Ju 87 D3 "Stuka" Overview A long anticipated arrival to Aces High, the Ju87 in D3 form is a bit of a dissappointment for many.  While there are many legends placed on the Ju87 in general, in AH it tends to more show it's historical weaknesses in the face of enemy fighters.  Dreadfully slow and almost helplessly underarmed, the Ju87 tends to present a very inviting target.  As such, Ju87's tend to stay close to home while protected by friendly fighters and rarely stray far unless some local target has almost complete friendly superiority.  To be fair though, the Ju87 enters a very crowded market of attack aircraft but tends to fail in speed, survivability and flexibility.  That said, the Ju87 has found a niche because it can pack one huge bomb, the largest in AH, which has useful purposes against very heavy ground units like the Tiger tank.

Ju 87 D3

Engine Performance

The Stuka is slow, pretty dreadfully so. Top speed, clean, at sea-level is only 230mph, with the typical bomb-load it is only 221mph. That's not good, it's another example of a situation where everything is going to be vastly superior to you in speed. Climb rate is poor, even at low levels, with the maximum being around 1,400ft/minute. In some configurations the climb rate can actually drop under 1K/minute from ground level. Best altitude is around 14K, where speed improves a bit 250mph though the climb rate has pretty much dropped away to nothing. Acceleration is not good, especially when heavy, though it is a bit better when light on fuel and ordinance. Duration on full internal fuel is around 62minutes, meaning you shouldn't require any more than 1/4 fuel for close range airfield defence while half fuel seems to be give a reasonable range for more distant strikes.

Weapons

The discussion on Stuka guns can be rather brief. There are twin 7.9mm forward facing guns mounted in the wings and a pair of 7.9mm in a rear position. Neither are really effective, either in offence or defence. Strafing with 7.9mm's is pointless as almost everything will absorb hits like that almost infiniteum. As a defensive weapon, a pair of 7.9mm is really insufficient to deter or counter any real attack from the rear. Few enemy fighters are going to take it seriously and while you may damage them, it is unlikely you will have a chance to beat them to the kill before they cut you to shreds. The bread and butter of the Stuka though is as a ground attack plane, so hopefully you have some friendly fighters around to keep you safe. In that role it can take a combination of external bombs (no rockets or gun-gondolas) in varying sizes up to a whopping 1,800kgs (almost 4,000lbs). I would say, if anything were to keep the Stuka in use, the 1,800kg bomb is likely it. This is massive, and when looking at it attached to the fuselage it looks almost comical, being pretty much the same diameter. It is brutally effective against anything, making near misses almost as good as perfect hits but that all comes at a price, weight. The 1,800kg bomb makes the Stuka wallow like a whale and climbs to suitable dive-bombing altitudes can be very slow. It's also a once shot deal, with no real backup strafing or secondary weapons. Still, this is currently the largest bomb, by far, carried by any aircraft that isn't a bomber.

Manoeuvrability/Handling

The Stuka is no lightweight, coming in at 12,000lbs and with fuel/bombs/etc it is likely even worse. At light weights though the Ju87 actually handles quite well and is nimble in both roll and turn-rate. The Stuka doesn't appear all that speed sensitive either, handling both high or low speeds with little trouble Amazingly the Stuka can dive to almost insane speeds in excess of 520mph with almost complete control. A side note to that though, at 500mph you may hear a snapping sound which is the fixed landing gear breaking off though it has no impact on handling and actually increases your level cruise speed by 2-3mph though landing will be a bit hard on the aircraft. Vertical performance is not good as the lack of acceleration and climb rate make you a sitting duck. Stall performance is pretty gentle though with heavy ordinance the aircraft feels a little unbalanced and the weight can pull you around a bit.

Flying the Stuka

Certainly in a low threat environment the Ju87 can be a decent attack plane although it is basically a one shot aircraft. Typically people will take the 1,800kg bomb but once that is gone the 7.9mm guns offer nothing against any target. The addition of the Tiger tank has made it quite difficult to blunt armoured advances and the Ju87 appears reasonably effective in damaging or destroying Tigers. Even a near miss with a 1,800kg bomb is bound to cause some serious concern for a Tiger driver. This type of local defence also keeps the transit times short and allows very small fuel loading (25%). The issue tends to be that climbing to a reasonable dive-bombing altitude is very time consuming so many people attack at very shallow angles or simply don't give their bombs time to arm properly in very low level attacks.

I wouldn't even consider using the Stuka in an offensive anti-air role, you'll have to get quite lucky to actually kill aircraft and you may cry when aircraft such as a C-47 pull away from you when level. The only things you can reasonably catch are the Japanese dive-bomber and torpedo aircraft, even then it might be a long chase and they can probably out-turn you if you did catch them. Strafing is almost pointless as it takes 12+ hits to equal a single 20mm hit from the average cannon. If necessary, use a BnZ style attack whenever possible as this may get you some hits and damage your opponents. Defensively you can't run so most likely you'll end up turning to avoid people. The Stuka is not all that tough and only a few hits will disable it so be very careful and aggressively manoeuvre to defend yourself. The slow speed handling of the Stuka is very good and many aircraft may not be able to match your turn-rate or radius at low speed. Problem is, this leaves you almost helpless as you will be very low on energy and have almost no hope to actually break free to extend a bit (not that likely anyway though). Using the rear guns is hopeless and simply straightens you out for a very easy kill for the other guy.

Fighting the Stuka

Almost no threat, the Stuka should be a pretty easy kill. It cannot run from any fighter in the game and possesses very little firepower to concern you. A single solid guns pass should be enough to destroy a Stuka but the small radius and quick turn at low speeds can make it difficult to properly line up a shot. Timing is key, predict where the Stuka will be when you are in guns range and then try and fire at that point. Most Ju87 pilots are very predictable so you can assume they will make relatively flat left hand turns almost infinitium. Don't be stupid and slow down too much, slash attack the Ju87 at worst and then extend enough to circle back in. Use the vertical if you can, the Ju87 is terrible and simply can't match most vertical manoeuvring or climbing turns. Don't even be afraid to Head-On a Ju87 if that is all you are presented with, the forward firing guns on the Ju87 are almost hopeless and unlikely to do much more than scratch your paint.