Combat Box by Red Flight

[Alonzo]

More great squad attack video, this time from @BBAS_Tiki_Joe  You can also hear a bit of CB Radio chatter, with both Command and Tower.

 

 

[BMA_FlyingShark]

Great, gonna watch these vid's at work tonight, keeps me in the sphere of Il2 while I can't actually play.

 

Have a nice day.

 

[[CPT]Crunch]

Allied AAA-  USA Primary heavy gun the M1-A1 90 MM, Bofors L-60 40MM as medium, and M-16 as lite support.  SCR 584 fire control radar was widely fielded giving the M1 guns 30+ miles contact, accurate bearing within 1.1 mil.  These guns were authorized VT fusing 16 Dec 1944 with vast stockpiles of fuses already warehoused on the continent.  Placing every last battery under radar directed fire control was completed by 1 Jan 45.  September 44 the M1's were organized 16 guns per battery in four sections, by December with radar and VT fusing a battery consisted of 6 guns, with superior lethality over the original 16 guns.

 

Employment of M-1 batteries were along the entire front usually within secured artillery positions, primary mission was denial of enemy air recon front wide.  By November there were sufficient guns to mandate a ten mile exclusion zone ceasing all attack on targets of opportunity front wide within that band.  Everything was fired upon beyond enemy lines including unauthorized and unscheduled allied planes beyond visual range, corridors and schedules were set up for safe scheduled operations.  The radar directed M1 gun combo proved highly effective in horizontal engagement at range out to ten miles.

 

Bofors L-60 40 MM was the primary medium range gun for all allied forces.  This was the gun used with the traveling forces, the M1 proving to be to heavy and slow to deploy under field conditions.  It was the primary AAA weapons system for installation protection, forward airfields, supply dumps, choke points such as bridges.  Allied tactical doctrine was to deploy in sections of four with two lite guns as close in protection, generally oerliken based 20 MM systems for Commenwealth forces.  We're missing the Polsen 20 MM which was a pre-war authorized re-design of a simplified standard Oerliken gun, parts reduced to half, cost and time to produce about a quarter.  The blueprints were evacuated with the Poles and mass production set up in UK and Ontario.  This and British license produced hispanio 20MM's were heavily placed within frontal units and support of installation security.  US M-16 should make a suitable close in protection system.  The US didn't have such concern having nearly every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a .50 cal mounted on his cargo truck.  50 Cals being produced in nearly the millions.

 

British produced QF 3.7 inch AAA heavy was deployed heavily along with Canadian M1-A1's along the eastern approaches of Antwerp for port protection against sustained V-1 attacks, and also to stem attacks against London as much as possible.  This gun was fully integrated and supplied with the American SCR 548 fire control radar, Churchill demanded the integration of US VT fused shells, sending Bomber command Lancasters on special missions to the states to pick them up as rapidly as possible.  First use of VT fused radar directed guns was July 44 in SE England in protection of London with immediate and successful results, with intercept rates tripling. 

 

I don't know enough about the mechanics of mission design, but it would be pretty cool if neutral nation status could be assigned to the heavy guns beyond visual range so all aircraft would be engaged across the front, giving a system of corridors where one could safely pass.

 

Hopeful some day we see VT fusing, imagine batteries opening up on you, but you see nothing, there's some flak exploding far off in the background, not realizing those are the shells that missed you, until one gets in close proximity, than its too late.

 

Good reading on WWII AAA

 

"Archie to SAM a Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense."  Kenneth P. Werrell

 

"Strategy for Defeat, The Luftwaffe 1933-1945"  Williamson Murray

 

https://ww2db.com/weapon.php?q=382

On the VT shell, when you read this and note the dates of first deployment in Sicily it will make you shudder after reading the section on the worst case of allied fratricide during the war by the US Navy, page 46 in Werrell"s book.  Talk about effective in trials, only the sort of thing you never wish to speak of publicly.

 

Tactical and Technical Trends, "Employment of Flak with the Field Army" No. 41, December 30, 1943.  

https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/AUPress/Books/B_0028_WERRELL_ARCHIE_TO_SAM.pdf

 

Still available at the USAF Maxwell library for free, great read.

 

 

https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA421966.pdf

 

More on the Luftwaffe and it's struggles at this time, they had major problems with ammunition supply, their main source for fuse construction chemical was obliterated, so supply, quality, and effectiveness fell off the cliff.

