Wings Over Flanders Fields by OBD Software

New missions, flak. 917(1) covers the period from January through to April 1917 : the withdrawal of the German army to the Hindenburg Line, the diversionary Battle of Arras and Nivelle's great offensive in the Champagn. It was a period in which an Allied numerical superiority in the air was pitted against a technologically superior and increasingly well organised but still outnumbered German opposition, as the expansion in the RFC and RNAS saw hundreds of the older machines and under-trained air crew flooding into France. In the first months of 1917 the German army took the strategic initiative, following a period of poor weather that hindered the Allied recon. activity, with a well planned 'scorched earth' withdrawl to a prepared defensive line. British recon. and photo recon. resources were stretched to the limit, with scouts being drafted in to take on some of the work, as they desperately photographed and mapped the new German trench systems, whilst other two-seater units covered the advancing troops with low level contact missions. The advance was harassed in many places by German two-seater aircraft doing the same, and by aggressive but sporadic attacks by the German Jastas (although many of these were now in the south, to cover French preparations in the Champagn region). So much British effort was going in to recon., and on escorting the recon. aircraft, that Allied bombing switched to night bombing, of rail and communication centres, with little in the way of day bombing. The British then launched their attack on the Arras front at the beginning of April. The Art.Obs., particularly counter-battery work, now had the highest priority, along with tactical recon. and photo recon. missions along the front, with some scouts once again being drafted in to do some of the recon. work and also to attack the balloon line. Heavily escorted day bombing now resumed, mostly against rail centres, to try and stop the Germans bringing forward reinforcements. As the British threatened to break through at Arras the Germans drew in air resources from the south of the region, and the now numerically strengthened German fighter force (including new types such as the Albatros D.III) started to take a heavy toll on the British Corps machines, bombers, long recon., and their escorting scouts. On 14th April the French launched Nivelle's long awaited offensive in the Champagne, but the Germans had advance knowledge of the detailed planning for this and it ground to a halt, after very heavy losses that tore the heart out of the French army. By the end of April the French were back on the defensive and fighting at Arras was winding down. But new British aircraft types such as the SE5 and the Bristol Fighter, deployed too little and too late to have a significant impact, were already in France, and others such as the Camel and the DH4 were on the way...the pendulum was about to swing again as the British, having survived 'Bloody April' with the offensive doctrine intact, and despite heavy losses in the air, prepared for a major offensive in the north.

New mission, same new flak. 1917(2) covers the period May - December, starting with the winding down of the British Arras spring offensive and ending with the Battle of Cambrai in the autumn. During this period the French front was quiet, following on from the failure of Nivelle's offensive on the Aisne, and attention was now about to switch to the Flanders area. During one of the worst summers on record, wet and miserable, the British repeatedly tried to break through the well prepared German defences in Flanders - starting with the successful capture of the Messines-Wytschaete ridge in June, to prevent the Germans from gaining overlook of the preparations for the major British offensive of that year, the Third Battle of Ypres, that opened on 31st July but failed to make much progress, continuing sporadically after this initial failure into further assaults: on the Polygon Wood (end of September), Paschendaele Ridge (October), and then the Battle for Paschendaele itself between 30th October and 10th November. Finally, with the use of tanks, a partial breakthrough was achieved further south, at Cambrai, but it was ultimately a failure due to the lack of reserves needed to exploit the opening, and ended with a successful German counterattack south of Bourlon Wood. In this eight month period there was a considerable shift in air tactics on both sides of the line. The German air service, despite expansion by the end of the year to almost twice the size that it was at the start, was still struggling against numerically superior odds and an influx of British pilots now better trained, with technologically superior aircraft, and deployed in larger squadron-strength offensive patrols. To prevent the British regaining air supremacy over the vital 'active' areas of this front, the Germans responded by grouping their best pilots and Jastas into the first wing-sized formation, or Jagdgeschwader 1 "Richthofen's Circus", that could be moved along the front to wherever it was most needed. This had the effect, however, of taking the best pilots and units away from the 'quiet' sectors, and this allowed the British Corps machines to go about their daily photo.recon. and art.obs. missions in these areas with far less opposition than might otherwise have been the case. Both the British and the German air services also started to develop a doctrine of ground attack, a development of the 'contact patrol' into a full fledged 'battle' or 'protection' patrol aimed at the silencing or supression of the mg nests and hidden artillery batteries that formed the major obstacle to the advancing infantry (the product of a new doctrine of 'elastic' defence, developed first by the Germans along the Hindenburg Line and subsequently adopted by the British as well). Scouts, such as the DH5 and the Camel, were used for this by the British, whilst special 'Schutzstaffeln' two-seater units were used by the Germans. The period also saw the development of the first 'wireless intercept' missions on both sides, where the wireless signals from the enemy art.obs. aircraft were triangulated by listening posts along the line, and a pair or section of fighters, held at readyness, would be 'scrambled' to intercept (but often arriving too late). The British also extended the strafing and bombing missions into the German rear areas, targetting the lines of communication and airfields, whilst two-seaters would bomb the airfields and railway junctions by day and night. Despite these efforts the British had nevertheless failed to make a decisive breakthrough by the end of the year, and were about to be forced back onto the defensive as the German forces started to redeploy westwards after the end of the Russian campaign in the autum of 1917. The Germans knew that if they were to have any chance of winning the war in the west, they needed to strike now, before the USA's entry into the war tipped the balance decisively back in favour of the Allies...

