:22that took place in May and June of 1942.
20:26Stuka Gruppe 77 also played a significant role
20:29in the reduction of the fortress of Sevastopol in June and early July,
20:34before being transferred further eastward
20:36to support 6th Army in the Don Bend
20:38and on the approaches to Stalingrad.
20:40By then, it had re-equipped with the Dora.
21:00As the fourth Gruppe of Lergishvada I was easy to film,
21:04it emerged as one of the most publicised Stuka units
21:07of the first two years of the Russian campaign.
21:09Due to the perception of northern Finland as a relative backwater,
21:13this Gruppe continued operating its berthers for much longer
21:16than those on the eastern front to the south.
21:19This was in spite of the growing importance of Murmansk
21:21as a conduit for lend-lease supplies to the USSR,
21:25brought to the port by the infamous Arctic convoys from Great Britain.
21:29This factor had in turn prompted the Soviets
21:31to increase its air protection of the port.
21:341942 saw the gradual giving way of the outdated Polyakarpov-1-16 fighters,
21:40which had been the primary type encountered by the Germans in 1941,
21:43to the more sophisticated and effective new generation of Soviet types,
21:47represented by the Yak-1 and Lag-3.
21:51Thus, 1942 saw the Stukas being given fighter escort,
21:54and on this particular sortie,
21:56and this is seen elsewhere on the film covering the type,
21:59Messerschmitt BF-110s were employed.
22:08During the course of 1942,
22:10this Stukagroup was redesignated the first Gruppe of Stukageschwader V.
22:19The return of the dry weather had prompted both Germans and Soviets
22:23to entertain new offensive designs for the war in Russia.
22:26Although no longer strong enough to attack all along the length of the eastern front,
22:30Hitler was firmly of the opinion that the war in this theatre could be brought to an end in 1942
22:36by the capture of the city of Stalingrad and the occupation of the oil fields of the Caucasus.
22:42To that end, ground and air forces were prepared for a summer offensive under the codename of Case Blue.
22:48However, on this occasion, the Red Army, on Stalin's insistence, jumped first,
22:52launching their own offensive to recapture the city of Kharkov in the Ukraine in mid-May.
22:59Rolling with the Soviet drive,
23:01the subsequent German counter-offensive was heavily supported by the Stukas of the 4th Flieger Corps,
23:06which were involved in the reduction of Soviet forces within the pockets
23:09in which they had been encircled by the German panzers and mobile troops.
23:31In conditions of total air superiority and reminiscent of the previous summer,
23:36the Stukagruppen committed to this operation
23:38plied their trade free of any interference from the Red Air Force.
23:41The fighting was regarded by many as some of the most ferocious of the campaign.
23:47By the time most of the Soviet forces had surrendered,
23:50no fewer than 409,000 had been taken prisoner.
23:54The performance of the Stukas was clearly as effective as ever.
24:11Although delayed by the Soviets at Kharkov, Case Blue finally began towards the end of June.
24:17Film taken of Stukas units employed in the offensive
24:20show a growing number of the new Doras operating alongside the older Berthas.
24:25Seen here on a number of Doras is the removal of the wheel spats to leave the undercarriage leg uncovered.
24:31This was often done when conditions were wet,
24:33as the black earth of the Ukraine became saturated.
24:37As airstrips in the east were in the main literally just fields,
24:40the aircraft quickly cut them up when it was wet,
24:43and even a short shower was enough to turn the soil into cloying mud.
24:47This frequently clogged up the wheels in their spats,
24:50and many crews of the D preferred to leave them off.
24:54Production of this variant had to be built up quickly,
24:57as in 1941 the Bertha had been run down in anticipation of the Ju87 being ended altogether,
25:04in favour of the Me210, which then proved a failure.
25:07So, in December 1941, just 12 Berthas were produced,
25:12and the full reinstatement of the Stuka in its Dora form
25:15saw production grow significantly,
25:17with most Stuka-gruppen re-equipping with the type by the end of the year.
25:35This is one of the very few occasions
25:37that one of the small number of Henschel HS-123s
25:41was seen in action on the eastern front.
25:43This particular machine belongs to Schlachtgeschwader 1,
25:46and is giving very close and low-level ground support to German forces
25:51on the outskirts of Rostov-on-Don in the summer of 1942.
