A BRADFORD on Avon historian has written a book on one of Germany’s most fearsome Second World War Luftwaffe dive-bombers.

The Somerset publishing company Haynes has turned its sights on the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber, which came to symbolise the terror of the German blitzkreig.

The manual, published this month, has been written by Jonathan Falconer, who has already penned more than 30 books on aviation and military history.

The 56-ueaer-old, of Downs View, said: “Stukas were in the vanguard of virtually every campaign fought by the German Army in the Second World War and their appearance over a battlefield could quickly turn a desperate situation into a victory on the ground.

“However, the tables turned during the Battle of Britain in 1940 when the Ju 87 was confronted by better-equipped adversaries and, later, when the war changed in character.

“The Stuka’s star began to wane, although it remained a potent ground-attack aircraft on the Eastern Front.”

His manual describes how the Junkers Ju 87 was designed and constructed and offers insights into what it was like to fly and maintain the gull-wing dive-bomber.

“A huge amount of research is involved in any book like this, particularly a factual one,” said Mr Falconer, who writes in his spare time.

Having previously written a number of Haynes manuals on British military aircraft, the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka manual is his first title to look at a Second World War German military aircraft.

The manual is supported by a comprehensive selection of more than 300 photographs and technical drawings, many of which are previously unpublished.

Mr Falconer said: “It involved translating documents from the German state archives in Koblenz and obtaining photographs from private collections.”

Of the more than 5,700 Ju 87s that were built during the war, only a handful now survive that are substantially complete.

Mr Falconer’s last book was the Haynes RAF 100 Technical Innovations Manual, written to celebrate last year’s 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force.

He also has two other books on military aviation due for publication this year.