New missions. 1918(1) January-April : German Spring Offensive in Pacardy and on the Lys. Poor weather in January restricted much British air observation, but as the weather improved it was clear, by February, that the German build-up was taking place against the British Third and Fifth Armies opposite the Cambrai salient. During this period Jagdgeschwader 1 was joined by two new German fighter wings, JG2 and JG3, to give the German air service a numerical superiority for the first time. But they were remaining quiet, for the most part, trying to conceal the extent of the build-up of air units in this sector, only bombing the British rear areas by night and sending out high altitude recon., photorecon. and art.obs. machines by day. The British responded to this build-up with a programme of intensive recon. and bombing of the German airfiels and rail network by day and by night. Fighter squadrons were also being used to attack airfields by day - in part, is an attempt to lure the German fighters into the air (mostly without much success). But the main work of the Corps machines was with their artillery units, ranging the guns on to enemy gun batteries, supply dumps and lines of communication in the front sectors. This was supported by the fighter units, flying squadron-strength 'Close' and 'Distant' patrols to keep the airspace over the front clear of German machines. On 21st March the German Spring Offensive was unleashed, aiming for Amiens. German two-seaters supported the attack with contact patrols, ground attack and art.obs., with the single-seater fighters flying above to protect them from air attack. As and when the weather allowed, British machines were also flying contact patrols and tactical recon. missions, with fighters flying line patrols and ground attack missions. The bombers were attacking rail junctions and bridges, mostly but not always, by night. After eight days of heavy fighting the German assault was held along the Amiens Defence Line, a line stretching from Mezieres to Ignaucourt and Hamel, and on 5th April the German attack towards Amiens was finally blocked, just ten miles short, at Villers Bretonneaux. On the 9th April the German focus switched to the Lys valley with a surprise assault on the weakly held British and Portuguese line in heavy mist. After the initial breakthrough and swift advance, this attack was also held, although in the ten days that it lasted the Germans managed to recover nearly all the territory lost to the British in the previouse autumn. By the end of April, however, both attacks had been halted. The Germans were aware, though, that a decisive breakthrough was still an urgent necessity - In April nearly 120,000 US troops had landed in France, to be followed by a further 220,000 in May and another 275,000 in June. German attention now switched again to the French sector, for one more throw of the dice before it would, finally, be too late...

New missions, May-July 1918. The German offensives on the Aisne, the Matz, and the Marne. During this period the technological pendulum started to swing back towards the Garman air service once again, as increasing numbers of the new types, and particularly the Fokker D.VII, started to give the German pilots an edge at high altitude over the Allied pilots. At the same time, however, the close infantry and combined armes support doctrines being developed and practised by both side brought the main focus of this air fighting right down to ground level, where the decisive moves were now being played out. After the failure to make a decisive breakthrough against the British Army in the north, the German focus of attention switched to the French sector. On the 27th May 1918 the German Army attacked the French and British positions on the Aisne. Within a few hours the Germans had punched a large hole in their line, crossing the Aisne and advancing for 12 miles, supported by ground attack and contact patrols flown by Schlachtstaffeln under an umbrella of near complete air supremacy provided by the Jastas flying above them. By the 29th May the German advance had reached Soissons, and was heading for Paris - only to be brought to a halt by US reinforcements rushed in to the defence at Chateau Thierry. This was followed by an Allied counter-attack at Bellau Wood on the 4th June, one that completely halted the German advance. The Germans once again shifted their focus of attack, and on the 9th June they launched their attack on the Matz. Once again they made swift early progress, 6 miles on the first day, but the French were ready for them this time and launched a counter-attack on the 10th July that halted the German advance. The Allied recon. and photo.recon work was intensified, as a further attack was anticipated, and the bombing of German rail centres began again, to try and disrupt the movement of German troops. When the third and final German attack was launched, it came on the 15th July, on the Marne against the French army around Rheims. But once again the attack was brought to a halt, on the 18th July, by an Allied counter-attack that pushed the German forces back right across the Marne. By the beginning of August Soissons had been recaptured and the initiative was once again in the hands of the Allies...

