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Dear Friends, As the summer goes on, the work continues. One of the collector planes in development, Li-2, is nearing its release. Here are some of the WIP shots we wanted to share with you (no airborne operations shots yet - the paratroopers will learn how to jump from it next week). As you can see, unlike its unarmed C-47 cousin, this one was like a gunship wannabe - it had turrets AND a forward-firing machine gun - who knows when it might come in handy, right?! An armed transport aircraft with paratroopers and cargo inside - how much more versatile can you get? Well, add the bomb-carrying capability to this mix as well and you get a machine that ticks nearly all the boxes you ever wanted. Usually going the 'jack of all trades' route meant sacrificing something in every trade, but the USSR needed versatile aircraft. While the Western Allies during the war had plenty of long-range fighters to cover their bombers and mainly unarmed transport aircraft and had air superiority most of the time, Soviet VVS resources were always not enough. You may notice many other differences to the C-47 - different instruments and cargo doors, for instance. Even the engines were different, being Soviet-built. We hope to release this interesting aircraft later this month or in early August. See you in the skies!

Dear Friends, Today we present to you the 5.104 update. It brings a new campaign and new mission types for Career mode. 5.104 UPDATE The new historical campaign Sky Nomads now is already available on our website and on Steam. It continues the story of the Soviet fighter pilot you may know from the Blazing Steppe campaign. After having fought in the Stalingrad battle in 1942, in 1943 he found himself in a midst of a hectic battle of Kuban - the campaign title reflects a bit the nomad life of the 43rd IAP which had to constantly change airfields and endure several Luftwaffe strikes on its positions. There is more information about the campaign in our Dev Blog #344. New missions in the Career mode are photo reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and the escort of the transport aircraft on airdrop missions. The photo recon missions are now available with the Arado Ar. 234 of Sonderkommando Götz in Normandy (in the next update it will be also added to Spitfire XIVe). Artillery spotting missions are given to RAF squadrons No. 26 and No. 63 in Normandy which had the Spitfire MK.Vb and were specially trained for this task. The transport escort missions happen in the historical timeframes of the Normandy, Market Garden, Bastogne, and Varsity airborne operations - you can them in any Allied fighter squadron. Do your best to keep them safe on their way to the drop zone and back home! There are other changes and fixes in the list as well: 5.104 New historical campaign Sky Nomads (Yak-7b pilot in the battle of Kuban). There is detailed info about it in our Dev Blog #344; New Career mode missions: Photo Recon on jet Arado Ar. 234 in Normandy (Sonderkommando Götz); New Career mode missions: Artillery Spotting on Spitfire Mk.Vb in Normandy (No. 26 and No. 63 Squadrons RAF that were specially trained for this task); New Career mode missions: Transport Aircraft Escort of C-47s on their way to their drop zones during Normandy, Market Garden, Bastogne, and Varsity airborne operations timeframes; Tank campaigns Last Chance and Breaking Point are updated (added tactical numbers to aircraft involved, added new vehicles to some of the engagements); Many award descriptions updated; Ju 87D-3: the additional armor plate now moves together with the canopy as it should; Bf 109 G-6/AS: rockets correctly disappear when jettisoning their containers. WARBRD RACE 2023 WINNERS In other news - we have the winners of the air race finals. They will receive or have received gifts from us and VIRPIL Controls. As you can see, CSW_Tommy454 grabbed the first prizes in both categories - air races are unpredictable and two participants crashed in their Messerschmitts after performing a difficult maneuver! The race stream is available here. Also, if you have participated in the race qualification, don't forget to check your profile on IL-2 website - there is a -50% off promo code applicable to all released content, including the newest ones like Spitfire XIVe, SSW D.IV or Battle of Normandy. JULY CALENDAR Finally, here's an artwork ready to become your desktop wallpaper for next month if you wish (FullHD, 4K). See you in the skies!

