1. Gun convergence settings are stored correctly;
   
2. SSW D.IV appears in the game stats correctly;
   
3. Bofors AA guns changed to QF 13pdr 6cwt in the Gotha G.V and Handley-Page O/400 scenarios, as well as in the campaign Against the Tide;
   
4. Ar 234 B-2 and Me 410: target altitude setting range corrected for the BZA-1 bomb sight;
   
5. Ar 234 B-2: a small cosmetic change (button on the flight stick);
   
6. Bf-110E2 and G2: typos on cockpit placards corrected (Oyster_KAI).

Dear Friends,

Today we have several pieces of news for you at once. Firstl, patch 5.103 has just been published - its changelog is not very long, but contains some important points:

1. Fixed Animation Operator objects animations in multiplayer for the upcoming in-game event;
   
2. SSW D.IV stall behavior has been corrected (now the aircraft stalls without warning shaking);
   
3. Fixed the virtual camera position on the SSW D.IV wing;
   
4. A new type of task has been added to the Battle of Normandy career - escorting transport aircraft with various cargoes, including ambulance ones;
   
5. Fixed the continuation of the career of a German pilot from Jasta 24 on the Western Front after August 25, 1918;
   
6. When attacking enemy balloons, enemy AI pilots will engage the player and his group as it should be;
   
7. Scenarios for Gota G.V and Handley Page O/100 WWI bombers added;
   
8. Fixed a bug in the operation of the bombsight instruments when the interface is hidden;
   
9. Hidden GUI state will no longer persist across game restarts;
   
10. Fixed a bug in the Bodenplatte Career mode that resulted in an error message in some missions that included the new Bf 109 G-6AS;
    
11. Against the Tide campaign updated;
    
12. Campaigns "Against the Tide" and "Wild Mustangs" are translated into Spanish.

Also, remember the plans for 2023 and beginning of 2024 we have shared with you earlier in DD? Here’s a visual illustration.


You probably noticed a mention of a certain in-game event - now we can reveal what it will be.

The event is an air race on fighter aircraft we’re preparing together with VIRPIL Controls company. There will be two aircraft, Bf 109 F4 and Yak-1 series 69, which are included in our base module Battle of Stalingrad standard edition (if you play IL-2 on Steam, you have it already). You can pilot the bird you are more familiar with: the best results will be determined in each category separately.


The races will be held in two stages - qualification, which will last at least for several days starting on June 1, and the finals, the date of which will be announced later.

To participate, it will be enough to go to one of the race servers and fly the track on the selected aircraft as fast as you can - the number of attempts during the qualification stage is not limited. The completion time in each attempt will be recorded automatically, the best time will be taken into account. Please note that after the end of the event all the participants who have flown the track at least once will receive a small gift on our website.

If you are playing the Steam version of IL-2, then the IL-2 and Steam accounts must be linked so that the server could identify you (your nickname must be visible in the main menu of the game). If you have not linked your accounts yet, you can do it quickly - click on the automatically generated pilot name in the main menu of the Steam version of the game and then either enter your IL-2 login and password or go through registration there.

After the end of the qualification stage there will be final flights to determine the winners among the pilots who showed the best results. All finalists will receive special gifts from 1C Game Studios and from VIRPIL Controls.

Please join our special Discord channel to discuss anything related to the event.

You can train on the qualification track right now on our servers in the Coop mode (server name: WarBRD Race Tournament).

Wait for the announcement of the beginning of the qualifying races!

Dear Friends,

This year we have already released two previously announced Collector Planes. Today we would like to share plans for the future aircraft.

In addition to the already released Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVe Bubbletop and Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 A/S, the plan for this year includes:

1. Li-2 - Soviet military transport aircraft. Unlike the original C-47 (Li-2 was based on it under license), it was also used as a bomber and had an optional turret and even forward firing weaponry. The planned release date is Summer 2023.




2. American towable glider (!) WACO CG-4A, which has been widely used during the Normandy landings. The planned release date is Fall 2023.




3. Soviet fighter La-5 series 38 with a teardrop-shaped canopy. Its lighter design had a positive effect on the characteristics of the aircraft compared to earlier models. The planned release date is Fall 2023.


4. Romanian fighter IAR-80/81 in two basic variants («long» and «short»). Both variants and 7 modifications of the aircraft are described in detail in . The planned release date is the end of 2023.Please note: since this Collector Plane will be effectively two significantly different aircraft (different fuselages, different flight characteristics, different paint scheme kits, there are differences in their cockpits as well) in one package, its pre-order price will increase on May 17th to the level of larger Collector Planes like C-47. Of course, the pre-orders placed before this date won’t be affected by this change, so if you’re interested in [url] getting these aircraft eventually, please consider doing so before May 17th.

