Ju 87G
With the G variant the aging airframe of the Ju 87 found new life as an anti-tank aircraft. This was the final operational version of the Stuka and was deployed on the Eastern Front starting in the early months of 1943. The Ju 87G was armed with two 37 mm cannons mounted in under-wing gondolas, each loaded with a 6-round magazine of armour piercing tungsten ammunition. With these weapons the Kanonenvogel ("cannon-bird"), as it was nicknamed, proved spectacularly successful at the hands of the Luftwaffe ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel. The G-1 was converted from older D-series airframes retaining the smaller wing but without the dive brakes. The G-2 was similar to the G-1 except using the extended wing of the D-5 with 208 G-2 new built and at least 22 more converted from D-3 airframes.
While still slow, its stable attitude, large wings and low stall speed were valuable in the acquisition of slow moving targets, such as assault boats and ground vehicles. The G-1 even influenced the design of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, with Hans Rudel's book, Stuka Pilot, being required reading for all members of the A-X project.
Can I please have the cannon bird...
.....!?