New missions. 1918(3) August-November. At the beginning of August the initiative passed back to the Allied armies. In the British sector Haig was planning an assault on the Amiens front -an attack by the British Fourth Army and French First Army, with massed tanks and aircraft to replace the long preliminary bombardments of the previous year. Air activity was increased on all British sectors, to conceal the point of attack and push back German recon. aircraft from the front. Bomber squadrons, heavily escorted, were tasked to attack airfields and rail centres - activity that was to be strongly, if selectively, opposed by large numbers of German fighters flying in groups of 20 to 40 aircraft, above the low-flying two-seaters on ground attack, counter-battery and contact patrols. The British and French offensive was launched on 8th August, concealed by a heavy ground mist. The German Army was taken by surprise, and Allied forces advanced by up to 8 miles on the first day. The British two-seaters concentrated on contact patrolling, counter-battery work and bombing behind the lines, whilst the fighters were used for ground attack and close offensive patrols. By 11th August, however, German resistance and reinforcements had brought the Allied attack to a halt. The British and French armies had advanced 12 miles. At the end of August another British and French assault was launched - this time, towards Bapaume with an assault to capture the Arras-Albert railway line along 33 miles of front, and a French assault between the British sector and Soissons. The aim this time was to overwhelm German forces and drain them of the capacity to counter-attack by attacking along a wide front. Bapaume fell on the 29th August, Peronne on 1st September. This sustained assault forced the Germany Army to retreat back from the Drocourt-Queant line to prepared positions further back, with Lens abandoned on 3rd September. On 12th September US forces launched at attack on the St. Mihiel salient, which was captured after just two days of fierce fighting. This was followed by a lull in the fighting, as preparations were made for the final Allied assault to break through the Hindenburg Line. Air fighting was intense throughout this whole period, and up to the end of October. The assault was finally launched with an attack towards Cambrai on the 27th September, followed by an attack in Flanders between Dixmude and St. Eloi on the 28th, and on the Hindenburg Line between Cambrai and St. Quentin on the 29th. By the beginning of October the Germany Army was in retreat, in almost all areas, although the air above the battlefield was still being strongly contested by the German fighter wings. On the ground, however, resistance was now crumbling fast, and German columns were in retreat along the roads back to Germany....

Corrects a very small error in v.1. There are no other changes.

After a lot of experimentation with plywood textures, I have come up with this version
of a Jasta 2 skin for an Albatros D.V (uprated).
It is meant to be a factory-new D.V, but with the hood and wheel covers painted in the
Jasta's dark green already. The white tail section was the Jasta's hallmark.
The wings even carry the line "Nicht auftreten!" (No step!)
 
I wanted to provide a skin with no special, personal markings, so that everyone can
attach their own designs, without building a totally new skin.
 
The underlying basic design I worked from is the work from our OBD skinners; and
without their great work I would have been lost.

This file will make your pilot wear a face mask and better goggles.
It does distort a bit strangely in parts, but it works okay.
 
You need to unzip it and put the two files from the folder here:
 
(your sim folder) > aircraft > shared
 
Best is to save the original files "PilotcapBrit1916-17.dds" and
"PilotcapHun1916-17.dds" first.
Enjoy!

ALBATROS D.V and D.Va Factory-new Johannisthal & OAW Skins / 1917 and 1918
 
Since several OFF-flyers had asked for generic skin templates which they could paint their
own emblems or decorations on to, I have made four such templates for the Albatros D.Va.
All four present the facory-new Albatros D.Va, freshly delivered.
I know that many of you are into weathering effects. Well, such effects can much easier be
added to a new plane, than to be removed. So please feel free to add as much weathering
and battle-wearing as you like.
 
