JU 87 D-3 "Stuka" "white 183" Royal Romanian Air Force, Jassi, 1943 Scale 1/72 HA0155

JU 87 D-3 "Stuka" "white 183" Royal Romanian Air Force, Jassi, 1943 Scale 1/72 True 1/72 scale Assembled except for optional weapons that are provided Professionally painted All markings are pad applied to give you the best quality. Stand provided or display on wheels Spinning propeller Extensive use of metal with minimum plastic Highly collectable The Stuka was terror from the sky during the Blitzkrieg of Europe where there was little air opposition. Things changed with the Battle of Britain where they came up against Hurricanes and Spitfires. The much slower Stuka didn’t have a chance against the superior speed and agility of the fighters and suffered heavy losses. The Stukas were removed from the Western Front and sent to the Balkans to assist the Italian Air Force fight the Greeks and Yugoslavians. Frustrated by the inability of the Italian Air Force in North Africa to defeat a force many times smaller in size the German Ju-87’s were assigned to do the job. Here they once again were able to apply the tactics they had first become so well known for. Allied air power was almost non- existent during the early stages of the North African Campaign and the Stuka was able to inflict heavy losses on British troops and equipment. Once Allied aircraft were sent in numbers to North Africa the Stuka once again faltered from lack of speed and their airbases had to be moved further back from the front lines to escape the British artillery. Eventually after heavy losses the Dora’s and other Ju-87’s were withdrawn from North Africa. The Eastern front eventually became a shooting gallery for the Mig’s, Yak’s and numerous other Soviet planes as the Ju-87 was recklessly thrown in to battle with the hopes of turning the fortunes of war. Late 1940 through 1943 the Royal Romanian Air Force (Fortele Aeriene Regale ale Romaniei – FARR) received 155 Ju-87s of variants -1, -2, -3 and -5s to replace the obsolete French and British aircraft they had been using. The aircraft were given to the 3rd Dive Bomber Group and also later the 6th Dive Bomber Group operated within the 3rd Bomber Flotilla. Their main task was to provide air support for the ground troops which they did and received much praise from the troops and the Fliegerkorps. In June 1944 the group were flying missions in support of the Axis troops fighting on the River Mius. Then in July the 3rd Dive Bomber Group was moved to the Kerch peninsula to provide air support for troops at the Kuban bridgehead. The Stukas were tasked with many types of missions and within 2 to 3 months had suffered damage to 31 of the 45 aircraft they received. On August 20, 1944 Soviet forces began an offensive at Yassy (Jassy – Jassi – Iassy) and Tiraspol in eastern Romania. The attacks by the 3rd and 6th Romanian Dive Bomber Group managed to destroy or damage a lot of Soviet equipment but were unable to stop their progress. On August 23, 1944 realizing that they were supporting the losing side Romanian King Michael announced that his country had reached an armistice with the Allies and they were about to switch sides. They now helped the Soviets liberate parts of Romania that were under German control. By late 1944 the Romanian Air Force once again found themselves with limited numbers of aircraft and a scarcity of spare parts so their effectiveness basically came to an end at this time.