Steel Birds Historical Campaign Now Available for Pre-Order!

[BlackSix]

Dear Friends,

 

Simultaneously with the launch of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Kuban, we released the free Sea Dragons campaign, dedicated to the actions of Soviet ground attack aviation. Now we'd like to give you the opportunity to look at these events from a different point of view - the combat operations of the German ground attack units in the spring of 1943.

 

We are proud to announce the Pre-Order of the new Historical Campaign "Steel Birds" for the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Kuban.

 

 

Origins of the Battle

 

In the wake of the defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in early 1943, the main forces of Army Group A faced an immediate threat of getting surrounded and crushed in the North Caucasus. The German command launched an urgent redeploying of its units: the 1. Panzerarmee retreated to Rostov, while the 17. Armee withdrew to the Kuban where it put up a formidable defense at well-fortified positions that came to be known as the Blue Line. Meanwhile, after liberating Krasnodar, the North Caucasian Front forces of the Red Army gained 50 to 60 kilometers of ground in February and March while repeatedly attempting to obliterate the German forces in Kuban.

 

 

The course of the Kuban battle in April 1943 from the North Caucasian Front reporting map and the frontline at the start of the campaign on April 14.

 

Luftwaffe Forces

 

Preparing for the operation to eliminate the Soviet bridgehead near Novorossiysk, German command assembled a powerful aviation group. Organizationally it was part of the I. Fliegerkorps of the Luftflotte 4, based at the Taman Peninsula and Crimea airfields.

 

On April 14, 1943, it included:

 

– Fighter groups II. and III./JG 3, II. and III./JG 52, Croatian and Slovak squadrons (Staffeln) and night fighter Staffel 10.(N)/ZG 1;

– Bomber groups III./KG 4, I. and III./KG 51, II. and III./KG 55, as well as separate Staffeln 7.(Eis)/KG 51 and 9./KG 55;

– Dive-bomber groups I., II. and III./St.G 2, I./St.G 3, III./St.G 77;

– A separate Panzerjäger Staffel 8.(Pz)/Sch.G 1;

– Various transport and support units.

 

Also, а ground attack unit II./Sch.G 1 arrived at the Anapa airfield in mid-April, and this campaign is dedicated to its combat missions.

 

I  

The Luftwaffe fighters, ground attack planes and bombers during the spring battle of Kuban.

 

II./Sch.G 1 and Fw 190 A-5/U3

 

This unit was formed at the beginning of 1942 and equipped with Hs 123 and Hs 129 ground attack aircraft. Starting in May 1942, II./Sch.G 1 took part in the battles over the Crimea and Kharkov area, and then supported the Army Group B's offensive on Stalingrad.

 

In mid-January 1943, II./Sch.G 1 was withdrawn from the front for refitting. The 5. and 6. Staffeln were equipped with ground attack modification of the Fw 190 A-5 fighter, and the 7. Staffel continued to use the Hs 123 B-1 biplanes.

 

The Fw 190 A-5/U3 armament consisted of two 7.92-mm MG 17 machine guns, two 20-mm MG 151/20 cannons and three bomb load options: 4 x SC 50, 1 x SC 250 or 1 x SC 500. Specialized ground attack modification U17 entered service with the Gruppe only in June 1943 and had reinforced armor and additional wing bomb racks.

 

  

The Fw 190 A-5/U3 ground attack aircraft with various bomb-load options.

 

About the Campaign

 

You'll take on the role of the newly appointed flight commander in 5. Staffel of the II./Sch.G 1. Under the command of Hauptmann Frank Neubert this Gruppe has just completed a retraining program and has relocated to Anapa airfield to support the operations of the German 17th Army.

 

The campaign is set from April 14 to May 16, 1943 and are centered around the struggle for a bridgehead at Novorossiysk (Operation Neptune), and two major Soviet offensives in the area of Krymskaya, which ended with the withdrawal of German troops to the new line of defense in early May.

 

The sharp increase of the Soviet air strengths in the Kuban led to one of the largest and fierce air battles on the Eastern front during the entire war. In this difficult situation, you have to strike at artillery batteries, transport and armored columns, airfields and battle formations of the advancing troops.

