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#4481456 - 07/04/19 08:50 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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33lima Offline
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Turning inland, I see there is a battle now raging above Folkestone, just west of Dover. A couple of aircraft are going down in flames and splashes near the harbour indicate where others have gone into the sea.

[Linked Image]

Closing in rapidly, I see a Spitfire who's chasing a 110 has another Hun on his tail, so I turn in after the second Messerschmitt.

[Linked Image]

A couple of short bursts and he's smoking, allowing the other Spit to escape. Now, this is more like it!

[Linked Image]

But just as I'm closing in on my target for the kill, yet again, another Spitfire nips in and sends him down! I know this is a team game and all that, but really, that's just bad manners!

[Linked Image]

Meanwhile, the leading 110 has disappeared somewhere.Turning back east towards Dover while looking for him, I can see that there are two groups of Ack Ack bursts and a damaged aircraft is trailing smoke, headed for France. Huns on the run, I conclude. I decide to hasten them on their way.

[Linked Image]

My first target is this 110, but I break off when I see some aircraft in my mirror, closing in from behind. I've been caught in that fashion quite enough for one day, and am now taking no chances.

[Linked Image]

Sure enough, the aircraft behind me are Huns...

[Linked Image]

...but they don't come after me. So, neatly turning the tables, I continue my turn, until I'm coming in behind them. It's dog eat dog, in this business.

[Linked Image]

There are two of them and naturally, I slip in below and behind the tail end Charlie. No mistake this time! I hit him fair and square and he trails smoke...

[Linked Image]

...before rolling over onto his back and going straight down. A 'Probable', at the very least!

[Linked Image]

I'd have watched him crash to get confirmation, but there remained the little matter of his leader, who is breaking left. He hasn't gone far and I have little difficulty catching him up. But to no avail, for my ammo runs out almost as soon as I start firing. Now, it's my turn to break left and away.

[Linked Image]

I come around in a wide sweep to the east, back towards Dover, making sure I'm not being followed. However, from the R/T chatter, it's evident that some of the other boys are still engaged. And there are certainly some people up above, making pretty contrail patterns in the clear blue sky. Watching them warily as I put on some height, I nearly run into the Dover balloon barrage.

[Linked Image]

Alone and out of ammo, I decide I've had enough adventures for one sortie. So I steer clear of trouble and head north, out of the combat zone. As I go, another raid passes high above me, going in the opposite direction and seen on its way by the Gunners down below.

[Linked Image]

I'm not done yet, though. I'll be offered and will accept one more opportunity to fly against these early morning raids. And this time, we'll get amongst the bombers!

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Last edited by 33lima; 07/04/19 09:02 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

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#4481626 - 07/05/19 07:13 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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I'm not long back in the Ops Room, after quitting my last flight, when I'm offered the chance to fly with 56 Squadron, whose Hurricanes are intercepting a raid heading north torards the Thames Estuary - Hostile 705 if I recall right, originally reported as sixty plus. Here we go again!

[Linked Image]

By the time we're closing in, the Huns are already turning - for home, probably, under attack from other fighters and already taking losses. This group looks to be about twenty bombers, and there's no sign of escorts.

[Linked Image]

I call them in on the R/T and the squadron leader, Red 1, orders us to attack. The Huns seem rattled, and instead of completing their turn, plough on north-east for a bit. All the while we're closing in, and all the while the squadron which got there first is whittling away at them.

[Linked Image]

These Huns are definitely unescorted bombers! Soon, the Ack Ack boys are having a pop at them, too. At this rate, there'll be none left for us!

[Linked Image]

The bombers have wandered north of the Thames Estuary for some reason, even though (as I find out later) they have bombed the airfield at Detling, further south. The parachutes of one crew drift past as I keep up the chase, having completely lost track of where everyone else is and hardly bothering to check my mirror in my excitement.

[Linked Image]

I gain a bit more ground as the Huns turn around to make their escape, down the Thames Estuary. By this stage, the group on the right has been nearly wiped out, and is still under attack. I decide to go for the bombers on the left. I can see now that they are Dorniers.

[Linked Image]

I go through them like a hot knife through butter. My first target falls away and instead of breaking, I fly straight on and let the fellow in front of him have it, too.

[Linked Image]

Coming around for another go, I can see that the remaining bombers on the left are now being attacked. So I switch targets to the pair on the right, both of whom are already trailing smoke.

[Linked Image]

I definitely get some hits but this time, nobody goes down, before I have to break off.

