Junkers Ju 87 Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from "Sturzkampfflugzeug", "dive bomber") is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War and served the Axis forces in World War II. The aircraft was easily recognisable by its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage. Upon the leading edges of its faired main gear legs were mounted the "Jericho-Trompete" (Jericho trumpet) wailing sirens, becoming the propaganda symbol of German air power and the
Junkers aircraft engines, albeit in the absence of its founder, who had been removed by the Nazis in 1934. The history of Junkers aircraft production begins with the Junkers J 1 mid-wing monoplane (not to be confused with the later, all-metal sesquiplane ground attack aircraft with the "IdFlieg" designation J.I which had a factory designation of J 4). Research for this aircraft began in 1914 and was interrupted by the start of the First World War. The prototype aircraft, named the "Blechesel" (Tin or Sheet-metal Donkey), was completed in very late 1915 after the outbreak of the war. This aircraft is