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.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
GGG Ping!
Hope they all get restored.
Should have left it there, I’m not sure that the residents of Rotterdam and Warsaw want to see anymore Stukas in their lifetime.
I wonder if the man that was flying it is still there. A Stuka is extremely rare, but it’s also a mans coffin, and tomb. They should leave it there.
I always thought the Stuka was a beautiful plane.
I have read that, although an effective dive bomber, it was basically a sitting duck for enemy fighters.
Actually two men if they are still there.
I remember when I lived in Norfolk, a local school found remains of a British Hospital near Yorktown. Also a burial ground.
They started excavating it then got a letter from the British Embassy asking them to leave the graveyard alone as it contained the remains of British soldiers. I think they agreed to leave it undisturbed.
My father shot one down back in the 40’s. Somewhere in France I think.
Hans Ulrich Rudel thought it was the best ground attack aircraft ever, and ran up a record to prove it. However the Germans replaced it with a fighter-bomber version of the FW-190.
In any case, there are are only two surviving intact Ju-87s. I hope it is intact enough to restore it.
Just like the Arizona in Pearl Harbor, Titanic, Lusitania, Battleship Bismarck, etc..
One thing is interesting is that many US troops called the Sherman tank "Purple Heart Boxes" due to the fact they were weak compare to the Germans 88 Tiger Panzers.
No matter which side they fought for, they fought for the defense of their country; and that is something we cannot take away from them.
“it was basically a sitting duck for enemy fighters.”
It had fixed landing gear which didn’t make it much of a match for modern fighters.
Speak for yourself.
How the heck is bombing civilians in Warsaw "defending their country"?
All they were doing is following orders. Even though Bombing Warsaw was wrong,they had only carry out orders- or face harsh punishment.
The Stuka JU-87 dive bomber is without a doubt the most sinister, evil-looking combat aircraft ever made. With it’s gull-wing design and fixed landing-gear looking like talons it so much resembles some nightmarish mechanical bird of prey. It looks like it wants to kill you.
So were the guards at Auschwitz.
Boy, irony is sure lost on you, ain’t it Reb?
If you want to compare Lincoln to Hitler I can go there. Just trying to be nice.
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