| abstract | - BK-37 equipped ground attack aircraft were developed for use in the anti-tank role on the Eastern Front in a somewhat desperate effort to blunt the massive numerical superiority of the Soviet T-34 as the war turned against Germany. The concept was rather rudimentary, suffered from various issues (primarily poor accuracy, severe weight penalty making the craft vulnerable to fighters, and a low ammunition capacity), but could be extremely effective when operated by a sufficiently skilled and practiced ground-attack pilot (Hans-Ulrich Rudel in his BK-37 armed Stuka being the ultimate example). The heavy caliber autocannon-armed series of Ju 88P twin-engined attack aircraft series used twin BK 3,7 cannon, mounted side-by-side in a conformal ventral fuselage gun pod, in its Ju 88P-2 and P-3 versions. The P-3 version only differed through the addition of extra defensive armor. As with other examples of the P-series, the Ju 88P-2 and P-3 were perceived as failures in both anti-tank and bomber destroyer role. In contrast to the previous method (bombs delivered by dive bombing), when the BK-37 was employed in a top attack profile against the especially thin upper turret and engine compartment armor of a tank, kills could be achieved with a relatively light and cheap armor piercing projectile that could be carried in much greater quantities than bombs, but would be insufficient to penetrate if fired horizontally from the ground in the normal method. This was the first known implementation of a medium airborne cannon in the top down anti-tank role, and was the direct inspiration[citation needed] for later designs such as the 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger equipping the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Although revolutionary, the concept was implemented too late and in too few numbers to appreciably impact the course of the war for Germany. One of the two surviving Junkers Ju 87s is a G-2 model displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum London. The aircraft's wings have the attachment points for BK 37 gun pods, but it is not displayed with them fitted.
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