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Doug Thost
6 articles

Junkers Ju-87 R-2 "Sturzkampfflugzeug"

December 9, 2023 · in Aviation · · 26 · 503

My very first : an R-2 from 3rd Staffel, 1st Gruppe, Sturzkampfgeschwader 1, as it may have appeared in April-May 1940, based in France. Pretty much out of the box, with a few Eduard embellishments in the cockpit. I spent far too much effort lowering the flaps 20 degrees, off-setting the ailerons, and thinning the wing trailing edges. But ultimately, pleased with the extra effort. Lots of poor fitting in the kit, particularly wing/fuselage and cowling. I learnt a lot along the way, and hopefully if there's a "next Stuka" it'll be better than this one!

From Wikipedia:
A long range version of the B was also built, known as the Ju 87 R, the letter being an abbreviation for Reichweite, "(operational) range". They were primarily intended for anti-shipping missions. The Ju 87 R had a B-series airframe with an additional oil tank and fuel lines to the outer wing stations to permit the use of two 300 litres (79 US gal) standardised capacity under-wing drop tanks, used by a wide variety of Luftwaffe aircraft through most of the war. This increased fuel capacity to 1,080 litres (290 US gal) (500 litres in main fuel tank of which 480 litres were usable + 600 litres from drop tanks). To prevent overload conditions, bomb carrying ability was often restricted to a single 250 kg (550 lb) bomb if the aircraft was fully loaded with fuel.

Reader reactions:
17  Awesome 1  2 

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


26 responses

  1. An awesome Stuka, Doug!
    Wel done!

  2. You did great on this Stuka, Doug @doug
    All the extra work is definitely worth it.
    Last summer I saw a real one in the London RAF museum. Impressive to see one in real and when looking at the details, yours looks perfect.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  3. Your Stuka looks fantastic and the diorama is excellent...nice job, Doug!

  4. Both the Stuka and the photographs are great.

  5. Awesome result.
    The first picture in B&W fooled me for a moment as I thought it was the real thing.

  6. Nice Stuka. You take great photos.

  7. Love those photographs taken at ground level. Beautifully built model. @doug

  8. πŸ™‚ ... Greetings ... πŸ™‚ :
    Your photography is very well done and makes this build stand out and give it an
    elegant appeal.
    Very nice work Doug.

  9. The hard work has definitely paid off Doug. Looks great!

  10. That is a very nicely done Stuka! I think the extra work paid off.

  11. That's mighty impressive, Doug @doug! πŸ‘ Great looking model and great photos too! πŸ‘

  12. Hey Doug @doug, that is a really impressive build and I love the diorama setting with it too, recreating the scene in the war time photo. Well done, it’s awesome πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

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