While the D.V was only built by Albatros-Werke Johannisthal, the D.Va was also produced
at "Ostdeutsche Albatros-Werke" (OAW). I got a lot of help (see below) about the details of
these builds; the guys told me several differences between the two production lines.
Many may regard these as minor ones, and perhaps call us "nitpickers", but we wanted to
get it pretty close.
 
The differences I regarded here are these:
 
1. Albatros Johannisthal used salmon ribtape on the wings; OAW used light blue tape.
 
2. Crosses on fuselage sides were further back on Johannisthal planes than on OAW built ones.
 
3. The weight tables were different
 
4. Factory placards were placed under cockpit for OAW; on the nose onJohannisthal built ones.
 
5. Albatros-Logo looking in flight direction on the Johannisthal-, and rearwards on OAW-built ones.
 
Finally, there is proof that rudders were covered with upper dark Lozenge as well as light underside fabric. I didn't find any evidence so far for the OAW using the light, and Johannis- thal the dark fabric, but I wanted to present both versions and so I did it that way.
 
Although the work on these skins took me quite a long time, there surely are still many bits and details, which could be more correct, but I ask all nitpickers to overlook those, and still
enjoy the bird. These skins are made for your pleasure - and for your own paint shemes.
 
The helping hands, brains & eyes on this project were from:
 
elephant - nitpicking corrections and detail
 
Jim "JFM" Miller - help with detail pictures and some facts
Dave "Blowhard" Douglas - metal parts and wheel
 
Without your help I wouldn't have got so far - thank you guys!
I also wish to thank the OBD skinners for the countless skins with all
the historical details - you guys lured me into this hobby with your work.
 
 
HOW TO INSTALL A SKIN
 
Unzip the file(s) and move them into this folder:
 
[your sim] > campaigns > CampaignData > skins
 
You may change the Jasta number, but you must not - if you leave No. 1,
you would always find the skin faster in the briefing screen, where you
select a personal skin. Scroll below the historical ace skins, and mine
will be among the first skins.
You can, for your identification, change the names "Johannisthal" or "OAW"
into something personal, but keep the ending .dds - otherwise it won't work.
Enjoy!
 

ALBATROS D.V and D.Va Factory-new Johannisthal & OAW Skins / 1917 and 1918
 
Since several OFF-flyers had asked for generic skin templates which they could paint their
own emblems or decorations on to, I have made four such templates for the Albatros D.Va.
All four present the facory-new Albatros D.Va, freshly delivered.
I know that many of you are into weathering effects. Well, such effects can much easier be
added to a new plane, than to be removed. So please feel free to add as much weathering
and battle-wearing as you like.
 
While the D.V was only built by Albatros-Werke Johannisthal, the D.Va was also produced
at "Ostdeutsche Albatros-Werke" (OAW). I got a lot of help (see below) about the details of
these builds; the guys told me several differences between the two production lines.
Many may regard these as minor ones, and perhaps call us "nitpickers", but we wanted to
get it pretty close.
 
The differences I regarded here are these:
 
1. Albatros Johannisthal used salmon ribtape on the wings; OAW used light blue tape.
 
2. Crosses on fuselage sides were further back on Johannisthal planes than on OAW built ones.
 
3. The weight tables were different
 
4. Factory placards were placed under cockpit for OAW; on the nose onJohannisthal built ones.
 
5. Albatros-Logo looking in flight direction on the Johannisthal-, and rearwards on OAW-built ones.
 
Finally, there is proof that rudders were covered with upper dark Lozenge as well as light underside fabric. I didn't find any evidence so far for the OAW using the light, and Johannis- thal the dark fabric, but I wanted to present both versions and so I did it that way.
 
Although the work on these skins took me quite a long time, there surely are still many bits and details, which could be more correct, but I ask all nitpickers to overlook those, and still
enjoy the bird. These skins are made for your pleasure - and for your own paint shemes.
 
The helping hands, brains & eyes on this project were from:
 
elephant - nitpicking corrections and detail
 
Jim "JFM" Miller - help with detail pictures and some facts

Dave "Blowhard" Douglas - metal parts and wheel
 
Without your help I wouldn't have got so far - thank you guys!
I also wish to thank the OBD skinners for the countless skins with all
the historical details - you guys lured me into this hobby with your work.
 