5. The development of three new fighters scheduled for 2024 has begun:

German interceptor Focke-Wulf Ta 152
Soviet legendary biplane Polikarpov I-153 «Chaika»
British fighter Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc armed with 7.69 mm machine guns and a different tail.




6. By the end of 2023, it is planned to complete the development of the Flying Circus Vol.III which will include eight aircraft:

F.E.2b.
R.E.8.
Hanriot HD.1.
Nieuport 11.C1.
Nieuport 17.C1.
Nieuport 17.C1 GBR.
Albatros D.II.
Halberstadt D.II









It is also planned to complete the Western Front 1918 map and populate the entire front line with objects. This updated version of the map will be available in different seasons.

7. The story of Flying Circus continues: plans for 2024 include additional improvements to the map and the development of seven new collectible aircraft:

Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter.
Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter B.
Sopwith Pup.
Airco DH.2.
Albatros D.III.
Roland C.IIa.
Fokker E.III.








8. We’re also helping a team of enthusiasts who are working on a new map of one of the theaters of operations on the Eastern Front. A significant progress has been made - we hope that the map will become part of the Great Battles game world soon. The details about the map and the development team will be revealed later.

Since the Battle of Normandy release, 9 World War II aircraft, 15 World War I aircraft and two maps have already been produced or are in development. And that's not all! Your support motivates us to improve and extend the Great Battles series.

A new historical campaign is in the final stage of development - it is dedicated to the operation of Yak-7 fighter armed units. This year we plan to release another campaign and there are ideas for creating three new campaigns already.

In addition, this year we’re updating a number of previously created campaigns to integrate new technologies and content developed recently (you can see the Tank Crew campaigns being updated in the screenshots below).





The 1C Game Studios team wishes you good luck and aerial victories in the virtual sky! Congratulations on the upcoming Victory Day!

Dear Friends,

Today we have released another update 5.102 - two new Collector Planes, both of which arrived late in WWI and WWII respectively, and two new free historical campaigns.

The first one of them is the https://store.steampowered.com/app/2366322/2__SSW_DIV/ biplane. It came too late to the Great War to change Germany’s fortunes, but what machines did make it to front-line squadrons acquitted themselves well. The SS.DIV was the end result of a robust line of aircraft that saw service in the war and it came with a unique feature. The 200-hp SH.IIIa rotary engine had a crankshaft that rotated opposite of the engine and the propeller ’s rotation in an attempt to reduce the torque. The four-bladed propeller gave it a fast rate of climb and a high speed. The SS.DIV was even faster than Germany’s mainstay front-line fighter, the very successful Fokker D.VII. It was also very maneuverable, but reportedly had nasty stall behavior when pushed too far. The SS.DIV was armed with two 2 × 7.92mm machine guns.







In addition to Quick Mission Builder and Multiplayer modes, you can fly it in Career mode during Flying Circus timeframes if you own both this collector plane and either of Flying Circus volumes. In addition, in this case Against the Tide historical campaign (created by Jaegermeister) on the Flying Circus Western Front map will open up for you in the game for free - you'll become one of the Jasta (Jagdstaffel) 22 pilots that received these newest biplanes shortly before the end of the World War I.

The second new arrival is Messerschmitt Bf-109 G-6AS (also available on Steam). It was designed as a high-altitude interceptor and appeared in the Western Europe skies during late Spring 1944. 686 aircraft were built, 226 from scratch and 460 were upgraded from G-6 modification aircraft during repairs. The engine, DB605AS, was a modification of the DB605A. The installation of the bigger supercharger from the DB603 engine has increased the critical altitude and flight characteristics at high altitudes. The engine cowling became bigger, but it had a more aerodynamic form compared to a standard G6 cowling.







Another new historical campaign is added to the game for free - Wild Mustangs. It is available to all owners of the Battle of Bodenplatte and continues the story of 370th FG which started in the Lighting Strikes campaign by the same author (Jaegermeister).

