- Details on planes like the German Stuka, the American Dauntless, the Japanese Aichi D3A1 "Val," the Soviet PE-2, and numerous others - Riveting accounts of aerial combat - Includes maps, diagrams, tables, and photos For many, it is a dive bomber that conjures the most dramatic, quintessential image of World War II: a screaming German Stuka hurtling toward the ground as part of the frightening blitzkrieg that opened the war. In this illustrated history of Allied and Axis dive bombers, Peter C. Smith traces these formidable aircraft from the earliest experiment, through the planes' first operation, to their emergence as devastatingly effective tools of aerial warfare in World War II.