During the early to mid-stages of the Second World War, the Stuka (short for "sturzkampfflugzeug" or dive-bomber) struck terror in the hearts and minds of soldiers and civilians alike. The Stuka was a rugged machine, designed to swoop down and destroy its target using 500-lb bombs or tear into them using 37mm flak guns mounted underneath the wings.

With the G variant, the aging air frame of the Ju 87 found new life as an anti-tank aircraft. This was the final operational version of the Stuka, and was deployed on the Eastern Front. The reverse in German military fortunes after 1943 and the appearance of huge numbers of well-armored Soviet tanks caused Junkers to adapt the existing design to combat this new threat. The Hs 129B had proved a potent ground attack weapon, but its large fuel tanks made it vulnerable to enemy fire, prompting the RLM to say "that in the shortest possible time a replacement of the Hs 129 type must take place." With Soviet tanks the priority targets, the development of a further variant as a successor to the Ju 87D began in November 1942. On 3 November, Erhard Milch raised the question of replacing the Ju 87, or redesigning it altogether. It was decided to keep the design as it was, but to upgrade the power plant to a Jumo 211J, and add two 30 mm (1.18 in) cannon. The variant was also designed to carry a 1,000 kg (2,200 lb.) free-fall bomb load. Furthermore, the armured protection of the Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik was copied, to protect the crew from ground fire now that the Ju 87 would be required to conduct low level attacks.

Hans-Ulrich Rudel, a Stuka ace, had suggested using two 37 mm (1.46 in) Flak 18 guns, each one in a self-contained under-wing gun pod, as the Bordkanone BK 3.7, after achieving success against Soviet tanks with the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon. These gun pods were fitted to a Ju 87 D-1, W. Nr 2552 as "Gustav the tank killer". The first flight of the machine took place on 31 January 1943, piloted by Hauptmann Hans-Karl Stepp. The continuing problems with about two dozens of the Ju 88P-1, and slow development of the Hs 129 B-3, each of them equipped with a large BK 7.5 cm (2.95 in) cannon in a conformal gun pod beneath the fuselage, meant the Ju 87G was put into production. In April 1943, the first production Ju 87 G-1s were delivered to front line units. The two 37 mm (1.46 in) cannons were mounted in under-wing gun pods, each loaded with a six round magazine of armor-piercing tungsten carbide ammunition. With these weapons, the Kanonenvogel ("cannon-bird"), as it was nicknamed, proved spectacularly successful in the hands of Stuka aces such as Rudel. The G-1 was converted from older D-series air frames, retaining the smaller wing, but without the dive brakes. The G-2 was similar to the G-1 except for use of the extended wing of the D-5. 208 G-2s were built and at least a further 22 more were converted from D-3 air frames.

This particular 1:72 scale replica of a Junkers Ju 87G-1 "Kanonenvogel" dive-bomber was attached to 10.(Pz)/Schlachtgeschwader 1, then deployed to Dubno, Ukraine, during June 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 7-inches
Wingspan: 7-1/2-inches

Release Date: June 2016

Historical Account: "Death from Above" - Schlachtgeschwader 1 (SchlG 1, since 1943 rather SG 1) was a German ground-attack wing during World War II. The first formation was on January 13th, 1942, from the II.(Schl)/Lehrgeschwader 2, initially with two Gruppen each made of four Staffeln. The second formation was on On October 18th, 1943, by renaming the existing Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1). The new unit's name became abbreviated simply SG 1.

SchlG 1 gradually withdrew from Russia to become fully stationed in Kiev in October 1943. On October 18th, 1943, the Stab (staff) was disbanded and the personnel used to form the staffs of IV/SG 9, NSGr 3, and NSGr 7. Both Gruppen moved to other formations: the I/SchlG 1 was renamed the II/SG 77, except for the 1st Staffel which was disbanded and incorporated into the other Staffeln, and the II/SchlG 1 was renamed the II/SG 2, with 5th Staffel becoming 8th Staffel and the others retaining their numbers.

At the same time the independent Staffeln also became renamed: the 4.(Pz)/SchlG 1 was renamed to the 10.(Pz)/SG 9, and the 8.(Pz)/SchlG 1 was renamed 11.(Pz)/SG 9.