***note this package contains the main install and the update.
Outline
In 1943, the Solomon Islands were the showplace of a huge effort of forces from the US, New Zealand and Australia to push back the Japanese movement towards the south Pacific and New Zealand. It is also the showplace of great despair, suffering and violent battles. After reading books like “Jolly Rogers”, “Baba Black Sheep”, “Black Cat Raiders”, or "Dauntless Helldivers", I started to fly over the Solomon in FSX to get a feeling of the area. In the beginning I was utterly disappointed, because the landclass was way off and the mesh not at all like the real thing, and, of course, no adequate airfields.
There had to be done something about it. At first, I just wanted to create a few airfields, but then one thing led to another...
Historical Frame
Most of my photographic or cartographic reference data for the airfields date around the 1943, so I chose the scenario to be around September 1943. The Americans with their allies had taken Vella Lavella already and were pounding Bougainville / Buka and Rabaul. The next airfield of the Japanese forces, Vila airfield at Kolombangara and Ballale island airfield off the coast of Bougainville, were knocked out already and the two airfields on the south coast of Bougainville as well as Tonolei harbour were badly damaged. Thanks to the outstanding work of David Taylan from http://www.pacificwrecks.org, the US National Archives and other sources I was able to get all the vital data that was needed to build the airfields and the important locations.
So this is roughly the scenario in which you are flying.
About the scenery
The scenery expands from San Cristobal up to New Britain / Rabaul. This covers an area about 1.430 kilometers in length and 514 kilometers in width. About 686 islands larger than a few square meters were traced as coastlines in Google Earth and converted for the use in FSX. 39 airfields were altered from default FSX, added as new ones or deleted from the scenery due to historical reasons.
A detailed map that shows the coverage is included in the scenery package (it does not show Rabaul).
There is a lot to explore. I included historical sites of ship wreckage (Tokyo Express on Guadalcanal, Nagatsuki at Kolombangara, Kikuzuki salvage near Tulagi, and many others). You can see the hut of the Australian Coastwatcher, Arthur Reginald "Reg" Evans on top of Kolombagangara as well as US Navy PT boat bases (with PT 109!) or Japanese bases on the Shortlands or others.
Thanks
Even though I did most of the work myself, I would like to see this project as a collaboration of members of the Sim-Outhouse community. I am especially indebted to:
- "no one special" for his help in sorting a very serious complexity problem out and contributing the original 76m mesh, as well as being a sharp eyed beta tester as well as an invaluable tutor in the Solomon v.1 release
- David Wilson Okumura for his testing, generating naval traffic files, and bringing his thoughts into the project
- the SOH community for their enthusiasm about the project which kept me expanding the quality and frame for the scenery
- the authors of CFS2 objects (mentioned below) that allowed me to port their work to native FSX standard - here a huge THANKS guys!!!
- Michael Davies for his scenery objects and advice
- and last, but not at all the least, my family, which has to endure my development
Solomon 1943 is free to everyone