As usual, there are other improvements and fixes as well:

1. New Collector Plane, the Great War biplane SSW D.IV has been released;
   
2. New Collector Plane, high altitude interceptor Bf 109 G-6AS has been released;
   
3. New free historical mini-campaign Against the Tide is available to players who own SSW D.IV Collector Plane and either of the Flying Circus volumes, thus having access to WWI Western Front map;
   
4. New free historical campaign Wild Mustangs set in the end of WWII is added to the game (it requires Battle of Bodenplatte);
   
5. Free historical campaign Wind of Fury has been updated (all aircraft have tactical numbers assigned, US vehicles are replaced by British ones in the British held territory, all missions were updated and re-tested);
   
6. Free historical campaign Sea Dragons (all aircraft have tactical numbers assigned, new aircraft types added, all missions were updated and re-tested);
   
7. New Ruler map tool added;
   
8. Dynamic visual damage decals appear on player controllable tanks correctly;
   
9. Bf 109 family FM corrected - the bug that reduced their listed climb rates a bit has been fixed;
   
10. Flying Circus Career: AI flight leader correctly takes off on certain airfields;
    
11. AI pilots priorities updated: now they will try to retain their bombs and rockets and will jettison them in combat only if they have an enemy on their six that is opening fire;
    
12. Spitfire Mk.XIVe with teardrop canopy: F24 photo control panel switches are now animated;
    
13. Spitfire Mk.XIVe with teardrop canopy: wing gun covers textures are aligned better;
    
14. Spitfire Mk.XIVe with teardrop canopy: it is now possible to set higher propeller RPM manually;
    
15. Bf 109 G-6 Late, Bf 109 G-14: BR-21 control panel typos fixed;
    
16. OnKilled event in mission logic won't trigger several times from MCU Command: Damage for AI controlled vehicles;
    
17. LCA is correctly visible in multiplayer (previously its gunner could appear hanging in the air).

Dear Friends,
Patch 5.101b is live:

1. Visual damage hit decals are visible again;
   
2. AI pilots correctly spot (or don't) spot enemies in bad lighting conditions like dawn or dusk;
   
3. AI pilots better engage enemies which have altitude advantage;
   
4. AI pilots better evade collisions;
   
5. FC Career: Schlasta 21 career in 1918 starts correctly;
   
6. FC Career: AI pilots correctly take off from Epiez airfield;
   
7. FC Career: new aircraft models appear in missions not earlier they are available historically;
   
8. FC Career: AI pilots in two-seater light bombers prioiritize carrying out the bombing strike instead of engaging enemy airplanes, they will engage only when directly attacked;
   
9. FC Career: aces list in the newspaper only shows the aces of the player country;
   
10. FC Career: some award requirements were corrected;
    
11. Career: player flight correctly performs the assigned task in patrol missions when starting on the airfield;
    
12. Career: artillery spotting mission coordinates displayed on the screen corrected for other languages (Russian, Deutsch, etc.);
    
13. Spitfire Mk.XIVe: several small parts in the cockpit have been improved and Oyster_KAI enhanced the cockpit textures; 
    
14. Spitfire Mk.XIVe: armored seat support is correctly visible from first person view;
    
15. Spitfire Mk.XIVe: formation lights are correctly visible from a distance;
    
16. Spitfire Mk.XIV and Mk.XIVe: fuel consumption rate corrected (reduced);
    
17. Both Bf 110s, Spitfires Mk.V and Mk.IX: typos in cockpit corrected by Oyster_KAI;
    
18. Pe-2 s. 87: pre-1942 missions with this aircraft start correctly;
    
19. Me 410: combat mode time limit corrected.

Dear friends,
Today is an important day for the project. We are proud to present the results of joint work with our partner "Ugra Media" - the Flying Circus Vol. II release. We have completed the Western Front 1918 map to the planned degree, as well as the development of the Career game mode (the full list of changes is available at the end of the news). During the work on the Career, we created new types of missions and adapted a significant number of existing ones to match the realities of the war in the skies of 1917-1918.




Flying Circus Vol. II includes:

• The map "Western Front 1918" containing northwestern and southeastern parts of the front line and Quick Mission Builder mode for it.
  
• Pilot’s Career mode for WWI.
  
• French fighter Spad VII.C1 in two variations.
  
• British Sopwith Triplane rotary engine fighter.
  
• French rotary engine fighter Nieuport 28.C1.
  
• French medium two-seat bomber Breguet 14.B2.
  
• British medium two-seat bomber Airco DH.IV.
  
• British heavy twin-engine bomber Handley Page 0-400.
  
• German Fokker D.VIII monoplane fighter.
  
• German fighter Pfalz D.XII.
  
• German heavy twin-engine bomber Gotha G.V.
  
• German two-seat recon/bomber DFW C.V.