 
HOW TO INSTALL A SKIN
 
Unzip the file(s) and move them into this folder:
 
[your sim] > campaigns > CampaignData > skins
 
You may change the Jasta number, but you must not - if you leave No. 1,
you would always find the skin faster in the briefing screen, where you
select a personal skin. Scroll below the historical ace skins, and mine
will be among the first skins.
You can, for your identification, change the names "Johannisthal" or "OAW"
into something personal, but keep the ending .dds - otherwise it won't work.
Enjoy!
 
Olham

 
 
<html>
Readme File 04/07/2011
 
HPW_GermanFM_Pack1.0 for OFF BHaH HITR Full Campaign and QC Battles
 
v1.0
 
by Herr Prop Wasche
 
Zip file contents:
 
HPW_GermanFM_Pack1.0\aircraft folder with aircraft.cfg and .air files for all Albatros scouts and Pfalz DIIIa scout.
readme.txt file
 
INSTALLATION: Important! This flight model mod is intended ONLY to be used along with Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler and should not be installed UNLESS JSGME has already been installed into your CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields game folder. With JSGME, installation and use of this, or any mod, is very easy. Simply extract the contents of the zip file into the MODS folder which is created when you install JSGME into OFF. The mod is correctly installed if you see this readme.txt and the following folder structure inside the MODS folder: HPW_GermanFMPack1.0\aircraft\Alb_DIII_AC1, etc. To load the mod, simply run JSGME, highlight HPW_GermanFMPack1.0, click on the top button, and then start your game. That's it!
 
Initial release 1.0
 
 
 
Thank you for downloading HPW's German FM Pack 1.0, the revised flight model for all Albatros scouts and the Pfalz DIIIa scout, used in Hat in the Ring, the official extension to Between Heaven and Hell, the WWI flight sim modification of CFS3 by OBD Software. This revised interpretation of the flight model, at this point, is for the Albatros and Pfalz DIIIa scouts ONLY (additional aircraft may be added in subsequent FM packs). The most significant changes to the FM of these planes involve changes to the top speed, ceiling, and dive speed in order to more closely comply with my understanding of the historical performance of these planes in WWI combat. Please refer to the following chart for a summary of these changes.
 
AircraftSpeed @ 500 ft.Speed @ 3281 ft.Speed @ 10,000 ft. CeilingMax Dive Speed *D II105.75 mph (3.25) 110.0 mph (4.0) 103.25 mph (2.75) 16,500 ft. 204 mph (-10.0)D III early106.5110.0103.518,000237.0D III107.25111.0105.018,000240.0 (15.0)D III OAW 106.5110.75105.2518,000237.0 (15.0)D V110.0 (3.0)114.5 (3.0)108.25 (3.25)18,250244.0 (-7.0)D V later110.25114.5108.2518,250247.0 (-10.0)D Va112.5 (4.0)116.5 (4.0)112.25 (5.75)18,250238.0D Va 200113.5 (2.5)118.75 (2.75)115.25 (3.25)19,500242.0 (-15.0)Pfalz DIIIa105.75 (3.25)109.75 (3.0)106.75 (3.25)18,750245.0 (22.0)
 
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate speeds compared to measured OFF speed readings, with a positive number indicating a faster speed using the new FM and a negative number indicating a slower speed using the new FM. Differences of less than two mph are not noted.
 
* From 10,000 feet
 
The most noticeable differences are the slight increases in speeds for the Albatros DII, DV, DVa, and DVa200, as well as the Pfalz DIIIa. At the same time, the ceiling for the DII has been reduced by about 2,000 feet to reflect its somewhat poorer performance at high altitude. Dive speeds have also been increased in a few cases, and decreased in most other cases, in order to reflect the relatively slow dive speeds of most WWI airplanes, and to better reflect their comparative dive performance. For instance, the dive speed of the Pfalz has been increased to reflect its superior dive performance compared to most other German scouts in WWI.
 
Another major change to the Albatros series of planes from the DIII early to the DVa involves an increase in their maximum G's so that these planes should no longer lose a wing in a tight turn, except in very exceptional circumstances. On the other hand, Albatros DIII's and DV's are now more susceptible to losing a lower wing in a steep dive, due to excessive wing twisting caused by the effects of high speed on the lower wing spar of these so-called "V-strutters." For the ultimate in realism, I recommend when you first start flying with the new FM enabled, that you temporarily enable advisor messages and simulation warnings in Workshop in order to give you an idea for when you might be overstressing a wing in a dive. Then, after one or two flights, disable the messages--but don't make a habit of exceeding 170 mph or so in a dive for more than 1,000 to 2,000 meters or you may be sorry!
 
