Editing Junkers Ju 87 (section)

====Battle of Britain====
For the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe's [[order of battle]] included bomber wings equipped with the Ju 87. [[Lehrgeschwader 2]]'s IV.(St), Sturzkampfgeschwader 1's III. Gruppe and [[Sturzkampfgeschwader 2]]'s III. Gruppe, Sturzkampfgeschwader 51 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 3's I. Gruppe were committed to the battle. As an anti-shipping weapon, the Ju 87 proved a potent weapon in the [[Kanalkampf|early stages of the battle]]. On 4 July 1940, StG 2 made a successful attack on a convoy in the [[English Channel]], sinking four freighters: ''Britsum'', ''Dallas City'', ''Deucalion'' and ''Kolga''. Six more were damaged. That afternoon, 33 Ju 87s delivered the single most deadly air assault on British territory in history, when 33 Ju 87s of III./StG 51, avoiding [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) interception, sank the 5,500 ton anti-aircraft ship {{HMS|Foylebank}} in [[Portland Harbour]], killing 176 of its 298 crew. One of ''Foylebank's'' gunners, [[Jack Foreman Mantle|Leading Seaman John F. Mantle]] continued to fire on the Stukas as the ship sank. He was awarded a posthumous [[Victoria Cross]] for remaining at his post despite being mortally wounded. Mantle may have been responsible for the single Ju 87 lost during the raid.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2004|p=94}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Weal|1997|pp=66–67}}</ref>

During August, the Ju 87s also had some success. On 13 August the opening of the main German attacks on airfields took place; it was known to the Luftwaffe as ''[[Adlertag]]'' ("Eagle Day"). Bf 109s of [[Jagdgeschwader 26]] (JG 26) were sent out in advance of the main strike and drew off RAF fighters, allowing 86 Ju 87s of StG 1 to attack [[RAF Detling]] in Kent unhindered. The attack killed the station commander, destroyed 20 RAF aircraft on the ground and a great many of the airfield's buildings. Detling was not an [[RAF Fighter Command]] station.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2004|p=105}}</ref>

The Battle of Britain proved for the first time that the Junkers Ju 87 was vulnerable in hostile skies against well-organised and determined fighter opposition. The Ju 87, like other dive bombers, was slow and possessed inadequate defences. Furthermore, it could not be effectively protected by fighters because of its low speed, and the very low altitudes at which it ended its dive bomb attacks. The Stuka depended on air superiority, the very thing being contested over Britain. It was withdrawn from attacks on Britain in August after prohibitive losses, leaving the Luftwaffe without precision ground-attack aircraft.<ref>{{harvnb|Bungay|2000|pp=251–257}}</ref>

Steady losses had occurred throughout their participation in the battle. On 18 August, known as [[the Hardest Day]] because both sides suffered heavy losses, the Stuka was withdrawn after 16 were destroyed and many others damaged.<ref>{{harvnb|Weal|1997|p=83}}</ref> According to the Generalquartiermeister der Luftwaffe, 59 Stukas had been destroyed and 33 damaged to varying degrees in six weeks of operations. Over 20% of the total Stuka strength had been lost between 8 and 18 August;<ref name="Ward 2004, pp. 108–109">{{harvnb|Ward|2004|pp=108–109}}</ref> and the myth of the Stuka shattered.<ref name="Ward 2004, pp. 108–109"/><ref>{{harvnb|Weal|1997|p=66}}</ref> The Ju 87s did succeed in sinking six warships, 14 merchant ships, badly damaging seven airfields and three [[Chain Home]] radar stations, and destroying 49 British aircraft, mainly on the ground.<ref name="Smith, p. 51">{{harvnb|Smith|2007|p=51}}</ref>

On 19 August, the units of [[8th Air Corps (Germany)|VIII. Fliegerkorps]] moved up from their bases around [[Cherbourg-Octeville]] and concentrated in the [[Pas de Calais]] under [[Luftflotte 2]], closer to the area of the proposed invasion of Britain.<ref name="Smith, p. 51"/> On 13 September, the Luftwaffe targeted airfields again, with a small number of Ju 87s crossing the coast at [[Selsey]] and heading for [[RAF Tangmere|Tangmere]].<ref>{{harvnb|Wood|Dempster|2003|p=228}}</ref> After a lull, anti-shipping operations attacks were resumed by some Ju 87 units from 1 November 1940, as part of the new winter tactic of enforcing a blockade. Over the next 10 days, seven merchant ships were sunk or damaged, mainly in the [[Thames Estuary]], for the loss of four Ju 87s. On 14 November 19 Stukas from III./St.G 1 with escort drawn from [[JG 26]] and [[JG 51]] went out against another convoy; as no targets were found over the estuary, the Stukas attacked Dover, their alternative target.<ref name="Smith, p. 51"/>

Bad weather resulted in a decline of anti-shipping operations, and before long the Ju 87 [[Group (military aviation unit)|groups]] began re-deploying to Poland, as part of the concealed build-up for [[Operation Barbarossa]]. By spring 1941, only St.G 1 with 30 Ju 87s remained facing the United Kingdom. Operations on a small scale continued throughout the winter months into March. Targets included ships at sea, the Thames Estuary, the [[Chatham Dockyard|Chatham naval dockyard]] and Dover and night-bomber sorties made over the Channel. These attacks were resumed the following winter.<ref name="Smith, p. 51"/><ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2004|p=109}}</ref>