Without a doubt, the most recognized aircraft of the early war and the Blitzkrieg is the Ju-87 Stuka. Though Stuka is just an abbreviation of Sturmkampfflugzeug and basically means dive bomber airplane, that moniker has stuck to the Ju-87. It was later found that the aircraft, while very good at its job, needed fighter escort and was basically a sitting duck on its own. 

Removed from the fighting in Western Europe after disastrous losses in the Battle of Britain, the Ju-87 was a very competent aircraft in the friendlier skies of North Africa and especially Russia. The Stuka was an effective weapon until the end of the war in the Eastern Front.

One of the countries that used the Ju-87 was Italy. All attempts by the Italian aircraft industry to develop an effective dive bomber only produced the highly ineffective SM.85 and Breda 88. Fortunately for the Italian Air Force,  the persistence of the Italian air attaché in Berlin, a personal friend of Hermann Goering, was able to secure 100 Ju-87Bs and Rs. Later in the war, some Ju-87Ds were received, but were not in widespread use as the Italians left the war shortly after their delivery.

Maurizio Di Terlizzi's book is written by a modeler for modelers, and that is the strength of the book. There are 64 pages of information behind its card covers. There are a number of color pages in the book as well as the outside of the covers. A half dozen color profiles add to the spice of the book. The issue is quite well illustrated. Almost all the photos in the book were new to me. Only a very few photos had I seen before. It seems like most were from the personal collections of pilots and ground crews. This alone, to me, makes it worth picking up.

Like his other books, this one is dual Italian/English with the English in the right column. There is a short verbal history of the Ju-87 in Italian service with most of the 24 pages in this section dedicated to photographs. 

Next come the Modelling Features. Mr. Di Terlizzi is an accomplished 1/48 modeler. The 14 pages of this section have most of the color and are devoted to building and correcting the Hasegawa 1/48 Ju-87R and Ju-87D kits. Both are beautifully done. I could only hope to be able to produce works like this!

There then follows pages on colors and markings as well as closeups and drawings of various bits of the Stuka. In this final section is an interesting pilot history, 1/72 drawings of the Ju-87 B-2, R-2 and D-3 as used by the Italians. The appendices consist of a color conversion chart, list of available decal sheets and a list of accessories for the 1/48 Hasegawa kits. Finally a list of reference material.

This book seems to me to be a better read than the one on the MC.202. It just seemed to flow better. Subjective, I know but there it is. 

The book is really very well done and well researched. However, I am not able to leave the review without some suggestions for improvements in upcoming editions, and it all relates to the modeling sections.

First one is to put in something about available 1/72 scale kits, decals and accessories. This would, to me, increase the appeal of the book to those who do model in this scale. Building a 1/72 version would be a real asset as well. The Fujimi Stuka family of kits are really very nice and build into fine models. It would not hurt to remove a page or two of the completed 1/48 kits and put in a 1/72 version. 

Secondly, there is no mention of the other 1/48 Stuka kits on the market. I believe that Airfix and Monogram both make 1/48 Stukas. While not up to the same standards as the Hasegawa kits, at least they could be briefly reviewed. I have personally seen some very impressive Airfix Ju-87 models done as Airfix was the standard until the Hasegawa kits arrived.

Overall a very nice book and another that had me digging around in the kit dungeon for the Hasegawa Italian Stuka kit!

If you have any interest in the Ju-87 or Italian WW2  aircraft, you should add this book to your list. 

If unavailable from your local hobby shop or book store, you can order it direct from the distributor using the link below.

Review copy courtesy of Pacific Coast Models, Inc

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