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Attention All Pilots and Tankers! We are proud to announce that we have opened Pre-Orders on two new Collector Tanks and a new Collector Plane for IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles series! The following are now available for Pre-Order in the IL-2 Official Webstore! All feature a 20% Pre-Order Discount! - Churchill Mk.IV Heavy Tank - StuG III Ausf.G Mobile Assault Gun - IAR-80/81 Romanian Fighter-Bomber We continue to expand the selection of aircraft and tanks that can be operated on any map in the Great Battles series and create entertaining matchups in both our Single-player and Multiplayer environments. We have chosen these subjects as they further bolster the historical options you have as a player or mission builder for Tank Crew, Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Kuban. However, as always they can be used on any map against any opponent you wish. These new tanks and the IAR-80/81 also add some very interesting history to the Great Battles series. The Churchill tank was offered through the Lend-Lease program and the IAR, flew for both the Axis and Allied sides during the war! The StuG was on just about every battlefield everywhere. The tanks are once again being built by our talented partner DigitalForms and the IAR-80/81 is being built by our long time friend and collaborator Ivan Shirshov. We also plan to make a Romanian pilot and language pack for him. Churchill Mk.IV The Churchill was a British heavy Infantry Tank that first saw combat during World War II in 1942 and remained in service in the postwar era until 1952. One of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war, the Churchill went into action for the first time during the Dieppe Raid in France in August 1942 and also saw action in North Africa, Italy, and on the Eastern Front. The chassis design proved very versatile and it was used as the basis for many specialized vehicles throughout the war. The Churchill Mark IV was the most numerous of the series, with 1,622 produced. This variant was virtually identical to the Churchill Mark III, with the main difference being a cheaper and better-protected cast turret. A Bedford 12-cylinder gasoline engine powered the tank and was capable of providing 350 horsepower. The tank’s top speed was around 24 km/h (15 mph), but Soviet tests claimed that a Churchill Mark III reached 28 km/h (17 mph). The main armament of the Churchill Mark IV was the Ordnance Quick-Firing (QF) 6-pounder gun of 57mm caliber. The secondary armament consisted of one coaxial 7.92 mm Besa machine gun mounted in the turret and a second Besa machine gun fitted in the hull. Beginning in 1943, some Churchill Mark IVs were refitted with 75 mm M3 guns taken from battle-damaged Shermans in North Africa (as well as a .30 caliber M1919 coaxial machine gun) and became known as the Churchill NA 75. Around two hundred tanks were converted in this manner. As part of the Lend-Lease program, the Soviet Union was sent 344 Churchill Mark IIs, IIIs and IVs, beginning in 1942, with 91 being lost enroute on the Arctic Convoys. Eventually, these tanks saw action at Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kursk, Prokhorovka, Kharkov and other battles. StuG III Ausf.G The Sturmgeschütz III (or StuG III) assault gun was one of the Germany’s most-produced armored fighting vehicles during World War II and saw action on all fronts in both Europe and North Africa. Initially deployed as a mobile armored light gun for infantry support, the StuG III underwent constant revisions throughout the war and was eventually heavily employed in the tank destroyer role. The StuG III Ausführung (Ausf.) G was the final and most common variant of the StuG III series with approximately 8400 built. Production of the type began in December 1942 and ended in April 1945. Panzer III Ausf. M chassis and Maybach HL120 V-12 gasoline engine rated at 296 horsepower allowed for a top speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). This StuG III Ausf. G was armed with the 75 mm Sturmkanone 40 (StuK 40) L/48 that was a modification of KwK 40 tank gun with different recoil absorbers (you may be already familiar with it from Pz.IV tank included in Tank Crew). Additionally, a shielded 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun was fitted above the loader’s hatch and spaced armor plates were also added to the vehicle front and sides from May 1943.

