Junkers Ju 187

Ju 187
Role Dive bomber
Manufacturer Junkers
Primary user Luftwaffe
Developed from Junkers Ju 87

The Junkers Ju 187 was a projected dive bomber designed to replace the ageing Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. It was cancelled in 1943.

Design

By the time of the Battle of Britain the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka had proved very vulnerable to enemy fighters and needed replacement, so after rejection of the Ju 87F proposal a new dive bomber was designed under the designation Ju 187.

The projected aircraft kept some of the features of the earlier Ju 87, such as the inverted gull wing and two man crew. It would have added retractable landing gear, as well as improved armour and armament. Most notably, the Ju 187 incorporated a rotating vertical tail. When rotated down, the tail would give the air gunner, armed with a rear turret, an unobstructed field of fire. It is not known how the aircraft would have handled with the tail rotated.

The Ju 187 project was cancelled by the Reich Air Ministry in autumn 1943 because the aircraft's projected performance, when fully loaded, was estimated to be no better than the latest Ju 87D variant (estimated maximum speed: 248 mph (399 km/h)).

Specifications (Ju 187)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2 (pilot and gunner)
  • Length: 11.80 m (38 ft ​8 3⁄4 in)
  • Wingspan: 18.06 m (59 ft ​3 1⁄4 in)
  • Height: 3.90 m (12 ft ​9 3⁄4 in)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Junkers Jumo 213A 12-cylinder inverted-vee engine, 1,324 kW (1,776 hp)

Performance

Armament

  • 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in wing roots
  • 1 × 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in dorsal turret
  • 1 × 15 mm MG 151/15 cannon in dorsal turret
  • 1 × 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) bomb in semi recessed bay
  • 4 × 50 kg (120 lb) bombs on external wing racks
  • 4 × 250 kg (551 lb) ventrally

See also

Related development:

References

  • Herwig, Dieter; Rode, Heinz (2003). Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85780-150-4.

Further reading

Sources in English
Sources in German
  • Nowarra Heinz J.: Die deutsche Luftrüstung 1933–1945 Band 3. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1993, ISBN 3-7637-5464-4
  • RLM: V-Muster-Programm, November 1942
  • JFM AG: Anhang I der Aufsichts- und Verwaltungsratsitzung der JFM AG am 15. und 16. Mai 1942
  • JFM AG: Vierteljahresbericht für den Aufsichtsrat der JFM AG – Januar bis März 1942
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