The Stuka!

Rusty I believe they were actually air-driven sirens purposely designed to instill fear into the enemy below. When the pilot maneuvered his aircraft into it's "hell-dive".. the sirens would spool-up into a terrifying wail. At least that's how I think the story goes.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZ504TGDpE

Roddie, you are right about the sirens. Nazis were big on propaganda and psychological stuff, the wail of the sirens was part of that.

Similar propellers have been used for generators earlier, but not during the WWII I think.

Yeah, the NAZi's called them "The Trumpets of Jericho".



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5C7ePI-ma4

My Uncle Wayne's Stuka he gave me several years ago.  This is the same one Bobby and I flew as kids.  It was/is the flagship of his plastic RTF's and it was a BIG deal to be allowed to fly it.

Note how it's parked in my my white poster paper-diorama-blizzard!!!





Note: The Stuka in the video is a model I got from a good guy I call 'Stuka Willie'. I've since replaced it's wing, which had bent-back music-wire landing gear, with the molded gear legs, so it's not as prone to nose over on landing.

Kim, You shoot the BEST videos!!!!!!!

Thanks Roddie !

The Stuka was one of the tributes to German engineering. Probable the first really successful ground attack/dive bomber produced and more complex than most aircraft of the period.

Flying at 4,600 m (15,100 ft), the pilot located his target through a bombsight window in the cockpit floor. The pilot moved the dive lever to the rear, limiting the "throw" of the control column.[25] The dive brakes were activated automatically, the pilot set the trim tabs, retarded his throttle and closed the coolant flaps. The aircraft then rolled 180°, automatically nosing the aircraft into a dive. Red tabs protruded from the upper surfaces of the wing as a visual indicator to the pilot that, in case of a g-induced black-out, the automatic dive recovery system would be activated. The Stuka dived at a 60-90° angle, holding a constant speed of 500–600 km/h (350-370 mph) due to dive-brake deployment, which increased the accuracy of the Ju 87's aim.

When the aircraft was reasonably close to the target, a light on the contact altimeter came on to indicate the bomb-release point, usually at a minimum height of 450 m (1,480 ft). The pilot released the bomb and initiated the automatic pull-out mechanism by depressing a knob on the control column.[25] An elongated U-shaped crutch located under the fuselage swung the bomb out of the way of the propeller, and the aircraft automatically began a 6 g pullout.[25] Once the nose was above the horizon, dive brakes were retracted, the throttle was opened, and the propeller was set to climb. The pilot regained control and resumed normal flight. The coolant flaps had to be reopened quickly to prevent overheating. The automatic pull-out was not liked by all pilots. Helmut Mahlke later said that he and his unit disconnected the system because it allowed the enemy to predict the Ju 87s recovery pattern and height, making it easier for ground defences to hit an aircraft.

Physical stress on the crew was severe. Human beings subjected to more than 5 g forces in a seated position will suffer vision impairment in the form of a grey veil known to Stuka pilots as "seeing stars". They lose vision while remaining conscious; after five seconds, they black out. The Ju 87 pilots experienced the visual impairments most during "pull-up" from a dive.

Eric "Winkle" Brown RN, a British test pilot and Commanding Officer of Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight section, tested the Ju 87 at RAE Farnborough. He said of the Stuka, "I had flown a lot of dive-bombers and it’s the only one that you can dive truly vertically. Sometimes with the dive-bombers...maximum dive is usually in the order of 60 degrees.. When flying the Stuka, because it’s all automatic, you are really flying vertically... The Stuka was in a class of its own."

Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, Hon FRAeS, RN (born 21 January 1919) is a British former Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 different types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history. He also holds the world record for most aircraft carrier landings performed (2,407) and is the Fleet Air Arm's most decorated living pilot.

If Winkle rated the Stuka then it was an awesome aircraft.

However, unfortunately for Stuka crew, sending them across the channel during the Battle of Britain was not in their favour. Its flaws became apparent during the Battle of Britain; poor manoeuvrability and a lack of both speed and defensive armament meant that the Stuka required heavy fighter escort to operate effectively. They were an easy target for Spitfires and Hurricanes.