[Alonzo]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:43 PM, [CPT]Crunch said:

USA Primary heavy gun the M1-A1 90 MM, Bofors L-60 40MM as medium, and M-16 as lite support.

 

This is great info, thank you. It looks like we have all those things defined in the campaign code, but for some reason it's not switching out placeholder Russian stuff for the British/American items in all cases. I'll try to track down the bug.

[Alonzo]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:43 PM, [CPT]Crunch said:

USA Primary heavy gun the M1-A1 90 MM, Bofors L-60 40MM as medium, and M-16 as lite support. 

 

I found the problem. We had incorrectly tagged a couple of the British guns as "World War I" which meant they were not included as possible replacements. I've fixed that, and it got rid of all the 61k's in the starting campaign mission. So we should be good. Thanks for helping make the campaign better!

[[CPT]Crunch]

Thank you!  Although reading up on allied AAA life as a Luftwaffe ground attack pilot after the last third of 44 should become absolutely miserable, those AAA guys had it together, severely under rated and under appreciated for what they accomplished and contributed.  They were the ones doing the most damage and destruction to the airborne Luftwaffe in this stage of the war.

 

A challenge I'm looking forward too.

 

[72AG_lnf]

 

[71st_AH_Mastiff]

Player-196887

 

This guy was shooting up all the Allied Friendlies..

 

 

[Firesilver]

Will the C-47 be added to combat box missions or are there no plans to do so atm?

[Alonzo]

7 hours ago, Firesilver said:

Will the C-47 be added to combat box missions or are there no plans to do so atm?

 

There's an intent to make use of the C-47 but we'll need to ensure it makes sense in the missions and has a purpose. No firm date yet, but now that both sides have cargo and paratrooper capable planes, it increases the chances we'll do stuff with it.

[Sketch]

 

 

Combat Box Duck Hunt Thanksgiving Special

 

 

 

Date/Time: Wednesday, November 23, 2022 7:00 PM CDT through Friday, November 25, 2022 11:00 PM CDT

Server: Combat Box's Duck Hunt Thanksgiving Special

Comms: IL2 SRS srs.combatbox.net:7002
Discord Link: https://discord.gg/j2h2amYB?event=1045156926767501446

 

Become the Duck pilot during our American Thanksgiving Special - Duck Hunt only on Combat Box! The mission offers the essential Thanksgiving experience, from flying the Mosquito or the Me410 to fighting in the Hs129 Duck. The mission is completely void of any other planes, and is running on our Training server. This way you will have the freedom to approach the mission how you want, and not worry about ruining your stats on our main server. The mission is set in the mountains of Kuban with very thick cloud cover. Allies will have access to radar, so they can hunt Ducks. Axis will need to escort their Ducks to target and back home. 

 

Will you deploy your attack plane in fighter configuration or will you fly through the mountains and low clouds to bomb the logistics facilities? And as an unwritten rule, every time you shoot down a Duck (as Allies), or safely escort a Duck (as Axis), you'll have to drink! The mission will run starting right now and end Friday morning. See you in the skies, and happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Otto_bann]

On 10/14/2022 at 5:20 AM, Alonzo said:

This weekend, the server is going to be taken over by the Combat Box "Apollo" dynamic campaign system!

Hi Alonzo and all,

At 1st, bravo and thanks for the job!

Just 1 question : why the german side see the two 21cm rockets forbidden with 109s? Pity IMO.

[Talon_]

2 hours ago, Otto_bann said:

Just 1 question : why the german side see the two 21cm rockets forbidden with 109s? Pity IMO.

 

They are an air-to-air system and I couldn't find any sources for them being fitted after September 1944 for air-to-ground work other than a flimsy sentence on Wikipedia.

 

If you know of any sources I'll change the permissions!

[Cricri]

Hello everyone , just a question , are all the planes on the server piloted or are there I.A ?  

It's been 2 times that I fight against 2 FW 190 and each time the wingmen kills me in one go in 15 seconds ......

Best regard . 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Cricri

[Talon_]

4 hours ago, Cricri said:

Hello everyone , just a question , are all the planes on the server piloted or are there I.A ?  

It's been 2 times that I fight against 2 FW 190 and each time the wingmen kills me in one go in 15 seconds ......

Best regard . 

 

Currently everyone is a player. Some of them have many thousands of hours though so expect accurate shots!

[Otto_bann]

On 11/27/2022 at 12:44 PM, Talon_ said:

If you know of any sources I'll change the permissions!

Hi Talon and thanks for your quick and clean response.