[Linked Image]

I have better luck on my next pass, and as I break, the crew of my target are bailing out. Not sure what's up, with that area of rectangular, Continental European field patterns down there. They're a bit big to be allotments! Be that as it may...

[Linked Image]

...my next pass is against what's left of the bigger group. Again, I fly right through them, switching targets as I go.

[Linked Image]

I end up knocking down this chap with the last of my ammunition. I hardly notice the not-so-friendly Ack Ack bursts. No doubt they will be claiming they brought down that Dornier, but I know they rarely hit anything and am confident he's mine.

[Linked Image]

I quit the mission and the air fighting fades away. The Hun plots slip back across the Channel, some of them still harried by our fighters. I call up the Hostiles List to see what our assessment is of the enemy's activities.

[Linked Image]

Clearly, it's our airfields they're after, though they seem to have difficulty in telling which are the fighter ones, on which they should be concentrating - much as in the real battle. At least two of their raids have been very roughly handled, if our claims - and what I saw - are anything to go by. Despite the much increased pressure, and not insignificant losses ourselves, our claims have begun to nudge significantly ahead of what we've lost. We might yet win this battle, but there's a long way still to go!

Attached Files shot_253.jpgshot_254.jpgshot_255.jpgshot_256.jpgshot_257.jpgshot_258.jpgshot_259.jpgshot_260.jpgshot_261.jpgshot_262.jpgshot_263.jpgshot_264.jpg15 Aug 8.10.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 07/05/19 08:40 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4481941 - 07/07/19 08:52 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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The day draws on and at the Ops Room 'wargame' level, I watch as time acceletation steps up and the hours pass uneventfully. Are the Huns going to lick their wounds for the rest of the day? Not quite, for as the time approaches five o'clock, a WAAF announces a new raid. Hostile 651, estimated to be sixty plus, is plotted as it comes in from the Pas de Calais, heading towards Dover. The RDF stations near that port and further inland at Dunkirk - no, not THAT Dunkirk! - are out of action but between the other Chain Home stations in the area and the Observer Corps, we get just enough warning to start scrambling against it.

[Linked Image]

First off is 85 Squadron, Peter Townsend flew with 85 and later wrote one of my favourite histories of the Battle of Britain, 'Duel of Eagles'. So I happily accept the offer to fly with them when they sight the raid. Here I am, with Green 2 to my left as we climb towards Dover.

[Linked Image]

And there are the Huns! They seem to be splitting up, some turning west and the others coming on. You can see them top right in the next picture.

[Linked Image]

The boss says nothing so I call them in. Just as he's giving his orders in response, I see a shower of aircraft diving at us. Messerschmitt 110s!

[Linked Image]

Harried by Ack Ack fire, the bombers drone on while the squadron breaks up to tangle with the fighters.

[Linked Image]

Within seconds, both friendly and enemy formations have dissolved into combats spread all around.

[Linked Image]

I end up chasing a 110 who's on the tail of a Hurricane. The Hun is very fast and try as I might, I can't close the range.

[Linked Image]

I chase him for ages, willing the Hurricane out front to make a sustained turn so that I can cut the corner on the 110. In the end, I resort to scaring off the Hun with some hits from a long range burst.

[Linked Image]

The 110 runs for home and I can't catch him. Sensibly he doesn't make anything other than gentle turns, and after a fruitless tail chase waiting for him to do something silly, I let him go.

Turning back inland near Folkestone, I'm trying to sneak up on a different 110 when a second one obligingly drops down in front of me.

[Linked Image]

He keeps his speed up too, however, and I can't catch him...

[Linked Image]

...until he's distracted by another Hurricane which pops up in front of him...

[Linked Image]

This gives me a chance to close the range, and in no time I have him just where I want him.

[Linked Image]

The Hun breaks right with an engine smoking.

[Linked Image]

I'm in no mood to settle for a 'Probable' so I hit him again...

[Linked Image]

...and this time, over and down he goes!

[Linked Image]

A bit of a shaky start, it was, but so far, so good!

...to be continued!

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Last edited by 33lima; 07/07/19 09:06 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4481959 - 07/08/19 01:24 AM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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Can you survive another month 33lima? Will you be among the few whom are owed by so many? Great reports. I look forward to coming here every day or two and reading of your progress. yep

S!Blade<><

#4482021 - 07/08/19 06:48 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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Thanks Blade. I nearly didn't make the end of this mission, or at least this pilot didn't, of which more shortly. Whether or not Fighter Command lasts it out under my leadership is still an open question; all I can say is, your guess is as good as mine!


SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482027 - 07/08/19 07:22 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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By now, I’m conscious that I have fired off a lot of rounds. And I’ve lost quite a bit of height. A quick look around establishes that the skies are clear in my immediate vicinity, although there are various signs of action further off. I contemplate calling up the boys and asking for a location, as I can still hear them on the R/T from time to time, indicating some at least are still engaged. But having just expended most of my ammo, I am disinclined to risk mixing it again these 110s, who seem quite good at avoiding being shot down. By me, at any rate.

I often quit the mission in this situation but where I’m close enough to an airfield to avoid a boring transit flight, I like to ‘pancake’ instead. I am somewhat to the east of the headland at Dungeness and I know that there are two fighter bases just inland, along the stretch of coast towards Dover – Lympne and Hawkinge.

Turning east, I see what clould be either base but turns out to be Hawkinge. Some fires are burning near the perimeter track and Ack Ack bursts stain the sky nearby. As I approach, I see another aircraft below the bursts and just above the horizon, flying away from me. Another Messerschmitt 110!

[Linked Image]

He turns right and makes a diving pass at the airfield. So that's his game! Tracers fly from the defenders but he gets away with it.

[Linked Image]

I cut across his track and get off a burst at the Hun, who goes up like a lift in a very steep climbing turn to the left. I pull up hard after him - you can see there's nothing but greenery visible in my mirror - but he has the edge and gets away by nosing down and away. My flying controls are sluggish at the top of my steep climb after the Hun, and I just can't get my sights onto him before he disappears.

[Linked Image]

I come down after him but lose him against the ground. So I look to see where the Bofors tracers are going, which is off to the top left somewhere, in this picture.

[Linked Image]

I pick him up again and come around onto his tail...only to realise I'm now chasing another Hurricane. I keep after him for a bit, willing him to change into a 110, but he won't.

[Linked Image]

So I fly with him back over Hawkinge, but there's no sign of that 110. I didn't notice at the time, but there's a second fire now burning outside the 'peri track', which I don't think was there before. So perhaps the gunners got him.

[Linked Image]

Throwing in a change of direction and looking around, I can hardly fail to notice a new cloud of Ack Ack bursts, rather higher up. They're tracking three wedges of what looks like bombers, just about visible to the left of the smaller pattern of bursts , towards the top right of this next picture.

[Linked Image]

They're a few thousand feet above me, flying diagonally inland from the Channel, shrugging off the Ack Ack fire - and obviously intent on bombing somebody.

As far as I can see, they are all bombers. Unescorted. So I decide I’ll fire off my remaining rounds at them. I can’t face the idea of landing while this lot drags their coat tails in this fashion, on their way to drop a load of bombs on someone it’s my job to protect.

[Linked Image]

I open the throttle and come around in a wide climbing turn, after the Huns. I'm not done with this sortie just yet!

...to be continued!

Attached Files shot_283.jpgshot_284.jpgshot_285.jpgshot_286.jpgshot_287.jpgshot_288.jpgshot_289.jpgshot_290.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 07/08/19 07:35 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482046 - 07/08/19 08:57 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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Do you find it breaks the flow of combat to stop for pictures so frequently? (Great stuff as always!)


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4482048 - 07/08/19 09:18 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Originally Posted by Rick_Rawlings
Do you find it breaks the flow of combat to stop for pictures so frequently? (Great stuff as always!)


In a word, yes Rick, it does. Especially when I'm trying to shoot somebody or land. At least it gives me a ready-made excuse for missing or cracking up, respectively. I hit pause when I want to take a pic and pan around and zoom in or out to frame it if I want an external view, so it does introduce significant pauses. And it's sheer murder as I have to let go of the joystick, and anybody's guess what will happen when I grab it again. I should map the screenshot key to a button on its base, or try taking screenshots from replays if that would work, but I'm incredibly lazy, as well as a bad shot and hopeless at landing smile

Still, I find the ability to 'freeze frame' and savour the scene for a few seconds more than compensates for a bit of discontinuity.

The campaign itself is certainly taking a long while to play through, and writing mission reports does slow that down. I've been at my RAF 'commander' campaign for c.7 months now and even losing the end of July(1940) after an SSD failure, I'm still only at mid-August. I could speed it up by accepting fewer offers to fly, but I'd rather prolong the experience than rush it for the sake of coming to some sort of conclusion. I'm a very long way from getting bored, all the less so after the sting in the tail of this mission, which we will come to shortly.