25:56This was the swan song of the HS-123 in the ground attack role,
26:00its place increasingly taken hereafter by the new and purpose-designed HS-129.
26:06In the wake of the Soviet encirclement of the 6th Army of Stalingrad in November,
26:11and its subsequent extinction in February 1943,
26:14the Germans were in full flight in southern Russia.
26:17All through the retreats and subsequent counter-offensive at Kharkov,
26:22the Stuka-gruppen were in constant action.
26:24By this time, all are equipped with the Dora,
26:27any surviving Berthas having been allocated to training schools.
26:35With the commitment of German forces to North Africa in early 1941,
26:39two Stuka-gruppen were allocated to the Luftwaffe forces
26:43supporting the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel.
26:46Not forgetting the vulnerability of the type to the RAF,
26:49two fighter staffen were allocated to provide protection for the Stukas.
26:54The Stuka strength in the theatre fluctuated,
26:56with the whole of Kishwader 3,
26:58available to the Luftwaffe's General Hoffman for ops in early 1942.
27:02These were mainly of the B and R variants,
27:06outfitted with filters to enable the engines to stand the all-pervading dust.
27:11The Stukas remained effective until mid-1942,
27:14the highlight of their career in this theatre
27:16being their role in the taking of Tobruk in mid-1942.
27:20Thereafter, their effectiveness was reduced by improving RAF airpower.
27:52So, they did not provide to you for many people,
28:00While already in action on the Eastern Front,
28:03the purpose-built ground attack Henschel 129
28:06first went into service with the fourth staffel of Schlaggeschwader II
28:10in North Africa during the German retreat from El Alamein.
28:14Although disappointing, further staffel began operations in Tunisia in late 1942.
28:24In this very rare footage, HS129s are caught by Allied cameramen
28:29engaged in ground attack in Tunisia.
28:32Most prominent are the trails of smoke left in their wake
28:35from the firing of their onboard machine guns and 20mm cannons
28:39as they speed towards their target.
28:41A downing of a 129 is caught in slow motion.
28:47Although rapidly committed to supporting the Axis bridgehead in Tunisia,
28:51the Stuka was shown to be decidedly dated in the West,
28:54with units being decimated by Allied fighters,
28:57with the few survivors being rapidly pulled back to Italy.
29:17Until their withdrawal in September 1943,
29:20German and Romanian forces occupying the Cuban bridgehead in southern Russia
29:24were engaged in continual heavy fighting with Soviet forces.
29:28Stukas found themselves employed on daily sorties against the Red Army.
29:32Although being used as dive bombers,
29:35a number are seen armed for low-level assault,
29:37carrying the AB-250 weapons container,
29:40which rained small anti-personnel bombs on enemy troops.
29:49This rare colour footage, also taken over the Cuban,
29:53allows us our first glimpse of the D-5 variant,
29:56recognisable by its extended tapering wings
29:58and the long barrels of the 20mm cannons
30:01protruding from either wing leading edge.
30:04Entering production in early 1943,
30:07this was the last variant of the type to be produced as a dive bomber.
30:11The termination of dive bombing by the Luftwaffe in October 1943
30:15saw the D-5 employed thereafter in the ground assault roll.
30:31The D-5
31:02On July 5, 1943, the Germans launched their ill-fated final offensive in the east.
31:08Under the codename of Operation Zittertel, the plan was to have 2,700 tanks and SPs
31:14assembled for the offensive to cut off the great Soviet salient based upon the city of Kursk.
31:20Their intention was to destroy the assembled Red Army forces therein
31:25and draw the teeth of Soviet offensive power on the eastern front for the rest of the summer.
31:30The Luftwaffe had concentrated no less than 70% of its total air power deployed in the east to support
31:37the army.
31:38This translated into approximately 2,000 aircraft distributed among the air fleets 4 and 6.
31:45Of the total number of Stukas still available to the Luftwaffe,
31:49no less than 84% were serving in Russia, with a substantial proportion of that figure committed to Zittertel.
31:57This operation marked the end of the mass employment of the Stuka in the classic dive-bombing role.
32:02Three Gruppen of Stuka-Geschwader 77 operated in the south of the salient,
32:07while three of Stuka-Geschwader 1 supported 9th Army to the north.
32:12Stuka units flew up to six sorties for the duration of the offensive.