Hello Everyone, Happy Easter Sunday to those of you who celebrate it in the West. I hope the Easter Bunny brought you an Easter basket full of goodies and that you had a nice day with friends and family. In the spirit of Easter I have have an Easter gift for you! I know many of you are anxiously awaiting the flyable C-47A we have been working on. Actually, it's being built by Ugra Media with our supervision. Working with third-parties on aircraft is not easy and it's usually a pretty slow process, but progress is being made. Below is a very much Work in Progress screen of the C-47 cockpit. It's been grafted onto another model so we can test it in the engine, that's why it may look a little funny. It will be mated to the C-47 external model soon. This image looks quite nice, but be aware more work on textures, animation and connecting it's systems tot he engine needs to be done before it is ready. In other words, don't assume it will be released next week and what you see here may change a bit before release. I just wanted to show you that it indeed is coming along slowly, but surely. Hope you enjoyed your little Easter surprise. 🐇🥚

Attention Pilots! It is our pleasure to announce some new Collector Planes for the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles series! We are still waist deep in Battle of Normandy and Flying Circus Vol. II development, but we have decided to push on with our partner Ugra Media and bring you a few more iconic and important aircraft! The following planes have long been discussed as possible projects or desired by community members and now we are able to make the commitment to build them. So, without further delay here they are. - C-47A Skytrain - Lisouov Li-2 (Soviet version of the DC-3/C-47) - Sopwith Snipe 7.F1 - Siemens-Schuckert D.IV First, let’s cover the C-47A. We already have the C-47A as an AI piloted aircraft in Great Battles. Many of you have requested that we make a cockpit for it and make it flyable, so we are. This will give the Americans and British a cargo plane, much like the Ju-52 on the German side. The Ju52 has been a good seller for us and a unique experience for fans of IL-2. We want to do the same with the C-47. The C-47 is the military version of the venerable Douglas DC-3 which first took flight in the 1930’s and served all over the world during WWII and very far beyond. Most notably it was the main troop transport for American and British paratroopers during the invasion of Normandy. As you have seen in an earlier Developer Diary, we have already built some awesome looking U.S. Army paratroopers that will jump from C-47s in BON. We are also making British paratrooper models as well., but they are not ready to be shown yet. The C-47 will provide a great new way to fly for the Allies. Work on the C-47 cockpit has already begun so we have decided to open Pre-Orders today as is our tradition for new Collector Planes in development. Please show the ‘Gooney Bird” your love! Pre-Order is available in the IL-2 Official Webstore for just $19.99- a 20% discount off MSRP. Second, let’s talk briefly about the Lisunov Li-2. The Li-2 was a license-built Soviet version of the DC-3/C-47. It served bravely over the Eastern Front with the VVS and was even used as a bomber by the Soviets. Although it is seemingly identical to the C-47 it does have several differences, so extra work is needed to convert our C-47 into an Li-2. Our partners Ugra Media will begin this work once the C-47 cockpit is well in-hand. The Li-2 had different engines and cowlings, different instruments, a different cargo door and other small changes. Some also had a dorsal mounted gun turret for self-defense. The Li-2 will be a welcome addition to our Eastern Front themed titles. We will offer the Li-2 for Pre-Order as soon as work has officially begun in earnest. The C-47/Li-2 holds a special place for us because it represents cooperation between the old Soviet Union and the USA, which for a team of Russian developers and an American producer is a historical metaphor for our own team. Next, we will also partner with Ugra Media to create the British-built Sopwith Snipe 7.F1 fighter. The Snipe was a late entrant into the Great War, only coming to front-line service in the Summer of 1918. However, it was a successful aircraft and helped the Entente fight off the of the terrific late-war German designs in the final months and weeks of the war. The Snipe will be the first truly new WWI aircraft we committed to in a long time and this will bring a new combat experience to Flying Circus Volumes II and III. Pre-orders will be available once the Snipe has entered production. Finally, Ugra Media will build a late-war German fighter as well – that being the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV. Like the Snipe it entered the war late, but was a terrific design and will be a deadly opponent for the Snipe and other Entente fighters. This plane will be a challenge to make as references are tough to come by and we don’t believe any original examples survive today. However, we love a good challenge and plan to make this bird take flight just like all the rest. It’s interesting to see the similarities of the Snipe and SS.DIV designs with their compact bodies which we would image makes them quite maneuverable. When work begins, we will give you a change to pre-order the SS.DIV. All of these new planes do not have an impact on current development timelines for BON or FC2 and FC3 as we have been planning to make these aircraft for a while. We will work once again with our long-time partner Ugra Media to bring them to life in another team effort, much like we did for the famous U-2VS. We hope you enjoyed hearing this news and we look forward to bringing these fantastic aircraft to the Great Battles series! See you in the skies! The Sturmovik Team and Ugra Media