Also, 1C Games Studios and Ugra Media have entered into an agreement to develop the third part of the project - Flying Circus Vol. III.

It will include 8 aircraft:

• German Albatros D.II fighter
  
• German fighter Halberstadt D.II
  
• French Nieuport 17.C1 fighter
  
• French Nieuport 11.C1 fighter
  
• French fighter Nieuport 17.C1 GBR adapted for British service
  
• French Hanriot HD.1 fighter.
  
• British two-seat reconnaissance aircraft R.E.8.
  
• British two-seat medium bomber F.E.2b.

In the 3rd part of the project, it is planned to make the Western Front map and the Pilot Career mode final. Map objects and Career mode will cover the entire length of the front lines on the map, complementing and improving the content of Rise of Flight. There will be new industrial plants, farms, front line objects and other details. The map will have five seasons: Summer, early Autumn, late Autumn / early Spring, Winter and Spring. Release of the Flying Circus Vol. III is scheduled for the end of 2023. The first airplanes of the set will be available this summer via the early access program our players are familiar with.

After the completion of FC-III, there are plans for 2024 to develop an additional set together with Yugra Media that will reproduce the remaining land-based aircraft in Rise of Flight.

It is currently planned to include:

• British Sopwith Pup fighter.
  
• British rear-engine fighter Airco DH.2.
  
• British two-seat reconnaissance Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter.
  
• German fighter Albatros D.III.
  
• German Fokker E.III monoplane fighter.
  
• German two-seat reconnaissance Roland C.IIa.

We plan to further improve the maps of Flying Circus projects, supplement their development and add the airfields that are located further from the front line. Please note that the Western Front map is available to all players who have purchased at least one of the Flying Circus projects. This map will be further improved and supplemented.







In addition to the Great War news, we would like to present a new British collectible aircraft from the final period of the WWII - the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVe. The main difference between this aircraft and the previous Mk.XIV is the teardrop-shaped canopy, which provides a better view.

The aircraft has several modifications available:

• 150 grade fuel allowing +21 lb boost. Automatic supercharger gear shifting is disabled, stages should be manually switched at 11000 ft altitude (20 km/h estimated speed increase at sea level).
  
• Two 250 lb G.P. bombs with racks (250 kg weight increase, 22 km/h speed loss, 11 km/h speed loss after drop).
  
• 500 lb G.P. bomb with rack (237 kg weight increase, 12 km/h speed loss, 6 km/h speed loss after drop).
  
• Replacement of MkII Gyro Gunsight with MkII* Reflector Gunsight.
  
• Clipped Wing.
  
• Rear view mirror (1 kg weight increase, 1 km/h speed loss).
  
• F.24 photo camera installation behind the cockpit (28 kg weight increase). Clipped wing only.
  
• Rounded exhaust pipes.

It is already in the sim and available on our website and on Steam.




As we have announced in Dev Blog 338, this update contains a gift for all owners of Battle of Normandy. Wings over Caen tells about the tour of duty of No. 245 Squadron RAF«Northern Rhodesia» in the summer of 1944. Over the course of 10 hectic missions, you will be able to feel the difficulties its Typhoon pilots experienced after their rebase to Normandy.

We have also added the single missions for all Normandy aircraft plus C-47 (make sure to check them out!) and the last of the ships planned for this theater - Fighter Direction Tender.

You can find the full list of changes in this update below:

5.101

Major Features

The WWI Western Front map improved, Flying Circus Career mode added, Flying Circus Vol.II released;

The Spitfire Mk.XIVe with Teardrop Canopy Collector Plane released;

New action-rich historical campaign Wings over Caen added (it's free for Battle of Normandy owners);

11 interesting single missions added for all aircraft of the Battle of Normandy, including Arado and Spitfire XIV, and C-47;

FDT (Flight Direction Tender) ship added, it was created as part of the Battle for Normandy;

Blazing Steppe, Fortress on the Volga and Ice Ring campaigns updated (tactical numbers and correct paint schemes added for each aircraft, the number of aircraft increased by 15-20% in most missions, missions updated for the new sim version and re-tested);

His Majesty Griffons campaign updated (tactical numbers and correct paint schemes added for each aircraft, Ar 234 flight added to mission 9, American vehicles replaced by British in UK held territory, missions updated for the new sim version and re-tested);

Hawks Over the Bulge campaign updated (fixed waypoints);

Added 9 single missions for Flying Circus Vol.II airplanes;

AI Changes

Fixed bugs when AI pilots drop paratroopers and cargo containers (difficulty calculating an approach, wingmen not dropping cargo after the leader);

