Thinking about a 1948 Europe Campaign, need good site for "blue" OOB

[Slant6 21]

Thinking about putting together a 1948 Europe Campaign (Berlin Blockade/Airlift goes south and war breaks out etc.). Found great site for Soviet OOB, http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/iap/iap.htm. But is there anything comparable for listing US and allied air OOB in Europe at the time? Thanks for your help.

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

I think the best option is to look at the various airbases for e.g RAF germany to see what aircraft were stationed in 1948 - mostly mosquitoes and tempests: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force_Germany

 

Then do a seach for USAF bases and see what's listed as well as dutch, french and belgian bases,(mostly spitfires)

[Slant6 21]

Thanks. I'll check it out. I was amazed at how propeller-heavy Soviet fighter squadrons were in 1948. Even lend-lease Kingcobras still in the mix.

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

Here is the RAF Germany orbat for 1948

 

RAF Gütersloh

de Havilland Vampire Fb1, FB4    No. 3 Squadron RAF
Hawker Tempest F2         No. 16 Squadron RAF
Hawker Tempest F2         No. 26 Squadron RAF
Hawker Tempest F2         No. 33 Squadron RAF
Supermarine Spitfire F.24     No. 26 Squadron RAF

RAF Wunstorf

Spitfire F 14/PR 19         No. 2 Squadron RAF

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

Others:

 

Dutch Airforce:

Spitfire LF.Mk.IX  322 Squadron Twente Air Base

Belgian Airforce:

de Havilland Mosquito NF30 N° 10 and 11 Squadron Beauvechain Airbase
Supermarine Spitfire IX, XIV and XVI Florennes Air Base

USAF:

 

In June 1948, USAFE consisted of one tactical fighter group, two troop carrier groups, and a photo-reconnaissance squadron, while reinforcements in the
form of one fighter group were expected in a few months. The 86th Fighter
Group consisted of seventy-five World War II-vintage Republic F-47
Thunderbolts. The group was well trained, had experienced officers, and
boasted a 90 percent operational efficiency rating. The 36th Fighter Group and
its seventy-five Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars, the air force's first operational
jet, would arrive from the Caribbean after the Berlin blockade began. The 45th
Reconnaissance Squadron was a composite unit of twenty-one Douglas A-26
and FA-26s, North American F-6s (reconnaissance version of the P-51
Mustang), and Boeing B-17s. This unit, too, was experienced and well trained
with an 85 percent operational efficiency rating. Additionally, as will be
detailed later, the air force had begun rotating Strategic Air Command
bombers to Germany, and one squadron of Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses"
was in residence at Fiirstenfeldbrook in Bavaria. Beyond USAFE, the Royal
Air Force fielded thirty-six light bombers in four squadrons and ninety-six
fighters in six squadrons, although reinforcements from England were close at
hand.' The French had committed most of their air power to Southeast Asia;
however, it is worth noting that the French Air Force would take part in the airlift, flying several Junkers JU-52 "Toucans."

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

Fürstenfeldbruck Airbase is listed in the default SF2E terrain. So you can station B-29s from the 301st Bombardment Group, there.

[Slant6 21]

Thanks again! This is super helpful. Now I've got some vintage birds to download.

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

More info:

 

Lockheed F-80 Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base
http://combatace.com/files/file/13411-sf2-lockheed-f-80crf-80ct-33a-shooting-stars-pak-by-erikgen/

36th Fighter Group

F-47D Neubiberg Air Base

http://combatace.com/files/file/12375-pf-47d-25-thunderbolt-by-wolf257-for-sf2/

525th Fighter Squadron
526th Fighter Squadron
527th Fighter Squadron

Wiesbaden Air Base and Rhein-Main Air Base

C-47
http://combatace.com/files/file/11750-tw-c-47a-upgraded-base-pack/

60th and 61st Troop Carrier Groups

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Forces_in_Europe_-_Air_Forces_Africa#USAF_mobilization

Edited September 10, 2016 by Major Bloodnok

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

More info about RAF orbat:

 

Wunstorf housed  a  single  squadron  of  16  fighter-reconnaissance  Spitfires  and
two  squadrons  of  Tempest  Vs  with  a  strength  of  25  aircraft.  A  little
further from the border, Gütersloh housed three squadrons with a total
of  50  Tempest  IIs  whilst  Wahn,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  housed
four   Mosquito   squadrons(4, 14, 98, 107)   with   30   aircraft.