Update 4.502 Attention Pilots! On this chilly Autumn day, we’re releasing a large update to IL-2 Sturmovik - update 4.502 is here! The star of this update is the new Hurricane Mk.II Collector Plane. This plane has the most modifications in our sim and with a wide range of weapon loadouts available this makes it 5 aircraft in 1. You get several variants including the IIa, IIb, IIc, IId and the one with the Soviet armament. The famous Dust Filter and Merlin XX engine with +14lb boost are also available. On top of all that, you can use the new bird in the Career mode right away - we added it to the Battle of Moscow and the Battle of Stalingrad careers. In addition to the Hurricane we have added the legendary С-47А "Skytrain" transport plane for the Battle of Normandy. The C-47 is AI only, but adds a new dimension to our missions and variety of Allied aircraft you will encounter in the sky. It is also great for mission makers who want to make supply runs an integral part of their battle. And finally, Battle of Moscow players receive new 4K quality skins for the Bf-110 E-2 thanks to our talented friend Martin =ICDP= Catney. On the technical front we have added a new and more realistic G-load physiology modeling system. This work was described in great detail in our Developer Diary #263. Additionally, a lot of work was done on all the aspects of the ground battles, significantly improving the quality and realism of Tank Crew engagements. There are many improvements to the pilot AI as well in this update. And finally, long-awaited Career mode improvements are finally starting to arrive. Main Features 1. The Hurricane Mk.II Collector Plane is now available to its owners; 2. The C-47A transport aircraft is now available in the sim as an AI enemy or ally in the Quick Mission mode. It can also be used in the custom missions as an AI transport aircraft; 3. Female crews got female voices in the radio messages; 4. Pilot physiology modeling has been improved significantly. This is described in detail in the Developers Diary #263; 5. The zoom function now works correctly on VR devices with canted displays (Pimax) without using the performance-intensive Parallel Projection mode; 6. New multiplayer scenarios, including Cooperative ones, are added for Tank Crew (you can create a server directly from the game by selecting a scenario or scenarios from the Multiplayer\Cooperative\TankCrew or Multiplayer\Dogfight\TankCrew folders); 7. 4K external textures for Bf 110E heavy fighter (Battle of Moscow) are added thanks to Martin =ICDP= Catney; 8. A-20 and B-25 bombers got new paint schemes with invasion stripes for different timeframes; Tank Crew Improvements 9. Several missions of the Soviet tank campaign "Breaking point" were improved; 10. Both tank campaigns are now available in Simplified Chinese, German and French; 11. KV-1s got an additional paint scheme; 12. It is now possible to use binoculars or personal weapons after pressing the "T" button (except for the M4A2 tank, where binoculars and personal weapons cannot be used simultaneously with a machine gun); 13. It is now possible to designate a waypoint on the ground in a command mode while using binoculars; 14. The enemy spawn point in Tank duel quick mission is correctly randomized after the destruction of a previous one if the player did not leave its spawn point; 15. It is now possible to designate a target in a command mode while using binoculars; 16. Fixed the issue that prevented the tank commander from using binoculars or personal weapons after pressing the "T" key if he does not have a machine gun to operate; 17. Trying to fire the M4A2 machine gun while using binoculars or personal weapons won’t work; 18. AI gunners use bracketing the target with fire when engaging the ground targets both for the range and (if the target is moving or there is a wind) the azimuth error. The size of the initial aiming error depends on the AI level, distance, target speed and wind; 19. Ground AI gunners now have a certain delay in detecting and starting aiming at a new target depending on the AI level, distance and density of the group of enemy targets; 20. Ground AI vehicles return the turret and/or gun to the traveling position only after a considerable time after the destruction or disappearance of the last enemy target from the field of view; 21. Fixed an issue where detailed AI tanks (and especially self-propelled guns) could not hit the target at minimum distances (they were firing above the target); 22. SU-152 will correctly stop for a shot and won’t drive towards the target without firing; 23. The extra (maximum) AI level parameter has been removed from the Quick Mission, it caused errors in the AI functioning; 24. Fixed a bug due to which the AI controlled tanks did not attack obviously visible targets in some rare circumstances; 25. A bug has been fixed due to which there was no difference between aircraft or ground vehicle gunners with different AI levels; 26. The enemies and allies have correct marker colors in tank Coop missions; 27. Detailed damage buildings on Prokhorovka map are correctly displayed at far distances (the inner side of the walls was invisible far away); Airplanes physics, systems and damage model improvements 28. 