Operation Desert Shepherd

[+331Killerbee]

I've spent more time on Carriers, (CV,CVN,LPH,LHA's) Carrier Qualin', SitReps, Alpha's........Than I ever deployed on Land Base.....In our crest, it does say "Department of the Navy"........

 

Went on a Det on an LHA that left Japan and made it off the coast of Isreal in just short of two Weeks....

 

 

 

331KillerBee

[+Piecemeal]

Went on a Det on an LHA that left Japan and made it off the coast of Isreal in just short of two Weeks....

 

 

 

331KillerBee

 

 

So my estimate of twelve days from start of campaign to the arrival of the 'Department of the Navy' wouldn't be too far off the mark then?

[charlielima]

Here's a question for the member who's becoming my personal expert on US Naval activities :

 

With regard to trying to sort out start dates, how long roughly would it take a carrier like Midway to sail from Yokosuka to the Middle East in time of war? I suppose you'd have to take into account the threat of Soviet subs during wartime.

 

Also, it's just a thought but after reading of all the interest by other members of a 'beefed up' friendly squadron deployment, I might do up an 80s version of the stock campaigns - with normal squadron numbers and perhaps RAF and other friendly air forces deployed.

 

Ah Sugar! I should have the answer to this pinned on my sleeve. We were on the Coral Sea, same class carrier. We "sailed" hell bent to leather from Singapore to the Suez Canal. We only diverted to cross the equator so all sailors aboard could share the secrets of the deep with king neptune and all that stuff. It was still serious cold war sailing tho. Did the boat go in a straight line? No. The skipper would take the boat towards really snotty weather so the Bears couldn't find us. We would also drag 3 screws (1 Prop turning) so subs would think we were a merchant. Back then we operated as if we where an RCH away from WW3 starting. I'll have to say 1 1/2 weeks. I believe the ship would have a head start tho. Captains perogitive, planned deployment and the pre positioning style strategery that occured then. No Bears found us. It sounds like Killer might have more sea time then me here.

:ph34r: CL

Edited January 19, 2009 by charlielima

[+331Killerbee]

CL is right....2 Weeks tops. With Supply Ships, Support Ships and all. All depending on how fast through the Canal Zones.

 

Of course, MAU's are always out. (MAF's nowadays) They are in every Ocean. 24/7. One in every "Major" Ocean. An All-Navy Task Force may be faster, depending on Objective. Alantic Fleet is quicker to the Persian Gulf than the "PAC" Fleet....The "I.O." crossing making a difference.

Edited January 19, 2009 by 331Killerbee

[jtin]

That's extremely fast... how fast were you sailing?

 

Is the carrier start date issue because of your date format:

 

Tour[01].Start=07/21/1986

Tour[01].End=02/01/1987

 

as mm/dd/yyyy instead of mm/yyyy

 

For example in WoV's stock Rolling Thunder (patched up to oct 08):

 

Tour[01].Start=8/1964

Tour[01].End=5/1965

 

(or try getting rid of the zeroes in front of your numbers - maybe that format only works for single missions)

Edited January 19, 2009 by jtin

[+Piecemeal]

So my premise of the Midway arriving on the 21st is fairly accurate then. I noticed that when testing the campaign, the USN squadrons usually start withing three days of the 21st. They still sometimes start on the 9th though. Would love to sort that out. I don't think the Midway would be that fast. I've set the USN squadron start dates up in such a way as to see how the land based squadrons will get on before they arrive. So when you're flying for, say, the Mercenaries from the 9th, the resources should be pretty worn down by the time the seaborne cavalry arrives on the 21st or thereabouts.

 

 

BTW, it's just an idea, but does anyone know if you can change these entries to, say, 120 in order to simulate the professionalism and sheer A2A genius of Aggressor squadrons?

 

[AirUnit003]

AircraftType=IAI_F-21A

UnitName=VF43

ForceID=1

Nation=USN

DefaultTexture=43

BaseArea=D6 Airfield

RandomChance=100

MaxAircraft=16

StartAircraft=16

MaxPilots=16

StartPilots=16

Experience=100 <----------

Morale=100

Supply=25

Intelligence=100 <---------

[charlielima]

CL is right....2 Weeks tops. With Supply Ships, Support Ships and all. All depending on how fast through the Canal Zones.

 

Of course, MAU's are always out. (MAF's nowadays) They are in every Ocean. 24/7. One in every "Major" Ocean. An All-Navy Task Force may be faster, depending on Objective. Alantic Fleet is quicker to the Persian Gulf than the "PAC" Fleet....The "I.O." crossing making a difference.

 

The Midway had a pretty lean and mean battle group.

1 maybe 2 fast frigates and one Spruance class destroyer, the Oldendorf.

Nothing to slow us down. The fast attack oilers could do more knots then the carrier could.

I worked with the Oly. Sometimes I thought the Oly was the high value unit of the group.

In the cold war the IO was relatively wide open.

The Med would be a meat grinder for all ships if the balloon went up.

A handfull of Tango, and Foxtrot boats could pretty much pave the bottom of the Med with steel.

The Soviets had way more subs then those 2 types there.

