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We start with a look at the development of the two weapon systems. For the Stuka this covers its period as a dive bomber as well as the development of the gun armed versions used as tank busters. For the T-34 we go from the initial need for a new tank after earlier Soviet vehicles proved to be inadequate, the different designs considered (including the possibility of producing a vehicle that could run on wheels or tracks).
The Technical Specifications chapter focuses on the Ju 87D and Ju 87G, the two types used as anti-tank weapons. The key difference was that the Ju 87G carried two 37mm cannon, giving it some serious firepower but at the cost of increased weight and even worse manoeurability. The T-34 chapter focuses on the T-34/76
The Strategic Situation chapter begins with a look at why the Germans began to use the Ju 87 as an anti-tank weapon, when it hadn’t been designed for such pinpoint work, and hadn’t really been used in that role in earlier campaigns. The key was the appearance of the T-34, which in 1941-42 was technically superior to any German tank (although often lost in very large numbers for other reasons). On the Soviet side we look at the massive effort that went into producing the T-34 in such impressive numbers, and the changes in Soviet formations since the start of the German attack.
The section on the Combatants tells you a lot about the differences between the two totalitarian regimes. On the German side the Stuka crews were carefully selected and trained, becoming very proficient at their tasks. On the Soviet side the first senior tank officer we meet, Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov, was a victim of Stalin’s purges and lucky to survive a spell in Siberia, before being called back to the army after the poor performance in Finland. The men under his command were mainly raw recruits. Tank training was pretty rushed at the best of times and got shorter as the war went on. An extract from the memoirs of Vasiliy Bryukhov gives us examples of having to train on foot, with each trainee pretending to be a tank, and of only firing three tanks shells during his only practical session in his initial training!
After a brief introduction to tank combat the Combat chapter looks at the German research into how to damage a tank from the air. This showed that bombing wasn’t terribly effective – only a direct hit, or a near miss with a bomb that hit at just the right angle so it didn’t dig into the ground or bounce away could knock out a tank. Closely gathered tank formations were more vulnerable, with a large air strike capable of disrupting the formation. A new type of small hollow charge tipped bomb was needed, but wouldn’t arrive until 1944. Accounts of attacking tanks with bombs demonstrate just how difficult it was. However the 37mm anti-tank cannons on the Ju 87G turned the aircraft into a much more potent anti-tank weapon. The bulk of the combat accounts of this version come from the German side, and as one might expect tend to focus on the successes of the type. However as the analysis chapter points out in 1944 the Soviets lost 13,800 T-34s, the vast majority of them to causes other than Stuka attack. We do get told how many Stukas were produced, but not how many were lost.
This is an interesting look at the last major use of the Ju-87 Stuka, which found a new use on the Eastern Front after being largely forced out of use in the west. The sections looking at the research into how the aircraft could destroy tanks is of particular interest, and combines with the combat accounts to show how difficult this could be, but at the same time how effective in very skilled hands.
Chapters
Chronology
Design and Development
Technical Specifications
The Strategic Situation
The Combatants
Combat
Statistics and Analysis
Aftermath
Author: Robert Forsyth
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 80
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2023