Leaderboard

BC-1A model by bunyap, Decal/Skin Yak, Soulfreak templates. F-6C model by Wolf, skin by Wrench F-6D model by TW, decal/skin by Yak B-26C model and skins by bobrock, Timmy, HGBN F-51D model by TW, decal/skin by Yak F-84E model by RussoUK, decal/skin/templates by Yak F-80C model by ErikGen, decal/skin/templates by Yak based on Soulfreak work F-86D model Sabre Dog Team, decal/skin/templates Yak F-86L model Sabre Dog Team, decal/skin/templates Yak C-47 model by TW, skin Yak, Wrench templates F-102A model by Veltro2K/FastCargo, skin by PappyChkSix/Yak, decals Yak, TF-102A model by Veltro2k, skin Yak , Wrench templates T-33 model by ErikGen, decal/skin/templates by Yak based on Soulfreak work F-101B model by ErikGen, decal/skin/templates by Yak T-33 model by ErikGen, decal/skin/templates by Yak based on Soulfreak work F-4C model by TW, decal/skin Yak, templates Sundowner F-4D model by TW, decal/skin Yak, templates Sundowner F-4D model by TW, decal/skin Yak, templates Sundowner F-16A model by Viper Team, decal/skin daddyairplanes, templates ravenclaw_007 F-16C model by Viper Team, decal/skin daddyairplanes, templates ravenclaw_007 F-16C model by Viper Team, decal/skin Yak, templates ravenclaw_007 I have never been to Texas

Dassault Epervier in service with Dhimari air force. Number 1 squadron utilizing in lightweight air to air fighter role and Number 4 squadron in the light strike role. Surviving airframes structurally strengthened and fitted with upgraded engine and avionics used by both squadrons as a multi-role ligtweight strike fighter

Some things just wont be the same - she did her role with dignity through so much change

Our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the British People and the Royal Family on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. S!

ODS30AE stuff (sorry for the spam Lol)

A huge part of the Heart of Britain and Her Commonwealth has passed with her. I salute you Ma'am PER ARDUA.

Outstanding Texas ANG history pic's! Wish we had a AFRES 'T' stick II 'THUD' for the two reserve units, one outa Carswell AFB TX. and I think Georgia.

Caught a boomer on the surface somewhere off the North Cape. Positively ID'd as a Typhoon... Wow, she's big... Well, she knows she's been spotted, time to head back to the carrier...

R.I.P. Sad day.

