Junkers Ju 87 armoured protection of the Ilyushin Il-2 "Sturmovik" - a feature pioneered by the 1916-17 origin Junkers J.I all-metal sesquiplane of World War I Imperial Germany's Luftstreitkräfte - 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
Junkers Ju 290 were constructed for "special purposes" by Junkers. Their works numbers are unknown. What those "special purposes" were, or if they ever came to be, is unknown. A number of Ju 290s survived the war, the Allies evaluating at least three examples, none of which was known to have survived intact into the 21st century. Junkers Ju 290 The Junkers Ju 290 was a German large, four-engine long-range transport and maritime patrol aircraft used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II that had been developed from an earlier airliner. The Junkers 290 was developed directly from the Ju 90 airliner,