**** DONE: Junkers Ju 87D of Slovak Air Arms - Aircraft In Foreign Service GB

**imalko** · 11-17-2011 08:20 PM

Username: imalko
First name: Igor
Category: Category 2/Intermediate
Scale: 1:72
Manufacturer: Fujimi
Model Type: Junkers Ju 87D-5 Stuka
Details: “White 3” (civil registration “OK-XAC”) allocated to Letka 11, Slovak Air Arms, Piešťany, June 1944
Decals: Blue Rider Slovak Air Force 1939-1944 1/72 scale decal sheet

**imalko** · 11-17-2011 08:22 PM

Junkers Ju 87 Stuka in Slovak Air Arms

Prewar Czechoslovakia was unevenly developed country with industrialized regions of Bohemia and Moravia and mostly rural Slovakia. The field of aircraft industry was no exception. Pressed with overall obsolescence of it’s Air Arms and reluctance of German Reich to deliver larger number of modern aircraft, wartime Slovak State made efforts to develop it’s own aircraft industry. As by 1941/42 all Slovak requests for deliveries of Ju 87 dive bombers were repeatedly rejected by the Germans, decision had been made to arrange a licence production of Stukas in Slovakia. Thus a joint Slovak-German company was formed under the name “Slovenská továreň na lietadla“ (Slovakian Aircraft Company). New factory was located at Trečianske Biskupice in objects originaly build for the branch of Czech “Mráz“ Company. Under the conditions of the licence contract 75% of all production was to be supplied to the Luftwaffe.

With new company finaly established by 1943, Slovakian Ministry of Defence ordered 20 examples of Ju 87D-5 in March of that year. This was fallowed in August by additional order for another 30 aircraft. Deliveries to the Air Arms were continuously posponed however, due to the slow pace of production and the priority of deliveries for the Luftwaffe. (In the meantime some 25 Stukas were even delivered to Romania.) Only in early June 1944(!) first four Ju 87D-5s were delivered to Slovak Air Arms. And even then, these four aircraft were not supplied directly from the factory, but were released from the batch already intended for the Luftwaffe. For ferry flight from Nový Dvor to Piešťany they received civilian codes OK-XAA, -XAB, -XAC, -XAD. Another six aircraft were delivered to Air Arms in July, thus finaly enabling the formation of one dive bombing squadron (letka). Pilots and ground personel of Letka 11 (formerly a fighter unit) started intense training programe with new aircraft at Piešťany airfield.

Service of Junkers Ju 87 Stuka with Slovak Air Arms was short lived however. On 26th July 1944 five Stukas were flown to Spišská Nová Ves, where they were to remain stored as a strategic reserve of Air Arms Command, while remaining aircraft continued service with Letka 11 at Piešťany. By late August preparations for allout Uprising against the Germans were well under way, with involvement of part of the Army, including many high ranking officers. Aircraft stored at Spišská Nová Ves were secretly prepared for use in the Uprising. However, during overall confusion on the first day of the Uprising and in remarkable twist of fates all Slovak Stukas, both those at Piešťany and Spišská Nová Ves, fell into German hands and were later used against the insurgents.

Typical are events at Spišská Nová Ves, where, it’s only fair to say, all five Stukas were lost by sheer negligence of two senior officers - Major Guljanič (commanding officer at the airfield who flew off on a KL-35 to the insurgent territory on 30th August leaving his men without orders and to their fate) and Stotnik Haluzický (who gave instructions to prepare Stukas but failed to sent pilots which would flew them to the insurgent territory). Chief mechanic Ján Knapp and handfull of men remained at Spišská Nová Ves until morning of 31st of August waiting in vain the arrival of pilots for Ju 87s. Because of that they didn’t want to damage the aircraft. As the Germans were quickly approaching the airfield, they left in a great hurry leaving undamaged aircraft to fall into enemy hands.

All Slovakian Stukas were newly build machines with only 5-8 flying hours at the time of delivery. They were painted in standard German dive bomber color scheme RLM 70/71/65 with Slovakian crosses painted in four wing positions and on the tail fin. Junkers Ju 87D-5 which is the subject of this build was part of the first batch of four aircraft flown from Nový Dvor to Piešťany in June 1944. The aircraft carried small number “White 3“ on the rudder and civilian codes “OK-XAC“ on the fuselage. Same as other Slovak Stukas at the time of delivery it appeared in factory clean condition.