Dear Friends, Today is a big day. IL-2 Sturmovik team is glad to report that after almost three years of development Battle of Normandy is out of Early Access and is officially released - 5.001 update is out! «You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.» Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The official release also means that in addition to Battle of Normandy Premium Edition in our webstore there’s now Standard Edition without two Collector Planes - German jet bomber Arado Ar 234 and British fighter Spitfire Mk.XIV (they can be bought individually). On Steam the new module and its accompanying Collector Planes will appear in the coming weeks - please stay tuned while we work out the details. As usual, Battle of Normandy owners who have linked IL-2 and Steam accounts can access all the new content in the Steam version already. These years weren’t easy, but they were very interesting. During the development we have created many new technologies and approaches, did a lot of historical research, implemented new solutions. The last aircraft for Battle of Normandy were released in Early Access in August and today we add the last pieces - the map of the Northern France and Southern England, Pilot Career mode, Quick Mission Builder and Advanced Quick Mission Generator support for the new map. We have told about the Career mode and the new map in our recent Dev Blogs, but must point out again that they set the new record in terms of the work involved. New mission types, new airfield types, new airfields appearing on the map after D-Day - bringing their total amount to 100 airfields with historically accurate layouts! New objects created specially for the module - ships, ground vehicles, buildings, coastal defenses, V-1 buzzbombs and their launch positions, dozens of new aircraft paint schemes, etc. Battle of Normandy contains 10 player controllable aircraft (8 in the Standard Edition): - Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib – British fighter/bomber, - North American P-51B-5 Mustang – American long range fighter, - Republic P-47D-22 Thunderbolt – American fighter/bomber, - Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 Late – late version of the German fighter, - Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 Würger - German fighter, - De Havilland Mosquito F.B. Mk.VI ser.2 – British twin engine fighter-bomber, - Messerschmitt Me 410 A-1 Hornisse – German twin engine fighter-bomber, - Junkers Ju 88 C-6 – German twin engine heavy fighter, - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV – British fighter (Collector Plane included in the Premium Edition), - Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz – German twin engine jet bomber and recon aircraft (Collector Plane included in the Premium Edition). Each aircraft includes a slew of historically correct modifications - unlike other games where each modification would be counted as a separate aircraft model, in Great Battles you can freely select and combine them. For instance, Me-410 A-1 mentioned above has modifications that, when selected, make it a whole model lineup: 1. Me-410 A-1/U2, 2. Me-410 A-1/U4, 3. Me-410 B, 4. Me-410 B-2, 5. Me-410 B-2/U1, 6. Me-410 B-2/U2, 7. Me-410 B-2/U4, 8. Me-410 B-2/U4 field mod with four MG 151 guns. In addition to the all above, update 5.001 contains the results of the big work on the damage model improvements which are of course are applicable to all the modules as usual - as you can see in the long list below, it required many changes in various parts of the sim. The testing and tuning of these changes by beta-testers from the community took a lot of time. We think this is the big step forward for Great Battles series and hope you’ll enjoy it. There are many other fixes and improvements - for instance, the mission loading time has been reduced dramatically, several times less on some PC configurations! The pilot and tank crew AI got better, etc.: Main Features 1. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to Northern France and Southern England map in two variations (before and after the D-Day). As usual, in multiplayer mode the map can be accessed by all Great Battles players. 2. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to the mid-1944 Career mode (3 countries, 5 phases, 17 frontline states, 225 historical squadrons, 103 of them joinable by the player, many new mission types). 3. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to QMB and AQMG game modes on the new map for a quick action, also with many new mission types. 4. Numerous new aircraft paint schemes added, including different invasion stripes for various time periods of 1944. 5. PzKpfw IV Ausf.H. tank added (AI controlled). 6. Flakpanzer IV «Möbelwagen» SPAA added (AI controlled). 7. Gleaves-class destroyer added (AI controlled). 8. The loading speed of all missions on all Great Battles maps has been improved significantly. Damage Model Improvements 9. Aircraft DM: RHA equivalent of the aircraft skin has been reduced nearly three times to the previous (wrong) values. 10. Aircraft DM: an issue that made aircraft skin damage too severe for larger bombers and some fighters has been fixed. 