Hobby Master Archive

On February 10th of 1943, Hans Rudel flew his 1000th mission and became a national hero to the German public. Rudel, who originated the idea of a tank busting Ju-87 was then posted to the new special “Panzerjagdkommando Weiss” unit (Experimental Detachment for Tank Combat) formed at Briansk to test the newly developed tank-busting version of Ju-87 D-3. A modified Stuka armed with two Rheinmetall-Borsig 37mm (BK) Flak 18 guns (each mounted in special canopy under each wing with 6 rounds of ammunition) was developed at the Luftwaffe’s experimental station at Rechlin (near Neustrelitz, Germany).

Prototypes were used at first against Soviet landing crafts in the Black Sea and in the space of three weeks, Rudel destroyed 70 such boats. In March of 1943, during a tank battle around Belgorod, Rudel knocked out his first tank with his new tank-busting Stuka. These modified Stukas where nicknamed Panzerknacker - Tank Buster or Kanonenvogel - Cannon Bird).