Finally, perhaps the most significant change to the FM of all of the planes in this mod involves a few slight adjustments to the center of gravity and center of lift settings in order to try and solve a problem that seems to effect the Albatros' and a few other planes in the stock game: the dreaded "hanging stall" or tail-first slide into the dirt which makes kills against AI pilots flying these planes very easy in most cases. With this FM mod, the AI seem to do a better job of avoiding this poor flying behavior at both high and low altitudes, making dogfights against these opponents much more challenging. Of course, no mod is perfect, and I cannot claim that I have completely solved this problem. Still, I think the flying behavior of most of the planes in this mod has been significantly improved.
 
Again, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to OBD Software for their help in the making of this revised version of the flight model. As always, with the exception of the tweaks contained in this mod, all work on the original flight model remains the sole work and property of OBD software. Finally, I would also like to especially thank the following OFF fanatics who helped me in the research, development, and testing of this mod: Creaghorn, Hellshade, Olham, RAF_Louvert, Bletchley, Lewie, and anyone else whose name I have accidently forgotten. Thanks, guys! If you have any questions or experience any problems with the installation of this mod, you can reach me at www.combatace.com, then look for the Over Flanders Field forum. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the mod. Happy flying! HPW </html>
 
 

 
 
Readme File 04/07/2011
 
HPW_AlliedFM_Pack1.0 for OFF BHaH HITR Full Campaign and QC Battles
 
v1.0
 
by Herr Prop Wasche
 
Zip file contents:
 
HPW_AlliedFM_Pack1.0\aircraft folder with aircraft.cfg and .air files for Re8, Sopwith Pup, and Sopwith Triplane.
readme.txt file
 
INSTALLATION: Important! This flight model mod is intended ONLY to be used along with Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler and should not be installed UNLESS JSGME has already been installed into your CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields game folder. With JSGME, installation and use of this, or any mod, is very easy. Simply extract the contents of the zip file into the MODS folder which is created when you install JSGME into OFF. The mod is correctly installed if you see this readme.txt and the following folder structure inside the MODS folder: HPW_AlliedFM_Pack1.0\aircraft\Re_QC1, etc. To load the mod, simply run JSGME, highlight HPW_AlliedFMPack_1.0, click on the top button, and then start your game. That's it!
 
Initial release 1.0
 
Thank you for downloading HPW's Allied FM Pack 1.0, the revised flight model for selected Allied scouts used in Hat in the Ring, the official extension to Between Heaven and Hell, the WWI flight sim modification of CFS3 by OBD Software. This revised interpretation of the flight model, at this point, is for the Re8, Sopwith Pup, and Sopwith Triplane ONLY (additional aircraft may be added insubsequent FM packs). The most significant changes to the FM of these planes involve changes to the top speed, ceiling, and dive speed in order to more closely comply with my understanding of the historical performance of these planes in WWI combat. Please refer to the following chart for a summary of these changes.
 
AircraftSpeed @ 10,000 ft.* Speed @ 3281 ft. Speed @ 500 ft. Ceiling Max Dive Speed **Pup103.75 (5.75)98.25 (-6.25)94.50 (-12.50)19,000 ft. 216 (-36.0)Triplane 101.50 (-11.50)108.75 (-9.25)111.75 (-10.25)18,500226 (-50.0)Re898.75 (-5.00)99.00*** (-12.50)94.75 (-12.75)16,000216 (-8.0)
 
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate speeds compared to measured OFF speed readings, with a positive number indicating a faster speed using the new FM and a negative number indicating a slower speed using the new FM. Differences of less than two mph are not noted.
 
* in mph
** From 10,000 feet
*** 102.0 mph @ 6500 ft.
 
The most noticeable differences are the decreases in speed for all of these aircraft. For instance, the Re8 was reported to have had a top speed of 102 mph at 6500 ft. However, in the unmodified game, its top speed was measured to be 111.5 mph at 3281 ft. Therefore, I reduced its speed to more accurately reflect its historical performance. Similarly, the Sopwith Triplane was reported to have had a top speed of 112 mph, but in the game, its top speed was measured to be 122.5 mph. The other major change in the FM of these planes was to reduce the maximum dive speed to more historical levels. Again, in the unmodified game, the Sopwith Triplane has the highest dive speed in the game at more than 275 mph! With the new FM, the Tripe now has a dive speed that, in my view, corresponds more closely to the historical record. Please note that in most other respects, such as ceiling, climb, and turning radius, these planes perform just as well, and in some cases even better, than they do under the stock game. If you are a German pilot, you are still likely to get shot down if you try to engage either the Pup or the Tripe in a turning dogfight.
 
