By Adam Estes
Despite being one of the most famous dive bombers of World War II, the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka is today one of the rarest aircraft of that era. While only two examples survived the war intact (the R-2/Trop at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and the G-2 at the RAF Museum Hendon), a few other Stuka wrecks are now on display in Germany and Greece. Yet another is with the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum as part of a restoration project currently on hold. But the American Heritage Museum recently announced the acquisition of another Stuka wreck and plans to rebuild it so it could fly.
The war record of this aircraft is a little murky, but it is known that the aircraft served with I/SG 5 (First Gruppe, Schlachtgeschwader 5) in Finland and saw service on the Murmansk Front in the winter of 1944 under the code Q9+CH. The museum reports that the plane was lost on April 4, 1944. Leutnant Unteroffizier Walter Ernest and Unteroffizier Ernest Zenker were piloting the plane when they were forced to crash on a frozen lake after running out of fuel. The two men then detonated a grenade inside the cockpit to render the plane inoperable and launched themselves onto the ice. The wreck of Werknummer 131587 remained on the frozen lake until the spring thaw melted the ice it rested on and it was covered by the cold, murky depths below. 77 years later, the aircraft was recovered through the collaborative efforts of the RAF Museum, the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin and the Východočeské Museum in the Czech Republic. The project is currently being undertaken in Europe with the use of computer-aided design (CAD) to replace damaged and missing components and assist with manufacturing efforts, while the original inverted V-12 of the Junkers-Jumo 211 will undergo an overhaul without delay. .
This is a developing story in which new details may emerge from the depths, much like this Stuka. We will write future installments as updates become available to the public. If you would like to contribute to the project, visit the museum’s website at www.