Last edited by 33lima; 07/08/19 09:21 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482053 - 07/08/19 10:17 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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Originally Posted by 33lima
And it's sheer murder as I have to let go of the joystick, and anybody's guess what will happen when I grab it again. I should map the screenshot key to a button on its base, or try taking screenshots from replays if that would work, but I'm incredibly lazy, as well as a bad shot and hopeless at landing smile


Ha! Same! rofl


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4482062 - 07/09/19 12:00 AM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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33lima, just map the "Pause" key and the "Screenshot" key to your HOTAS and your set. That is what I do in WOTR. Then once it is paused you can use the keyboard to cycle through exterior views or whatever you need to do to get the picture you want. Then when you are finished get settled, hands on HOTAS and even position the joystick in a similar attitude as you paused it in. Then when you release pause you have very little disturbance in your flight/fight. Just an FYI, it works great for me in WOTR. yep
Great report, thumbsup but the cliff hanger, ...... now I have to wait to see what happens?????? ????? sigh

S!Blade<><

#4482156 - 07/09/19 06:41 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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Climbing up slowly behind the Huns, I can see they're definitely unescorted bombers, in three double vics of ten apiece.

[Linked Image]

To my left, the port of Folkestone makes a useful landmark. This lies a few miles to the west of Dover, along the South Coast. It's probably a battery defending Folkestone, that's shelling the bombers as they pass.

[Linked Image]

The climb slows me down and I fall further behind. And long before I'm in a position to do anything about it, the Huns let fly. Their target is the fighter airfield at Lympne.

[Linked Image]

The sticks of bombs track across the grass landing area towards the apron and smoke obscures the hangars. Another stick falls just outside the airfield boundary. The boys down there are getting a bit of a pasting.

[Linked Image]

I knew this was going to happen but I'm still not best pleased. But my turn will come. I'm nearing the level of the bombers, and edge out to their left, ready to cut them off when they turn that way, for their bases in France.

[Linked Image]

They make their move, and I make mine.

[Linked Image]

The beggars are fast, and as I close in from abeam, I can see why - they're Junkers 88s, the fastest German bombers.

[Linked Image]

I'm still a bit lower, but closing steadily. Won't be long now.

[Linked Image]

I slide across behind the Hun on the left, weaving slightly as I bore in, to present a more difficult target. I'm not conscious of taking any fire. Maybe they think they have got away scot free. Back in the last war, Albert Ball often found a single aircraft could surprise a big formation because their false sense of security engendered a poor look-out. Anyhow, I'm not complaining. I have business to settle with these fellows.

[Linked Image]

My first burst sets the 88's starboard engine smoking. Banking left to get out of the smoke, I let him have another one. It's the last of my ammo, but it's enough. The enemy crew starts taking to their parachutes.

[Linked Image]

I break hard up and away, anxious not to spoil the general effect by being nailed by his friends. Below me, my victim is falling away, into an ever-steepening downward spiral.

[Linked Image]

The rest fly on unmolested. It's a small victory, but it'll show them we won't be intimidated by their numbers. I feel rather brave. And better still, I'm not hit; if there was return fire, I'm not conscious of it. Well, if they didn't notice before, fine - they're in for a surprise when they realise their big formation is one less than they started out with.

[Linked Image]

I turn back east and watch them go. Apart from an occasional glance in my mirror, I haven't been watching my tail much over the last few minutes, but I've got away with it. Apart from the receding bombers, the skies around me seem clear.

[Linked Image]

But appearances can be deceptive!

...to be continued!

Attached Files shot_291.jpgshot_292.jpgshot_293.jpgshot_294.jpgshot_295.jpgshot_296.jpgshot_297.jpgshot_298.jpgshot_299.jpgshot_300.jpgshot_301.jpgshot_302.jpgshot_303.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 07/09/19 06:47 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482170 - 07/09/19 08:38 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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Time to go home. I recall hearing the boss ordering a reform, so it sounds like he has already reached the same conclusion. 'Home' for 85 Squadron, as it happens, is currently Hawkinge, just to my east. Apart from a few small fires burning near the perimeter, it looked fine when I flew past it, earlier on this sortie. Sliding back the cockpit canopy and looking out in its direction, I can see Lympne, which lies in between and is still smouldering after the visit those Ju88s paid it.

[Linked Image]

I contemplate putting down at Lympne but the cratered airfield surface looks a bit risky.

