Working on a new campaign

[Shadow Wolf 07]

I have started my USS Essex CV-9 Campaign using Collin's excellent Essex Class ships and VN escorts. Thus far I have completed the Marcus and Wake Island strikes with a total of 11 missions and have moved on to the first attack on Tarawa. I am loading up Tarawa-Bititu with destroyable objects and bunkers.

Information found so far is sparse but I've read that later in the war she strikes on the Philippines (PI), Ryukus, Hong Kong and Formosa. I am using the MR Micronesia (I don't think it's GSL), MR Palau (GSL), Philippines 1 and 2 (non-GSL) and Formosa (also non GSL?). Thus comes a question: I know the PI is out for now but are there any scenery downloads with GSL for Formosa and SE China (ie: Hong Kong)?

Will keep you posted as to progress...

SW-07

 

[skylane]

Hi SW!

The only Formosa scenery that I am aware of is the one by Maskrider, which unfortunately is non-gsl. As a work-around you could do a layout adding a few more buildings, hangars etc to the airfields, so there are some destroyable objects to bomb..
Hong Kong and many other fields in China are available with Xavier´s east Asia gsl scenery, from which you already used Surabaya in the Saratoga campaign.

Thank you for the effects folder you sent me! Using them improved the speed of my sim a lot! I still plan to add more RAM, though.

I started flying the Saratoga campaign, and have a lot of fun with it! I like the idea with the bombers turning back after a few of them are shot down in the Guadalcanal CAP mission!

Now I´m also looking forward to this new campaign! Thanks for the great work!

skylane

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Skylane, you are welcome and thanks for the XavierB tip.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Progress update

I have finished missions 12 (fighter sweep) and 13 (first strike on Tarawa) as well as the target photo mission. Mission 13 will be duplicated in one or two more missions to randomly place the player in either a TBF or an SBD. I have test flown all missions up to 12 and the photo recon - 13 will be later today.

And the beat goes on...

SW-07

PS: 14 and 15 are done too but not flight tested. 1305 hrs

 

[Jagdflieger]

Another good history lesson via CFS 2. Thanks!

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Another good history lesson via CFS 2. Thanks!

You're wewlcome Jagd! That FLAK was tough!

I had to modify the gsl for Tarawa for these missions. I added a few tanks (really there) and more bunkers and pillboxes as well as a seaplane wharf. The frames got so heavy that I decided to add all my add-ins to the existing gob to increase framerates. It worked! I put in everything BUT AA guns, ships and parked aircraft. The new gob will be included in the upload.

 

[mariereid]

Yehaw! Sounds great. I am using your bases in my missions. All your work is top notch stuff! I hope ya don't mind the RCN and RCAF using your bases. They have just arrived at Long Island Strip. I am going to do a little tour of all of them ending up at Morobe. I bet ya never thought your bases would be taken over by Crazy Canuks!

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Yehaw! Sounds great. I am using your bases in my missions. All your work is top notch stuff! I hope ya don't mind the RCN and RCAF using your bases. They have just arrived at Long Island Strip. I am going to do a little tour of all of them ending up at Morobe. I bet ya never thought your bases would be taken over by Crazy Canuks!

They are allies so I don't mind at all. At Morobe you can park a couple of PT boats at the base for extra effect (it was a WWII PT Boat base).

I flight tested all the Tarawa base suppression missions last night. Now I'm moving on to Lt McWhorter's missions at Tarawa as described in: http://www.ussessexcv9.org/Bravepages/thefighters.html .

"On 19 November 1943, flying off the 'roof ' of USS ESSEX during the Tarawa invasion. Mac McWhorter shot down his 5th enemy plane and became the first 'pure' F6F ACE, by having scored all five victories in the new Hellcat. On 16 February 1944 at Truk, He scored his 10th victory and became the first Hellcat double Ace. Mac flew with Carrier AirGroup 9 "Fighting Nine'

McWhorter was on combat patrol near the task force and his division was vectored out to intercept a high bogey. He turned headed out and began climbing. Mac relates "After about five miles or so, as we were passing through about 20,000 feet I spotted the bogie, a single engine plane called a 'Myrt', about three miles ahead at about 25,000 feet and going away from us. I closed to about 500 feet behind and slightly below. I fired a short burst and the Myrt flamed immediately. I was so close that oil got all over my canopy." This was Mac's highest victory as compared to his lowest one, the twin engine bomber that he shot down at Tarawa about 10 feet over the water. Shooting the 'Betty' (Bomber) down also earned him the name of "one slug" from his Squadron. After returning to ESSEX it was found that he had expended a total of 86 rounds of 50 caliber ammunition, and that included a test firing of all six guns shortly after take off... "

I'm using Thicko's "Judy" instead of an unfound "Myrt" and SG's Betty.

After those 2, I'll be doing Tarawa invasion close support missions before moving on to Kwajelein.

Pic: Morobe with PT Boats

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

17 missions done and flight tested. I'm working on 3 - F6F, SBD and TBF - for invasion close support (Tarawa) with a few landing craft moving to the beaches. After that I'll do the last McWhorter, Betty intercept (see above). That's a total of 21 missions just for Wake, Marcus and Tarawa... whew! This is gonna be a big campaign.