13mm German and 12.7mm Italian machine guns are no longer loaded with HE ammo only due to a bug; 29. USAAF pilots wear G-suits only when piloting P-47D-22, P-51D-15 and P-38J-25 in September 1944 or later; 30. A circular limit of the movable aiming mark of the Mk IID and K-14A gyro reticles has been implemented. The mark also bounces and stops at the working range boundary when the gyro mirror reaches its stop; 31. The characteristic whistle of P-51 machine guns ports during active maneuvering that disappeared before due to an error is back now; 32. P-51 and P-38 fighters won’t be pulled into a dive when their tail section is damaged; 33. Ju-52 / 3m g4e cargo containers drop animation has been corrected; 34. The mixture control of al aircraft with M-105 PF engine became standard (similar to Yak-7/9); 35. According to the historical data found, Ju-87D ammo counters are disabled when the BK 37 outboard guns are fitted; 36. Fixed an issue due to which hit effects weren’t visible on certain parts of the P-51 fuselage; 37. Bf 109F-2 cockpit canopy correctly jettisons; 38. All Fw 190 aircraft are less stable after rudder loss; 39. Tail combat damage causes less shaking; 40. Closed landing gear doors on P-51D-15 won’t be torn off at high speeds; 41. The top gunner of the He-111H-6 and the bottom gunner of the A-20B won’t always hold their machine guns and its hatches won’t be always open; 42. The turret hatch on certain aircraft turrets won’t start to close before the machine gun is returned to the stowed position; 43. U-2VS shooter's leg won’t clip through the fuselage; 44. Incorrect (missing) armor value of the armored glass visor and headrest has been fixed for La-5FN; 45. TIncorrect (missing) armor value of the armored headrest has been fixed for P-38J; Visual aircraft improvements 46. Yak-9 s. 2, Yak-9T s.2, Fw 190 D-9, P-47D-22, P-38J-25, P-51D-15: jettisoned cockpit canopy has all the details; 47. Fixes for Bf 109 G-6 4K textures from Martin = ICDP = Catney (Barkhorn and Hartman planes); 48. The A-20B tail lamp no longer visibly detaches from the aircraft at a significant distance from the observer; 49. Fixed an issue where some of the glass fragments could be visible next to torn P-51D elements; 50. When moving the camera away from Yak-9 aircraft its effects won’t disappear; 51. In the upper MG turret of He 111 H-6 bomber some elements won’t visually jitter; 52. Damaged Pe-2 series 35 cockpit windows have a correct color; 53. Some of the Fokker D.VII airplane debris pieces won’t have extra engines visually attached to them; Aircraft AI corrections 54. An AI issue that could cause a fighter AI to be unable to engage a slowly moving target flying in a circle has been fixed; 55. An AI issue that could cause excessive error in aiming the forward firing armament at ground and air targets (especially in a frontal aerial attack) has been eliminated; 56. Heavy aircraft will use the differential brakes after landing correctly to turn to a taxiway, preventing unintentional turns; 57. An AI issue that could make the bombers unable to start a bombing run after a failed first bombing run has been fixed; 58. U-2VS AI pilot can fire unguided rockets at the ground targets; 59. AI pilots attacking a ground target from a high altitude will reduce the altitude in a downward spiral first; 60. AI pilots now try to reduce the G-load they experience in order to prevent loss of consciousness if their condition is deteriorated due to fatigue or other factors; Career mode improvements 61. An AI in Career mode won’t stuck at the first route waypoint after takeoff if its assigned target is very near (less than 5500 meters); 62. A random issue that could cause the bombers to stuck in a circle above the target area after dropping their bombs has been fixed; 63. Several typos in the Battle of the Rhine cutscenes were corrected; 64. Hurricane Mk.II fighters have been added to the Battle of Moscow Career mode, they are available in 5 squadrons: 1st GIAP (former 29th IAP), 67th IAP PVO, 157th IAP, 287th IAP, 736th IAP PVO; 65. Hurricane Mk.II fighters have been added to the Battle of Stalingrad Career mode, they are available in 2 squadrons: 651st IAP PVO and 629th IAP PVO; 66. There are now 13 additional subphases in the Rheinland Career frontline (18 different frontline positions according to the current career date in total); 67. Three American squadrons were added to the Rheinland Career, one of them is available for the player to join - 412th Fighter Squadron, 373rd FG (P-47s) and two are AI squadrons 410th Fighter Squadron, 373rd FG and 411th Fighter Squadron, 373rd FG; 68. 18 new target locations added for the following mission types in Rheinland Career: Ground Forces Support, Enemy Troops Concentration Attack, Enemy Troops Concentration Bombing Strike, Railway Junction Attack and Railway Junction Bombing Strike. Please discuss the update in this thread.

