Ju 87 G-1

Ju 87 G-1

Ju 87 R-2

Ju 87 G-2

Ju 87 G-1

Ju 87 R-2

Ju 87 G-2

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	1.3	2.7

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:5 900

Purchase:6 300

This page is about the aircraft Ju 87 G-1. For other uses, see Ju 87 (Disambiguation)

Description

The Ju 87 G-1 is a Rank II German attacker with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/SB) and 2.3 (RB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.17.

The differences between the G-1 and G-2 variants are the wing types utilized. The G-1 employs the same wing type as the Ju 87 D-3 while the G-2 instead utilizes the same wing area as the Ju 87 D-5 variant.

Regarded highly by famed German ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the Ju 87 G is one of the deadliest ground attack aircraft in War Thunder. Building upon the classic "Stuka" design, German engineers fitted a pair of Bordkanone 37mm cannons to early Ju 87 D models, creating a beast. Instead of bombs, this aircraft utilizes its twin synchronized 37mm anti-tank cannons to demolish any armor it faces. Able to fire the German 37mm high velocity armor piercing round, the Ju 87 G is more than a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, each cannon only holds 12 rounds of ammunition each, for a total of 12 individual shots. This puts a cap on how much total damage the Ju 87 G can do.

The Ju 87 G's armament, a pair of Bordkanone BK 3,7 cannons, are deadly in all regards. They are able to destroy most ground units and aircraft with a single press of the trigger. Equip air targets or armored targets belt depending on what your target is. The armored targets belt is fairly ineffective against aircraft and the air targets belt does next to nothing to armored ground units.

The Ju 87 G-1 differs from its later counterpart, the Ju 87 G-2 in that it utilizes the earlier D models such as the Ju 87 D-3. The G-2 model uses the later Ju 87D-5 model.

By early 1943 the Luftwaffe, or rather the whole German army at the Eastern Front, faced a critical problem fighting Soviet armored forces. The equipment intended to stop the "Russian steam roller" included a special anti-tank version of the Stuka that appeared in late 1942.

The first anti-tank variant, the Ju 87G-1, was based on the Ju 87D-3 variant. The main distinction of the G-1 was that it had two containers fitted under the wings to house 37 mm Bordkanone BK 3.7 cannons (an airborne version of the Rheinmetall Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun), with 6 rounds each. The shells were kept in magazines protruding beyond the sides of the container. The long-barrelled anti-aircraft gun brought the tungsten-core sabots to an initial velocity of 1,170 m/s, allowing the gun to be fired at a distance of about 800 m. This was quite sufficient to pierce the rear or upper plating of the T-34 tank.

When D-3s were converted to G-1s, the wing-mounted machine guns and the bomb racks were removed. The aircraft's armor was weakened. Unlike those on the standard Ju 87D-3, the radio operator/gunner's station, the fuel tanks in the centre wing section, and the radiator were not armored on the anti-aircraft Stuka.

Tests showed that the Ju 87G-1's speed was reduced by 30-40 km/h and its maneuverability was noticeably impaired, which, in addition to its weakened armor and poor defensive armament, made the machine almost a perfect target for fighter attacks. Due to the aircraft's poor longitudinal stability, it was difficult to aim. The BK 3.7 cannon had quite a low rate of fire and a low reliability as far as its automatic equipment was concerned. In fact, for a Ju 87G, success on the battlefield was possible only if it was flown by an experienced pilot and only if enemy anti-aircraft gunners and fighters provided little opposition.

However, if operated by an experienced gunner, the Gustav was able to hit the tank's most vulnerable parts, such as its engines, fuel tanks, and ammunition stowage bins. This was the reason why the Ju 87G-1's tests were considered successful, and the military came to the conclusion that the prospect of its use in combat was reasonable, since the situation was hopeless otherwise, as there were no other aircraft anywhere near suitable for fighting tanks.

Production Ju 87D-3s were converted to G-1s on site by the troops. For this conversion, the cannon-housing containers could be easily removed and replaced with standard bomb racks. None of the aircraft had dive flaps, but the brackets to fit them remained. A total of about 40 machines were converted in this fashion.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
360	352	7,000	34.4	35.9	2.0	3.0	513
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
?	?	7,000	??.?	??.?	?.?	?.?	513

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
730	600	880	~11	~5

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 270	< 270	< 350	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,000 m	1,180 hp	1,390 hp

Survivability and armour

• 4 mm Steel - Under engine plate
• 4 mm Steel - Cockpit tub
• 4 mm Steel - Rear gunner plate
• 4 mm Steel - Rear glass plates
• 8 mm Steel - Behind pilot's chair
• 8 mm Steel - Headrest
• 50 mm Bulletproof Glass

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Ju 87 G-1 is armed with:

• 2 x 37 mm BK 3,7 cannons, wing-mounted (12 rpg = 24 total)

Defensive armament

The Ju 87 G-1 can defend itself with:

• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine gun, dorsal turret (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)

Usage in the battles

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair, Radiator		Offensive 37 mm
II	Compressor	Airframe	Turret 7 mm
III	Wing Repair, Engine		New 37 mm Cannons
IV	Engine Injection	Cover	New 7 mm MGs (turret)

Unlocking the 37 mm belts is a must for this aircraft. The default belt is a mix of HE and AP rounds, resulting in only half of the trigger pull hitting what you want. Instead of staggering the rounds one trigger pull is HE one trigger pull is AP, it is mixed. After that, it matters not which way the Stuka pilot researches his or her modules.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Impressive turn rate at high speeds.
• Powerful cannons, light pillboxes and medium, light, and heavy tanks will find that four shells (or two clicks of a mouse) will destroy them.
• Good defensive turret.
• Armor around the pilot, gunner, and engine.
• Able to be used in different roles (attacker, support fighter, etc.).

Cons:

• Lacks any frontal offensive machine guns/cannons whatsoever, making engagement with a fighter difficult.
• Very little cannon ammo.
• Very slow.
• Vulnerable to damage.
• Incredibly slow roll rate, especially at high speeds.
• Bad high altitude performance.
• Inability to equip bombs or rockets.

History

By 1942, the need for a new ground attack aircraft was ever present. The aging Ju 87 was proving to be obsolete, and the new Henschel Hs 129 was underpowered and ill protected. Hans-Ulrich Rudel, a Stuka ace, proposed a pair of 37 mm cannons be added to a Ju 87 D. Thus, the "Kanonenvogel" or "cannon-bird" was born. The Ju 87 G was most famously piloted by Rudel himself, who destroyed a countless amount of Soviet equipment with it. Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the only person to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, one of Germany's highest awards. The highest-scoring ace of World War II, Erich Hartmann, also held the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds – but his Oak Leaves were not gold). Rudel survived the war and his input was used to create the A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.