11. Aircraft DM: like the previously released change for larger caliber ammo, now all projectiles in the game loose integrity and stability after penetrating a significant armor thickness which affects their remaining ability to penetrate armor. 12. Aircraft DM: the relative speed of the target is correctly accounted for projectile penetrations calculations. 13. Aircraft DM: AP bullets and shells make slightly bigger holes in the airframe and aircraft skin. 14. Aircraft DM: powerful HE rounds explosions cause more damage to the airframe, aircraft skin and components. 15. Aircraft DM: small HE bullets cause less damage to aircraft skin. 16. Aircraft DM: it is now possible to damage radiators and fuel tanks when firing 7.62-7.92 rounds from more than 350 m distance. 17. Aircraft DM: bullets are less likely to ricochet from aircraft skin at low angles. 18. Aircraft DM: Bf 109 radiator collision model has been improved (previously its wrong shape could cause most smaller caliber bullets to ricochet when fired directly from behind). 19. Aircraft DM: the loss of the bullets energy hitting Bf 109 F-4 engine has been corrected. 20. Aircraft DM: an issue that caused bullets hitting Spitfire Mk.XIV MGs and guns to not lose energy has been fixed. 21. Aircraft DM: engine fire probability from bullet hits has been somewhat increased for WWI-era piston engines and jet engines. 22. Aircraft DM: engine fire probability from bullet hits has been reduced for WWII-era piston engines. 23. Aircraft DM: fuel tank fire probability from bullet hits has been reduced. 24. Aircraft DM: fuel tank fire and explosion probability from HE ammo hits has been reduced, now it depends on the HE power more. 25. Aircraft DM: it’s now harder to put out the fires by side-slip movement. 26. Aircraft DM: the several years old ‘crew health cheat’ (they required four point-blank 7.62 bullets in the torso or two in the head to be killed) has been removed. Now their ability to sustain damage is much more close to reality. 27. Crew DM: a random error that could cause a death from mild G-loads has been found and fixed, thus improving survivability rate during emergency landings. 28. Ballistics: ricochet tendency has been reduced somewhat. 29. Right wing MGs on P-51B can be correctly damaged. 30. P-51B and D fighters wings (middle-upper parts) can be correctly damaged. Me 410 Improvements 31. Me 410A-1: weapon panel placards corrected for WB 151 and MG 131 modifications. 32. Me 410A-1: missing rods from bomb doors to the forward window added. 33. Me 410 A-1: speed and timer gauges in the pilot’s cockpit corrected. 34. Me 410 A-1: altitude and speed gauges in the gunner’s cockpit corrected. 35. Me 410 A-1: bomb holders for 250 kg bombs and for SB 1000/410 look corrected. 36. Me 410 A-1: radiator fenders indicators light up when the cockpit light is turned on. 37. Me 410 A-1: the rear landing gear state affects air drag. 38. Me 410 A-1: technochat message warning about the gun overheating restored for the gunner. 39. Me 410 A-1: now the gunner can use the entire horizontal range of the guns for aiming. 40. Me-410 A-1: radiators can be correctly damaged by AP projectiles, resulting in coolant leaks. 41. Me 410A-1 intercept missions added to AQMG game mode. Tank Crew Improvements 42. M4A2, KV-1s, Pz.IV.G, Pz.V.D, Pz.VI.H1 hatches close when the turret blocks them. 43. The damage of the gun barrels base on Pz.III, Pz.IV and Pz.VI is calculated correctly when it is hit by fragments. 44. In multiplayer a guest gunner (who connected to someone else tank) won’t constantly hear the turret turning mechanism noise. 45. In multiplayer a tank owner won’t hear the gun or MG reloading sound when another player connected to his tank to the gunner or MG gunner station. 46. In multiplayer turning aircraft or tank turrets controlled by another player emit correct turning sounds. AI Improvements 47. AI controlled bombers keep formation a bit better during climb. 48. AI pilots will attempt to return to base in the event of an oil or coolant leak. 49. Me 410 pilots will correctly drop bombs in a deep dive. 50. Mosquito, Ju 88 C6 and Me 410 pilots will correctly drop underwing bombs. 51. Twin and 4x guns in AI controlled vehicles won’t judder during aiming. Other Improvements 52. Dropping an 1650 pounds bomb from Handley Page O/400 bomber won’t display an error. 53. A visual artifact in front of the right engine of Handley Page O/400 bomber has been removed. 54. An issue that caused guns and MGs to ‘float’ above certain breastwork has been fixed. 55. ‘No jamming’ difficulty option works correctly for aircraft turrets. 56. Me 410 is correctly counted in stats. 57. Visual bomb explosion effects has been corrected for cases when a bomb ricochets and goes off above the ground. 58. Proximity and CheckZone triggers in missions won’t erroneously count non-spawned and inactive objects. 59. External camera works correctly after flying beyond the map borders. 60. An issue that could lower the muzzle speed of an overheated MG before causing additional scattering of the fired bullets has been fixed. 61. Both P-47 have their idle engine RPM corrected (it was a bit too high potentially causing moving with brakes applied.

