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In memoriam - Raid on Port Darwin released!

Reply...

The Bookie,

Bombs. It's my understanding that no torpedoes were used. The Kates level bombed from about 14,000 feet, while the Vals dive-bombed enemy shipping.

Somewhere in the Timor Sea...
 
Darwin Raids

Oh ty,ty,ty!

I spent most of the day refreshing my memory at the Oz at War website so I can see how badly I do defending the port.

Steve
 
Reply...

Wayland,

In all honesty, I wasn't planning on doing this one as a solo mission, but UncleTgt's enthusiasm for doing the PBY skin kinda twisted my arm. So, I figured what the hell...

"title_string"=Port Darwin - Nagahama's mission
"summary_string"=Kaga's carrier crew has repaired your engine, so you have decided to head to Darwin by yourself, and believe you can catch up with the main force which left the carriers twenty minutes ago. Head to Darwin, and help to ensure that the raid to put this enemy supply base out of action!
"objective_string"=As the first wave proceeded toward Darwin on the morning of 19 February, an A6M Zero pilot from Kaga, NAP 1st Class Yoshikazu Nagahama, spotted a patrolling PBY Catalina from Darwin flown by Lt. Thomas Morrer and decimated it with one pass. Separated from his group, he arrived over Darwin first and dove on five P-40s covering the harbor. In the ensuing mêlée, he destroyed three P-40s & crippled another, while the lead Kittyhawk flown by Lt. Robert Ostreicher managed to escape.
"intelligence_string"=To maintain the historical premise of this mission, you'll fly this alone. As you fly southeast toward Darwin, scan carefully for any patrolling aircraft. After the brief encounter with the PBY, make sure to watch out for anti-aircraft fire over Darwin & maintain awareness in the dogfight with the P-40s. Without your wingman, only a moment's distraction could mean the difference between life & death!
"player_aircraft_name_string"=Mitsubishi A6M2b 'Zero'
"airfield_string"="Kaga CV"
 
Reply...

Wayland,

Here are a couple more which are completed...

"title_string"=Port Darwin - Darwin Zero scramble!
"summary_string"=Scramble! Enemy fighters have broken away from the attacking force and are bearing down on our aerodrome! Take off immediately and engage them before we get caught exposed on the ground! Try to destroy as many of them as you can, & then get back down safely either here or at Parap airfield. Godspeed!
"objective_string"=As the main Japanese force arrived above Darwin, the five P-40s that landed attempted to scramble. Zeroes from Hiryu attacked Major Pell just after takeoff, forcing him to bail out at 70 feet, while Lt. Hughes was killed on the runway. Lt. McMahon did get airborne and got behind three Zeroes, but was badly shot up after his landing gear dropped. Lt. Rice and Lt. Glover also got airborne, but Rice had to bail out and Lt. Glover was so badly mauled he barely managed to crash-land at RAAF Darwin. Four out of ten pilots were killed, and all but one P-40 was heavily damaged or destroyed.
"intelligence_string"=Once airborne, build up all of the airspeed you can before engaging these Zeroes. If possible, try to lure the Japanese away from the airfield and out over the harbour where our anti-aircraft guns are. Continue the fight until you run out of ammunition, and take down as many as you can. Once finished, landing safely completes the mission.
"player_aircraft_name_string"=Curtiss P-40e Warhawk (RAAF)
"airfield_string"=Northern Territory - Darwin 29

"title_string"=Port Darwin - USAAF harbor patrol
"summary_string"=Listen up! Japanese troops are rapidly overrunning the Dutch East Indies, & KNIL forces need all of the reinforcements we can give them! You will help this effort today by flying these P-40s across to Timor as a member of the 33rd Pursuit Squadron. Make sure that you get your plane to Dili airfield in one piece!
"objective_string"=After aborting the transfer flight to Timor, these ten P-40s returned to Darwin. Five landed, while the remaining five patrolled the harbour. Lead by Lt. Robert Ostreicher, it was these five P-40s who got jumped by NAP 1st Class Yoshikazu Nagahama. While Ostreicher escaped, Lt. Jack Peres and Lt. Elton Perry were shot down, while Lt. Max Wiecks bailed out after being mauled. Lt. William Walker survived, but only just managed to crash-land his mangled plane back at RAAF Darwin.
"intelligence_string"=After taking off, you will proceed west-northwest over the Timor Sea toward the airfield at Dili on Timor Island. The Timor Sea is known for rapidly changing weather, so if conditions do deteriorate, you will abort & head back to Darwin, waiting for better weather. If you abort, use the opportunity to gain a bit of experience in the air by flying a short patrol over the harbour facilities at Darwin prior to landing. Good luck!
"player_aircraft_name_string"=Curtiss P-40e Warhawk (RAAF)
"airfield_string"=Northern Territory - Darwin 29