Corrected evasive maneuvers for World War I aircraft AI pilots, which previously sometimes led to a spin and collision with the ground;

Fixed an issue with AI pilots climbing in formation, which, in particular, could cause the wingmen to fly with their flaps extended and therefore lag behind the rest of the flight;

Improved formation keeping by AI pilots during climb and descent;

AA searchlights on a truck chassis function correctly;

Aircraft Changes

Pe-2 Ser. 35 and Pe-2 ser. 87 - crew models updated;

Pe-2 Ser. 35 and Pe-2 ser. 87 - Female Crew modification added;

Pe-2 Ser. 87: fixed the texture of the machine gun trigger guard in the upper turret (regular and closed);

The location of tactical number symbols has been corrected on the “Two-color” and “White” skins for IL-2 mod. 1943 and the "White" skin for the Yak-1 ser. 69;

Airco D.H.4, Handley-Page O/400 and Breguet 14: flight commander flares fired when giving orders won’t damage the aircraft wing;

A-20B: fixed a problem with the display of the tail signal lights at a distance;

The size of off-road bumpy terrain features on the Normandy map now corresponds the other maps (Kuban, Rhineland, etc.);

Balloon operators launch flares when given a mission command MCU Command: Flare;

Detailed tanks launch flares when given a mission command MCU Command: Flare;

Fw 190 A5/A6/A8: fixed a number of minor typos in the cockpit;

Hs.129: SC50 bomb racks are linked to the middle part of the wing (was to the outer one);

Spitfire Mk.XIV critical engine operating modes have been adjusted similar to Mk.XIVe.

Spitfire Mk.XIV aircraft behavior when extending and retracting flaps has been corrected.

Spitfire Mk. XIV formation lights look correct from a distance when clipped wings are selected;

Spitfire Mk. XIV: fixed a bug due to which the fuel tank damage could be calculated wrong when hitting wing tanks;

Bf 109 G-4: aerodynamic drag and weight of bombs and bomb holders is calculated correctly;

Me 410 A-1: Stuvi scope wind speed readings have been adjusted to match the values in the technochat;

All Bf 109, all Fw 190, IL-2, MiG-3, LaGG-3, MC-202: the point of application of the air drag of the underbelly and underwing cannons has been fixed (it was applied incorrectly, in the center of the aircraft);

All Bf 109: fixed a bug due to which gunpods were linked to the wingtip instead of the middle part of the wing;

Bf 110 G-2: fixed propeller blur at low rpm;

Ar 234 B-2: increased drop in aerodynamic quality of the wing when its part is shot off;

Fixed a random crash bug when setting C-47A engine cowl flaps streamwise;

C-47A engine cowl flap control valves are named correctly in the cockpit;

Fixed display of the Ju 87D-3 gunner's cockpit in multiplayer when a guest gunner is connected;

Recovery time of time limited engine modes have been adjusted (now the required recovery time is proportional to the time limit itself);

Tank Crew Changes

Fixed excessive damage to gun barrels by shell fragments when hitting the rear of the turret;

It is again possible to damage the player controllable tank Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf.G “Panther” undercarriage;

The GUI display of the number of rounds left in a player controllable tank has been fixed;

Churchill tracks are visible in the first person view;

The hull armor is correctly taken into account when calculating an APHE hit at the front part of the Churchill gear box;

Western Front 1918 Map Changes

General fixes for the Western Front map, Spring 1918:

- Leveled terrain under the Ochey airfield (2630-1);

- Leveled terrain under the Pronville airfield (0908-5);

- Restored objects on the airfield La Bellevue (0905-7);

- Added airfield Marville (1726-5);

- Changed the name of the airfield to Avesnes-le-Sec West (0811-1);

- Removed a flooding from the Etain airfield (1927-2);

- Fixed forest clearings (1327-4, 1427-8, 1328-2, 1325-3);

- Removed the overlapping of buildings in the villages on the front line and trenches (1306-7, 1206-5, 0807-4, 0506-6, 0307-6, 0207-3, 2432-1, 2532-8);

- Airfield Bernes (1209-4) - the sign has been removed from the hangar;
- Train station Lille (0409-7) - removed the extra model of the station, mistakenly added to the map;
- Airfields Stenay and Stenay South (1724-8) and Belrain (2425-7) have leveled terrain;

- Added the city of Luxembourg (1531);

- Added Fort Verdun (2025-6);

- Many farms have been added to the countryside;

- Ypres (0107-3) - added a canal near the city;