Dear Friends, It's the middle of Autumn already and the work on the project progresses well. For instance, the AI-controlled transport plane C-47A Skytrain (Dakota) for Battle of Normandy is almost ready and you'll get it in the next update. This WWII veteran served in air forces and civilian air fleets of many countries for several decades - one of the iconic symbols of the piston era of aviation. These aircraft played a tremendous role in the Battle of Normandy, dropping paratroopers, supplies and towing assault gliders. This legend will be finally reconstructed in our project, even if it is an AI only aircraft for now. Later on, when we complete another stage of the Career mode improvements, it will be used in this mode for transporting cargo loads, airdropping paratroopers and parachute supply containers for the troops on the front-lines. At the moment the new paratrooper model and its integration in the Career mode are not yet ready for Early Access, so this aircraft will be available in QMB and community-created custom missions as an ally or enemy loaded with cargo or parachute supply containers. The second hero of the day is the upcoming Collector Plane - the British Hawker Hurricane Mk.II fighter. This legendary early war aircraft saw much action in the Battle of Britain and later on the Eastern Front with the Red Army Air Force via the lend-lease program. This fighter actively participated in the Battle of Moscow and Battle of Stalingrad and the owners of this Collector Plane will be able to use it in the Battle of Moscow and Battle of Stalingrad careers in the coming update. There were many different modifications of this plane, the most interesting ones will be available in our sim: Hurricane Mk.IIa - default model with eight Browning .303 MGs; Hurricane Mk.IIb - modification with twelve (!) Browning .303 MGs; Hurricane Mk.IIc - modification with four 20mm Hispano Mk.II guns; Hurricane Mk.IId - two assault modifications with two Browning .303 MGs and two 40mm Vickers S Class guns, with or without additional armor plates; Hurricane Mk.II Soviet - modification armed with Soviet bombs, unguided rockets, two 12.7mm UBK MGs and two 20mm ShVAK cannons; In addition, either of the modifications listed above can be equipped with a Merlin engine with an additional boost, air cleaner for dusty conditions and rear-view mirror. The work on Tank Crew is continuing as well. The coming update will include very important changes for ground vehicle AI, both detailed and simpler modeled vehicles, making the AI gunner actions more realistic. To hit a target at a distance, they will usually bracket a target with gunfire as they find the proper range. Spotting a target to the side of the current aiming line will require more time the more distant it is. Both of these actions will depend on the AI proficiency level set in the mission. The AI gunner will also behave more naturally when the target is destroyed or no longer visible - it won't rotate the turret to the default position immediately, but will wait for some time, looking for more targets in the same general direction. Many smaller improvements and changes will be added as well, as we prepare Tank Crew for its official release. Enjoy!

Hello everybody, The progress on many parts of the Battle of Normandy project is becoming more visible with each passing day. We have placed the order on the numerous ground vehicles that will be outsourced while the design document on the buildings for the new map will be finished soon. The list of the airfields and the map borders are final and the work on the map itself has begun in earnest. The list of the squadrons that will be recreated in the Battle of Normandy Career mode and its main scenario are prepared as well. Visual models of the three aircraft and the FM of the first one (P-47D-22) are in the works. Today we can show you the current state of the visual model of the second aircraft in development - C-47A transport plane which will be manned by AI. The famous WWII legend, it was the best known Allied transport plane. Built under license in many countries, its civilian versions are still in service now, in the early XXI century. This workhorse played a key role in the airborne operations of the Battle of Normandy.