32:23Hauptmann Hans Ulrich Rudell, who was to emerge as Germany's highest decorated combatant by war's end,
32:29led his staffel on the opening day of Zittertel flying a twin-cannon-armed Ju-87G.
32:38This variant of the Stuka had been deployed as one of a number of Luftwaffe types,
32:43considered for the role of flying anti-tank guns to help the army break the flood of Soviet armour in
32:49the east.
32:50Ordered into production in early 1943 and based upon a modified D airframe,
32:55the re-designated G carried two adapted 37mm Flak-18 cannons in pods mounted under wing.
33:03Although the Ju-87G also carried HE rounds,
33:07it was the high-density Wolfram cord ammunition that was used when the type was employed in the anti-tank
33:13role.
33:14Rudell's reputation as a solo panzer knacker flying the 87G began on the 5th of July when he destroyed 12
33:21Soviet T-34s.
33:23This Soviet tank was vulnerable when attacked from the rear where its armour was thinner
33:28and could be penetrated by the 37mm cannon.
33:33Four staffeln of HS-129s operating as a flying anti-tank force under Hauptmann Bruno Mayer
33:39played a formidable role during Zittertel.
33:42In addition to its standard armament of two 20mm cannon and two heavy machine guns,
33:47the most significant addition to the 129 units employed at Kursk
33:52was a 30mm Mark 101 high-velocity cannon mounted under the fuselage in a streamlined gondola.
33:59This weapon was employed against Soviet tanks in the same fashion as the 37mm cannon on the Ju-87G.
34:08The effectiveness of the cannon-armed 129s was proven when on the 8th of July
34:13a brigade of Soviet tanks attacked the flank of the SS Panzer Corps.
34:18Mayer's 129s swept down on the enemy T-34s
34:21and opened fire from a distance of 550 yards,
34:25whilst Focke-Wulf 190 ground attack aircraft assailed the supporting Soviet infantry,
34:30dropping high fragmentation bombs.
34:32Just an hour after the battle began, 50 Soviet tanks littered the battlefield,
34:38all destroyed from the air.
34:47A fortnight after Hitler called off Zittertel,
34:50the Soviet forces in the south of the salient went over to the counter-attack
34:54and rapidly recaptured all territory lost to the Germans.
34:58This Soviet push now melded into the one that had been operating against the German forces
35:03in the Oral Bulge since the 10th of July.
35:06Along the whole of the southern front for the remainder of the month and throughout August,
35:11the Stuka units found themselves being transferred from one danger point to another,
35:16flying sortie after sortie,
35:18supporting the ground forces in their attempt to halt the increasing number of Soviet breakthroughs.
35:43Stuka group 77 found itself regularly moved with an intensity of sorties
35:49that ran from four through to six on a daily basis all during this period.
35:54Throughout the grouper, the personal sortie tallies of aircrew rose steeply.
35:59In September, Werner Peipel recorded his 800th,
36:03just eight months before he'd been decorated with the night's cost
36:06for having reached the grand total of 480,
36:09while many others recorded having flown 400, 500 and 600 sorties.
36:15Nor was the task of flying the Ju-87 in combat becoming any easier.
36:21Although the Red Air Force was less effective than the Allied air forces in the West,
36:251943 had seen a marked improvement in the quality of both pilots and planes.
36:31At a time when fighter units were being pulled back to Germany to defend the Reich,
36:35the increasingly vulnerable Stuka was having to fly in an increasingly hostile sky,
36:41often devoid of the vital fighter escorts it needed in order to survive.
36:46In addition, the Red Army was increasing by a substantial degree
36:50the protection it gave its ground forces by the addition of many more anti-aircraft guns.
36:56These moved with the advancing spearheads.
36:59With the tendency of Soviet infantry to shoot at German aircraft
37:03with every caliber of weapon to hand,
37:05the lot of Stuka crews was made exceedingly dangerous.
37:23In the autumn of 1943, the newsreel caught the celebrations
37:27marking the 100,000th sortie flown by Stuka Geschwader II,
37:32subsequently re-designated Schlachtgeschwader II Immelmann
37:36since its commencement of operations in September 1939.
37:41Present at the formal presentation was Hauptmann Rudel,
37:45wearing his Knight's Cross with oak leaves.
37:47Presentations of Knight's Crosses to other aircrew were also made.
37:51The very high number of sorties gives some indication
37:54of the pace of operations experienced by German aircrew.
