lesofprimus
Brigadier General
To start off the 4th Group Build of WW2AIRCRAFT.NET, here is my submission:
Username: lesofprimus
Category: Intermediate
Scale: 1/32
Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Model Type: Ju 87G
Details: Undecided Decals, will be alot of scratch building, possibly an aftermarket gun set....
Facing ever-increasing numbers of Russian tanks, the RLM considered using airborne, large bore, anti-tank cannons. One of the planes considered for use in this role was the Ju-87 and so a production D-3 was fitted with two 600 lb., 37mm Bk-37 cannons in streamlined pods under the wings. Equipped with a pair of 6-round clips held in trays on each side of the weapon, the 3 lb. shells used either Wolfram Core armor-piercing rounds or blunt-nosed High-Explosive shells for soft targets. To compensate for the increased weight of the plane without bombs, one of the wing machine guns was removed with the other being retained for aiming purposes.
Tests were successful and production began by converting finished D-3s to this role, the result being dubbed the Ju-87G-1.
While the G-1 was a conversion, the G-2 was made on the production line using the basic D-5 airframe and extended wings. The major difference, other than the wing, was that the wing bulge and fairing for the removed wing machine gun were themselves removed for a slight reduction in drag.
By the end of 42 the G-1 Panzerjäger became operational. The first unit (1./St.G.2 under Rudel) was extremely successful, and after Oct 43 a Ju 87 G-Staffel was added to each of the newly formed Schlachtgeschwader. Rudel himself was eventually credited with 519 tank kills while flying the G-1. However, since the spring of 1943, the decimated and overworked Schlachtgeschwader were encountering ever-increasing Soviet fighter opposition which forced them to restrict themselves largely to nocturnal operations or areas over which the Luftwaffe still retained air superiority. Consequently for daytime operations the Fw 190 F was replacing the Stukas, the Ju 87s being transformed to the Nachtschlachtgruppen, and by the autumn of 1944 only one Gruppe, Rudel's III/SG 2, was still on daylight operations with Ju 87 Ds and Gs.
Username: lesofprimus
Category: Intermediate
Scale: 1/32
Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Model Type: Ju 87G
Details: Undecided Decals, will be alot of scratch building, possibly an aftermarket gun set....
Facing ever-increasing numbers of Russian tanks, the RLM considered using airborne, large bore, anti-tank cannons. One of the planes considered for use in this role was the Ju-87 and so a production D-3 was fitted with two 600 lb., 37mm Bk-37 cannons in streamlined pods under the wings. Equipped with a pair of 6-round clips held in trays on each side of the weapon, the 3 lb. shells used either Wolfram Core armor-piercing rounds or blunt-nosed High-Explosive shells for soft targets. To compensate for the increased weight of the plane without bombs, one of the wing machine guns was removed with the other being retained for aiming purposes.
Tests were successful and production began by converting finished D-3s to this role, the result being dubbed the Ju-87G-1.
While the G-1 was a conversion, the G-2 was made on the production line using the basic D-5 airframe and extended wings. The major difference, other than the wing, was that the wing bulge and fairing for the removed wing machine gun were themselves removed for a slight reduction in drag.
By the end of 42 the G-1 Panzerjäger became operational. The first unit (1./St.G.2 under Rudel) was extremely successful, and after Oct 43 a Ju 87 G-Staffel was added to each of the newly formed Schlachtgeschwader. Rudel himself was eventually credited with 519 tank kills while flying the G-1. However, since the spring of 1943, the decimated and overworked Schlachtgeschwader were encountering ever-increasing Soviet fighter opposition which forced them to restrict themselves largely to nocturnal operations or areas over which the Luftwaffe still retained air superiority. Consequently for daytime operations the Fw 190 F was replacing the Stukas, the Ju 87s being transformed to the Nachtschlachtgruppen, and by the autumn of 1944 only one Gruppe, Rudel's III/SG 2, was still on daylight operations with Ju 87 Ds and Gs.
