Article from Aviation wrecks.
Junkers Ju 87R-4 Stuka (the “R” in this variant referring to Reichweite - basically referring to operational range). From what I have seen, the bulk of this particular aircraft rebuild is W.Nr. 0875709 built in 1941 and first served with Lehrgeschwader 1 (Demonstration Wing 1), and then with Sturzkampfgeschwader 5 (1./St.G 5, Dive Bomber Wing 5) with the markings of Stammkennzeichen LI+KU in northwestern Russia near the Finnish border. In April 1942, it was shot down by Soviet fighters while on a mission at Murmansk and crashed in a wilderness west of the city. There it lay until the early 1990s when a private collector recovered it and had it shipped to England. In 1997, it was acquired by the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin. Paul Allen’s Vulcan Warbirds, Inc. acquired it in 2010 and began a rebuild process in 2013 using the bulk of that aircraft as well as parts of another (I have not determined which one) as well as newly manufactured wings. It is now at Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum on Paine Field in Everett, Washington, where it is on display during the rest of the rebuild and it will be made airworthy and as such, should be the only airworthy Stuka in the world, and may be finished by the middle of 2020 by in-house crew. My photos of the aircraft, its original wings, and a Rheinmetall AG Bordkanone BK 3,7 autocannon (onboard cannon 3.7 cm).
Junkers Ju-87 "Stuka” (Sturzkampfflugzeug or “dive bomber"). Its Jericho-Trompete ("Jericho trumpet") sirens and double-spar inverted gull wings are certainly iconic sounds and looks of World War II. It first saw combat in the Spanish Civil War. Powered by a Junkers Jumo 211 D engine with a crew of two. Armament varied by version, but could include two fixed 7.92 mm MG 17 forward-facing and twin 7.92 mm MG 81Z rear-mounted machine guns for the rear-facing gunner, and could carry a 250 kg. bomb under the fuselage - attached to an arm which brought the bomb away from the propeller when released - and a pair of 50 kg. bombs under each wing - or fuel tanks in their place. The Jericho-Trompetes were on the leading edges of the main landing gear legs and were electrically (solenoid) engaged by the pilot and had a brake or clutch that kept them from engaging until the dive brakes were engaged - and were known to remain engaged even after the dive brakes were released, leaving them on all the way back to base. The aircraft had an autopilot that brought it to a dive when the dive brakes were engaged and brought it out of a dive once the bomb was released (in the event the G-forces caused the pilot to pass out). There were many variants produced during its production run through the war, even though considered "obsolete" by the outbreak of the war. It served with a number of Axis forces and an estimated 6,500 of the aircraft type were built.