37:58The wreckage of smashed Soviet armour seen here during the very fierce fighting
38:03that took place at Krivoi Rog in the Dneipa Bend late in 1943
38:07is testimony to the Stuka's low-level assault role.
38:11This became its primary function after October 1943,
38:14when the Luftwaffe abandoned dive bombing
38:17and the Stuka Geschwaden were re-designated Schlachtgruppen.
38:21Although in the West the effectiveness of the Stuka as a tank destroyer using bombs
38:26was regarded more as propaganda,
38:28in Russia it is clear that many Stuka pilots demonstrated a remarkable ability
38:33in bombing tanks at low level and destroying them.
38:37While this footage shows some Stukas operating at medium altitude,
38:41it also shows other Ju-87D-5s swooping down at very low levels,
38:46strafing the targets and aiming their bombs with great precision
38:50directly onto the hulls of T-34s.
39:08Far more Stukas were lost to Soviet ground fire
39:11during the period 1941 to 1945
39:14than were ever lost to enemy fighters,
39:17notwithstanding the earlier observations
39:19about the improvement in Soviet air power.
39:22As can be seen here, Schlachtflieger attracted flak in massive quantity.
39:29In late March 1944, Rudel, now a Majoran in command
39:33of the third Gruppe of Schlachtgeschwader II,
39:36achieved two career milestones.
39:39Having completed his 1800th sortie,
39:42he then notched up the destruction of his 200th Soviet tank
39:45while flying his cannon arm, Ju-87G.
39:48In recognition of his achievement,
39:51Hitler awarded him Germany's then highest wartime decoration
39:55of the diamonds to his Knight's Cross.
39:57In the following months, he was awarded the Pilot Observer's Badge
40:01with diamonds and the flight class for Schlachtflieger in gold and platinum.
40:04This award was personalised with his sortie number 2000 highlighted in diamonds.
40:10Further promotion to Oberst Leutnant followed
40:13and on the 1st of October 1944,
40:16Rudel was given command of Schlachtgeschwader II.
40:39With the initiative on the Eastern Front now having passed irrevocably to the Red Army,
40:44film of military operations from the winter of 43-44
40:48illustrate that most actions which show the German army attacking the Soviets
40:52are limited counterattacks of a tactical nature.
40:56Self-propelled artillery and salvos of rockets from Werfers
41:00would precede the advance of panzers
41:01accompanied overhead by Stuka ground support.
41:19Where, however, such counterattacks were directed at a point of major Soviet offensive effort,
41:25the Red Air Force could be expected to respond quickly.
41:28Ilyushin II Sturmoviks, providing the Soviet equivalent of the Schlachtflieger,
41:32would begin their own attacks on the advancing German forces.
41:36The effectiveness of this heavily armed Soviet type
41:39led it to being dubbed the Black Death by German infantry.
41:43The arrival of the Stukas points to a further assault on the Soviet positions.
41:48However, the manner in which this attack is depicted by the editors of the film,
41:52in terms of the images and of the sound effects,
41:55is testimony to the continuing propaganda value of the Stuka
41:59being depicted as a dive bomber, even at this late stage of the conflict.
42:21The emergence of specialised ground attack variants
42:24of the versatile Vok-Vulff 190 fighter
42:27had been prompted by the ever-growing demands of the army
42:30for more effective close support
42:31and the obvious inadequacy of the ageing Stuka to fulfil the task.
42:36This role was satisfied by the F model of the 190.
42:40The need for a longer-ranging fighter-bomber
42:43also saw the emergence of the G series.
42:46Both types entered service in 1943,
42:49with the first Stuka groupen converting to their new mounts early in the year.
42:53Even though 1943 was to see no fewer than 1,800 Stukas
42:58leave the production lines,
42:59by October the rate of conversion from Ju-87 to FW-190
43:04was taking place at the rate of two Gruppen every six weeks.
43:08However, it was only in 1944,
43:11when production of the 190 underwent major expansion,
43:14did sufficient aircraft become available
43:16with which to continue re-equipping
43:19the remaining Stuka schlacht Gruppen on the eastern front.
43:22By June 1944 and the opening of the Soviet summer offensive,
43:26there were seven schlacht Gruppen
43:28operating approximately 200 FW-190s on the Russian front.