Another change to the FM I made in the case of the Sopwith Pup involved the same adjustments to the center of gravity and center of lift settings I made on the Albatros series and the Pfalz in the German FM pack in order to try and reduce the dreaded "hanging stall" or tail-first slide into the dirt that the AI tends to do on occasion. However, the problem is much less severe with the Pup, so my changes here were comparatively minor. As additional planes that have this problem are identified, I will issue further FM mods to try and deal with this problem. Of course, no mod is perfect, and I cannot claim that I have completely solved this problem. Still, I think the flying behavior of the Pup, Albatros, and Pfalz has been significantly improved with these FM mods.
 
Again, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to OBD Software for their help in the making of this revised version of the flight model. As always, with the exception of the tweaks contained in this mod, all work on the original flight model remains the sole work and property of OBD software. Finally, I would also like to especially thank the following OFF fanatics who helped me in the research, development, and testing of this mod: Creaghorn, Hellshade, Olham, RAF_Louvert, Bletchley, Lewie, and anyone else whose name I have accidently forgotten. Thanks, guys! If you have any questions or experience any problems with the installation of this mod, you can reach me at www.combatace.com, then look for the Over Flanders Field forum. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the mod. Happy flying! HPW
 
 

.
 
Here is the next in the series of WWI British ordnance survey maps: the Lens Sector of France, Map 11. I’ve again assembled this one from many high quality screen captures of the original example, which resides in the Lloyd Reeds Map Collection of McMaster University’s online library, (my sincere thanks to that fine institution for providing this and many other original WWI maps free of charge). After reassembling the image I cleaned it up a bit and it's now ready to work along side the Tournai and Hazebrouck maps.
 
Again, I hope those of you who fly OFF using paper maps and compass will find this wonderful old map useful.
 
Cheers!
 
Lou
 
.
 
 

This RAR contains my little-tiny Mods:
 
REWORKED TRACER TEXTURES: with increased luminosity but reduced in size by 60% from OFF originals.
(Compatible with Creaghorn's tracer mod).
 
SPANDAU SOUND: original spandau sound by Winston, including adjusted external sound by me).
Also included, bullet impact sounds by Creaghorn.
 
START UP SOUND FOR GERMANY: "Contact-Clear" sound replaced by a German equivalent taken from a real Start up sequence of Mikael Carlson's Fokker VII.
 
The mods are ready to use via JSGME.
Just drop them into your MODS folder and enable.
Otherwise, follow the the folder structure of each mod to manually install them.
(Back up the original files first, just in case)...
 
 
 
July 2011
Spyros Tsimas
"elephant"

My modded ViewUI.xml presents a smaller "TAC" screen;
and also softer, less loud colours of the "Labels" - they merge more with the sky and landscape.
 
The file has to be placed here:
 
[your computer name] > AppData > Roaming > Microsoft > CFSWW1 Over Flanders fields
 
You don't need to back up the original file, because there is a
"MasterCopy of ViewUI.xml", which you can always activate by deleting the "MasterCopy of".
Enjoy!

This is a fictional design (though hopefully believable) of a Fokker DVIIF of Jasta 10
 
Please feel free to have fun with it..use it as you will.
 
Many thanks as usual to OvS and all at OBD for allowing us to use their original skins

ArcMod alters the arcs of fire for the observers' guns in all OFF Phase 3's 2-seaters (except the the twin-Lewis-gunned FE2b and the fixed-Lewis BE2c). The aim is to provide a better experience for 2-seater missions and campaigns, whether flying or gunning, and without making life too much more difficult when flying scouts and attacking them. The spur for this was the quite severe limits in the stock arcs, which sometimes prevents gunners from firing when it looks like they should. If manning the gun yourself, it becomes very clear how severely how your arcs of fire are limited, downwards in all directions, especially.
 
The main change is that ArcMod increases the depression limit for all aircraft (exceptions above) from 10 degrees stock, to 25 degrees. Elevation has been changed from 30 degrees (stock, except Brisfits) to 45 degrees (roughly the same as the stock Brisfit), again across the board. This will obviously give all observers a significantly better field of fire, including yourself when manning the gun, and thus a better chance of survival when attacked.
 
