Back To Page 3 Stirring it Up The whole key is to keep everyone moving forward by asking for clarifications, NOT by challenging their claims. Let’s say I claim that the sim is wrong in modeling the Spitfire, as a guy in a Bf-109 turned inside me in a DF room. Bad start to […]
Back To Page 2 The Chart Our good friend, the chart. Without it, no FM debate is worth a darned, and it is the first and most effective entry point into the conversation. “Got Chart?” is the same as writing “Put up or shut up.” The neat thing is that the experten all have charts for […]
Back To Page 1 How World War Two Aircraft Were Tested and the Source of Authoritative Opinion Factory tests. Yes, gentle reader, the company that stood to make hundreds of thousands of dollars should the airplane be selected for production often supplied the official performance tests used in determining purchase. Apparently, corporate executives were far […]
by Frank “Dart” Giger Everyone who has been a regular on a flight sim forum has seen and read the Great Flight Model / Damage Model (FM / DM) thread. Not everyone, however, knows the difference between a laminar wing and a regular airfoil, and so they can feel left out of all the fun. […]
by Andy Bush Introduction We’re proud to provide a new series for the virtual dogfighter in all of us. SimHQ.com has asked each of the major online flight simulation companies to provide one of their own to join their peers and look at common air combat situations that players find themselves in. We’ve asked our […]
Back To Page 6 Acknowledgements Without turning this into an Academy Awards speech, there are some people whom I’d like to thank for their help during the writing of this article……. Andy Bush, for first proposing this CAS series back in October 1999 and for continuing to push me to finish this article. Couldn’t have […]
Back To Page 5 Appendix: The Tools of the Trade: Aircraft and Weapons The Aircraft Although virtually every airframe in the Luftwaffe was used in CAS roles at some point in the war, four models especially “pulled their weight.” Below are some basic statistics for each type. Henschel Hs123 Stats for Hs123a-1: Powerplant: One 880 hp […]
Back To Page 4 Conclusion Anyone studying the role of close air support in the German armed forces of WWII can’t help but walk away in awe at the size and scope of what was attempted. From their fledgling beginning to the stunning victories in Poland and France, to the massive Eastern Front, the […]
Back To Page 3 Soviet Union The Luftwaffe that was flung against the massive Soviet military machine in July 1941 was not, fundamentally, all that different from the one that had been used some successfully against Poland, France, and the Low Countries. More than 2/3 of the entire Luftwaffe was thrown into the battle, […]
Back To Page 2 Poland The German Army that crossed into Poland on September 1 had with it more than 200 Ju87s for support, and the years between the Spanish Civil War and the Poland invasion provided now-General Richthofen with time to experiment with new techniques for controlling close air support missions. Named the […]
Back To Page 1 Spanish Civil War The baptism of fire for the Luftwaffe and their new concepts of air / ground cooperation came in Spain. In November 1936, Germany had 40 aircraft and more than 4,000 “voluntary” personnel in the theater, fighting on the Nationalist side as the Legion Condor. This number would eventually […]
by John “Spoons” Sponauer Introduction This is the second part of a series of SimHQ.com articles on the role of close air support in modern war. For the previous installment, be sure to read Andy Bush’s excellent “Close Air Support in the Vietnam War.” The idea of writing a series of articles on CAS came out of […]