- Bridge markings added (1421-3, 1425-4, 1425-3, 1426-2, 1426-3, 1427-1, 1427-8, 1428, 2831-6, 2831-9, 2832-8, 2832 -9, 2520-4, 2520-7, 2519-6, 2625, 0815-4, 0715-7, 0815-8, 0314-5, 0214-3, 0507-4, 0611-5);

- Added missing ground textures near buildings (1203-5, 1203-6, 1203-8, 1406-1, 1306-4, 1310-9, 1103-5, 1105-9, 0910-4, 0911-1, 1523-5 , 1425-1, 0806-9, 1621-1, 1721-9, 1624-4, 1624-1, 1627-2, 1820-9, 1820-2, 1921-9, 2027-8, 2028-4, 2029 -5, 2029-3, 0607-5, 0505-2, 2128-5, 0402-3, 2229-8, 2229-1, 2230-5, 2231-9, 2230-5, 2431-2);

- Corrected forest clearings (1327-4, 1427-8, 1328-2, 1328-5, 1325-3);

- Removed trees from houses 0506-4, 0508-7, 0508-3, 0510-7, 0610-2, 0610-8, 0608-7, 0608-7, 0606-5, 0605-8, 0605-9, 0606-7, 0608- 3, 0609-1, 0508-7, 1207-1);

- Added missing textures for railways (1307-3, 0203-3, 0605-9, 0605-8);

- Toul airfield (2629-8) - the terrain at the end of the runway has been leveled.

Other Сhanges

An excessive shine of camouflage nets fixed;

Fixed a bug in the operation of the air reconnaissance, artillery correction and photo reconnaissance GUI, which led to inability to use it if there were ground vehicles in the mission;

Fixed a bug in the work of MCU: ComplexTrigger, due to which the event of dropping paratroopers worked regardless of the specified country;

Updated the sounds of air explosions of medium and large caliber AA rounds;

Added separate sounds of air explosions for the British QF13-pounder 6 cwt (76.2 mm) and the German Flak 77 L/27 AA guns;

Updated external and internal (heard from cockpit) sounds of the ShVAK autocannon;

Fixed assignment of tactical codes to the aircraft of the player's cover flight in the Career mode;

Tactical codes generated for a mission shouldn’t be applied to the unique skins in the hangar;

Mission Editor: Fixed the drop-down list of countries in the Properties section for airfields.

Dear Friends,
Our team has some important news.

UPDATE 5.101 COMING NEXT WEEK

Update 5.101 is in the final stages of preparation - this Friday we are preparing its Release Candidate and doing the final testing. The release of the update is scheduled for next week - this also will be the official release of the Flying Circus Volume II. The map has been significantly redesigned and looks nothing like the early access version. The World War I Pilot Career mode has been completed - the tours of duty of the historical squadrons, various, new mission types are added while existing ones are updated to be suitable for World War I are all in.

In addition to the Flying Circus release, the update 5.101 includes new Collector Plane Spitfire Mk.XIVe Bubbletop - one of the late modifications of the famous British fighter, the main visual difference is a new teardrop canopy, providing a better field of view to the pilot.

Also, the new campaign Wings over Caen we told you about in DD#338 will be released as well. Get ready for the hectic Typhoon action over Normandy! All owners of Battle of Normandy get this campaign for free.

LI-2 ANNOUNCEMENT

We would also like to announce we are working on the Soviet transport aircraft Li-2 with our partners at "Yugra-Media". In order to keep the historical authenticity, we create the airplane on the base of earlier produced American transport aircraft C-47 "Skytrain" that was known in the USSR as "Douglas".



Unlike the original Douglas, the Li-2 has been used as a bomber too - we reflected this with the appropriate equipment. The list of changes to the original aircraft is quite extensive:

• The Soviet plane is equipped with completely different engines.
  
• The Li-2 carries defensive armament, including a spherical UBT machine gun on the roof.
  
• The transport cockpit has to be built from scratch, as it uses Soviet instruments.
  
• There are other differences in aircraft design (cargo doors, etc.).

The screenshots show the work we have done to build the model. The Li-2 flight model and Soviet paratrooper 3d models for it are in the works.



This famous Eastern Front aircraft will be available in summer 2023. Stay tuned!

SKIN DESIGN CONTEST



Many of you know about the community made utility for sharing and downloading aircraft skins - Haluter's Skin Downloader. It's been only 2 years since its launch and it has reached an amazing 10.000+ unique community-made skins. To celebrate this, its team has decided to run a 10K Uploads Skin Design Contest that everyone can participate in! You can submit a design for an Air Racing Skin and/or Fictional Custom Skin which will then be created for IL-2 GB by one of the 6 talented skin artists and judges!

