Fly with the 216th Mixed Aviation Division!

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

In light of the appearance of the Ju-88 in the front, here are some tips to contain the incoming waves of bombers swarming Soviet ground targets.

 

For both fighter, attack and bomber aviation pilots: when making your way to your target, make routes that go over your own objects first then head to your final destination. All Soviet aircraft have sufficient speed and forward-firing armament to severely damage or shoot down a Ju-88, so even if you are carrying bombs, fly over your own territory, shoot up a Junkers then move forwards.

 

For fighter aviation: this diagram covers the angle covered by the Ju-88's defensive machine guns, and the angles you can use to attack it safely.

 

 

Last but not least, the aircraft's most vulnerable spots are the big glassy cockpit with the whole crew, and the fuel tanks inside the wings. Take aim, squeeze the trigger and go start some bonfires! When you're done, drop a bomb on their troops to show them who is boss

[Nocke]

I will happily join your illustrious bunch

 

Out now to figure out how to change the nick ....

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Glad to have you on board, Nocke!

 

If you want to add tags to the username, you can do it here: https://il2sturmovik.com/account/

[Nocke]

LOL .... directly after I commit definitely to VVS I realize the Ju88 is there

I will have to fly a little Luftwaffe the next days, for almost the first time with this sim ...

[Lusekofte]

Dont worry Nocke, we need intel about it And you will not be the only one trying it out. 

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

New aircraft are always fun to try out, I don't have Battle of Moscow yet but as soon as I get it I will be giving everything a go. I'm still downloading the update on my snail internet so that's keeping me grounded

[Nocke]

Pardon my obstinacy - but I still think it could be nice to have a common communication area.

 

So I added a text and a voice channel named "216th" to the discord server, and created a role "216th" for those who will be able to enter  (and administrate) that.

 

Currently that is Lucas, Peterla, Pod, and myself.

 

Please let me know if you are d'accord to use this, and if so, who else should receive an invitation, or anyways just send it out yourself.

 

Could be done of course as well for the 55IAP ....

 

[56RAF_Pod]

Thanks, Nocke!

[Vade]

Im glad to see you guys form up and wish you all the best! Looking forward to flying with and against you guys in the future! 

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Thanks Nocke! From the FNBF group add Myrio to it.

 

Looking forward to meeting you with the 216th, Vade! Maybe with these aces in the air I can finally engage you without having to hitchhike to base Thanks for the support

[55IAP_Dtack]

I would love to join this group, however I recent started flying, if thats not an issue then send me a PM ..Thanks a bunch

[Vade]

Would you guys want to get some small scale Squad on Squad action going in the future? Zg26 and myself where thinking about doing little combined arms missions and you guys as our longest and dearest FNBF enemies would be awesome to go up against! Nothing major, just some skirmishes to work on that all-important teamwork and communication. Im not sure how we would set it up, but im sure we would find a way if you join us...    

[56RAF_Pod]

Sounds good, Vade. I need all the practice I can get!

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Dtack, welcome! I sent you a PM

 

Vade, that's a great idea! Nothing says friendship more than shooting virtual HE 20mm projectiles at each other

[216th_Peterla]

Lol, i like how this is shaping.

I also have a german heart; the Ju88 is so nice  but I still need to control her on the take off, really easy to ground loop in my case.

Regards,

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Attention. Attention. Moscow speaking. Moscow speaking.

 

This Wednesday during the weekly training the 216 SAD will send a ground-attack formation into enemy territory, raze a target to the ground, and make it back without loss under cover of 55 IAP and 216 SAD fighters.

 

Pilots from all walks of life are welcome to join, this is going to be a fun short mission! There is no limit to the formation size by the way, so the more pilots the merrier! Write on this thread or send me a PM if you want to join so I can send the server and TS details for this specific mission

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Successful training yesterday for the 216th and 55 IAP. Three fighters escorted one Pe-2 and two Il-2s into the target area. All attack aircraft delivered the bombs to the target and made it back to friendly lines, with the Pe-2 ditching and the Il-2s landing at an active airfield. One escort fighter was killed (yours truly), one successfully ditched behind friendly lines and one returned to the original airfield. Three enemy fighters were shot down in the process.