[+eburger68 195]

Slant6:

 

I'll be interested to see what you come up with for a 1948 campaign. I briefly considered doing one myself but ruled it out after some preliminary research suggested that such a scenario would not have turned out well for the Western allies. Put simply, the defense posture in Western Europe at the time was sadly lacking. Still recovering from the War, Western European countries had let their defense spending slide. Western air forces were in particularly bad shape, and the USAF itself had but a token presence in West Germany (as documented in Major Bloodnok's post above).

 

It was the Berlin Crisis that caused the Western Allies to sit up and begin a program to rebuild and bring their military defenses up to snuff. NATO was formed in late-1948/early-1949 and a crash rearmament program launched. The U.S. began selling and transferring large numbers of U.S. built F-80s, T-33s, and F-84s to other Western Air Forces. The initial rearmament program was designed to be completed over a five year period. By 1953 the military situation in Western Europe was far different, with Western Air Forces now equipped with large numbers of jet fighter-bombers and interceptors and a semi-integrated command infrastructure to support a coordinated defense of West Germany. Three years later the West German Air Force would take to the skies as West Germany itself began rearming to take its place in NATO.

 

That's why the earliest campaign in NATO Fighters 5 is 1953 -- that's about when the Western allies had finished their initial crash rearmament program.

 

Please don't take this post as an attempt to discourage your work on a 1948 campaign. Far from it. As I said, I am most interested to see how this turns out. If the campaign OOB starts looking a little lopsided (in favor of the Red side), you might consider building some semi-fictional events into the campaign scenario: Truman goes into full freak mode and begins a crash re-mobilization campaign to bring U.S. forces back into Europe over a 3-6 month period. Something like that.

 

In any case, please keep us updated on your work here.

 

Eric Howes

[+daddyairplanes 8,662]

A limited campaign would be interesting too. Uncle Joe needed to rebuild the Soviet Union in the years between 45 and 50 and while like any good Russian nationalist (odd as Stalin was Georgian) he believed the Soviet side would win, it would be a victory they might not recover from. So perhaps a big scuffle over Berlin, few retaliatory strikes on airbase then Stalin tells his people to stand down. Limit ground war to infantry around the Berlin area so it's not a Soviet push over

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

More info:

 

Barracks:

 

USA:

 

McNair, Andrews, Roosevelt and Turner.

 

Turner Barracks  D Company, 40th Armor Regiment M24 tanks.
Turner Barracks  F Company, 40th Armor Regiment M24 tanks.

 

UK:

 

Montgomery Barracks, Brooks Barracks, Wavell Barracks, Smut Barracks.

Smut Barracks 1st Squadron, 11th Hussars Regiment Centurion tanks.

 

France:

Their headquarters were called Quartier Napoléon.

11e Régiment de Chasseurs (11e RCh) Sherman tanks(ARL 44 not available in game).

Edited September 15, 2016 by Major Bloodnok

[+Major Bloodnok 463]

RAF Orbat at the time of the Berlin blockade revised, after cross checking with my "RAF Germany" book:

 

RAF Gütersloh

 

de Havilland Vampire Fb1, FB4   No. 3 Squadron
Hawker Tempest F2                     No. 16 Squadron
Hawker Tempest F2                     No. 26 Squadron
Hawker Tempest F2                     No. 33 Squadron
Spitfire F Mk 24                           No. 80 Squadron

 

RAF Wahn

 

Spitfire XIX PR         No. 2 Squadron
Mosquito VI             No. 98 Squadron
Mosquito B.35         No. 14 Squadron
Mosquito VI             No. 4 Squadron
Mosquito VI             No. 107 Squadron