Head over to the contest thread to learn about how you can enter and what prizes you can win!

IL-2 Sturmovik Team

Dear Friends,

We're preparing another huge update 5.101 this month. It will bring the Pilot's Career mode and updated Western Front WWI map for Flying Circus Vol.I and Vol.II...






...thus making possible the official release of Flying Circus Vol.II.



The new Collector Plane Spitfire Mk.XIVe with teardrop canopy will be released as well.



The new historical campaign will be added in this update for free for all Battle of Normandy owners - Wings over Caen! Become a Typhoon pilot and do your part in the battle of Caen!




In addition to the new content, the update will bring numerous improvements and fixes, as always. Keep an eye on our news feed - 5.101 is coming soon!

Spring Sale
The annual Spring Sale has started and we offer big discounts on all released content. Don't miss the great opportunity to get 10 late war aircraft including P-38 for just $15.99 by purchasing Bodenplatte Premium Edition on our website! The historical campaign Lightning Strikes is the longest in the game (25 missions!) and it is free for all players who own the P-38 and Rhineland map that is included in Bodenplatte!

Battle of Bodenplatte – 80% OFF for the first time ever!

Battle of Normandy – 25% OFF

Flying Circus Volume I – 70% OFF
Includes two single-player campaigns and the new Western Front map, Career mode is coming this month!

Tank Crew Deluxe Edition – 83% OFF
Includes two single-player campaigns, 14 (!) player controllable combat vehicles and Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Kuban – 75% OFF
Includes Sea Dragons single-player campaign

Battle of Moscow – 75% OFF

Battle of Stalingrad – 75% OFF

All Rise of Flight Content – 75% OFF

Collector Planes and Vehicles
Arado Ar 234 B-2 Jet Recon/Bomber – 30% OFF for the first time ever!

Spitfire Mk.XIV – 30% OFF for the first time ever!

C-47A Skytrain – 30% OFF for the first time ever!

Sopwith Snipe – 25% OFF for the first time ever!

P-40 – 80% OFF

MC.202 – 80% OFF

Hs 129 – 80% OFF

P-38J-25 – 66% OFF
A free campaign is available for owners of this aircraft and Bodenplatte!

Fw 190 D-9 – 66% OFF

Hurricane MK.II – 66% OFF

Spitfire Mk.VB – 75% OFF

Yak-9 – 66% OFF

Yak-9T – 66% OFF

Yak-1b – 75% OFF
With a female pilot option!

U-2VS – 75% OFF
With female crew option!

Bf 109 G-6 – 75% OFF

Ju 52 – 70% OFF

La-5FN – 66% OFF

GAZ-MM 72-K (25mm) Mobile AA Gun – 75% OFF for the first time ever!

Sd.Kfz. 10/5 Flak 38 (20mm) Mobile AA Gun – 75% OFF for the first time ever!

Churchill IV – 25% OFF

StuG III Ausf. G Assault Gun – 25% OFF

Campaigns
Steel Birds Scripted Campaign – 40% OFF

Ice Ring Scripted Campaign – 66% OFF

All other campaigns – 75% OFF

NOTE: having at least the base game (Stalingrad) on Steam means you can launch it from Steam without entering a login and password and access your IL-2 content purchased elsewhere if you link the accounts.

See you in the skies!

The Sturmovik Team

Our project had received numerous improvements in the recent months, including the customizable tactical numbers for aircraft and ground vehicles in all game modes. Since we always strive to upgrade the existing content of the sim using the new features, we’re going to update the existing payware and free campaigns and share some of our plans on the new ones.

Ten Days of Autumn (Bf 109 F-2, Moscow):

it will be reworked to correspond to the modern IL-2 standards;
the amount of aircraft and ground vehicles in the missions will be increased by 30%;
all aircraft will have accurate tactical numbers;
we’re evaluating the possibility to offer this campaign on Steam.
Battle of Stalingrad campaigns: Blazing Steppe (Yak-1 Series 69), Fortress on the Volga (Bf 109 G-2) and Ice Ring (IL-2 mod. 1942):

the amount of aircraft and ground vehicles in most of the missions will be increased by 15-20%;
all aircraft will have accurate tactical numbers;
there will be additional fixes and tuning.
You’ll get these improvements in the coming update. And since there is always room for perfection, once IAR-80/81 and not yet announced collector aircraft are released they are likely to be added to these campaigns as AI units.











