a Germansingle-engine, two-seater military airplane used before and mainly during World War II (1939-1945) by the German Air Force. Stukas could carry one 1,100 pound (500kg) bomb or one 550 pound (250 kg) bomb plus two smaller ones. To drop the bombs, the pilot would take the plane into a near vertical dive at its target and, while still diving, release the exploding projectiles and only then pull into a straightflight for escape. Both the planes and the bombs were fitted with a device that produced an unearthly screamingsound during its dive. The Stuka's appearance, its screamingdive and bombing accuracy made its attacks especially terrifying. The planes however were relatively slow and most of them were destroyed during the early years of the war by the faster fighter planes of the British Air Force. Stuka is an abbreviation of Sturzkampfflugzeug, the Germanword for dive-bomber.a German two-seated dive bomber used by the Luftwaffe (German air force under the Nazis) in World War II.