Junkers Ju 87 provided close-shore artillery support at Waalhaven and the Afsluitdijk. The British "Valentine" was crippled, beached and scuttled while "Winchester", "Whitley" and "Westminster" were damaged. "Whitley" was later beached and scuttled after an air attack on 19 May. The Ju 87 units were also instrumental in the Battle of France. It was here that most of the Ju 87-equipped units were concentrated. They assisted in the breakthrough at Sedan, the critical and first major land battle of the war on French territory. The "Stukawaffe" flew 300 sorties against French positions, with StG 77 alone flying 201 individual missions. The Ju 87s
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