Achtung, Stuka!

Military divers began raising an ultra-rare World War II German “Stuka” dive bomber from the Baltic Sea floor this week, reports the Associated Press. Fishermen originally discovered the intact JU-87 in the 1990s off the German Baltic island of Ruegen in about 60 feet of water, according to AP‘s June 11 report. It is one of only three complete Stukas known to exist; the other two are on display at Chicago’s Science and Industry Museum and the RAF Museum in London, states the report. “From my perspective there’s a lot of damage—it’s been under water for 70 years—but our restoration crew says it’s in really good condition for being restored,” said recovery leader German Navy Capt. Sebastian Bangert in the AP report. The German Military Historical Museum, which is overseeing the recovery effort, plans to display the Stuka in Berlin once it’s restored. (See also AP‘s June 12 update, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.) (For more on the Stuka, see Air Force Magazine’s Airpower Classics entry from April 2008.)