 

   

The Soviet, US and British-made fighters, ground attack aircraft and bombers of the Red Army Air Force during the Spring battle for the Kuban.

 

You'll fly 15 combat missions, about 8 hours of gameplay in total.

 

The new campaign is scheduled to be released on August 11, 2021.

 

   

  

  

 

Official Trailer made by @ShamrockOneFive

 

We hope you enjoy Steel Birds!

 

The Sturmovik Team

[FTC_Mephisto]

Looking forward to this! Are specific skins expected for the campaign? 6./Sch.G 1 had fantastic skins with beautiful reds colors and mickey mouse emblem...

[BlackSix]

25 minutes ago, ACG_Mephisto said:

Looking forward to this! Are specific skins expected for the campaign? 6./Sch.G 1 had fantastic skins with beautiful reds colors and mickey mouse emblem...

Yes, there are at least two well-known color photos of this Staffel, but they were taken in the process of rearming the Gruppe with Fw 190 A-5 at the beginning of 1943 in Deblin-Irena.

 

But! We conducted a research (thanks to @LukeFF and @I./ZG1_Dutchvdm) and found out the following:

1) in the process of arriving at the front, the red emblems were removed from the planes, because this color could be confused with Soviet red stars

2) around the end of April 1943, black triangles were also removed from all aircraft

 

It is believed that this is how the planes from the 5. Staffel looked like in May 1943:

 

Therefore, when Fw 190 A-5 receives tactical numbers, this will be enough, additional camouflages will not be required.

[LukeFF]

2 hours ago, BlackSix said:

 

Just to add to what @BlackSix wrote, this photo is credited in Bergstrom's book on Kursk as having been taken during July 1943. The larger photo shows a soldier holding what is presumably the unit's flag at the righthand side of the image.

[fergal69]

Pre-ordered ?

[Beazil]

1 minute ago, fergal69 said:

Pre-ordered ?

Same.

[sevenless]

Pre-ordered ? Now please nag the devs about the Henschel - 123 bi-plane as a collector item. That would make for a hell of a campaign. ?

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by sevenless

[BladeMeister]

This sounds really good. Purchased and I am looking forward to it.

 

S!Blade<><

[ST_ami7b5]

Pre-ordered.

[Jaegermeister]

Looks excellent BlackSix. Nice to see you are staying busy!

[Luger1969]

Come payday...I am in on this. Thanks B6. Thanks for the work. Every piece forms part of the puzzle and its a good one! 

[Trooper117]

Pre-ordered!...

[w00dy]

Pre-ordered

 

Looking forward to playing this one and flying a campaign on the Kuban, thanks BlackSix for all your hard work ?

[Auswilko]

PreOrdered

 

Since the start of the sale I have bought  Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Moscow, Battle of Kuban, Battle of Bodenplatte,  Fw 190 D-9 Collector Plane, La-5FN series 2 Collector Plane, Bf 109 G-6 Collector Plane, Ten Days of Autumn, Fortress on the Volga, Hell Hawks Over the Bulge, Steel Birds Pre-Order.

 

New to the Sim and enjoying it alot, good stuff for a older guy

[justin_z3r0]

41 minutes ago, Auswilko said:

PreOrdered

 

Since the start of the sale I have bought  Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Moscow, Battle of Kuban, Battle of Bodenplatte,  Fw 190 D-9 Collector Plane, La-5FN series 2 Collector Plane, Bf 109 G-6 Collector Plane, Ten Days of Autumn, Fortress on the Volga, Hell Hawks Over the Bulge, Steel Birds Pre-Order.

 

New to the Sim and enjoying it alot, good stuff for a older guy

Welcome. you have many many months of enjoyment ahead of you.

[F19_Haddock]

Pre-ordered! 
There's nothing like a well crafted scripted campaign. So many cool moments and stunning views on these. They really make the game shine.

[w00dy]

2 minutes ago, F19_Haddock said:

Pre-ordered! 
There's nothing like a well crafted scripted campaign. So many cool moments and stunning views on these. They really make the game shine.

 

Totally agree, best part of the game for me and makes a nice change from career mode.

[Na-zdorovie]

i love the FWs, in all forms so a must buy for me, thanks for having the time to make this,....preordered

[easterling77]

Pre-ordered!

