Gepard

A begin of a rework of Da Nang area. River added, port added. I think i made the town a little bit to big. It is more as it is today, but i think during Vietnam War it was smaller. I will try to find an aerial photo of that timeframe and then i will make the changes.

A similar system, but only with different materials.

To come back to the SAM sites and the concrete roads. Swambast is right and wrong at the same time. It is correct to say, that the SAM batteries were semi mobile. The SAM sites were static. The vietnamese built more SAM sites, than they had SAM batteries. They rotated the batteries through the SAM sites per random or, when the site "demask itself" with opening the fire. After the battle was fought, the vietnamese moved the SAM battery to reduce the risk to be attacked by the opponent. Later, so in the mid of Vietnam war, they learned, that the opponent was able to destroy fortified SAM sites and he had the power to do this. From that time a lot of SAM batteries were placed somewhere in the nowhere. They stayed there for a couple of days or till they were fighting a battle. Then they were relocated. Old soldiers rule: "After firing move to a new fire position. If not you will die." The SAM sites itself were built in the dry periode of the year. In this time there was no need to inforce the soil with concrete. A truck or lorry (how our british friend would call it) could easily drive on it. But this changed very fast in rain periode. The truck could not operate under this conditions and so the ways were inforced by concrete. But you should not imagine a 5 or 6 meter wide road made by concrete or tarmac. It was made by a technology, which we call in eastern Germany "Plattenstraße in Form einer Spurbahn". No idea, how you call in the America or the rest of the world. Basically such a road is puzzled together by single plates of concrete. Each plate is 3 meters long, 1 meter wide and 0.25 meters thick. The plate has rectangular holes. It weighs 1 metric ton. To form a road two lines of plates were laid out. The distance between the plates is 1 meter. The room between the plates and outside the plates will be filled with gravel and get finally a layer of soil. The reason is, that on the soil vegetation can grew up. After a while such a road is very difficult to see from a plane at certain distances. Here you see such a road which was made by this technology. It can operate 40 ton trucks under all weather conditions easily. You see the "hole plates", the two lines of plates and you see how the road is vanishing at a certain distance.

I used static airlines in some of my terrains. They are made by JimBib.

I'm not really happy with the SAM site object. It is good for desert areas, but for Vietnam or Europe, i think my SAM site, consisting of individual part can be better adjust to local obstacles, like trees.

So the SAM site will look in the next update of DRV 2.0

This i mean with reworking of target areas. This is one point of many. The number of SAM sites is to low, compared with reality of Vietnam War. It were over 200 sites in 1968/69 and more than 300 in 1973. But in reality not all SAM sites were used by the Vietnamese. They moved their SAM batteries between the SAM sites, so that some sites were empty while others were used. If i could "switch on" the active sites by random ..... That would be a nice feature.

Right now I'm thinking about which project to start next. I have 4 in mind. 1) Poland 2) Borderwar between China and Vietnam in 1979 3) version of Battle of Britain terrain for the 1960th or 70th 4) Diego Garcia Poland is an area with a lot of possible scenarios. World War 2 in 1939 and 1945, a possible Warsaw Pact invasion in 1981, a modern Suwalki Gap scenario, or a hypotetical what if the former german province Ostpreussen would have become the homestate of the jews: Israel in Central Europe. China and Vietnam Borderwar is an interesting scenario, because both sides have similar planes and weapons, so that only the skill of the player decides of an outcome of an air battle. I like the idea very much. "Modern" Battle of Britain terrain has two major possible scenarios. One: The Soviets have taken control over France and UK is in the same situation as 1940, but with other enemy. Two: A conflict between the European Community and UK, a scenario with its own flair, because blue vs blue and to be honest true friends the Brits and the French never were. Diego Garcia. Its an other naval map with one base on an island and carrier operations.

