Ju 87 D-5
| This page is about the German bomber Ju 87 D-5. For other versions, see Ju 87 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Ju 87 D-5 is a rank II German dive bomber with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB) and 3.3 (RB/SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.
The last in the in-game series of dive-bombing Ju 87 aircraft, the Ju 87 D-5 shows the transition between the Ju 87's original dive-bombing role to cannon ground-attack. With its wing guns switched out to 20 mm cannon armaments, as well as a diverse suspended armament options, the Ju 87 D-5 can allow players to choose different ways to attack ground targets when in a match.
General info
Flight performance
The Ju 87 D-5 is not as fast as most, if not all the fighters at its battle rating, but it is surprisingly manoeuvrable at low speeds compared to them.
Since this plane typically gets an air start in RB at around 3,500 m, gaining altitude is generally not a major problem at the beginning of matches on this plane. Be careful though, as if the D-5 reaches speed of anything above 450 km/h, it will start to get extreme lock-ups in the horizontal axis and slightly less in the vertical. However, staying around the 300 km/h can have the D-5 be able to out-manoeuvre opponents.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 368 | 357 | 7500 | 32.4 | 33.8 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 513 |
| Upgraded | 402 | 385 | 29.7 | 31.0 | 14.3 | 11.2 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 730 | 800 | N/A | 454 | 320 | ~13 | ~5 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 270 | < 350 | < 380 | > 325 |
| Compressor | Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | 4,200 m | 1,180 hp | 1,408 hp |
Survivability and armour
- 4 mm steel surrounding the crew
- 4 mm steel underneath the engine
- 4 mm steel in front of the gunner
- 8 mm steel behind the pilot
- 8 mm steel headrest
- 50 mm bulletproof glass in front of the pilot
- Self-sealing fuel tanks in the wings
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The Ju 87 D-5 is armed with:
- 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, wing-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
The stock 20 mm cannons are not very effective with the aircraft's role or aerodynamics.
Players who often play earlier Ju 87's probably did their best to not engage enemies, as they were only equipped with two 7.92 mm machine guns to fight alongside the rear gunner's machine guns. However, with this Ju 87 comes new and improved armament of 20 mm cannons. As a result, this opens up a whole new world as a fighter.
If battling fighters, try to head on them as the Ju 87 is a relatively tough plane, and with the gun pods attached any pilot foolish enough to head on you will most likely end up as mincemeat. If they don't do so, try to bleed their energy and speed, and then swoop in for the kill.
Suspended armament
The Ju 87 D-5 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- 1 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb (250 kg total)
- 1 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb + 4 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (450 kg total)
- 3 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (750 kg total)
- 1 x 500 kg SC500K bomb (500 kg total)
- 1 x 500 kg SC500K bomb + 4 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (700 kg total)
- 1 x 500 kg SC500K bomb + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (1,000 kg total)
- 12 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine guns, wing-mounted (gunpods) (250 rpg = 3,000 total)
- 4 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, wing-mounted (gunpods) (200 rpg = 800 total)
The suspended 12 x 7.92 mm deals with enemy aircraft pretty well, though runs out of ammo quickly. It is most suited for beginners since the tracers are more visible. The suspended 4 x 20 mm cannons are good at downing bombers and fighters but they impact negatively the flight performance of the D-5 considerably more than the 12 x 7.92 mm gunpods.
Defensive armament
The Ju 87 D-5 is defended by:
- 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine guns, dorsal turret (700 rpg = 1,400 total)
The turret 7.92 mm machine gun is somewhat useful in distracting enemies but does not deal a lot of damage.
Usage in battles
Ju 87 D series are mainly adapted for ground attack roles. The D-5 variant has two 20 mm MG 151 cannons which are suitable for attacking light-medium tanks. In addition in the research tree, you can get additional WB 151 (4 x MG 151 cannons) or the WB 81B (12 x MG 81 machine guns) gun pods.
The Ju 87 D-5 should not be used as a bomber since its maximum bombload of 2 x 250 kg and 1 x 500 kg does not hold up at its BR. It is excellent for ground strikes however, both with the 7.92 mm machine guns and the 20 mm cannons. The 20 mm is recommended because the 7.92 mm runs out of ammo fairly fast. The best use of the Ju 87 D-5 is bomber hunting. It spawns at the bomber altitude of 3,000-3,500 m (10,000-12,000 ft). One burst of the 20 mm cannons, especially with the suspended armaments and while using the air targets belt, is enough to destroy a bomber and even fighters.