 

Good job everyone!

 

Whoever wants to participate next week, affiliated or not, drop a message here and I will pass you the training TS and server details.

Edited April 7, 2016 by 55IAP_Lucas_From_Hell

[NO_SQDeriku777]

Is there a basic skin that all members of the 216th could use to make visual ID easier?  That way a bomber seeing a fighter spawning in would wait before taking off.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

There is no generic 216th skin yet but most 55 IAP pilots have the following skins:

 

LaGG-3s for me, Myrio, Xenos: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/nbr9d9afsf4vc90,0d7hkbnii6cdpt7,2fqyzztd3ay7fnj/shared

Yak-1s for me and Myrio: https://yadi.sk/d/rS081KXxqfwPs

[Lusekofte]

This is really going great atm. I be back next Thursday, As I understand it FnBf starts next friday. Can someone sign me up for it asap. I might be too busy next week to be able to log in. I fly the same thing as Petrela and Pod

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

I can do that for you

 

I shall request one whatever-are-Peterla-&-Pod-flying for you as soon as the signup opens, and hopefully they will task us to escort you guys!

[216th_Peterla]

Hi all,

I found this looking for info about the 216th. It's or looks like one of the dry lease spits. I'm going to do a test in a LA5 skin.

Regards,

[56RAF_Pod]

I guess this is from the same source:

By April 1943, the 216th SAD comprised five regiments: 16th Guards IAP, 45th IAP, 42nd IAP, 57th Guards IAP, and 765th Ground-Attack Aviation Regiment (shturmovoy aviatsionnyy polk – ShAP). The division had been executing combat missions while based on Popovicheskaya airfield, not far from Krasnodar, since early April. Altogether the division had 114 aircraft, by type: 14 Yak-1, 48 P-39 Airacobra, 8 P-40 Kittyhawk, and 29 Spitfire. The division complement also included a ground-attack regiment, which had on hand 15 Il-2 Shturmoviks.

The Il-2s were from the 765th ShAP, Peter, but I could not find any skins for them.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

I'll look into the Russian sources to see if I can find skins for them, or at least some indicative.

 

EDIT: Also, you're all invited to the ZG26 Battle of Moscow server, it's up for this evening.

Edited April 7, 2016 by 55IAP_Lucas_From_Hell

[NO_SQDeriku777]

There is no generic 216th skin yet but most 55 IAP pilots have the following skins:

 

LaGG-3s for me, Myrio, Xenos: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/nbr9d9afsf4vc90,0d7hkbnii6cdpt7,2fqyzztd3ay7fnj/shared

Yak-1s for me and Myrio: https://yadi.sk/d/rS081KXxqfwPs

I meant for the for players in the U.S. timezones who are more likely to be members of the 216th rather than the 55th IAP.  If these are not standard In-game skins then non-216th players will not be able to ID 216th members if they have not downloaded the same skins.  Correct me if I am wrong but the whole point of the 216th is to assist anyone that needs it.  Without teamspeak, and considering language barriers, a universally available skin would be the best way to communicate membership to others in the game.

Edited April 7, 2016 by NO_SQDeriku777

[216th_Peterla]

Hi mates,

This is extracted/copied from the pic posted before. It's a very quick sketch(20 min) in photoshop and more guys could have better ideas but as an example is valid.

Regards,

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Fantastic work, Peterla! The only pointer I would give is to remove the white tail band. While this was present in some aircraft, in that particular 57 GIAP Spitfire it's just a left-over from the RAF European camouflage, and over Stalingrad it may be confused with the yellow band in the Fw-190.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

To whom it may concern: we are going to fly together today (Saturday) at 19:00 UTC. Meeting point is the official Battle of Stalingrad TeamSpeak 3 server (address: 8.3.5.133:9407 / password: bos2014).

