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USS Essex CV-9 Campaign revision 2020 released!

Couple of screenshots by way of a :bump:

Donationware SBD-5 from VB-9 ...

Whilst painting this I discovered the lower LOD texture mapping is screwed up, so you get weirdness like mirrored tailfin numbers as the aircraft moves away from you - oh well:banghead:
 

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Also tried a couple of FDG2 Hellcat skins for VF-9. Lot's of texture mesh distortion, so difficult to get stars & bars to look right from all angles. I agree with Captain Kurt, Allen's reworked stockers are a better start point for the Hellcat at the moment...
 

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Attacking the "Ten-Go" force: AI SB2Cs attacking Yamato while my flight engages her escorts.
 

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Hi Shadow Wolf

Just curious but why does the Helldiver have a belly mounted bomb? They had an internal bomb bay, didn’t they?
 
"Just curious but why does the Helldiver have a belly mounted bomb? They had an internal bomb bay, didn’t they?"

Hi Captain:

Yes, I checked. I have Wolfi's SB2C4 and in the dp and in the aircraft preview window she has 2 X 1000lb bombs on the wings and 1 2000lb mounted externally under the belly for the "bombs, heavy" payload. She has a torpedo, mounted externally. And for "bombs, medium" she has 2 X 500lb on the wing mounts with 1 X 1000 pounder in the bomb bay. I guess the 2000 pounder is too large to be carried internally. Also, I thought the bombs in the pic looked a little large, but from a re-download and the dp, it uses dbolt's weaps, so I imagine all is correct.

A question for you and others: The site, http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/Airgroups/CV-9.html shows that Essex's airgroup had a significant number of F4U-1D's aboard from January 45. I need to rewrite several missions to incorporate this aircraft. Can you or someone else recommend a good F4U-1D for me to use?

Thanks:

SW07
 
Hi Shadow Wolf

The dp is apparently pure fantasy. My curiosity was up so I dug into my library to see what the real world load out for the SB2C was.

What I found in some detailed studies: In it's internal bay it could carry either a single 1,000 lb bomb or 2x 500 lb bombs. On the external bomb racks it could carry a 500 lb bomb, or a 250 lb bomb. Rockets could replace the bomb racks on the dash 4 model. Maximum load it could carry was 2000 lbs total.

With modifications it was designed to be able to carry a 2000 lb bomb or a Mark 13 torpedo in the internal bay, but I could find no record of that ever being implemented. Nothing was ever mounted externally on the belly.

So your choices for a realistic bomb load are:

Heavy = 1x 1000 lb OR 2x 500 lb bombs internal bay plus a 500 lb bomb on each wing mount.

Medium = 1x 1000 lb OR 2x 500 lb bombs internal bay plus a 250 lb bomb on each wing mount.

Light = 1x 1000 lb OR 2x 500 lb bombs internal bay

In the SB2C-4 model, rockets can replace the wing mounted bombs.

Are you able to set up a weapons load out in the .dp?


Regarding the Corsair, probably the best option IMHO is DBolt's F4U-1D Corsair. There are also the Overhauled stock, the FDG2 and the Aeroplane Heaven Corsairs you could look at, but I think overall appearance, Sergio's comes out ahead (excepting the cockpit/pilot).

Do you have any reference photos of the CV-9 Corsair markings?


BTW as a complete side note, my father was a Navy flight instructor in 1944. In 1945 when the Navy was winding down training new pilots, he was slated to train in SB2Cs for deployment. I don't think he was happy about the prospect of flying that plane. The war ended before he could be transferred to dive bombers so he never had to get into one.
 
Hi Captain Kurt:

That is good to know. The anti-Yamato missions are the only ones where the SB2C4 utilizes the "bombs heavy" loadout. For convenience sake, I'll leave it alone. On the other topic, I decided to to modify a few missions use your F4U1D CORSAIR VF-84.zip. She fits the bill. :jump: :)
 
Weekly update:

I am up to FEB 1942 - Mission 17 of 47 missions - in my new ship and plane update work. I have already done missions 43-47 inserts of the F4U-D. At the rate I am going, it should be another 2-3 weeks before campaign release... :)
 
Msfossey: I am cleaning it up, putting the correct types of destroyers in (thanks to recent creations by Stuart277) , putting in F4U-D corsairs into the last 5 missions as I discovered a large number of them came aboard in 1945, and cleaning up the mission briefings. The campaign will require a fresh, clean install as it requires Rhumba's PTO mesh and you'll have to remove most of the stock ships to make room for the "new US and Japanese navies - some 60 ships all told. It spans the PTO from Marcus Is. to Okinawa and the Japanese home waters.

Fortunately, one of my future campaign updates - USS Saratoga CV-3 - will use most of the same downloads, thus the same install can be used. ElsnerMarkus is currently testing the campaign with the older, "alpha" missions and I'm test flying the newer ones. So far, so good...

It will consist of 4 separate campaigns: 1. A campaign with the player flying a fighter only; 2. One where you'll only be in an Avenger; 3. One in a dive bomber - SBD3/5 or SB2C; and 4. A combined campaign where you'll randomly fly either of the 3 types of aircraft. The total is 120 individual missions but the player will fly 47 in the combined campaign.

More screenshots to follow.

SW07
 
Finished!

I will upload later tonight or tomorrow. :dizzy::applause::applause:
 

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USS_Essex_CV-9_Campaign-2020.zip

319615842886028127.jpg

A new entry has been added to Add-Ons Library, category CFS 2 Campaigns Add-Ons

Description: Welcome aboard! You will serve on the USS Essex - first of a new class of US carriers - in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. You will be thrown into the fray right after her commissioning and fight your way across the Pacific. You may be flying by random choice the SBD-3/5, SB2C, TBF, F6F-3/5/5N or later the F4U. You will find yourself over Wake, Tarawa, Rabaul, Truk and the Marianas. You will prticipate in raids and strikes on the Philippines, Formosa and on Japan itself as well as strikes on the Imperial Japanese fleet and fighting off waves of Kamikazes.

In this campaign set the USN is on the offensive. Out of all the actions in which she participated, I chose a good, representative sampling of the major engagements of this great ship from her first action until near the end of the war in the Pacific. She later served in the Korean conflict, Bay of Pigs incident and Cuban Missile Crisis and even supported the early Apollo missions, being decommissioned in 1969.

To check it out, rate it or add comments, visit USS_Essex_CV-9_Campaign-2020.zip
The comments you make there will appear in the posts below.
 
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