If you decide to play the role of a fighter instead of the historic role of the attacker, it is recommended that you climb to around 5,500 m, which you should easily be able to do before reaching your enemies at the halfway point. As noted in the flight performance, staying at speeds greater than 400 km/h can lock up the control surfaces, meaning dogfighting at high speed is not in the plane's favour. Get the enemy to bleed speed to the more favourable 300 km/h-range, at which you will be able to outturn them.
Stock ammo belts are pretty bad, so try to get air target belts ASAP. Armoured target ammo is not able to take out medium tanks (unlike air target ammo, which can take out medium tanks on some select maps), and it is less effective against aircraft.
With the additional 20 mm cannons in the suspended armaments, the Ju 87 D-5 becomes a worthy opponent in head-ons. With this loadout, one should make sure not to be caught at less than 350 km/h. At speeds higher than this, the D-5 can still manage to do a quick turn around to lay the guns on a target from nearly every angle. The gun pods damage the roll rate quite significantly, so heavy use of the rudder is recommended. Pilots more experienced with aiming MG 151s might benefit from using stealth belts, as they make enemies less likely to take evasive action, consequently saving precious speed as you no longer have to manoeuvre to stay on target.
Because of their low speed, non-retractable landing gear and reasonable durability, all the Ju 87 series are quite good for capturing airfields in the Airfield Domination mode.
Enemies worth noting:
Yak-2 KABB - Do not think that the Ju 87 D-5 can confidently outmanoeuvre this plane just because it is twin-engined. The Yak-2 has an amazing turn rate for a heavy fighter, thus the Ju 87 D-5 must avoid turning with it, if not dogfighting with it in general. It bears a pair of ShVAK cannons that can easily damage vital parts like engine or cooling systems. It has green camouflage, greatly resembling an Me 410 but with an H-tail like a Bf 110's.
ZSD63 - A dangerous SPAA to go up against in Tank Realistic Battles. Though it is hard to identify specific SPAA vehicles on the ground (especially when they are shooting tracers at the plane), if a ZSD63 is identified, avoid it at all costs and do not attempt head-ons with it, ever. It can easily snap a wing off by casually putting a short burst in the Ju 87 D-5's flight path. Don't even get close to it unless it is busy shooting someone else or if the Ju 87 D-5 has a bomb ready for use. The numerous MGs / cannons on the Ju 87 D-5 cannot effectively damage it as its hull is overall quite empty, causing your shells to do little to no damage. Some identifying features of the ZSD63 is its rather boxy and tall hull with a geometric turret sitting at the back, slightly similar to a Wirbelwind's. The firing manner is also distinctive: the sound and green tracers are very rapid, much like a buzz saw, but then it will remain silent for half a minute reloading. Note that an experienced ZSD player will hold its fire or shoot in single salvoes with long halts between, making it look like that it's reloading.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Auto control available |
Controllable Auto control available |
Separate | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Has two MG 151 20 mm cannons which are decent for taking out aircraft after unlocking air target belts
- Large ammo reserve for its armament, equating to 1,000 rounds between each MG 151/20 cannon
- Can equip either 20 mm WB 151 or 7.92 mm WB 81B gun pods below the wing, increasing armament size by four 20 mm MG 151/20 or twelve 7.92 mm MG 81 for frontal firepower
- Tail gun has one of the best rates of fire in-game and covers a generous portion of the aircraft's rear
- Decent bomb loads
- Great manoeuvrability at lower speeds, can turn on a dime at a high speed
- Pilot and gunner are protected with all-around armour
- Has air brakes
- Very efficient radiator
- Tolerant flaps
- Air start in most RB maps
- Additional guns simply destroy enemy bombers and fighters in about two seconds, and are amazingly good
- Air Targets belts down bombers very quickly
- Much better climb rate than its predecessors
Cons:
- Maximum bomb load is lower than the D-3
- Low roll rate when not using the rudder
- Slow, and loses energy quite easily, especially in turns
- Takes some time to climb
- Overheats easily with WEP, use of WEP is not advised until in combat
- High Parasite drag, imposed by the wheel spats
- Control stiffening (lock-up) is severe at moderate to high speeds
- Very Low Wing-Lift Co-efficient making the aircraft highly susceptible to stalling
- Very low manoeuvrability compared to predecessors
- Radiator is damaged easily by enemy fire
- Poor rate of climb
- When the engine is shot, it rapidly falls out of the sky unless you have enough altitude.
