Junkers Ju 87 and D-3 variants operated in combat with the BK 37 cannon in 1943. Known prototypes With the G variant, the ageing airframe 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-armoured Soviet tanks caused Junkers to adapt the existing design to combat this new threat. The Henschel Hs 129B had proved a potent ground attack weapon, but its large fuel tanks made it vulnerable to enemy
Junkers J 2 fuselage directly below the stabilizer's leading edge root. The wings had at least three different airfoil changes between root and tip, and had sections of them electrically roll-welded for stronger, more continuous bonding for greater strength. The resulting aircraft was intended to be smaller than the J 1 demonstrator, but with its steel structure, it almost equalled the J 1's completed weight. One feature pioneered in the J 2 that would also be used in later all-metal monoplanes designed and built by Junkers in World War I, was a "unitized" forward fuselage structure, combining the engine mount, wing roots and