43:36By mid-summer 1944, Rudel was not only highly decorated,
43:41but also the darling of the propaganda department
43:44and one of the most familiar faces to German audiences
43:47watching the weekly newsreel.
43:48Rudel was not embarrassed by this interest
43:51that bordered on hero worship,
43:53being more than happy to show off his physical prowess
43:56and his concern with maintaining a vigorous and healthy lifestyle.
44:07whilst held in great respect by his fellow flyers,
44:10there were, however, more than a few
44:12who observed with a wry grin and a wink
44:15that major Rudel neither drinks alcohol
44:17nor smokes cigarettes.
44:22By the late summer and early autumn of 1944,
44:26only Rudel's third group of schlachtflieger II,
44:29along with the specialised anti-tank staffel,
44:31were still operating the Stuka in daylight operations
44:34on the eastern front.
44:36Indeed, all footage of Stuka seen hereafter in this film
44:40operating in daylight
44:41come only from these formations.
44:44In spite of the vulnerability of the Stuka,
44:47Rudel continued to express a preference
44:49for operating the type,
44:50and even though he was checked out on the FW 190,
44:53often flew operations in one.
44:55There were those who believed, as did Rudel,
44:58that the Stuka still had a role to play
45:00in daylight operations,
45:01and that, under conditions of local air superiority,
45:04remained a highly effective precision bombing type.
45:08By this time, most Stukas operating in the east,
45:10and indeed the only ones serving in the west,
45:13were operated by the Nacht Schlachtgruppen
45:15in the night assault role.
45:20Effective ground-to-air communications
45:22provided by the Luftwaffe radio operatives
45:25in their own command half-tracks
45:26operating alongside army formations,
45:29allowed the flexible and rapid deployment
45:31of Stuka formations in the ground attack role.
45:34Observed by Luftwaffe General Robert Ritter von Grime,
45:38a camp group of panzers, assault guns,
45:41self-propelled guns, and infantry,
45:42prepares to launch a counterattack
45:44on dug-in Soviet forces.
45:46Prior to their assault,
45:48Stukas carry out a preliminary low-level bombardment
45:51of the Soviet positions.
45:53In addition to employing normal high-explosive bombs,
45:56a number of the Stukas would also use
45:58SD-2 or 3 anti-personnel bomblets.
46:02Another favoured weapon employed by the Stuka
46:05in the assault role was a special weapons container
46:07equipped with three fixed and angled
46:09MG-81 heavy machine guns for ground strafing.
46:17This sequence is notable for the manner
46:19in which it illustrates the diverse range
46:21of Stuka variants operating with Rudel's
46:23third grouper of SG-2 Immelmann
46:26in the late summer of 1944.
46:28Early Ju-87 D-2s and D-3s,
46:32still retaining their dive brakes,
46:34operate alongside the later D-5s
46:36and the specialised anti-tank Ju-87Gs.
46:40The D-2s and D-3s are armed with SC-250
46:43or SC-500 bombs under the fuselage
46:46and four SC-50 bombs under wing.
46:49The latter are fitted with extended percussion detonators.
46:52It is the earlier variants of the D
46:55that retain their under-wing dive brakes
46:57and is still employed in the classic dive-bombing role.
47:01While abandoned under official policy,
47:03retention of this capability
47:04was clearly deemed by Rudel as Geschwader Commander
47:08to still have its place
47:09in the repertoire of Stuka tactics.
47:11By this stage of the conflict,
47:13massive Soviet summer offensives
47:15have pushed the Wehrmacht out of European Russia,
47:18with the Stukas operating against Red Army forces
47:20driving into the Baltic state of Lithuania.
47:24Evidence of the effectiveness of Soviet flak
47:27is a hit to the leading edge of this D-5,
47:29just outboard of its 20mm MG-151 cannon barrel.
47:58By the time this film was taken
48:00of HS-129Bs taking off to attack Soviet forces
48:04in September 1944,
48:06production of the type had already ended.
48:11The last 24 of 866 manufactured
48:15mounted an adapted 75mm anti-tank gun.
48:19While able to kill even the IS-2 heavy tank,
48:22this 129 variant proved extremely vulnerable.
48:27The loss rate of the Henschel 129
48:29in the specialised anti-tank Schlackgeschwaden
48:32began to climb in 1944
48:34by virtue of the improvement
48:35in Soviet fighter opposition and ground defences.
