The Ju87D was up-armored from the previous variants (technically the E would've been also). It also had some machine gun mounts for the cockpit that might have warranted it LDA, but it was faster, larger, and tougher than the pre-war and early war JU87B and R from WotC. Comparing its speed to other WWII DB's it was more comparable to the Val especially, but also in line with the Dauntless and the Sturmovik. One comment about the Val credited it with "German-like toughness".
The team felt that the acknowledged up-armoring, and increased speed and ruggedness as well as the comparison of the later Ju87 models to the warplanes could justify the +1 armor boost. Not pushing LDA also brought a little justification into the idea that it was just part of the unit's core stat. Hence armor 5.
It does make the odd situation where both exported Ju87's are "better" in some area than the native German planes, though the Ju87D and the E are a pretty tight race.
This obviously leads to the necessity of developing a better Stuka for the Germans. Get cracking, guys!
Still one of my favorite games of all time, even if all the local players have quit or moved on. The opening of boosters, sorting of the ships, painting, and eventually playing to check out the new toys, ah, what memories.
Try playing a game with Cruisers and DD's only, allowing 1-2 each of subs and air. A very enjoyable alternate version of the game, and cruisers really show what they are best at. After all, in real life BB's were few and far between, and it was cruisers that held the line.
And one clarification. The British Destroyer book is focused on the pre-war classes, those from the end of WW1 and how they were updated for different tasks in WW2.