Attention All Pilots and Tankers! We are excited to announce the newest additions to IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles line-up – the Sd.Kfz. 10/5 Flak 38 and GAZ-MM 72-K vehicle mounted anti-aircraft guns! These two unique and deadly vehicles are our first Collector Vehicles and they will bring a new type of gameplay to the Great Battles series. Now your airfield or supply column can be protected by actual humans driving or manning these rapid fire and deadly AAA batteries! Our awesome partners at DigitalForms, the same team who built our amazing tanks for Tank Crew, are once again lending their considerable modeling talents to the GAZ-MM 72-K and Sd.Kfz. 10/5 Flak 38. When completed this will no doubt be must-haves for your IL-2 collection! Pre-Sales of these vehicles are NOW AVAILABLE in the IL-2 Official Webstore. Regular price is $24.99, but pre-orders are available for just $19.99! The GAZ-MM 72-K is tentatively scheduled for release by the end of the year and the Sd.Kfz. 10/5 Flak 38 by Q2 2021. GAZ-MM 72-K (25mm) Vehicle Mounted Anti-Aircraft Gun The GAZ-MM was a double-axle 1.5-ton truck used for both general purpose and specialized purposes by the Soviet Union during WWII. It was a licensed copy of the American built Ford-AA truck, albeit a simpler version with a more powerful motor than the original GAZ-AA truck. At the outbreak of WWII the Soviet Union had over 150,000 vehicles in use and by the end of it’s production run there were nearly 1 million vehicles built. During the war, several different versions of the GAZ-MM appeared, some with no doors, bumpers and some with no front brakes and only one headlight. These changes were made to keep production costs and time as simple as possible. It was a rugged truck and served the Soviet Union well during the war. The Soviet 25mm automatic air-defense gun M1940 or 72-K as it was known was designed for protecting infantry units from air attack. It was normally mounted on a four-wheeled carriage that could be towed by a truck or other vehicle. It had a slant range of up to 2.4km and could hit aerial targets up to 2km in altitude. The gun could also be used against ground targets and light vehicles if necessary. It was manned by a six-person crew and was an automatic weapon with rounds loaded from the top via a feeding mechanism. The 72-K saw extensive use by the Soviet Union’s armed forces for many years only being finally phased out in the 1960s. When loaded into the bed of a GAZ-MM truck it becomes a mobile AAA battery allowing you to protect an armored column, supply convoy, infantry unit or a stationary target like an airbase with accurate and deadly fire. Our GAZ-MM 72-K can be used in both single-player and multiplayer scenarios and it will include several custom-made missions to demonstrate its ability at knocking down enemy planes! Sd.Kfz. 10/5 Flak 38 (20mm) Vehicle Mounted Anti-Aircraft Gun *Development pictures not yet available. The Sd.Kfz. 10 or Sonderkraftfahrzeug (special motorized vehicle) was a German half-track that saw action throughout World War II and on all fronts in Europe and North Africa. Its main role was as a prime mover for small towed guns or liquid agents and it could also carry eight troops. Different models could be specialized for a wide range of duties. It was powered by a Maybach 6-cylinder water-cooled gasoline engine. It had a semi-automatic Maybach Variorex-transmission with seven forward and three reverse gears. It could attain 65 km/h (40 mph), while the cruising speed was 45 km/h (28 mph). Steering was performed by both the front wheels and caterpillar threads. Shallow turns were done using the front wheels and sharper turns were done using the treads with one braking like a tank would. Sd.Kfz. 10 /5 carried the Flak 38 anti-aircraft gun in its rear bed and fired a 20mm projectile. The Flak 38 was an improvement over the older Flak 30 design and it had a rate of fire of 220 rounds per minute and weighed 420 Kilograms. Its use was ubiquitous throughout the war in all German theaters of operation and was the most produced artillery piece of the war by the Germans. Later designs mounted four Flak 38 cannons together for an added punch. The Flak 38 could also be towed by trucks or other vehicles when not mounted on Sd.Kfz. 10 half-tracks. In the right hands this gun was deadly to low flying Allied fighters. Our Sd.Kfz. 10 /5 Flak 38 can be used in both single-player and multiplayer scenarios and it will include several custom-made missions to showcase its ability to protect its airspace! We hope you will like these new vehicles! The Sturmovik Team

[fimg=left]http://www.arma3.com/images/post_thumbs/arma3_alpha.jpg[/fimg]For those of us who have enjoyed playing OFP, Arma, Arma 2, and Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead over the past decade, today BIS released a playable alpha version of Arma 3 on Steam. It features the smaller of the 2 islands that the final version will ship with, a few single player scenarios, the mission editor, and multiplayer. Steam Arma 3 page: http://store.steampo...com/app/107410/ BIS page: http://www.arma3.com/ In case you're wondering, yes, Arma 3 is Steam-only. Check BIS' site for their explanation. You can buy the Steam key direct from their site, or just buy it direct on Steam, unless you want the big "Supporter Edition" which is only for sale on BIS' site. Either way, you're getting a key for Steam.