Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombing pilot’s perspective

Seen in the clip is the pilot’s perspective as a Luftwaffe Ju 87 Stuka dives on a railway marshaling yard in Poland in 1939 The diving procedure was as follows: Flying at 4,600 m (15,100 ft), the pilot located his target through a bombsight window in the cockpit floor. The pilot moved the dive lever to the rear, limiting the “throw“ of the control column. The dive brakes were activated automatically, the pilot set the trim tabs, reduced his throttle and closed the coolant flaps. The aircraft then rolled 180°, automatically nosing the aircraft into a dive. Red tabs protruded from the upper surfaces of the wing as a visual indicator to the pilot that, in case of a g-induced black-out, the automatic dive recovery system would be activated. The Stuka dived at a 60–90° angle, holding a constant speed of 500–600 km/h (350–370 mph) due to dive-brake deployment, which increased the accuracy of the Ju 87’s aim. When the aircraft was reasonably close to the target, a light on the contact altimeter (an altimeter equ