:ph34r: CL

Edited January 19, 2009 by charlielima

[+Piecemeal]

Another question I've been trying to find an answer on the net for without much luck;

 

Does anyone know if any of these ANG units were equipped with the F-4E in 1986:

 

120th TFS - Colorado ANG

121th TFS - DC ANG

136th TFS - New York ANG

174th TFS - Iowa ANG

188th TFS - New Mexico ANG

 

These squadrons are from the stock SF2 squadronlist. There's also the 104th TFS Maryland ANG but I found out on the net that they were operating A-10 Hogs in '86, so they're off the list.

 

While I was in town today I thought to myself that if I was going to try and be historically accurate with Navy/Marine squadrons I might as well give the ANG squadron the same treatment.

 

Who knows, if none of these were equipped with the F-4E then I might move a step up and see if any were equipped with the F-15A or F-16A. I read on some web page that ANG squadrons started receiving the F-16A in '86.

[charlielima]

Another question I've been trying to find an answer on the net for without much luck;

 

Does anyone know if any of these ANG units were equipped with the F-4E in 1986:

 

120th TFS - Colorado ANG

121th TFS - DC ANG

136th TFS - New York ANG

174th TFS - Iowa ANG

188th TFS - New Mexico ANG

 

These squadrons are from the stock SF2 squadronlist. There's also the 104th TFS Maryland ANG but I found out on the net that they were operating A-10 Hogs in '86, so they're off the list.

 

While I was in town today I thought to myself that if I was going to try and be historically accurate with Navy/Marine squadrons I might as well give the ANG squadron the same treatment.

 

Who knows, if none of these were equipped with the F-4E then I might move a step up and see if any were equipped with the F-15A or F-16A. I read on some web page that ANG squadrons started receiving the F-16A in '86.

 

You Bet. Any F-4 Squadron in the fray would equal more fun to all.

Don't Forget The Gulfs /Weasel Phantoms. An F-4G /F-4E Hunter Killer package would be slick.

:ph34r: CL

[+Piecemeal]

Dave,

 

As regards glitches with squadron start dates, I've been in touch with JSF Aggie and he thinks that I may have discovered a bug in SF2. JSF is doing the same kind of thing with Desert Storm, delaying the start of a good few land based squadrons. He's using WOE (Oct'08 patch) as the campaign platform and doesn't have any problems.

Just typical innit?! I get to within inches of the summit and my rope snaps....

The campaign is still playable though. I'm not sure as to whether I should leave it for the time being until the next SF2 patch is available or whether to release it.

My better judgement is telling me to leave it on the HD for the time being.

[bucklehead101]

I know the 90th TFS at Clark had their F-4Es into the early '90s.

[+Piecemeal]

Just a quick update for anyone who's interested.

I've tested Operation Desert Thunder on SFG. Although I had to assign some different aircraft types the campaign was basically the same.

No problems regarding start dates . They all started on the dates they were supposed to.

 

 

I may actually release it as an SFG campaign and re-release it when certain bugs are sorted out in SF2.

 

Watch this space my friends

[Guest pfunkmusik]

Would love to know the exact location that new campaigns go into in SF2.

 

pfunk

[Vampyre]

Another question I've been trying to find an answer on the net for without much luck;

 

Does anyone know if any of these ANG units were equipped with the F-4E in 1986:

 

120th TFS - Colorado ANG

121th TFS - DC ANG

136th TFS - New York ANG

174th TFS - Iowa ANG

188th TFS - New Mexico ANG

 

They are as follows,

 

120th TFS operated A-7D/K's Corsair II's from 74 to 92

121st FIS operated F-4D Phantom II's from 81-90

136th FIS operated F-4D Phantom II's from 82-90

174th TFS operated A-7D/K Corsair II's from 81-88

188th TFS operated A-7D/K Corsair II's from 74-94

 

Vamp

Edited January 26, 2009 by Vampyre

[+Dave]

Dave,

 

As regards glitches with squadron start dates, I've been in touch with JSF Aggie and he thinks that I may have discovered a bug in SF2. JSF is doing the same kind of thing with Desert Storm, delaying the start of a good few land based squadrons. He's using WOE (Oct'08 patch) as the campaign platform and doesn't have any problems.

Just typical innit?! I get to within inches of the summit and my rope snaps....

The campaign is still playable though. I'm not sure as to whether I should leave it for the time being until the next SF2 patch is available or whether to release it.

My better judgement is telling me to leave it on the HD for the time being.

 

I was beginning in to think that was the case of it being a bug. As I know it works in the DS campaign after all the testing.

[+Piecemeal]

SF2 is (in my opinion) a big improvement over SFP1/SFG. It'll be worth the wait when the new patches are released. I'll also log on to the ThirdWire forum and try and inform TK of this.

And for those who've shown interest in this project; as I said in a previous message here ...... Watch This Space Folks :yes:

[+suhsjake]

What about an S-3B as a air force/naval bomber for Dhimar?