 

An other question but the last, I promise :

 

In maps of the campaign are signaled some trains or vehicules should bring material from a town to an other (supplies) and the ways to do it are frequently crossed by bridges.

 

I understood that destroy these bridges can't bring some score for myself  (I don't care) because their are not designed like targets in the brief. But if I destroy these bridges , these running supplies will be stopped  before the final destination (logicaly).

 

Is this situation can have any influence on the future mission by some change on the next map? If yes, even if trains or trucks are not destroyed?  Or if you prefer, is the progression of ennemy can be affected or slowed by this way (border edited for ex.)?

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Otto_bann

[Cricri]

I managed not without difficulty to lower my first plane on the server ( Messermith 110) and to return to the base without being lowered in my turn because I was out of ammunition .....

 

On the other hand I can't refuel gas and ammunition, yet I follow the procedure and my other damage is repaired when I need it, did I miss something ?

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Cricri

[Talon_]

1 hour ago, Otto_bann said:

In maps of the campaign are signaled some trains or vehicules should bring material from a town to an other (supplies) and the ways to do it are frequently crossed by bridges.

 

I understood that destroy these bridges can't bring some score for myself  (I don't care) because their are not designed like targets in the brief. But if I destroy these bridges , these running supplies will be stopped  before the final destination (logicaly).

 

Is this situation can have any influence on the future mission by some change on the next map? If yes, even if trains or trucks are not destroyed?  Or if you prefer, is the progression of ennemy can be affected or slowed by this way (border edited for ex.)?

 

Convoys have an annoying AI bug - if you destroy a bridge on the route, they just pretend it's still there and drive off the cliff instead of going a different way or stopping. For this reason, bridges on the routes of convoys are made indestructible for the duration of the convoy. We all hate this solution but it's better than having them fly off the road/rails into space like lemmings sadly

 

It's best to fly down the convoy route and spot them - trains are especially easy, with big white smoke plumes visible!

27 minutes ago, Cricri said:

On the other hand I can't refuel gas and ammunition, yet I follow the procedure and my other damage is repaired when I need it, did I miss something ?

 

Repair is automatic, reload/refuel you need to bind keys to start/stop the process

[Cricri]

OK , thank's !

[Cricri]

I got destroyed today on the server, I didn't even see the German planes arriving....???

[Sketch]

17 hours ago, Cricri said:

I got destroyed today on the server, I didn't even see the German planes arriving....???

You should jump on the Discord, meet the rest of the community that also gets thrashed up in the air, and then fly with them. You'll get destroyed less often and may learn a thing or two. https://combatbox.net/en/

[71st_AH_Mastiff]

https://combatbox.net/en/sortie/log/1844396/?tour=52

 

my last flight in the campaign show I was shot down, in fact I made it back to base..and made a proper landing was successfully. 

 

in_which_we_serve.zip

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by 71st_AH_Mastiff

[Alonzo]

On 11/30/2022 at 12:52 PM, 71st_AH_Mastiff said:

https://combatbox.net/en/sortie/log/1844396/?tour=52

 

my last flight in the campaign show I was shot down, in fact I made it back to base..and made a proper landing was successfully. 

 

IL2 stats sees a disconnect. Did you end sortie correctly?

 

[71st_AH_Mastiff]

12 hours ago, Alonzo said:

 

IL2 stats sees a disconnect. Did you end sortie correctly?

 

no the map flipped as soon as I landed.

[Alonzo]

Hey folks! Those of you who are part of our Discord know this already, but in the recent "alpha 3" test of our campaign system, the Allies achieved victory in Europe in 133 in-game campaign days (11 days elapsed in the real world). Congratulations to the Allies.

 

Everyone seems to like the campaign so we're running it again. We've tweaked a few things to make the front line "combat box" follow the area of highest contention, which should make it a bit easier to push the edges of the front line. We've also added the Arado Ar-234 jet bomber in limited quantities for Germany.

 

Here are a few images of the campaign for those who haven't flown it yet.

 

https://gfycat.com/scentedunpleasantaurochs

 

[HiVoltaGGe]

   Thanks for everything and I am really enjoying the campaign and competition.

 

  Is there a place where it is explained how the supply system works or how territory is gained or lost? 

 

  I've looked everywhere for some type of explanation to no avail and I think it would be useful to have a better understanding so that I might be able to better prioritize targets, missions or what might be worth defending. I apologize if I am ignorant of information that may already be out there. Thanks!