View File DRV 2.0 DRV 2.0 terrain Democratic Republic of Vietnam or better known as North Vietnam ***************************************************************************** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This terrain is written for SF2NA and SF2E or SF2I or SF2V. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I. Short description: This terrain covers North Vietnam, parts of South Vietnam and Thailand. The timeframe of the terrain is from 1964 to 1979. It is made as a NavalMap so that you can fly carrier missions against North vietnam. You can fly following missions for the American and their allies, the South Vietnamese: SWEEP,CAP,ESCORT,INTERCEPT,STRIKE,SEAD,ANTI_SHIP,RECON,CAS,ARMED_RECON For the North Vietnamese you can fly this missions: CAP,INTERCEPT DRV 2.0 is a rework of DRV 1.4, a terrain which i made 20 years ago. I gave it a new tileset, reworked some tiling and some target areas. Further rework of the target areas is neccessary and will be done later. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ II. INSTALLATION: To run this terrain you need SF2NorthAtlantic and SF2 Israel or SF2 Europe or SF2 Vietnam. Unzip all files into your saved game folder ...ThirdWire\StrikeFighters2XXXX Thats it. If you have SF2Europe installed you must do nothing more. If you miss SF2E and have SF2Israel you must open file DRV.ini with Notepad editor and look for the lines: //CatFile=..\IsraelME\IsraelME.cat CatFile=..\GermanyCE\GermanyCE.cat change the entry into: CatFile=..\IsraelME\IsraelME.cat //CatFile=..\GermanyCE\GermanyCE.cat If you have SF2Vietnam, but no SF2 Europe then open DRV.ini with Notepad editor and look for the lines //CatFile=..\VietnamSEA\VietnamSEA.cat CatFile=..\GermanyCE\GermanyCE.cat change the entry ino: CatFile=..\VietnamSEA\VietnamSEA.cat //CatFile=..\GermanyCE\GermanyCE.cat save the file ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ III. Credits. Tileset is basing on Starys Green Hell 3.0 tileset. I converted it to jpg format and merged the 512x512 tiles to 1024x1024 pixel tiles. Tileset green made by Wilches Korat Air Base ArmourDave I hope i have not forgotten someone. . ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IV. This Terrain is Freeware. Commercial use is not allowed. And i say it again for the YAP, YankeeAirPirates file thiefs, the usage of this terrain and/or parts of the terrain for commercial use is not allowed!!!!! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ V. For remarks, comments, bugs, etc please use CombatAce forum or send me a PM. Hope you enjoy it. Michael (Gepard) Made in Germany 07.Juli 2025 Submitter Gepard Submitted 07/08/2025 Category Full Terrains  

Hun over the muddy waters of a vietnamese river.

I will include Udorn in a further update. The DRV 2.0 terrain had in major part the target areas of DRV 1.4. I made only some minor changes. I future i will rework the target areas completly. With the mighty tools we have today it is much easier and faster to do than 20 years ago.

Great addon. I will include it in an updated version of DRV 2.0 I have uploaded DRV 2.0 just now. It is a beginning. Further rework of the target areas is neccessary. I will do it in the next time. Give me 2 weeks.

The Hun over North Vietnam. (DRV 2.0 terrain. WIP)

At the moment i'm working on DRV 2.0 terrain. I promised to release a Beta today, but the real life ..... You know. Shit happens. My wife broke our printer and then she said: "Can you repair it?" That's why the delay. I think tomorrow i will release the Beta. WIP screenshot. Thud near Korat AB. BTW is it possible to connect a ground object in the target areas with a random marker? I ask, because the North Vietnamese had over 200 SAM sites in 1968, but only 50 batteries, which were rotating through the SAM sites. With a random value i could simulate such SAM battery movements.

Thud over Korat AB (DRV 2.0 terrain WIP) Can someone remember who made the file of this base?

So DRV 2.0 looks at the moment: Carrier ops are possible now. The target areas need a completly rework. This terrain is 20 years old now. It is still a lot to do, to bring it to a up to date standard. But i think tomorrow i will release a Beta version. Hopefully CA site is not to slow. If so i will try it on monday again.

And touchdown!!

The Su-27 is a 40 years old plane. It was made for Cold War. But today it is only useful in the air defence role. It can't survive in areas, which are covered by modern air defence systems.