48:39Although a small target,
48:40the low-powered French Gnome Rhone engines
48:43did not endow the Henschel
48:44with a sparkling performance,
48:46the maximum speed of the B-2 being 253mph,
48:50with a heavily laden 75mm armed B-3
48:54realising just 199mph at sea level.
48:59Pilot losses reached 20% by mid-year,
49:02with the type becoming a declining asset
49:04in the Luftwaffe inventory in consequence.
49:15Whether or not the Soviet leader,
49:17Josef Stalin,
49:18deliberately held back his forces
49:20from giving support to the Polish Home Army
49:22when it rose against the Germans in Warsaw
49:24in August 1944
49:25is still a matter of some debate among historians.
49:29In practice,
49:30the lack of Soviet opposition
49:31in the skies above Warsaw
49:33allowed Stukas to operate with impunity
49:36in support of German forces
49:37in their drive to reduce the city
49:40and fulfil Hitler's demand
49:41that it be levelled to the ground.
49:43The fighting continued through to October
49:45with Stukas in operation
49:47throughout that period.
49:53Although he had been shot down
49:55and wounded in August and November,
49:57Rudel insisted in flying ops
49:59in his Ju-87G,
50:01even though he was not yet fully recovered.
50:03By the end of December 1944,
50:05his tally of destroyed Soviet tanks
50:08had risen to 460,
50:10with another 40 being added
50:12by the end of January.
50:23In early February,
50:24he crash-landed his flak-riddled Stuka
50:27and was badly wounded.
50:28His right leg was so badly damaged
50:30that it was amputated.
50:40Even though by this time
50:41he was Germany's most highly decorated combatant,
50:44having become the only recipient
50:46of the specially struck
50:47golden oak-leaf swords and diamonds,
50:49even this injury was not enough
50:51to keep him from flying.
50:55January and February 1945
50:58saw the launch of massive Soviet offensives
51:01that drove the Red Army
51:02from the Vistula River
51:03across Poland
51:04to the banks of the Oda.
51:05By this time,
51:06the schlachtflieger were on the wane,
51:08worn down by excessive losses
51:10of pilots and machines.
51:12Nevertheless,
51:13the limited footage taken
51:14of the fighting in this period
51:16shows the few surviving
51:17Henschel 129s in action
51:19along with the tank-busting Ju-87Gs.
51:21In spite of the overwhelming
51:24Soviet air power,
51:25they're still clearly reaping
51:26great damage to Soviet armour
51:28on the snow-covered fields
51:30of Pomerania.
51:31Continued film of the operations
51:33of this variant of the Stuka
51:34is testimony
51:35to the very different air war
51:37fought in the east
51:38as compared to that in the west.
51:41Here, the Ju-87
51:42had not been able to show itself
51:44in daylight since 1943
51:46for fear of massacre.
51:57It is perhaps the ultimate paradox
52:00that the very last film
52:02ever taken of a Luftwaffe aircraft
52:03in action for the newsreel
52:05should be of an anti-tank
52:06Ju-87G
52:08on a solo sortie
52:09attacking Soviet armour
52:11on the Oda
52:12in March 1945.
52:14Slow,
52:15ponderous,
52:16poorly protected,
52:17vulnerable,
52:18a sitting duck.
52:19It is unlikely
52:20that the poor Soviet tankers
52:22on the receiving end
52:23of this Stuka's firing run
52:25and dying so close
52:26to final victory
52:27would have gained
52:28any consolation
52:29from the knowledge
52:30that, according to many experts,
52:32the plane that killed them
52:33was no longer up to the task.
52:37Hans Ulrich Rudel
52:39and the Junkers' Ju-87 Stuka
52:41have since become
52:42the stuff of legend
52:43for, while he emerged
52:45as Germany's highest decorated soldier
52:47with a combat record
52:49second to none,
52:50there is no doubting
52:51that the Stuka was
52:53and still is
52:54regarded as the foremost symbol
52:56of Luftwaffe air power
52:58during World War II.
53:00The images of Stuka's
53:02plunging earthwards,
53:03sirens screaming like banshees,
53:06will forever be remembered
53:07as one of the most terrifying images
53:10of 20th century warfare.
53:12Thank you, Ben.
53:13Thank you, Ben.
53:22Thank you, Ben.