Junkers Ju 87 Josef Stalin decreed that no more ships were to pass within range of German aircraft without his personal permission. Towards the end of the war, as the Allies gained air supremacy, the Stuka was being replaced by ground-attack versions of the Fw 190. By early 1944, the number of Ju 87 units and operational aircraft terminally declined. For the Soviet summer offensive, Operation Bagration, 12 Ju 87 groups and five mixed groups (including Fw 190s) were on the Luftwaffe's order of battle on 26 June 1944. Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey, a mixed aircraft unit, which included large numbers of Stuka dive bombers,
Junkers J 1 a series of fully cantilevered all-metal monoplanes. Upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Junkers decided to direct his efforts towards projects which would have potential military value. During this era, the majority of aircraft designers were relatively conservative and, save for some isolated examples, no advancements were achieved; according to aviation historian Charles Gibbs-Smith, the pioneering work of Hugo Junkers was a notable exception. It was Junkers' efforts, along with those of collaborators such as engineers Otto Reuter, Otto Mader, head of Junkers' "Forschungsanstalt", and Hans Steudel, director of Junkers' structural materials and testing department that