Testing something i suck at, Decals:

IIRC Dohar is not TW's idea. It's from @whiteknight06604 . He made a MiG-19 skin in the SPF1 download section. Tell me if I'm wrong. I redone the decals for my own use : (Edit : I reload them because the Insignia decal was bleeding, sorry for that) Dohar Decals replicas.7z But you have to create the Dohar air force in the Nation.ini file. In my install it's "Insignia218" and "FinFlash218" but it depends on your nation.ini file content (the number of the nation). Sharnak is a British protectorate so the RAF and RN should rule their sky lol If you create a Sharnak air force, please share it ! (and in my install Mercenary is an ally and flies for Dhimar)

Journal of FSLt Douglas Bell-Gordon, RNAS Part 2 Journal of FSLt Douglas Bell-Gordon, RNAS Part 2 7 September 1916 The dressing was removed from my left eye two days ago. Vision was blurred at first but now is clearing nicely. The fellows in the wing gave me a genuine welcome home. On my first night back, we stood down early because of rain and repaired to the Hotel Pomme d’Or in town, having been invited by the Yanks across the way to join them for dinner in their favourite haunt. The hotel restaurant was by all accounts a splendid place to dine and they had adopted it as their “club”. The Yanks of the “Escadrille Américaine” are a curious and entertaining lot. They are all volunteers and with one or two exceptions all come from wealthy families. Most departed for France directly from the top universities in the United States. A disproportionate number hold themselves out as southern gentlemen. Their leader is French, a capitaine named Thénault. He has his work cut out for him. These Americans have too much energy, too much available cash, and too little discipline for any poor officer to deal with! About half of them have acquired motorcycles or cars. More have acquired feminine partners. They all flaunt silver drinking flasks and cigarette cases. One of the fellows, Bill Thaw, has just returned from Paris with – of all things – a four-month-old lion cub, which the boys have christened “Whiskey”. We settled in for a grand meal. The champagne and oysters were followed with some very fine white wine and fish. Wing Captain Elder and Captain Thénault laughed and talked and proposed toasts. It started before the meat course as a breadball fight – little clots of delicious chili French bread rolled between grubby fingers and flicked with violent force across the table into the eyes of other diners. We started it and the Yanks returned fire. We began with pieces like musket balls. They replied with canister. We came back with twelve-pound shot. Wine glasses tipped into laps and soup splattered over tunics. A general exchange of flung plates and gravy boats followed. An American named Cowdin was debagged and on our side MacLennan had his nose bloodied while avoiding what our southern neighbours called a waffle butt. This was an exercise involving a naked bottom, a tennis racket, and a stiff brush. Later, when our commander mused about which squadron was to blame for the devastation of the restaurant, I asked who in the world brings a tennis racket to a fine dinner? Today we reciprocated the Americans’ hospitality by inviting them for a friendly game of baseball. The RNAS team was nearly all Canadian, except for a couple of clearly confused Englishmen. I had let it slip in conversation one day that I enjoyed refereeing hockey and officiating as a baseball umpire. In fact, I’d played amateur ball back home until the four-team Nova Scotia professional league made an appearance in 1912. At the urging of my old coach, I signed on as an umpire for the provincial league and worked a number of games at the Halifax Commons. That’s when I learned I was pretty good at this umpiring game. Anyway, once that bit of personal history became general knowledge I volunteered (verb passive) to be the plate umpire for the Canadian-American Luxeuil Aerodrome Friendship Game. The improvised ballpark was impressive. Our mechanics mowed the grass and set up a line of pickets and a rope to mark the boundaries of the diamond, which our British friends insisted on calling a pitch. Our sailmakers fashioned the bags for the bases and even prepared a passable although heavy chest protector for me. Our carpenter followed my detailed instructions and created a fine and accurate home plate from whitewashed wood. Thankfully, the squadron sports kit included a spare mask, which I claimed. Although I would have preferred to call the game alone, one of our British pilots, MacGregor, insisted on helping me in the field. I had about half an hour to explain where he should position himself in each situation. It was obvious that he had no idea what the game was about. In the end, I had to shout to him between each play and indicate where he should be. Of course, as soon as the ball was hit, MacGregor stood rooted and was dreadfully out of position for any subsequent call. The game started well enough. I enjoyed calling out balls and strikes and “foul ball” and such. I even had the opportunity to call obstruction on the RNAS shortstop during a play, which allowed an American run to score. The spectators from our side forgot their squadron loyalty and directed some pretty ripe language my way. Still, I thought, it shows the Yanks that I was working hard to be a fair arbiter. That was until a rough-hewn American named Bert Hall got a two-base hit. With nobody on base, field umpire MacGregor stood on the line behind first. But as Hall rounded first with a full head of steam, MacGregor remained where he was. The ball was coming in from the outfield and the call at second base would be close. I left the plate area, took my mask off, and – mask in hand – sprinted past the pitcher to make MacGregor’s call for him. Edwards was playing second for the RNAS. He received the throw from the field and laid down his tag just in time to get the out on Hall, which I called emphatically. Hall seemed to believe that Edwards was too forceful with his tag. He sprung to his feet and pushed Edwards over. I got in front of Hall and told him that he should be ashamed of himself for complaining about being tagged on his lower leg. Hall made a fist and brought his right hand back. His intention was clear. Hall was a powerful fellow, a former Foreign Legionnaire, and I had no desire to be struck by him. So, naturally, I knocked him out cold with my mask. It took a while to calm things down after that. Hall was helped off the field, uttering threats of violence. Ever the diplomat, I ejected him from the game. The American team captain, Rockwell, came out to argue. “Let’s put on a show for the boys,” he said to me in a low voice while his face twisted and he poked me in the chest. “Just play along and then throw me out. Hall had it coming. I’ll take care of him and we’ll all have a drink after.” And then it started. Rockwell called me every cuss word in the book, ripped up home plate and threw it across the field, kicked dust on my trousers, and dribbled tobacco juice down his chin in the best tradition of the sport. I got in his face and gave him as good as he gave me. It was a three-ring circus of the first order. Both sides cheered wildly as I ejected Rockwell. Then Rockwell turned around and “ejected” me. With both Hall and Rockwell gone, the Americans no longer had nine men on their roster. By rule, the Canadians won by a 9-0 forfeit. Over champagne in the wardroom, some of the boys decided that Rockwell’s ejection of the umpire was not supported by the rules, so I must have suspended the game when I walked off the field. There should therefore be no official score, they argued. I explained why that was not technically correct, but our two commanding officers agreed it was the best solution and I relented. In the words of Kiffin Rockwell, “Darndest bit of umpiring I ever saw.”