"title_string"=Port Darwin - Mopping up resistance
"summary_string"=Listen up! We are being sent out to sink the enemy ships sighted by pilots returning from the Darwin raid. We will sweep the southern coastline off of Melville Island, find these vessels, and make sure they cannot reach harbour safely!
"objective_string"=Aichi dive-bombers retiring from the Darwin raid spotted what they called a 'camouflaged cruiser' just off Melville Island. Upon landing, Hiryu and Soryu each launched nine D3A Vals and sent them to find and destroy what turned out to be a USN blockade runner, the Don Isidore. Vals from Soryu found the Isidore first, causing heavy damage and disabling her steering. Hiryu's planes then found the Florence D, another blockade runner, and the Florence D was sent to the bottom minutes later. This mission combines these two separate attacks.
"intelligence_string"=After taking off, hold a course of due south until you cross over the southern coastline of Melville Island. The ships were reported to be hugging the coastline before making a dash across the strait toward Darwin. Get your hits on these enemy ships and get back to the carrier; Nagumo wants to get the fleet out of harm's way and back to Celebes!
"player_aircraft_name_string"=Aichi D3A1 'Val'
"airfield_string"="Soryu CV"
 
Darwin Raids

Rami, these are Most Excellent!

Just what I like, caught at low speed and low altitude, by a more maneuverable opponent. You find out what kind of pilot you are, really fast. Best of all, all historically accurate.

Steve
 
Reply...

Good morning,

Six out of ten missions are done, I should have the seventh mission done tonight. :very_drunk:
 
Reply...

Good morning,

As promised, here is the seventh mission, completed. Every good mission or campaign pack should have a real shoot 'em up! :tommygun2:

"title_string"=Port Darwin - Ostreicher's lunch!
"summary_string"=Listen up! We have received a report that a second wave has been sighted off the northern coastline of Melville Island, coming in at over 5,000 meters. You have volunteered to get airborne & climb hard to ambush them before they can hit Darwin again! Try to take down as many Japs as you can, & then get back to RAAF Darwin in one piece!
"objective_string"=This mission is semi-ficticious. Lt. Ostreicher did survive the ambush by Nagahama's Zero, and spent all of his remaining time in the air inflicting some damage on Vals and Kates from the carrier Soryu. Due to the limitations of the CFS2 game engine, it would be very difficult to build that mission in a manner that allows you a good chance of surviving with Zero fighters nearby strafing RAAF Darwin. This mission supposes that Lt. Ostreicher landed, refueled, and climbed alone to engage the second wave, which was unescorted.
"intelligence_string"=After getting airborne, head due north & climb as fast as you can to 20,000 feet. The Japanese like to bomb from medium altitudes, so this should give you an altitude advantage for hit-and-run attacks. If no escort is present, hammer away at the enemy until you run out of ammunition, then return home. Remember, yours is the only P-40 Kittyhawk left, so make sure to keep your plane intact!
"player_aircraft_name_string"=Curtiss P-40e Warhawk (RAAF)
"airfield_string"=Northern Territory - Darwin 36
 
Port Darwin missions are done...

Hey guys,

I finished all of the Port Darwin missions this afternoon; because I know about how to copy waypoints and alter missions with hand-editing, I used the Zero attack mission as a model for the Kate mission, and I used the Kate mission as the model for the Val mission, just changing the player flights.

All part of Talon and Pen32Win's mission tricks 101. :very_drunk:

Now, I can't release this yet, because...

1) I have to put the package together.

2) I have to wait for an FDG P-40 skin from RobH that he's working on.

3) I am discussing with UncleTgt and Shessi how to fix the combat boxes on the PBY-2 Catalina, as well as fix the dogfighting airfile.

4) I also need to fix the superman .dp files with Collin's merchants.

There may be one or two other things that need fixing, but I'll have this uploaded sooner, rather than later.
 
Could use some help, please!

Hey guys,

I am almost ready to release the Port Darwin mission package. As I wait for the P-40 skin, (RobH is doing it) I was wondering if someone could help with the following items...

1) A .dp edit of Shessi's new PBY-2 Catalina to correct the damage boxes and decrease the number of hits for the fuel tanks, as well as reduce the accuracy of the AI gunners.

2) An airfile edit of the PBY-2 Catalina to prevent her from dogfighting like a Fokker Dr. I triplane. She should be more lumbering and sedate.

UncleTgt - Are you working on any of this? Have you contacted Peperez directly, or should I, and see if he is willing to help?
 
Hi Rami,

DP file just about done (& tested). Suitable paints are only a couple of days off. The airfile may take some time, the aircraft.cfg has numerous "tweaks" to pitch stability, thrust etc. Everything I've tried so far has had little effect.
:dizzy:
If we leave the cfg changes as they are, I think the significant alteration to dogfighting performance may be to reduce the rate of roll. One thing I haven't played with yet is just simply increasing the MOI in the airfile (thus affecting the AI without affecting player a/c handling). I haven't asked Pepe, as I think I've swamped him with stuff recently.
 
Hey guys,

I am almost ready to release the Port Darwin mission package. As I wait for the P-40 skin, (RobH is doing it) I was wondering if someone could help with the following items...

1) A .dp edit of Shessi's new PBY-2 Catalina to correct the damage boxes and decrease the number of hits for the fuel tanks, as well as reduce the accuracy of the AI gunners.

2) An airfile edit of the PBY-2 Catalina to prevent her from dogfighting like a Fokker Dr. I triplane. She should be more lumbering and sedate.