 

[stuart277]

Myrt

Hi Shadow Wolf
There is a Myrt available from Akemi Mizoguchi at mzc6n1saiun.zip in the Japanese aircraft section.
Cheers
Stuart

 

[JapLance]

I'm using Thicko's "Judy" instead of an unfound "Myrt"

Akemi did one, well, actually two: the recce and the night fighter versions.

 

[mariereid]

Boy, that sounds great bud. Got my SW07 install ready to go! I know ya got a lot more work to do yet. Luckily, I think most of what I need should be in my SW install now. Don't work too hard!:salute::ernae:

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Judy Versus the Myrt

Hi Shadow Wolf
There is a Myrt available from Akemi Mizoguchi at mzc6n1saiun.zip in the Japanese aircraft section.
Cheers
Stuart

I appreciate the tips guys, but I might stay with the Judy, since it's gonna be used in a few more missions, later in the campaign and it would save players from downloading another plane just for one use. I'll think it over. :salute:

 

[SPman]

it would save players from downloading another plane just for one use

Hell, we've got all the planes, anyway........haven't we.

 

[JapLance]

Hell, we've got all the planes, anyway........haven't we.

Yes, I have it among my Pacific install planes, buit I understand the concern of SW07.

What I'm not sure is that it was a C6N1 Saiun (Myrt). All the info I've found about this plane is that it entered service in mid 44, and we're talking about Nov43 here. Maybe is the pilot report written years later and he's confusing it with another plane (a B6N Tenzan is very similar in shape)?

A Saiun (Myrt)

A Tenzan (Jill)

Both were Nakajima-designed.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Good point JL...

I finished and flight tested the missions for the Tarawa invasion support and the McWhorter Betty intercept. Next is the Kwajelein/Roi raid and then the attack on the Marshalls. After those it's on to the attack on Truk. I'll probably use and update my previously published Hailstone missions for those. I'll have more accurate info on the ships used, the launch carrier, change some of the planes and utilize the existing target photos.

 

[Captain Kurt]

Lightning fast development there. I wish I could work that fast but I'm too nit-picky.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Lightning fast development there. I wish I could work that fast but I'm too nit-picky.

Captain: I am too sorta...

Except for the intercepts and and fighter sweeps, 2/3 of the missions are "mirrors" of the main mission. By that I mean they are the same mission with the player flying a different plane type, ie a TBF or SBD instead of a Hellcat. Those go real fast as I already have the ships, infrastructure and other planes in place. All I have to do is swap waypoints and targets for 2 flights, rewrite the mission objectives and maybe adjust the return warp waypoint position. The reason I'm doing this is because the campaign will be "dynamic" - the player wil fly a random choice of missions. I plan in most cases to have a choice of 50% for a f6f, 25% for an sbd and 25% for a tbf. Also, I try to randomly spawn enemy aircraft. The end result is that when the player comes to island X he may find himself in any of 3 planes with different objectives and enemy planes, maybe or maybe not appearing and from different directions each time.

I finished and flight tested the Kwajalein fighter sweep mission last night and started the strike mission(s). There will be 2 strikes over 2 days, times 3 = 6 missions. I hgave a good source for TF composition, but enemy strength, exact TF formation, position, course and speed I have to "guestimate." I used 10 Usio ships - 2 light cruisers and 8 cargo ships in the FS mission and noticed some minor frame rate issues when flight testing. If I still have them in the strike missions, I'll substitute other ships for some of them. I need ships, because in the historical record 5 ships were sunk and 7 damaged at Kwajalein.

I tend to use more FLAK than in my last campaign and in some missions there will be low level wind, forcing the carrier to turn into the wind at launch and landing. As you may know, I can't put in the wind until I'm finished via hand editing because Mission Builder won't save the wind data if for some reason have to save the mission again.

 

[Discus]

Captain: I am too sorta...

...and in some missions there will be low level wind, forcing the carrier to turn into the wind at launch and landing. As you may know, I can't put in the wind until I'm finished via hand editing because Mission Builder won't save the wind data if for some reason have to save the mission again.

SW:

It´s good to read about this campaign in development. It sure makes me want to make a PTO install!

Question: How do you make your carriers turn into the wind at take off time and make it noticeable for the flyer? You sit strapped to your cockpit waiting until given a message while the aircraft carrier reachs WP2 where it should be head on to the wind?

Cheers, Discus

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

SW:

It´s good to read about this campaign in development. It sure makes me want to make a PTO install!

Question: How do you make your carriers turn into the wind at take off time and make it noticeable for the flyer? You sit strapped to your cockpit waiting until given a message while the aircraft carrier reachs WP2 where it should be head on to the wind?

Cheers, Discus

Not quite, for example the wind is out of the east at 15 kts and I have the carrier sailing east at 24 kts from the start. I don't want to waste time on the deck because those dummy wingmen have a nasty habit of colliding with each other. After T/O (a few miles), the ship and task force resume their course to the southeast. You could plot a second WP with the turn east, close to WP 1 for the ship, but I don't bother.

For the landing, I figure out where (approximately) and at what time the carrier and my return warp will meet. I usually figure 15 minutes time on target... I then place the return WP about 2 miles off the carrier's course, create another WP for the carrier and have her turn to sail east from there. Since my TF does not come under attack, I set up the TF ships as a formation (ctrl + alt + F) around my carrier and they all stay in formation and turn accordingly without having to plot a ton of waypoints. After a few miles, I have the TF return to course again. I test flew one mission and got back a few minutes early and watched the TF turning east as I was setting up my landing... it looked good! :ernae: