Strong and sturdy

From the Archives

The Junkers Ju 87, known as the Stuka, was built to be sturdy. The fixed under-carriage was not only simple to construct, it was also very strong. Fitted with oleo-pneumatic shock-absorbers, the Ju 87 had very good ground-handling characteristics and could be operated from rough, unprepared air strips. As a close air support aircraft, it could advance with troops on the ground without requiring specialist infrastructure to be built.