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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.