Skyhawk strike...

Hi all, Old Brown Dog Software is proud to announce details of the expansion we have been working so hard on for WINGS OVER THE REICH, and it is: The Battle of France Take your part in a new, whirlwind, dynamic campaign as the Germans invade France bursting through the Ardennes Forest, taking the allies completely by surprise. OBD has designed an utterly unique campaign system for the fast-paced dynamic blitzkrieg war - never seen before at this level in any combat flight simulator. In a matter of weeks in the summer of 1940, the Germans push through the Ardennes and following along the Somme valley, effectively cut the French forces in two, and isolate the remnants of the BEF and French 1st Armies in Dunkirk. Soon you can take part in this exciting early WW2 period, with the Battle of France add-on for Wings Over the Reich! Release date and final details to be confirmed. For more details, images and information please see the WOTR website! There you can click the Red button below the announcement to read the full newsletter - this has dozens of new images and more info! OR here's a direct link to the newsletter with the extra WOTR details and images! --> HERE <-- (On the WOTR website, press CTRL+F5 to refresh the page if you do not see the latest news).

I like the photo stuck to the dash! Nice touch!!!

Wild Weasels, Ukrainian style...

..and the 1966 cockpit variant..

part one of this weekends feature presentations. now waiting approval

last of the SA-7 collection next I will make the Stinger missile and I will be using the same setting.

With Swambasts help i try to create the Kakhovka high dam. He is making the objects, while i made a new tile and puzzle the parts together. Its not finished yet. I must still create 3 new tiles and then i hope, that the tiles will fit and will looking good.

very soon

Checking the oilrig and support ships.

The Russians had had two Oilrigs at the shores of the Crimean Peninsula. In June they were attacked by the Ukrainians. Thatswhy i placed the two Oilrigs on the map. The location is only a guess. If someone knows the exact position, then let me know.

IAI PW1120 powered Super Phantom

SA-5 SAM site near the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula. In the 1990th the ukrainians accidently shot down an airliner over mid Black Sea with a SA-5 Gammon missile, lauchend from this SAM polygon. Screenshot: Well camouflaged and hard to see. Who can see the 3 SAM sites? Close up:

Carrierborn version of the MiG-21, called MiG-21Kbis, over the powerplant near of the town Saki, Crimean Peninsula (terrain WIP, Beta 0.30)

An other russian barrack complex. I will try to upload Beta 0.30 tomorrow. Today my internet is very slow. Dont know why.

Well maybe 2020 was a bit optimistic! Top Gun: Maverick (2019 2020 2021 2022) 'It's been a minute, huh, Mav?' 'Why are the wings coming out Mav?' 'Here they come. What's your plan?' 'Just put your mask on. Remember, we're on the same team. Just wave and smile' 'Oh sh*t! His wingman's moving into weapons envelope...'

2.2: - Minor data/loadout.ini corrections. - Minor texture corrections. - Minor weapon corrections. - Optional white texture for the Python 3 missile, as this was how the early models used in the 1982 Lebanon War were painted.

I have a crate full of self-sealing stem bolts....where should I put it? GreenHell Vietnam, near Loc Chau exactly...