Battle of the Bulge aircraft

[+baffmeister 1,205]

I'm going to try and put together a campaign for this project this winter as well as finish off the terrain so was wondering about what aircraft to include. Most of the research done so far has been on the ground war but I've put together a list of aircraft for the allied side, the list of Luftwaffe aircraft is still being researched. Any ideas on aircraft/skins for either side appreciated.

Considering the small size of the terrain I'm just planning 7 squadrons per side, one squadron at each airport.

British aircraft:

Hawker Tempest: Based at B-80 [Volkel] and tasked with mainly air to air missions plus some strike, recon and armed recon.

Spitfire14: ThirdWire's model based at B-78 [Eindhoven] and tasked with air to air and some recon missions.

Hawker Typhoon: Based at B-77 [Gilze/Rijen] and tasked with mainly CAS missions and some strike missions.

US aircraft:

P-51D: ThirdWire's model based at Y-29 [Asch]. At the start of the battle it seems the only P-51's in the area were PR versions. The 352nd Fighter Group deployed aircraft from England to Y-29 on Dec. 22 but I'm going to include them from the Dec.16 start date. They will probably be tasked with mostly air to air missions with some CAS, strike, recon and armed recon included.

P-47D [2]: One squadron at A-89 [Le Culot] and one squadron at Y-32 [Ophoven]. One of the squadrons will get mainly CAS and some strike missions, the other will get a blend of different missions.

P-38: The 370th fighter group was active in the area and seems to have been a dedicated ground attack unit so they will get just CAS, strike and armed recon missions based from A-92 [Sint-Truiden].

Luftwaffe Aircraft:

Still needs to be researched but one squadron of Bf-109G-10's for air to air, probably an earlier G version for air to air and air to ground, FW-190A-8, and FW-190D-9. That still leaves 3 squadrons open, any ideas?

 

[+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,545]

Bf-109 G14, K4
Fw-190A8, A9 (17) took part and D9
Ju-88
Bf-110G2
Me-262

 

Allied aircraft:
Spitfire MkIX
B-25
B-26
 

[Wrench 9,460]

the problem would be the "missing" 110s for those that can't access "that other place".

It's a pity we don't have a nicer P-38; Wolf's is a bit long in the teeth. But, still workable

Same for the 190s. Don't know when Torno and his people will be finishing and releasing the new (and beautiful!!) 190 series (A, D, 152)

[+baffmeister 1,205]

The campaign and terrain is focused on the fighter bomber types so no bomber types planned although there were quite a few RAF B-25's and US B-26's in country. Likewise, German bombers were active at night but I'm not going there. Spitfire IX's were under consideration for air to air and air to ground work but with only 3 RAF airfields and one squadron at each I like the current plan with the Spit14's doing top cover. Will look into the other FW-190 and BF-109 types. The Me-262 is definitely under consideration but not sure how active they were over the Ardennes region during the Battle of the Bulge. Any idea?

Wrench, I will be doing some FM's for this project and the plan is to use only aircraft available at CombatAce, at least to start. I might transfer some FM's to "other" models at some point but it's low priority. Will probably use the CAF P-47's, maybe one squadron with bubble canopies and one razorback. Sounds like Wolf's P-38 is the only option for now. Also, no Bf-110 at this point.

[+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,545]

Ju-88 lead the attack during Operation Bodenplatte. 

[Do335 382]

19 hours ago, baffmeister said:

The campaign and terrain is focused on the fighter bomber types so no bomber types planned

Good deal BM I could just imagine the frame rate with all those turrets.

All the best to the campaign!

[Wrench 9,460]

well, we DO have Veltro's Ju-88s. Just sayin'   

[+baffmeister 1,205]

Frame rates can be a big issue with the WW2 bombers. I had to reduce graphic settings for my WW2 install to avoid a slide show when intercepting bombers during BoB time frames. I suspect the turrets use a lot of computing power but all the tracer TGA's seem to have a big effect as well. This is particularly noticeable when a bunch of eight gun Hurricanes or Spitfires are engaging a formation of bombers. Turning down the in game effects setting can help quite a bit.