[Linked Image]

The bombs have burst right up to the hangars, but seem to have stopped short of wrecking them. I decide to fly onto Hawkinge. No point in taking chances, provided the skies are still clear in that direction. Which they look to be...

[Linked Image]

...except for a cloud of smoke clearing from above Hawkinge, which now also shows signs of bombing that weren't there when I passed by not so long ago. Crikey! The Huns have been busy!

[Linked Image]

And they're not done yet. Ack Ack fire breaks out, staining the sky above the airfield with more black bursts. As I watch warily, a couple of black specks dive steeply from out of the Ack Ack fire onto Hawkinge. Stukas?

[Linked Image]

Out of ammo and getting low on petrol, there's not much I can do about them. By the time I come up to the airfield, the Huns seem to have disappeared, perhaps out to sea. Which would fit with those diving aeroplanes being Stukas. I can't see them anywhere, nor any escorts, so I decide I will get down as quickly as I can. Whatever it was, it seems to be over.

[Linked Image]

I've chopped the throttle as I slide past the airfield, banked left to get a better view. Like Lympne, the place has been hit by sticks of bombs, I can see that much. But I can't work out what's up with the group of bonfires that's still burning near the eastern perimeter.

[Linked Image]

Never worry, just get down. Nearly home now!

...to be continued!

Attached Files shot_304.jpgshot_305.jpgshot_306.jpgshot_307.jpgshot_309.jpgshot_310.jpgshot_312.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 07/09/19 08:44 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482180 - 07/09/19 09:28 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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Really enjoy your pics and reports Lima,great stuff mate.


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
#4482418 - 07/11/19 05:13 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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33lima Offline
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Thanks Adger. Last instalment for this sortie coming up soon, then I'll need to fly another one!


SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482424 - 07/11/19 07:14 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
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As my speed comes down, I drop the undercart and come around onto a short final approach.

[Linked Image]

Flaps fully down, I'm suddenly startled by the sight and sound of Bofors Guns firing. The Huns are still here! I can't see them with all the smoke, so I just hug the ground as I come in, racing to get down before I'm knocked down.

[Linked Image]

It’s not easy to concentrate on your landing, when you're worried about somebody sneaking in and shooting you down or dropping a bomb on you. Nevertheless, I manage to bounce only once.

I’m rolling along watching the perimeter rush towards me, tapping gingerly on the brakes trying not to tip onto my nose. With the canopy back, I can hear it all the better when there’s a louder than usual bang nearby, accompanied by the mechanical whine of a Daimler-Benz aero-engine passing somewhere over my head. Looking up, I see a 109 flashing past - you can just about see him in the pic below.

[Linked Image]

Whether he's strafing or bombing I can’t tell, but something clearly just went ‘boom!’

Even if you could refuel and rearm in BoB2, which happens under AI control at ‘wargame’ level, even the bravest AI armourers would not be venturing out in this lot. So my options are rather limited. This isn't classic Il-2, so I can't jump from my cockpit, run and hit the deck. For want of anything better to do, I roll onto the perimeter track, in search of a blast pen I can slip into. Instead, I nearly run into this fellow, who is just standing there in the middle of all the chaos, waving his arms.

[Linked Image]

Instinctively, I swerve to avoid him and end up rolling back towards the middle of the airfield. There are more bangs, and a 109 comes racing over, pouring smoke.

[Linked Image]

Next second, he bursts into flames. That'll teach him!

[Linked Image]

There are more bangs, dirt flies, and something is now burning vigorously just behind me, possibly from the crashing Messerschmitt. Things are happening faster than my mind can make sense of them.

[Linked Image]

Up ahead, there are more explosions, amongst some Hurricanes. So that's that those bonfires were! It looks like the beggars caught the squadron on the ground, after the boys landed!

[Linked Image]

I kick on left rudder and increase power, trying to swing around, away from the mayhem. What have I done, dropping into the middle of all this??? I can't see a blast pen anywhere, but keep moving so as not to any be more of a sitting duck than I already am.

[Linked Image]

Suddenly, it’s all over. I sit there in the cockpit for several seconds, with the engine still running, looking at the smoke, fire and chaos all around me, and thinking - this is why I go up there. This is what I’m trying to stop. I’ll remember that, next time I fly. I will also remember why - until the day you can be closed into a pod, don a cap-full of electrodes and have them create in your brain all the sights, sound, smells and sensations of flying and fighting in the real thing - Battle of Britain II - Wings of Victory, with the BDG 2.13 update, is for me still the ultimate PC simulation of that experience, a sim amongst sims.