History
In-game description
In early 1943, a new variant of the Stuka, the Ju 87D-5, was launched into full-scale production. The D-5 variant was originally conceived of as a ground-attack aircraft, as opposed to the previous D-3 version, for which ground attacks were thought to be only one of its possible combat uses.
From the start, no speed brakes were mounted under the D-5's wings, and as full-scale production continued, the fittings to fix the brakes to the drive gear were also eliminated. The aircraft's wings were redesigned, with the wingspan significantly increased. The enlarged area significantly reduced the load on the aircraft's wings and improved the Stuka's takeoff and landing characteristics.
The aircraft's armament was reinforced: the wing-mounted 7.92 mm Rheinmetall-Borsig MG 17 machine guns were swapped out for two 20 mm Mauser MG 151/20 cannons with 500 rounds each.
The 1000/500/IXb bomb rack was used to suspend aerial bombs weighing 1,000 kg or more under the fuselage, and the 500/IXc rack was used for bombs weighing 500 kg or less. Underwing ETC 50/VIIIdTp bomb racks allowed bombs and containers weighing up to 300 kg to be suspended from the middle pylon; bombs and other loads weighing up to 70 kg could be hung from the two side pylons.
When acting as a ground-attack aircraft, Stukas most often had wooden containers for ninety-two 2 kg fragmentation SC 2 aerial bombs; however, these had little effect against protected targets. Aerial bombs of a larger size, 250 and 500 kg, were used to attack such targets.
The engine's exhaust pipes were not covered with fairings, and die-stamped, corrugated steel strips for the crew were riveted to the centre wing section instead of rubber "tracks". The fork of the fuselage-mounted bomb rack was reinforced.
A system to jettison the main landing gear struts was introduced on the D-5 to enable an emergency landing on uneven terrain.
As the full-scale production of the D-5 variant continued, a number of changes were introduced to the structure to improve visibility from the cockpit, increase the crew's safety, and make the aircraft easier to pilot at low altitudes. The following were added to the covering of the cockpit canopy: an additional strut in the structure of the side glass panels, an additional direct-vision window in the sliding section of the canopy, and a convex blister over the armoured windscreen panel, for mounting the Revi C/12D gunsight.
The Ju 87 D-5 was the last variant of the Stuka whose full-scale production was significant. This variant was manufactured until the Stuka's production was discontinued in the late summer of 1944. A total of 1,190 aircraft were produced. A simplified variant of the D-5, named the D-6, was developed but never entered full-scale production.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See 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.
External links
| Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke Aktiengesellschaft) | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Ju 88 C-6 · Ju 388 J |
| Strike Aircraft | |
| Ju 87 | Ju 87 G-1 · Ju 87 G-2 |
| Bombers | Ju 88 A-1 · Ju 88 A-4 · Ju 188 A-2 · Ju 288 C |
| Ju 87 | Ju 87 B-2 · Ju 87 D-3 · Ju 87 D-5 · Ju 87 R-2 · Ju 87 R-2 Libya |
| Export | ▄Ju 87 D-3 · ▄Ju 87 R-2 · ▄Ju 88 A-4 |
| Germany bombers | |
|---|---|
| Arado | Ar 196 A-3 |
| Blohm & Voss | BV 138 C-1 · BV 238 |
| Dornier | Do 17 E-1 · Do 17 Z-2 · Do 217 E-2 · Do 217 E-4 · Do 217 K-1 · Do 217 M-1 |
| Focke-Wulf | Fw 189 A-1 · Fw 200 C-1 |
| Henschel | Hs 123 A-1 |
| Heinkel | He 111 H-3 · He 111 H-6 · He 111 H-16 · He 115 C-1 · He 177 A-3 · He 177 A-5 |
| Junkers | Ju 87 B-2 · Ju 87 R-2 · Ju 87 R-2 Libya · Ju 87 D-3 · Ju 87 D-5 · Ju 88 A-1 · Ju 88 A-4 · Ju 188 A-2 · Ju 288 C |
| Messerschmitt | Me 264 |
| Savoia-Marchetti | ▀S.M.79 serie 1 · ▀S.M.79 B · ▀S.M.79 serie 4 · ▀S.M.79 serie 8 |
| ▀S.M.79 AS · ▀S.M.79 bis/N · ▀S.M.79 bis/T.M | |
| Trophies | ▀Wellington Mk Ic |