"Like shooting rats in a barrel!"

Very interesting information Ian. (I loved the vid clip too!) Military machinery in general has always fascinated me. Not so much for it's destructive capability.. but more from an engineering, research and development standpoint. It's unfortunate that this did not interest me as much when I was a young man.. or I could have possibly made a career of it. At 54 years old.. I can at least find it enjoyable as a hobby.

One of our model airplane legends, Mr. Dave Platt (yet ANOTHER of my heroes), was a main player in providing those air combat scenes.  Blended in with the full scale fighters and bombers, his Crazy-Realistic (at the time) R/C models garnered a lot of screen time. I've been searching through my pile of old magazine for a photo of him and his fellow pilots, posing with their movie planes...before blowing them to smithereens on camera!






I DO have an issue of Air Classics Magazine, devoted almost entirely to this great movie.  While I knew about Mr. Platt's 6-7 foot R/C's I had NO idea that these were also constructed!



The article also has a bunch of behind-the-scenes- photos...this one showing a rehearsal pass of one of the Spanish "109's".  The little flags mark the location of the charges used to simulate rounds striking the ground, which were unfortunately miss-timed in the first battle scene of their attack on the British Hurricanes...with the fighter apparently out-running it's bullets!







Back to the Stuka, the Germans had big plans for their sinister dive bomber, though internal political wrangling stopped this project also:  A Naval Stuka

RknRusty wrote:

EDIT: The guy on SH called the little red props "sirene props." I always thought they spun generators for electricity. "Generator props" is what I always called them. Which is it?

RE. the Siren props on the landing gear, my Stuka is complete except for one of those little sirens. Anybody have one they'd like to part with?
Greg

Great overview of the years and differences Mark! Thank you.
Greg

Sig Skyray wrote:

RknRusty wrote:

EDIT: The guy on SH called the little red props "sirene props." I always thought they spun generators for electricity. "Generator props" is what I always called them. Which is it?

RE. the Siren props on the landing gear, my Stuka is complete except for one of those little sirens.  Anybody have one they'd like to part with?
Greg

They're definitely generator props...but apparently (this is where fact from fiction becomes lost) once the propaganda/fear dept. discovered the loud noise from high speed dives, they were made to make even more noise or something to that effect.

roddie wrote:Very interesting information Ian. (I loved the vid clip too!) Military machinery in general has always fascinated me. Not so much for it's destructive capability.. but more from an engineering, research and development standpoint. It's unfortunate that this did not interest me as much when I was a young man.. or I could have possibly made a career of it. At 54 years old.. I can at least find it enjoyable as a hobby.  

Aye, greenie for interpreting my thoughts, Roddie.
TNX!
Bob

Finally found enough parts to assemble my Stuka, it took parts from 3+ models, I count 21+ parts, it is like a puzzle.
I would have not wanted to be the Cox employee that assembled this! Looks like the wing can go in last and one piece of the windscreen goes between the fuselage halves.
Any help on assembly is appreciated.

Looks like Cox utilized the flying version of German  " farfegnugen " while designing the assembly sequence!! ( driving you crazy).
Take your time, have tons of patience for the parts that keep falling off or out while trying to get the two halfs together.  
I've never done a Stuka, yet. I've got one that just may become a "parts for sale" if I don't find the necessary parts pieces to make it complete, or I'll just fly it with out a complete canopy, radiator, and spinners! It looks like it's been thru a few battles!
Hopefully, some one with experience will chime in and post the proper assembly sequence, or at least what they did to get the dang thing back together!

Start from the front work to the rear, rubber bands are your friend. I remember "farfegnugen" from many years ago.

Got my little Nazis all tucked in





Finished, still need a bomb, bombs and antenna go for big bucks on the black market.





Got a nice box to put it in

DUDE, You get a Greenie for assembling the Green Stuka!  Ha, rubber bands ARE your friend!  Looks superb, box and all...are you trying to start a collection of Shelf Queens?

Yes, shelf queen collection, thats me!! I'm running out of places to put stuff, this box is HUGE too!