Posted on 06/11/2012 1:43:47 PM PDT by greatdefender
BERLIN (AP) — German military divers are working to hoist the wreck of a Stuka dive bomber from the floor of the Baltic Sea, a rare example of the plane that once wreaked havoc over Europe as part of the Nazis' war machine.
The single-engine monoplane carried sirens that produced a distinctive and terrifying screaming sound as it dove vertically to release its bombs or strafe targets with its machine guns. There are only two complete Stukas still around.
The Stuka wreck, first discovered in the 1990s when a fisherman's nets snagged on it, lies about 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the coast of the German Baltic island of Ruegen, in about 18 meters (60 feet) of water.
The divers have been working over the past week to prepare the bomber to be hoisted to the surface, using fire hoses to carefully free it from the sand. They have already brought up smaller pieces and also hauled up its motor over the weekend.
They are now working to free the main 9-meter (30-foot) fuselage piece and expect to bring it up on Tuesday, depending on the weather, said Capt. Sebastian Bangert, a spokesman from the German Military Historical Museum in Dresden, which is running the recovery operation.
Initial reports are that it is in good condition despite having spent the last seven decades at the bottom of the sea, he said.
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The Sherman crews called them "Ronsons" (popular WWII cigarette lighter) because they always lit up the first time (from a hit by the 88s). The Germans called them "Tommy Cookers" for the same reason.
Note a vain attempt to up-armor it by welding extra plates on the side - which the Germans used for aiming points. 
There was always an eleventh Sherman to finish off the Tiger. Too bad for Shermans 1-10.
Why did we make Shermans if they were so inferior? Because they were easy to produce and operate (for an army of civilians you didn’t need a long training time), as well as they were probably the fastest tank in WW II. When the US Army broke out of the Hedgerows, they could’ve ended the war before Christmas if they had gotten the fuel.
——All they were doing is following orders. Even though Bombing Warsaw was wrong,they had only carry out orders- or face harsh punishment. ——
Same kind of fear upon our troops when they order National Guard and the Regular Army to help TSA-SS skunks kill us if a riot or insurrection is provoked to keep the Communist-Islamist regime in power.
Hitler decided to build two tanks that were better than the Mark4, hence the Panther(arguably the best tank in WWII)and the Tiger deadly but slow and vulnerable to artillery. Once we got to Europe we were out classed but by the end of the War we had the M26, sporting a 90MM gun and better armor and other improvements. Not many of them saw action, we built the M4 Sherman in such numbers that we overcame the Panthers and the Tigers by sheer numbers, it usually took 4 Shermans to knock out either a Panther or a Tiger. Even though we could well afford to lose the Shermans we couldn't afford to lose the tank crews that died with them.
Perhaps by the same reasoning as bombing civilians Baghdad is "defending our country".
War is hell and never without civilian casualties inflicted by those who are only following orders.
Not to pick nits...but when they were in vogue, the stupas were offensive...being used to conquer.
I got to meet Robert L. Scott during the 1990’s. This was at a historical society meeting in SE Georgia. Someone asked him what he thought of the Japanese pilots.
He simply said “they were fighting for their country just like I was fighting for mine”.
That is all he said. Probably nothing more needed saying.
Had the Stukas not rained fire on civilians, or the Japs stayed in their own sea, our men would not have had to kick their asses. Our guys would have been just as happy sitting at home.
Something to remember when we go to war with China. They have factories now.
It was essentially the A-10 of WWII. If you had air superiority on the western front it was good, and on the eastern front it was unreal. Rudel was an ace in it in air to air combat, and, IIRC, had a higher number of AtoA kills than most if not all western theater pilots in addition to sinking a battle ship, destroying about 570 tanks confirmed on ground and securing the German withdrawal from Romania by telling them his unit would pay a visit if they molested the retreat...
The Hs 129 started picking up some of the ground attack slack late in the war, but Stuka’s were up on the east front until the end.
I did not know of Rudel’s air-to-air kills. Didn’t he fly the version with the two underwing anti-tank 40mm cannons? I guess they could be used on planes. Did any version of the Stuka have a forward firing machine gun for the pilot?
indeed ... they sowed the wind ... and reaped a deadly whirl wind ...
Nice? Why I’m the soul of civility Reb. Tell me, how many Rebels did Lincoln gas?
I think the Russian Stormovik was closer to the A-10 in performance.
I remember the first time, Erich Hartmann (352 confirmed kills) tried to shoot down one of them, he was amazed that his bullets just bounced off.
The older pilots told him you had to get close and shoot from underneath them. Otherwise they had so much armor that it was very difficult to shoot one down.
We should never forget the Wilhelm Gustav either. 8000 men,woman and children killed trying to escape Koenigsburg. Not being sympathetic to the nazis its just a travesty that they sunk a refugee ship. The Russians that is. FLAME AWAY.
The A-10 is up there to. With that 30mm gun in the front. Beautiful to some and scary ugly to others.
Rotterdam 1940....Holland had already surrendered....how was bombing Rotterdam defending Germany?
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