 

All pilots regardless of affiliation are welcome, come fly with us!

[216th_Peterla]

I can't assist today; bad timing for me but I hope you all enjoy the afternoon/night flights. I will keep looking here for next Thursday training season.

Thanks for the tip Lucas, I will remove the line.

Regards, 

[56RAF_Pod]

I will not make it either, sorry

[Chief_Mouser]

Completely missed yesterday - should be ok for anything else though.

Cheers.

[216th_Peterla]

@Lucas,

I remove the band and add a white outline to the star(it makes the skin nicer). I din't have time to do more.

I will check more options with the arrow.

[Felix58]

Fun idea and I hope it increases "Red" participation online.

Being southern hemisphere your times tend to be too early o'clock, but I'll keep an eye out for you guys!

Good luck!

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Peterla, that thing is a beauty! Where did you find that "Slava" badge? It looks great.

 

Trumpkin, welcome aboard! Will keep an eye out for you as well, and of course as the 216th and 55 IAP grow there will be more and more people across time zones. As it stands we already cover ground all the way from the middle of the United States through Europe, Asia and now Australia!

[216th_Peterla]

Hi Lucas,

Check this ones. Are based on Galchenko and Kramalenco's aircrafts but we can get some ideas. I made them long ago but I still have the templates.

The green of Galchenco;s one is darker than the one I use in the above pics. The grey looks also nice.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

These are great as well, Peterla!

 

To be fair it's your input that matters the most: from the cockpit of your, what would you like to see parked and flying next to you in terms of easy ID?

[216th_Peterla]

These are great as well, Peterla!

 

To be fair it's your input that matters the most: from the cockpit of your, what would you like to see parked and flying next to you in terms of easy ID?

Big numbers are easy to ID. That's give an idea. I'll make a change on the default 216th skin of La5.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Good idea! If you need any help finding profiles, references and the likes, let me know

 

EDIT: Myrio suggested, what if we incorporate the diagonal tail stripe from Galchenko onto the 216th one (in addition to what you're working on)? It's big and easy to see, too.

Edited April 11, 2016 by 55IAP_Lucas_From_Hell

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Straight from the printing press:

 

From now on, the 216th Mixed Aviation Division is performing training flights every Thursday, at 19:00 UTC.

 

Every week, 55 IAP and other 216 SAD pilots execute a short mission in partnership with 4./JG 52. The format is as follows:

 

The sides take turns in executing offensive and defensive missions. The next mission (14/04) will have 4./JG 52 and friends attacking, and 55 IAP plus volunteer pilots from 216 SAD intercepting. The week after this one, 55 IAP and 216 SAD will respectively fly escort and bombing missions against 4./JG 52 interception.

 

The following steps are taken:

 

1. Briefing of 5 min on TeamSpeak
2. Take-off and RV point if necessary.
3. Action Objective
4. No landing
5. De-Brief 2-3 min each side
6. De-Brief 5-10min together

 

The purpose of this training is to learn good practices of flying and coordination under different circumstances, and to push cooperation between units forwards. While we are enemies in the skies, we are also friends once the missions are over so it is important to cultivate a friendly atmosphere!

 

This is also a great opportunity for anyone who wants to try out flying with 216 SAD or 55 IAP, to see if this is what you are looking for. All pilots are welcome to join, just make sure to drop a message here or at this thread to make sure you get the server and TeamSpeak passwords sent to you.

 

-

 

On a separate note, today we celebrate the 55th anniversary of the very first manned space flight. Our very heartfelt thank you for all those who dedicated and gave their lives over this half century to explore the vast universe that surrounds us.

 

 

Поехали - let's go!

[216th_Peterla]

Looking forward to this training season.

Is that commander Gagarin?