Attached Files shot_313.jpgshot_314.jpgshot_315.jpgshot_316.jpgshot_317.jpgshot_318.jpgshot_319.jpgshot_320.jpgshot_321.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 07/11/19 07:23 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482438 - 07/11/19 08:49 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,808
Adger Offline
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Adger  Offline
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Absolutely brilliant stuff mate,really enjoyed it..I've had BOB II with 2.13 installed for ages and I haven't spent nowhere near enough time with it has I should do,quick question if that's ok? The map/campaign screen looks complicated (is it)? And can I just fly any mission from there thanks Lima.


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
#4482456 - 07/11/19 11:25 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
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33lima  Offline
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Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
Thanks mate!

The BoB2 campaign/wargame interface is sophisticated, but not complicated. And yes you can fly any mission from there. It's very flexible, but can also be very simple.

From the map, you can do a lot, and you can look up lots of information about lots of things, but you can also do nothing. And just let the AI play the wargame, flying when you are offered the chance. Which is often. That is how I started, venturing to 'interfere' with the AI playing the wargame, only as and when I felt inclined to try things out. For example, if you click on a raid's marker, up pops a dialogue listing current raids with the one you clicked highlighted. Click the 'Authorise' button below the list and you scramble an additional squadron to intercept it. I do that often now; whether I should or not, time will tell.

Or you can just let the AI do absolutely everything, and just fly any mission that is scrambled, or is scrambling. Just accept the default Directives (sort of rules of engagement) offered by the wargame AI at three points each day, then sit looking at the map, listen to the WAAFs, watch the raid plots, and watch the plots of your squadrons scrambled to intercept. Time accelerates and decelerates automatically, to avoid long waits.

Every time a squadron sights a raid, a pop-up dialogue asks if you want to fly with that squadron. If you accept, you chose your position in the squadron, and the mission loads and into action you go. Settings enable you to be offered to fly when a squadron is about to scramble (a ground start), instead of when it sights the enemy (an air start). In between times, you can click on one of your squadron's markers on the map, at any time, and jump in then.

It's completely different from that other 'sim within a wargame', 'Steel Armour - Blaze of War' where you really DO need to learn and use the rather complicated wargame interface to be able to play campaigns. Not so in BoB2. I wish I had realised that when I first bought BoB2!

There's a good guide to playing the campaigns in the 2.13 manual.

I haven't tried the Luftwaffe campaign yet, or either the RAF or Luftwaffe 'single pilot campaigns' (SPC) added by the BoB Development Group (BDG) - these seem to be variants of the 'commander' campaign, except you get offers to fly for your chosen squadron only, and presumably some other features like progress tracked at pilot level.

At the moment I'm entirely happy just playing the RAF commander campaign. OK I wish close escort staffels would be less strict in their 'one intercepting squadron, one escorting staffel, everybody else hold position' logic; that close escorts weaved; and the Ju88s sometimes dive-bombed. Dynamic aircraft (and terrain/cloud) shadows and higher-poly cockpit canopies would also be very nice, as featured so well in WotR and CloD. But my wish list is small beer compared to what IS on offer and nearly eight months after I took the plunge, this one still has my nearly undivided attention and understanding, at last, why the Old Hands call BoB2 a time machine.

Probably more than you wanted or needed but I hope the answer is in there somewhere!

Last edited by 33lima; 07/11/19 11:31 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482459 - 07/11/19 11:48 PM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,808
Adger Offline
Senior Member
Adger  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,808
Thanks so much for the valuable info 33Lima its very much welcomed..Im just having a bit of trouble getting my HOTAS to work,its showing but i cant get any input "in-game" im sure il figure it out

Thanks again mate.


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
#4482462 - 07/12/19 12:12 AM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
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33lima  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
Hi Adger

Vramesh's 10:10 am post here on the A2A BoB2 forums may help with getting that Joystick working properly: https://a2asimulations.com/forum/vi...&p=416750&hilit=joystick#p416750

Good hunting!


SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4482471 - 07/12/19 01:19 AM Re: BoB2 screenshots - the RAF campaign [Re: 33lima]  
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,808
Adger Offline
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Adger  Offline
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,808
Sorted Thanks very much Lima just done a take off and landing great stuff.

Took a screenshot whilst landed mate, if its not ok to post the below shot here (It is your shots RAF campaign pal and i dont want to intrude) then il remove immediately..i can see myself spending a while getting to learn this sim. Early so far but im impressed..im going take a look at my color settings it looks a little "green" IMO

[Linked Image]


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
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