Lateral fields of fire have been adjusted a little. Stock, there was a fair bit of variation but I have instead put planes into two groups - those with observers sitting roughly level with a wing trailing edge get 90 degrees either side (0=fully aft) while those who can fire ahead over the upper wing (just the Hannover, Brisfit, Roland) get around 160 degrees, leaving just a small-ish gap dead ahead.
 
These new arcs are all somewhat arbitrary of course. Greater tho they are, they are still less than the theoretical maxima; but I hope they still take some account of the practical limits for effective fire, within the limits of the game engine. For example, I realise observers had some field of fire forward between the wings, but I have stuck with something close to the stock OFF approach, limiting the ability to fire ahead to those who planes whose observers can readily fire ahead over the upper wing, without risk to struts or wires - the Hannover, Brisfit and Roland.
 
ArcMod still leaves a significant 'blind spot' underneath in all directions, but it is naturally a smaller one and on balance I think is much more realistic. There is still a considerable blind area ahead as well, except for the Hannover, Roland and Brisfit. By comparison, the Rise of Flight DFW CV has much greater depression and has 360 degrees traverse (tho it will damage its own aircraft, unlike OFF).
 
Readme with installation instructions included (JSGME recommended)

This map is mostly useful for German flyers.
It shows the area from St.Quentin (top left corner), to Reims in the bottom right half.
 
Some German airfields in this map, and some of the Jastas there (among others):
 
Boncourt: 14, 21, 50
Chambry: 2, 26, 27, 36
La Selve: 13, 15
Marchais: 14
Puisieux Ferme: 4, 6, 10, 11
Sissone: 1, 9, 21, 50
 
The roads are the yellow lines.
More useful for navigating in OFF are the railroad lines (black). Enjoy!

This map was made after an American WW2 map.
The railways were pretty much the same, and the map works fine for OFF.
I have added many airfields.
 
The map consists of 4 parts, which can be used as single letter sized prints,
as well as glued together to one bigger map.

This map was made after an American WW2 map.
The railways were pretty much the same, and the map works fine for OFF.
I have added many airfields.
 
The map consists of 4 parts, which can be used as single letter sized prints,
as well as glued together to one bigger map.

This map was made after an American WW2 map.
The railways were pretty much the same, and the map works fine for OFF.
I have added many airfields.
 
The map consists of 4 parts, which can be used as single letter sized prints,
as well as glued together to one bigger map.

This map was made after an American WW2 map.
The railways were pretty much the same, and the map works fine for OFF.
I have added many airfields.
 
The map consists of 4 parts, which can be used as single letter sized prints,
as well as glued together to one bigger map.

If you have found it frustrating that many enemy planes, even inferior ones, seem to be faster and are able to stay above and/or ahead of you in combat, you may want to try this mod. It prevents computer-flown ('AI') enemy planes in Campaign missions from enjoying the performance advantage they get from flying at the plane's empty weight, while player-flown aircraft, more realistically, take account of pilot, ammo and fuel/oil loads.
 
Not compatible with other Flight Model mods; likely to be OK with Damage Model mods.
 
See Readme for full details.

ThisAlbatros D.V would have flown in 1917.
It's black tail marking would fit with the Jastas 12, 16, 17 or 32.
I have left off my personal black and white "M" marking, so that you can add your own
emblem, sign or letter here.
The skin is based on the original Albatros D.V skin file from OBD, and I would like to
thank all OBD skinners for their inspiring great works. Thanks also to elephant, who
helped me with many details and photos.
 
Extract the file to your desktop. Then change "Jasta X" to the desired Jasta number; like "Jasta 12".
You can also change "MySkin" into your own name.
 
Then put the file into the skins folder in your sim:
 
CFSWW1 Over Flanders fields > campaigns > CampaignData > skins
 
Enjoy!

This mod improves your ability, without visual aids, to locate (and react appropriately to) aircraft being engaged by AA fire. It does this by permitting use of the 'Hard' Workshop setting for ground guns (which setting reduces the 'spread' of AA bursts by increasing accuracy), but reducing both rate of fire (which 'Hard' setting also increases) and lethality. With FlakMod, it's easier to make out if enemy planes under AA fire but which you can't yet see are higher or lower, coming or going, so you can make tactical decisions while you still have options.
 
Thanks are due to Bletchley, for permission to modify and use some files from his excellent 1917 Mod. If using the latter, FlakMod probably needs to be enabled/installed on top/afterwards.