[Haluter]

Join us on the Combat Box Discord to discuss the dynamic campaign and get answers for all your questions ?

[150_GIAP-Red_Dragon]

Just waiting for the C-47 on CB 

[BMA_FlyingShark]

Yesterday, when on Combat Box, I noticed that if you hover with your mouse over targets on the map, their ground elevation is shown.

Is this a new feature or has it always been there and have I overlooked it all the time?

Anyway, great to see this function in game.

 

Have a nice day.

 

[Sketch]

3 hours ago, FlyingShark said:

Yesterday, when on Combat Box, I noticed that if you hover with your mouse over targets on the map, their ground elevation is shown.

Is this a new feature or has it always been there and have I overlooked it all the time?

Anyway, great to see this function in game.

 

Have a nice day.

 

It's part of the logic for the Apollo Campaign. Should mostly be used by level bombers, and it has never been in our curated missions.

[Sketch]

Attention all fighter jocks!

Friday Night and Saturday Encore Flights
Date/Time: December 16, 2022 8:00 PM CDT/9:00 PM Eastern and December 17, 2022 2:00 PM CDT/3:00 PM Eastern
Server: Combat Box's TRAINING server (Apollo will continue on the main server)
Comms: IL2 SRS srs.combatbox.net:7002
More Info: Combat Box's Website

 

 

We are excited to announce an upcoming training mission that is sure to be a blast. Get ready to put your skills to the test as you take on a variety of challenging objectives through the mountains of Kuban to push you to your limits. This mission will be a great opportunity for you to hone your abilities and become even better at your craft. Learn how to intercept fighters, fight down low where you can't just turn and burn, defend objectives where cloud cover is thick and low, practice flying low and fast through the mountains, and much, much more! Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a rookie looking to make a name for yourself, this mission has something for everyone. So grab your flight gear and get ready to take to the skies. This is going to be one mission you won't want to miss.
 

See you in the air!

 

------------
Description:

 

The mission will be intense as you race against time to control and hold as much territory as possible. This training mission will also have very low clouds, and be fought over the mountains of Kuban. As a bonus, there's absolutely no bombing - you can't even select a bomb! And stats? Not so much... It's for fun and training; so you can become a better fighter jock. Interested so far?

 

Players must fly through the marked ring near an objective to convert that objective to their side. Once converted, that side will slowly generate points for their team. The more objectives a side holds, the faster that side will generate points. Once one team reaches 100 points, that team wins. All players can see the score on their HUD and on the map. Targets that are controlled by a side, will have that side's smoke and icon (so players know where to go to capture an objective.) If you've ever played any Battlefield Conquest style game, it's exactly the same; except in planes.

 

In order to win, players will have to learn to not defend the exact objective, but intercept enemy fighters before they fly through the ring. Holding an area for only a short amount of time will not net your team points.  If an objective flip flops very quickly between sides, it won't generate points for anyone. You must capture and hold. However, it'll be really cool to see an objective flip sides back and forth while players keep flying through the ring at an objective.

 

-----------
Sign Ups:

Friday Event Signup
Saturday Event Signup

 

---------
Mission Briefing Video:

 

 

[N0MAD]

Hello.

Do you have protection against such scorchers on your server?

 

 

[Haluter]

 Please open a support ticket on our Discord and we will action it appropriately.

[71st_AH_Mastiff]

6 hours ago, haluter said:

 Please open a support ticket on our Discord and we will action it appropriately.

im guessing discords being ignored by all the admins today?

[Haluter]

18 hours ago, 71st_AH_Mastiff said:

im guessing discords being ignored by all the admins today?

We're on light duty over the holidays, but we do check our Discord now and then.
Was there anything specific you needed help with?

[Alonzo]

Combat Box Year in Review, for 2022

 

Massive thanks to everyone in the IL2 community who has flown on Combat Box, and especially to those of you who support us financially through Patreon. Without you, we couldn't do this. And a big thank-you from me to the rest of the admin team -- this is truly a team effort. Thank you all.

 

Given the IL2 developer's recent "by the numbers" video, we thought we'd let you in on some numbers for Combat Box over the past year.

 

124,514 flight hours logged across 467,163 sorties, by 16,265 unique players
538,273 ground kills, and 156,468 air kills
57,835 Spitfire Mk.IX sorties (our most popular plane)
43,342 BF 109 G-14 sorties (our second most popular plane)
486 ME-262 jet fighter sorties (yes, sometimes people get to fly jets on Combat Box!)