Steel Birds (Fw 190 A-5, Kuban):

The updated campaign has been released in November 2022 and became available on Steam - the current version is up-to-date and includes accurate tactical numbers.





In case you don’t own them yet, they’re always available for purchase at our website and on Steam.

Soviet Fighter Campaign (Yak-7b series 36, Kuban)

It will be dedicated to the 43rd IAP (Fighter Air Regiment) of the 278th Fighter Air Division of Major General Savitsky's 3rd Fighter Air Corps and will unfold during the decisive phase of the spring battle of Kuban. The release is planned later this year.

Other possibilities

There are several options on the table: Bf 109 F-4 or La-5 on Stalingrad map, Bf 109 G-4 (Kuban), Fw 190 A-8 (Rhineland) and Mustang Mk.III (Р-51B) on Normandy map. One or more of them will be selected after the Kuban campaign.

Rhineland map campaigns - Wind of Fury (Tempest Mk.V) and His Majesty's Griffons (Spitfire Mk.XIV):

all aircraft will have accurate tactical numbers;
all US vehicles will be replaced with British ones in the British held area (they didn’t exist in the game at the time of release of these campaigns).
Sea Dragons (IL-2 AM-38F M1943, Kuban):

it will be reworked to correspond to the modern IL-2 standards;
all aircraft will have accurate tactical numbers;
numerous AI-controlled aircraft will be added: U-2, A-20, P-39, Yak-7b, Yak-9 and C-47A (they didn’t exist in the game at the time of release).
Tank campaigns – Breakpoint and Last Chance:

all aircraft will have accurate tactical numbers (ground vehicles already got them);
recently released collector vehicles will be added as AI units: Churchills Mk.IV, StuG III Ausf.G SPGs and AAA vehicles.
Wings Over Caen (Typhoon Mk.Ib, Normandy):

all aircraft will have accurate tactical numbers on release. Battle of Normandy owners will get this campaign in the coming update (by the way, beta tester feedback is very favourable so far).








IL-2 Sturmovik Team

Dear Friends,,

Today we have more news about the next update 5.101. Among other things, it will bring the Pilot Career mode for the Flying Circus Vol. II, which will mark its official release. We start the beta-testing of the Career today while our partners at Yugra Media plan to complete the fine-tuning and debugging of the map by the end of the month.



The Career mode is the last piece of the puzzle that the Flying Circus project was missing in order to fully reproduce the set of game features that were available in our old World War I project Rise of Flight. Simultaneously, we are also negotiating with Yugra Media about the continuation of the Flying Circus series. Our goal is to fully reproduce the aircraft set and the Rise of Flight map in the modern engine. We are hoping for a positive outcome and your support, since the player interest primarily affects our decisions.



Flying Circus not only reproduces Rise of Flight in the Great Battles game world, but also brings many innovations that we have developed over the past decade. In addition to the obvious things like better visual model quality, there are a number of additions such as possibility to bail out, oxygen equipment, machine gun jamming when overheated, custom tactical numbers and other nice additions that make flying a World War I airplane much more believable and impressive. The Western Front map presented in Flying Circus Vol.II reproduces the features of the landscape in more detail and contains a number of infrastructure and military facilities that were missing in Rise of Flight. The work is at the final stage and should be completed by the beginning of March.




Now let’s look at the details of the new mode. WWI Career will contain two phases:

1. From April 1st till September 30th, 1917.
2. From April 1st till November 11th, 1918.

In contrast to the Rise of Flight, there is no winter of 1917-1918 because Vol.II has only one season so far (it will be made continuous in Vol. III if it is created).



In the two main areas completed on the Vol. II stage map, the career mode will use 105 airfields for the player's flights. In comparison to the Rise of Flight, the airfields in these squares were significantly refined. The player will be able to join 9 French, 15 British, 6 American and 12 German squadrons (total 42). Among them, of course, there will be the famous La Fayette, No. 56 Squadron, 94th Aero Squadron, Jasta Boelcke and Jasta 11.



At the moment, World War I career mode has 17 types of missions and it takes advantage of all the improvements which have been developed by us over the past ten years after Rise of Flight. Starting next week, the work will begin on missions unique to the Great War, such as Balloon Hunt, Photo Recon, Artillery Fire Adjustment and Visual Recon, which we plan to complete by the project release.








To summarize, Flying Circus Vol. II is in the final stages of development and its release should happen really soon. Stay tuned!

IL-2 Sturmovik Team