[+Piecemeal]

Clipping from 'Military Forces Monthly', January 1986

 

The Dhimari Defence Ministry has announced that it is currently in the process of evaluating two aircraft types - the F-15C Eagle and the new Tornado F.3 - in order to decide which will defend the skies of Dhimar in an interceptor role for the foreseeable future. The Ministry announced that an order will be placed for forty or so of whichever aircraft wins this evaluation.

 

Two aircraft of each type have been leased from Mc Donnell Douglas and British Aerospace respectively and have been flown to Dhimar itself for a ten week period.

 

"These aircraft will be tested in terms of interception, close range dogfighting and long range CAP endurance", said the RDAF chief of staff General Jamal Sharif. "We intend to push both types

 

to the very limit and beyond. Dhimari pilots are no strangers to air combat over the past thirty or so years. They've gained a lot of experience as a result so obviously we want nothing but the very best for them. Our own F-16As and F-4Es and some drone aircraft will fly in the 'Aggressor' role, if you will, in order to test these aircraft out under every possible scenario".

 

When asked whether cost effectiveness and overall value for money would come into the equation in terms of eventual selection, the General remarked "that is not my department; I'm a military man, not an accountant. For those kind of answers you will have to speak to my colleagues in the Finance Ministry".

 

 

An (above) F-15C and (below) a Tornado F.3 painted in Dhimari markings while being put through their paces at an undisclosed location in Dhimar

 

 

For the past twelve months various types have been considered, including the Mirage 2000 and the West-German proposed F-4E Plus, the latter of which would be performing an upgrade package to Dhimar's ageing F-4E fleet similar to what the West German Luftwaffe is currently undertaking to its F-4F fleet.

 

However in the end the F-15C and Tornado F.3 were shortlisted after serious consideration. However an insider has revealed that the Defence Ministry has not ruled out the possibility of some of their F-4E fleet receiving the 'Plus' upgrade also.

 

An RDAF F-4E Phantom II, last upgraded in 1977 to F-4E-75 standard.

 

 

 

An RDAF spokesman also stated that having a dedicated air superiority fighter would give its current fleet of F-16As and F-4Es the opportunity to concentrate more on the air-to-ground role, while at the same time retaining their air-to-air capabilities if needed.

 

The spokesman also stated that with Paran and Dohar constantly making overflights of Dhimari airspace, the aquisition of one of these fine aircraft might make both regimes rethink their attitudes.

[jomni]

Would love to know the exact location that new campaigns go into in SF2.

 

pfunk

 

 

read this

http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=36191

[+Piecemeal]

Just a quick update to inform any interested parties of the progress to date.

I've held a lot of high hopes on the SF2 February 2009 upgrade and for the most part, it seems to have fixed some outstanding teething problems in the game. Some more obvious than others. Unfortunately however, the prevailing problem of campaign start dates for some squadrons is still there. Here's an example:

The campaign starts on July 9th, 1986 - with a start date deviation of 0 days. VF-161, flying the F-4S aboard the USS Midway, are due to start on July 21st - twelve days after being dispatched from Okinawa. Yet VF-161 still starts on the 9th, the day the campaign starts.

I've been trying to inform TK of this glitch but as my luck would have it I seem to be having log-on problems with the Third Wire Forum. In the meantime I guess all I can do is to keep trying.

[+Piecemeal]

Great news folks! The niggly issue regarding start dates for certain squadrons has been solved with help from members of the Third Wire forum. All squadrons are now starting when they're supposed to

Now it's back to business. There's been a lot of changes and releases since the last serious discussion on this campaign.

The one thing I've done in the last hour or so is add an extra USAF squadron to the fray, the 124th TFS (Iowa ANG), flying the MF late model A-7D Corsair. Works well and fits in nicely with the whole arrangement.

The recent addition of new states Dohar and Sharnak has also given me food for thought. I always thought that the mountainous southern area of the map was wasted and the addition of new targets and airfields should spice things up.

 

 

Let the discussions commence

[+Piecemeal]

OK guys. I've been trying to prep this campaign for uploading onto CA, but have come up with a little problem. Most of the aircraft I've assigned to the campaign have either been heavily modded stock aircraft or are stock aircraft from other TW platforms which have been copied over to SF2. Here's some examples:

 

*F-16 Netz and cockpit has been copied over to SF2 from WOI

*The stock SF2 Mirage5D has been 'Dhimarified' in the Data.ini file and the stock Nesher cockpit has been copied over from WOI

 

I suppose the point I'm trying to make is I've pretty much got the campaign the way I want it, but I'd like to release it in a sort of universally user-friendly version, whereby the types used in combat would be easily obtainable elsewhere on CA for download.

 

What I'd like to ask is for suggestions from everyone as to what they'd like to have added. :yes: ...........

[ilker3428]

thanksss

[zmatt]

MF has a block 10 IDF F-16.

http://www.column5.us/miragef.shtml

 

The USAF F-16As were all delivered by 1985, so it would make sense to have a Block 10 in your campaign. Just Dhimarify it. MF also has a Nesher, Dagger and Mirage 5. They were all made for SFP1, but they should work fine in SF2.

[Viggen]

This has given me the idea to make my own campaign in Dhimar/Paran with Aggressors, but the story is much different so nothing to worry about. If I run into any problems, mind if I come to you for questions, Ultramax?