Official Historical Campaign "Ice Ring"

[BlackSix]

11 hours ago, KodiakJac said:

Ok, thanks @BlackSix 👍

I tend to try and stick around until the red attack marker tuns off.  Thanks for the info on the real attack methods of Russian pilots against nearly impossible odds. 

🙂

I'm forced to set the attack duration to 3-5 minutes because the AI cannot use all weapons in one go and makes very long maneuvers before the attack.

After completing the attack, you can go directly to the airfield without going through all waypoints and when you are near the airfield it will switch to landing mode.

[KodiakJac]

2 hours ago, BlackSix said:

🙂

After completing the attack, you can go directly to the airfield without going through all waypoints and when you are near the airfield it will switch to landing mode.

 

Thank you!  I did not know that 👍

[AtomicP]

I've been having more trouble with mission 11 ('Closer to the front') than I would like. I get near the target area where you're meant to attack a load of trucks but I keep getting blown to bits by 109s. Seemingly my escort isn't up to the job and there's no way I can defend myself since in this mission the tailgunner is not equipped.

 

Does anyone have any advice? I've tried staying treetop height, sticking to waypoints and not (i.e. making a bee line to the objective) but I still get bounced. Unfortunately checking your six in a Il-2 is more or less impossible so the first sign of the 109s is tracer streaking ahead of me and loud bangs as bits of my plane fall off!

[AtomicP]

Never mind, I dumped the bombs and headed straight to the airfield at the last waypoint, 'mission complete'.

[GOV]

I am having the same issue with "Closer to the Front",  I don't see a way of dealing with the 109's that come swooping in.  IF you ignore them they kill you, if you fight, they kill you.  Anybody have any other suggestions other than ditching the bombs and running for the mission end point?

[BlackSix]

13 hours ago, [QCP]GOV said:

I am having the same issue with "Closer to the Front",  I don't see a way of dealing with the 109's that come swooping in.  IF you ignore them they kill you, if you fight, they kill you.  Anybody have any other suggestions other than ditching the bombs and running for the mission end point?

This is not the first complaint and this situation needs to be fixed. When this campaign was being developed, the fighters behaved completely differently. The fix will be available in the next update. Probably the only way out now is to immediately fly to a new base. I apologize that everything is working out this way.

[BlackSix]

The difficulty level was reduced in the 11th mission in the 5.506 update: four Bf 109s that previously attacked the player's group on the way to the target were reduced to a pair and now primarily attack the player's cover flight.

[Skrimps]

I have played through this campaign multiple times. One of my favorites by far, especially since I prefer to ground pound.

[Kubert]

Just finished this campaign.

 

 

7 missions were flawless. I concidered myself as Ilyushin veteran, but mission 8 slapped me back to reality and BF-109 showed me that I still have more to learn and ended my no death run.  Excep that and mission 10 when I touched a tree when dodging another BF I was only two times slightly damaged. 

 

First time in restart of mission 8, AA guns took my tail wheel.

 

 

Second time in mission 13. One BF didn't let me do my job and bullied me entire time over target zone.  At least he was preoccupied by me and let my squadron do all the job. This time I lost one of the main wheels. 

 

 

What is wrong with these guys? Is it new Luftwaffe tactics? Steal ours wheels and sabotage ours landings? 

 

Thanks BlackSix and IL-2 team for unique experience. Fun and satisfying campaign. 

 

EDIT: Typos.

Edited July 25 by Kubert

[Kubert]

Second playthrough of the campaign. Now proper one, without a death. 

 

 

I made some photos along the way. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Of course some dramatic moments. 

 

 

 

 

Who is faster? Truck or IL? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does someone know how much recording impacts the game performance? 

 

Edited August 22 by Kubert

[jokash]

Just playing the 7.mission i think (Going Home),and i saw a flight of 3 Ju52,flying from the east side of the Volga towards the west side.What were they doing there, there aren't any German formations there.Also in another mission,maybe 2nd or 3rd, the same thing happens...2 flights of Ju52 coming from the east side flying towards Stalingrad.What are they doing there?

[BlackSix]

12 hours ago, jokash said:

What are they doing there?

The direct route from the western airfields to the Stalingrad pocket was very dangerous. The Russians had deployed many anti-aircraft batteries and fighter patrols there. Some German crews chose a detour through the Soviet rear, a longer but safer route, avoiding anti-aircraft positions and large airfields and approaching the city from the southeast and east. I wrote about this in the second briefing.

 

The German planes did the same in August 1942 during the bombing of Stalingrad, they attacked the city from the south, southeast and east. But at that time, the Soviet fighter aviation was completely suppressed and this was done for greater convenience.