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 mother C-47, 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' way means sacrificing something in every trade, but USSR needed versatile aircraft. While Western Allies during the war had a plenty of long range fighters to cover bombers and especially unarmed transport aircraft and had air superiority most of the time, Soviet resources were always not enough.



You may notice a lot of other differences to C-47 - different instruments and cargo doors for instance. Even the engines were different, Soviet built.

We hope to release this interesting aircraft later this month or in early August.

IL-2 Sturmovik Team

Dear Friends,

Today we present to you the 5.104 update. It brings a new campaign and new mission types for Career mode.

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 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

1. New historical campaign Sky Nomads (Yak-7b pilot in the battle of Kuban). There is detailed info about it in our [url]Dev Blog #344
[/url];
2. New Career mode missions: Photo Recon on jet Arado Ar. 234 in Normandy (Sonderkommando Götz);
   
3. 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);
   
4. 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;
   
5. Tank campaigns Last Chance and Breaking Point are updated (added tactical numbers to aircraft involved, added new vehicles to some of the engagements);
   
6. Many award descriptions updated;
   
7. Ju 87D-3: the additional armor plate now moves together with the canopy as it should;
   
8. 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 [url]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.


Finally, here's an artwork ready to become your desktop wallpaper for next month if you wish (FullHD, 4K).

See you in the skies!

Dear Friends,

Exactly 80 years ago, in 1943, one of the largest air battles on the Eastern front of WWII was fought in the skies of Kuban. One of our modules, Battle of Kuban, and several official campaigns are dedicated to these events, but there is a lot more to tell. We are proud to announce the new historical campaign "Sky Nomads" for the Battle of Kuban.

About the Campaign

In May 1943 the battle for the Kuban bridgehead entered its decisive phase. The North Caucasian Front troops managed to capture the village of Krymskaya, but the main German defensive line was never broken through. The Soviet command began preparing a new offensive operation, which began on May 26 in the Kievskoye – Moldavanskoye sector. The success of the actions of the ground forces largely depended on the outcome of the battle that unfolded in the air between the Red Army Air Force and the Luftwaffe.

You will take on the role of deputy squadron commander of the 43rd IAP (Fighter Air Regiment), which is part of the 278th Fighter Air Division of Major General Savitsky's 3rd Fighter Air Corps. The regiment arrived in the Kuban at the end of April and immediately joined the struggle to gain air supremacy, changing airfields several times and taking part in all the main events at the front.

You can expect both the standard tasks of covering friendly ground troops, patrolling, escorting, and intercepting, as well as intense battles over your airfields and sorties for reconnaissance and strikes deep in enemy territory.

Timeframe: May 6th – June 5th, 1943
Unit: 43rd IAP of 278th IAD
Aircraft: Yak-7b series 36
Duration: 15 missions
Average playtime: 8 hours

Author: Alexander =BlackSix= Timoshkov

While being an independent creation, Sky Nomads continues the story of the Soviet fighter pilot you may know from the Blazing Steppe campaign.

The campaign is scheduled to be released soon, in June or early July.






The origins of the battle

In late April 1943, having thwarted the enemy's plans to eliminate the 18th Army bridgehead around Myskhako near Novorossiysk, the troops of the North Caucasian front launched a new offensive in the central sector. By May 4, after many difficult and violent encounters, they managed to liberate Krymskaya, but their progress was halted once they reached the main German defense perimeter. The Soviet command needed an operational pause to regroup its forces and prepare for a new offensive.

The operational situation as it was at the end of April, at the time of the campaign start and at the end of May 1943:



Soviet fighter aviation in the spring of 1943

The battle in the air above Kuban that began in mid-April was growing more intense and reaching a scale never before seen. On the Soviet side, the 4th and the 5th Air Armies participated in the battle, as well as the Black Sea Fleet Air Force which had been exigently supplemented with two air divisions and three air corps. Major General Savitsky's 3rd Fighter Air Corps (IAK) was expected to play a key part in the ensuring air supremacy.

The 3rd IAK arrived at the front on April 19 and immediately joined the combat effort, remaining at the epicenter of events until the end of the active combat phase in June 1943. The corps included the 265th and 278th Fighter Air Divisions (IAD) that were utilizing latest modifications Yak-1b and Yak-7b fighters. A small number of Yak-9s were also supplied to the air corps in May.

The 3rd IAK fighters: Yak-1b, Yak-9 and Yak-7b.



The nomad life of the 43rd IAP

Colonel Lisin's 278th IAD included the 15th, 43rd, and 274th Fighter Air Regiments (IAP), stationed on the Novotitarovskaya and Novovelichkovskaya airfields to the north of Krasnodar. These fields were over 70 km away from the front line, which significantly limited the amount of time the Yaks spent in the area of operations. In early May, the 278th IAD regiments received an order to relocate closer to the front, to the Slavyanskaya and Krasnoarmeyskaya airfields.

At this moment the relatively calm life of the 43rd IAP has ended and our story started. The regiment moved to Krasnoarmeyskaya on May 6th, Slavyanskaya on May 8th, and then back to Krasnoarmeyskaya the next day. On May 16th Luftwaffe attacked the airfield, and the regiment moved back to Novotitarovskaya.

On May 27th, after the beginning of the offensive in Kievskoye-Moldavanskoye sector, the 43rd IAP moved to the forward airfield Abinskaya. After surviving another airfield strike and losing nearly all machines in the endless air skirmishes the regiment returned to Novotitarovskaya on June 9th and on June 16th it was pulled from the front.






Other news

We welcome you to participate in the ongoing air races qualification if you haven't done so yet (it ends in two days!). Meanwhile, we're working not only on the new aircraft (we'll post new screenshots as soon as new birds become air worthy), but on other improvements as well. In the coming update 5.104 you'll get new mission types for the Normandy career mode - Transport Escort, Air Photo Recon for Sondercommando Götz (time to prep your Arado handling skills) and Artillery Spotting on Spitfire (navy shore bombardment looks nice)! The new mission types will be in the Normandy career at first and added to other maps where applicable after it.

IL-2 Sturmovik Team

Dear Friends,

Today is the first day of summer (finally!) and it's time to start the races even that was announced before.

To participate, join one of the multiplayer race servers (they are called WarBRD Race Tournament =Group A= and WarBRD Race Tournament =Group B=) and fly the track on the selected aircraft (Bf-109 F-4 in Group A and Yak-1 series 69 in Group B) 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 in the group 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.

If you wish to make your results eligible for the race finals and receive special gifts from VIRPIL Controls and 1C Game Studios, please visit Virpil-servers.com and register there - you'll get an unique code via e-mail. You have to enter this code in the multiplayer chat on the racing server to have your race results tied to VIRPIL Controls account. You can view the results of all participants at any time here.

The qualification stage ends on June 11. Ten selected finalists will participate in the finals on June 17th - three fastest racers and other finalists will receive special gifts from 1C Game Studios and VIRPIL Controls.

The discussion of the races is going on in Discord on VIRPIL and IL-2 Great Battles channels. The races rules are available here.

We wish good luck to all participants!

In other news - at the moment several aircraft are in the works as usual. We'll love to tell you about them in detail closer to their release, but today we can at least show you how the first two aircraft of Flying Circus Vol. III look in the sim at the moment (other planes including collector ones are either at an eariler development stage to show or were already shown on screenshots before). Here are Halberstadt D.II...





... and Nieuport 11.





IL-2 Sturmovik Team

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.