The JU-87 STUKA(the word for dive bomber) flew for the first time in 1935, and it entered production in 1937 with large trousered landing gear and full equipment for dive bombing, including a heavy bomb crutch that swung the missile well clear of the fuselage before release. During the Spanish Civil War, without serious enemy fighter opposition, the JU-87 proved ideal for the mission, able to dive very steepy at relatively slow speeds with an automatic pull-out device, yielding excellent accuracy. In Poland, the Low Countries and France the JU-87 was terribly effective and it repeated its success in Greese, Creta and parts of the Russian front. But, During the Battle of Britain the show STUKA with its fixed landing gear was slaughtered by Allied fighters and was withdrawn to attack targets which were not heavily defended. In 1942~45 its main work was close support in the Russian Front where it was an exceptional tank killer. The JU-87G-1 version carrying two 37mm flack cannons in underwing pods. Hans Ulrich Rudel, the most decorated Luftwaffe pilot of the war, claimed 519 Russian tanks. Throughout the war STUKA production was repeatedly ordered to end, only to be restarted since there were very few aircrafts so specialized to take its place.