UncleTgt - Are you working on any of this? Have you contacted Peperez directly, or should I, and see if he is willing to help?

Hello Rami,

I've attached some files that may work for the PBY-2 (I didn't have time to check AI performance though). Based on my publications for the PBY-2 the performance of the air file should be close: Rotation and landing approach speeds are around 80 knots. Top speed should be somewhere close to specs (listed as 178 mph/155 knots at 8,000 feet), fuel load of 1750 gallons, and empty weight of 14,568 lbs. I have also enclosed an fx file if you wish to check out also.

Included in the aircraft config for this air file the following entries:

[flight_tuning]
cruise_lift_scalar=1.0
parasite_drag_scalar=1.35
induced_drag_scalar=1.0
elevator_effectiveness=1.0
aileron_effectiveness=1.0
rudder_effectiveness=0.7
pitch_stability=1.0
roll_stability=1.0
yaw_stability=1.0
elevator_trim_effectiveness=1.0
aileron_trim_effectiveness=1.0
rudder_trim_effectiveness=1.0

[piston_engine]
power_scalar=1.0

[propeller]
thrust_scalar=1.2

[LIGHTS]
//LAT VERT LONG distance (meters) from reference datum
panel=0.00, -0.5, -5.2, fx_PBY_Wake

Note: the aircraft config for this air file has no [WEIGHT_AND_BALANCE] section so those specs are being taken from the air file.

And for the panel.cfg (DAP Gauge for wake effect):

gauge##=DAP_CFS2v1!BellyLand, 258,149,10,9

At any rate may be some good start files and/or info and feel free to tweak it.

Best Regards
 
Reply...

Good afternoon,

Hey guys, Just completed modifying the four Japanese carrier strike missions that were part of the first wave so that they attack from the correct direction, as well as have a correct takeoff point where the Japanese carriers were when they launched.

RobH did a FDG P-40 skin at my request in the colors of Lt. Ostreicher for the missions, and UncleTgt, as you can see took care of the PBY and the KM P-40e, so no matter which version you choose, there is an authentic skin. Both these, as well as John's Catalina skin, will be included.

I was going to stop at ten, but Kdriver is building the airstrip and rescue mission on Bathurst Island, as well as the East End moorings for the PBY Catalinas that were destroyed. So, it looks like I have one, possibly two missions remaining to do before I can release this.

This mission pack is beginning to feel like Al Pacino's line in the Godfather, Part III. "Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in." :very_drunk:
 
Reply...

Hello Rami,

I've attached some files that may work for the PBY-2 (I didn't have time to check AI performance though). Based on my publications for the PBY-2 the performance of the air file should be close: Rotation and landing approach speeds are around 80 knots. Top speed should be somewhere close to specs (listed as 178 mph/155 knots at 8,000 feet), fuel load of 1750 gallons, and empty weight of 14,568 lbs. I have also enclosed an fx file if you wish to check out also.

Included in the aircraft config for this air file the following entries:

[flight_tuning]
cruise_lift_scalar=1.0
parasite_drag_scalar=1.35
induced_drag_scalar=1.0
elevator_effectiveness=1.0
aileron_effectiveness=1.0
rudder_effectiveness=0.7
pitch_stability=1.0
roll_stability=1.0
yaw_stability=1.0
elevator_trim_effectiveness=1.0
aileron_trim_effectiveness=1.0
rudder_trim_effectiveness=1.0

[piston_engine]
power_scalar=1.0

[propeller]
thrust_scalar=1.2

[LIGHTS]
//LAT VERT LONG distance (meters) from reference datum
panel=0.00, -0.5, -5.2, fx_PBY_Wake

Note: the aircraft config for this air file has no [WEIGHT_AND_BALANCE] section so those specs are being taken from the air file.

And for the panel.cfg (DAP Gauge for wake effect):

gauge##=DAP_CFS2v1!BellyLand, 258,149,10,9

At any rate may be some good start files and/or info and feel free to tweak it.

Best Regards

Oglivie,

Outstanding! I will test this tonight. Thanks!
 
RobH did a FDG P-40 skin at my request in the colors of Lt. Ostreicher for the missions, and UncleTgt, as you can see took care of the PBY and the KM P-40e, so no matter which version you choose, there is an authentic skin. Both these, as well as John's Catalina skin, will be included.
Any chance these skins could be available as single downloads as well, please ? They look outstanding !

BTW, thank you for having considered KM's P-40. It's IMHO the best looking P-40 for CFS2. Do you know/have a RAAF skin for it that would fit with this campaign ?
 
Reply...

Hello again,

Hey - Between UncleTgt's Catalina files and Oglivie's, I was able to graft together a working airfile with the flight characteristics Oglivie described in his post.

I also found a couple of errors in the panel.cfg for the Catalina and fixed them, which I will include in the package for you.

I have attached it in the meantime. UncleTgt worked on the .dp file and includes weapons loadouts and fixed the combat boxes.
 
Reply...

Hey guys.

I'll have to try those packages one at a time. I end up with a PBY which slowly falls to the ocean as an AI flight and then blows up on it's own. :dizzy:
 
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