<sod>The reverse in German military fortunes after 1943 and the appearance of [[Soviet armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II|huge numbers of well-armoured Soviet tanks]] caused Junkers to adapt the existing design to combat this new threat. The [[Henschel Hs 129B]] had proved a potent ground attack weapon, but its large fuel tanks made it vulnerable to enemy fire, prompting the RLM to say "that in the shortest possible time a replacement of the Hs 129 type must take place."<ref>Griehl 2001, p. 274.</ref> With Soviet tanks the priority targets, the development of a further variant as a successor to the Ju 87D began in November 1942. On 3 November, [[Erhard Milch]] raised the question of replacing the Ju 87, or redesigning it altogether. It was decided to keep the design as it was, but to upgrade the power=plant to a [[Junkers Jumo 211J]], and add two {{convert|30|mm|in|abbr=on}} cannon. The variant was also designed to carry a {{convert|1000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} free-fall bomb load. Furthermore, the armoured protection of the [[Ilyushin Il-2]] ''Sturmovik'' was copied - a feature pioneered by the 1916-17 origin [[Junkers J.I]] of World War I [[German Empire|Imperial Germany]]'s [[Luftstreitkräfte]] - to protect the crew from ground fire now that the Ju 87 would be required to conduct low level attacks.<ref>Griehl 2001, pp. 274–275.</ref><eod>
<sod>The reverse in German military fortunes after 1943 and the appearance of [[Soviet armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II|huge numbers of well-armoured Soviet tanks]] caused Junkers to adapt the existing design to combat this new threat. The [[Henschel Hs 129B]] had proved a potent ground attack weapon, but its large fuel tanks made it vulnerable to enemy fire, prompting the RLM to say "that in the shortest possible time a replacement of the Hs 129 type must take place."<ref>Griehl 2001, p. 274.</ref> With Soviet tanks the priority targets, the development of a further variant as a successor to the Ju 87D began in November 1942. On 3 November, [[Erhard Milch]] raised the question of replacing the Ju 87, or redesigning it altogether. It was decided to keep the design as it was, but the power-plant was upgraded to a [[Junkers Jumo 211J]], and two {{convert|30|mm|in|abbr=on}} cannons were added. The variant was also designed to carry a {{convert|1000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} free-fall bomb load. Furthermore, the armoured protection of the [[Ilyushin Il-2]] ''Sturmovik'' was copied - a feature pioneered by the 1916-17 origin [[Junkers J.I]] of World War I [[German Empire|Imperial Germany]]'s [[Luftstreitkräfte]] - to protect the crew from ground fire now that the Ju 87 would be required to conduct low level attacks.<ref>Griehl 2001, pp. 274–275.</ref><eod>