In 1969, the Soviet Union delivered the first of 87 MiG-21Ms to the East German Air Force LSK/LV. This aircraft was eagerly awaited in the GDR, as it promised a greater range, a higher weapon load and an improved radar. But when the aircraft became part of everyday military life, the joy soon gave way to great disillusionment. It became apparent that the MiG-21M had lost a large part of its maneuverability compared to its predecessor models. The acceleration ability was also no longer what it was used to. The pilots were loudly critical, which was unusual, because in the GDR it was strictly frowned upon to criticize Soviet military technology. At first the head of the air force wanted to punish his pilots for their criticism, but his deputy convinced him of the opposite. If loyal elite pilots dared to criticize openly, then there must be something to it. Therefore, a series of training air battles was scheduled in which the MiG-21M had to compete against its predecessor models. In every single air battle, the MiG-21M was outmaneuvered and simulated being shot down. The aircraft was simply too fat and underpowered. The disillusionment was great. Therefore, it was decided to use the MiG-21M from now on only as a reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber. In order to bridge the time until more modern MiG-21 variants arrived, the older MiG-21 versions were ordered to be modernized. The focus was on the MiG-21PF and the MiG-21F-13. The MiG-21F-13 was the most agile version of the MiG-21. It was loved by its pilots. But this aircraft had some disadvantages. These included the lack of an air target radar, a low weapon load and a less than reliable engine. These problems needed to be addressed. The project was codenamed "Moskito". At the end of 1969, the Chief of the GDR Air Force presented the "Moskito" project at a meeting of the top leadership of the Warsaw Pact states. Polish and Czech participants were interested, so an agreement was reached that the "Moskito" project should be jointly pursued by the three states of the GDR, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Poland took on the task of modernizing the weapon system. Czechoslovakia would take care of the engine and the GDR would revise the sensor system. Work in Poland progressed quickly. This was because Poland was already working on a double launch rail for air-to-air missiles. It was called Monsun and was originally intended for the MiG-21PF. It now had to be integrated into the weapon system of the MiG-21F-13. This was achieved within a few months. The Czechs' task was more difficult. Initially, the original R-11F-300 engine was to be replaced by the MiG-21PFM engine. However, there were some delays and problems installing the engine. In addition, the increase in performance was only achieved when the afterburner was used, not with normal thrust. It was only when the Soviet Union agreed to supply the R-13F-300 engine that real progress could be made. Normal thrust increased by 5%, and afterburner thrust by an incredible 25%. The test pilots were enthusiastic about the MiG-21F-13 with this engine. In the GDR, they were faced with the problem of developing an air target radar that would match the RP-21 in terms of performance. The RP-21 did not fit into the slim nose of the MiG-21F-13. Therefore, the radar rangefinder SRD-5ND Kwant was used as the starting point for radar development. By using semiconductor technology instead of vacuum tubes, it was possible to reduce the weight of the device, increase its reliability and triple the detection distance. Instead of detecting a large aerial target at 7 km, the new radar had a range of more than 20 km. Making the radar's small antenna swivelable was a major problem. But after a few failed attempts, it was possible to develop a reliable mechanism. By mid-1971, project work had progressed to the point where the components developed by the three participating countries in the "Moskito" project could be combined in a prototype. Flight testing went surprisingly smoothly, so that the conversion of the first MiG-21F-13 to the new standard could begin in early 1972. In the GDR, the work was carried out in the aircraft factory in Dresden. Modernized aircraft were given the type designation MiG-21F-13M. The Polish aircraft were given the same designation, while the Czechs called their machines S-106M. Between 50 and 60 MiG-21F-13s were converted in each of the three countries. Czechoslovakia built another 50 new machines till 1976. The MiG-21F-13M saw its first combat deployment in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The Soviet Union demanded that its allies compensate for the aircraft losses of Egypt and Syria by supplying MiG-21s. The GDR supplied the unpopular MiG-21M, while Poland and the Czechs each sent 12 MiG-21F-13Ms to Egypt. They were first deployed in the air battle of Al-Mansura, where they were able to shoot down 11 Israeli F-4Es without losing a single aircraft of their own. The Egyptian pilots were enthusiastic about the MiG-21F-13M. The MiG-21F-13M was flown in the GDR until 1985. In Poland and Czechoslovakia they were taken out of service in 1990. The pilots of the MiG-21F-13 loved this aircraft and considered it the best MiG-21 version ever.

Somewhere over Vietnam

Somewhere over North Vietnam.

Coastal tiles are done. Still to do are river in city tiles and railways i farmland tiles. WIP screenshot shows the coastline and sea tiles. If you look to the river you see one of the old river in city tiles.

Coastal tiles are done. Still to do are river in city tiles and railways i farmland tiles. WIP screenshot shows the coastline and sea tiles. If you look to the river you see one of the old river in city tiles.