Free after all-nighter, i puled an all-dayer today. Though i haven’t been working all day, it feels like that and even sounds good. I set off to school at the usual almost late time, and arrived home after played an hour of tabletennis after the last lesson. Came home, worked, then i went touring with my friends.
Settled in our favourite and traditional pub, we spent about 3 hours in there talking about anything.
But if i continue this way, this post will be painfully short for you to read. After all, i switched back to 1+1 posts per day, so at least i should write long ones.
My songs for today are Scar Symmetry – Deviate From The Form, Alice Cooper – Sex, Death and Money, Dream Theater – War Inside My Head and HammerFall – Riders On The Storm. Still mixed, but this time all are related to metal at some level. Kinda =).
Oh, and the word for today (a tradition’s started now) is Sturzkampfflugzeug (german bomber plane in the WW2), or Stuka for short, or if you’re a military maniac, then Junkers Ju-87. As Wikipedia writes:
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was the best known Sturzkampfflugzeug (German dive bomber) in World War II, instantly recognisable by its inverted gull wings, fixed undercarriage and siren.
The Stuka’s design featured some innovative features, including an automatic pull-up system to ensure that the plane recovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high acceleration, and wind-powered sirens on the wheel covers that wailed during dives to scare its victims. These were named “Trumpets of Jericho” by Junkers and were an early form of psychological warfare.(A similar technique is shown in the movie Apocalypse Now). Its rugged fixed undercarriage allowed it to land and take-off from improvised airstrips close to the battlefront, giving close support to the advancing German forces.
Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective, the Stuka suffered from low speed and manuverabilty, with little defensive armament making it highly vulnerable to enemy fighters. The Germans learned in the Battle of Britain that air superiority must be obtained before ground attack aircraft could be effectively used. After the Battle of Britain, the Stuka was little used in western Europe, but it remained effective further south where Allied fighters were in short supply (notably in the attacks on Crete and Malta), and was used in vast numbers on the Eastern Front, although the steady rise in Soviet airpower as the war progressed meant that Stuka squadrons suffered very heavy losses.
More than six thousand Ju 87 were built between 1936 and August 1944.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the most notable Stuka ace, and in fact the most highly decorated German soldier of the war.