35TB of data transferred from our website (credit mostly to Haluter's Skin Downloader)
2.7GB of mp3 audio broadcast by our "CB Radio" SRS voice bot
1,273 commits to our source code repository
ONE new, much-anticipated map -- Normandy -- added to our repertoire

 

TWENTY SIX handcrafted missions and scenarios, from our talented mission making team.

 

New maps for 2022:

• Aluminum Overcast (FNF exclusive)
• Assembly Line (FNF exclusive)
• Battle of Arras (FNF exclusive)
• Battle of ONS5
• Breakout
• Brits Over Belgium (FNF exclusive)
• Capture and Hold (FNF exclusive)
• Chef's Kiss (FNF exclusive)
• D-Day Plus Four
• Duck Hunt (FNF exclusive)
• Edelweiss (FNF exclusive)
• Flames in the Sky
• Foothold
• Gunslingers
• In Which We Serve
• Milk Runners (FNF exclusive)
• Prelude to D-Day
• Shipping Disruption (FNF exclusive)
• Spring Cleaning
• The Channel Dash
• The Dambusters Raid
• Wilde Sau (FNF exclusive)
• Winter Push (FNF exclusive)

Special mini-campaigns by Cass:

• 9th Sep 1944
• 10th Sep 1944
• 8th-10th Sep 1944

FIVE 'Apollo' dynamic campaign alpha tests
The campaign includes 39 airfields, 55 strategic objectives, and dozens of "pop up" dynamic targets.
During the 'alpha4' campaign, pilots flew 27,124 sorties, dropped 57,257 bombs and fired 8,794 rockets. In total, Apollo tracked 69,744 'kill' events over the 150 day campaign.

 

Please join us in 2023 for more handcrafted missions, Friday Night Flight events, and the evolution of the Combat Box dynamic campaign system. We'll have more action in the new year with the debut of "career mode" -- take control of an RAF, USAAF or Luftwaffe pilot and track their exploits through the war. Sign up for missions, collaborate with squadmates, and try to become the most famous (or infamous!) second world war pilot!

 

Over the year there's been a lot of content produced by our pilots, here are a few videos for your viewing pleasure.

• Apollo Teaser Trailer, from Talon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJoVhqffmM4
• Hit and Run, from Wim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TTuHD-6XF8
• Furball at Venlo, from CueBall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3-EqH3wMOI
• Attack on Kleve, by Kamicosmos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS03vnV8PHM
• 6 Kills in a Flight, by Scharfi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSSkbWfDLWg
• P-38 Night Strike, by Kamicosmos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAAqEWttAA8

Thanks again to everyone, see you in 2023! Happy New Year!

[Mad_Mikhael]

I spawned in Mosquito at Glize AF (there were no enemies marked) and my first engine didn't start when I heard airfield AA. I looked behind and there was 109 low and going for me. 109 "kamikazed" me, but I'm not here to complain ? What I'm here for is to laugh. That's the message that appeared after.

   ?

 

 

And the best is.. Twenty minutes later..

 

 

??

[bigfoot21075]

Hello!

 

New guy here. I just got IL2 and a new rig to fly it on. The last Combat Flight Sim I used was MS CFS3!

 

I had to drop a note, this is fantastic - the effort it took to pull this off must have been astonishing! I hope you receive the appropriate appreciation, this breaths true life into what looks like a great sim. 

 

See you on Discord!

 

Rob

[easterling77]

Hello Folks!

 

I just want to tell my biggest THANK YOU and kindest gratitude to the whole Combat Box team and comunity.

 

About three weeks ago, I dared to move to Multiplayer after almost three years of staying in Singleplayer - to worried over screwing up?

 

After a couple of flights on this gorgeous maps of yours -  yesterday, I made the next step and got SRS installed.

 

WOW....I never had so much immersion in flying.

Just a quick conversation after take off with a friendly 410 asking if I could follow and bomb stuff with him. Absolut outstanding!!!

 

The best decision so far this year for myself was to step into multiplayer and stumble over Combat Box Server and SRS.

 

You Guys are Awesome

 

Best greetings

 

Daniel

Edited January 6, 2023 by easterling77

[Mad_Mikhael]

I was watching a replay from a few days ago. I've found AA guns hidden in the middle of the forest, and with the current state AA can shoot you through the trees, but you can't - bullets, bombs and rockets collide with trees. Should AA placed there? Also this AA was quite accurate. The mission was: A_Bridge_Too_Far_Sep_1944
Last image is from different forest.