If there's content from BlackSix - it's a must have for me.

 

And at long last I purchased a head tracking system which hopefully will pass the customs department the next week....can't wait for harrassing ground targets and enjoy the new sights.

 

I'm excited like a little child?

Edited July 28, 2021 by easterling77

[BlueHeron]

On 7/28/2021 at 9:26 AM, easterling77 said:

And at long last I purchased a head tracking system which hopefully will pass the customs department the next week....can't wait for harrassing ground targets and enjoy the new sights.

 

Your flight sim life is about to change!   ?

[easterling77]

1 hour ago, BlueHeron said:

 

Your flight sim life is about to change!   ?

yup it did...definitely

[Alan_Grey]

Pre-ordered ! I look forward ?

[Superflyer]

Pre- ordered, yesterday!!!?

[Swing]

Pre-ordered 

[453=SGII_Wotan]

pre ordered looking forward to ground attack  the dreaded FW190A5 

[BlackSix]

Hello everyone!

 

I'd like to thank you for the pre-orders and especially for the kind words, it's very inspiring for further work.

 

Currently, the final testing of the campaign is underway, its release is planned for the next update. Let me remind that the campaign is available for pre-order in our store with a small discount.

 

Also I'd like to thank all members of our community who helped us translate the briefings into other languages, especially

@DN308@E69_Cananas@namhee2

 

In addition to English and Russian, the briefings will be translated into Chinese, Spanish, French and German. Also, a translation into Polish is planned in the future.

 

Finally, a few new screens:

[Missionbug]

The Fw 190 is not a type I have ever really took to in the GB series or any other, it is a gorgeous design but I never quite got the handle of it, anyway, I have always enjoyed your campaigns BlackSix so this will at least make me try again.

 

I always have issues with that dammed tail wheel lock, try as I might I just cannot get it to work when I need it to.

 

Take care and be safe.

 

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[UFA_Bagel]

Pre-ordered several weeks ago. It was a long awaiting campaign. Glad to see it is coming soon. Can not wait any longer to try it finally. Would love to know a bit about your future plans @BlackSix. ? We need more Germans scripted campaigns. 70% are allies campaigns now. All German campaigns have been made by you so you are the only hope of Luftwaffe. ?

Edited August 11, 2021 by ACG_Elegz

[BlackSix]

2 hours ago, ACG_Elegz said:

Pre-ordered several weeks ago. It was a long awaiting campaign. Glad to see it is coming soon. Can not wait any longer to try it finally. Would love to know a bit about your future plans @BlackSix. ? We need more Germans scripted campaigns. 70% are allies campaigns now. All German campaigns have been made by you so you are the only hope of Luftwaffe. ?

Thanks! I've some plans for Luftwaffe for the Stalingrad and Rheinland maps but now the community chose Yak-7b for the next campaign.

The previous choice was very good as I understand it now, because Fw 190 campaign turned out to be much more interesting in terms of a variety of missions than a potential Bf 109 fighter campaign. 

[UFA_Bagel]

6 hours ago, BlackSix said:

Thanks! I've some plans for Luftwaffe for the Stalingrad and Rheinland maps but now the community chose Yak-7b for the next campaign.

The previous choice was very good as I understand it now, because Fw 190 campaign turned out to be much more interesting in terms of a variety of missions than a potential Bf 109 fighter campaign. 

What a pity. Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of Soviet planes in general with a very few exceptions. Hope BoN will change this disbalance. Looking forward to your future works for BoS and BoBP. Does IL-2 team have plans to release any campaigns together with BoN, btw?

Edited August 11, 2021 by ACG_Elegz

[BlackSix]

First of all, we've a plan to release another free campaign for BoBP. BoN campaign is a more distant perspective)

[alpenspion]

1 hour ago, BlackSix said:

First of all, we've a plan to release another free campaign for BoBP. BoN campaign is a more distant perspective)

Great! I hope for the Luftwaffe!

[13/JG5_Luck]

Thanks for the new content. I like the historical details you provide in the briefing. Unfortunately we can not use the U17 modification of the FW 190, it is locked. The briefing of the mission talks about the usage of the A5/U17, but in the game one can only use the regular A5???

[Chief_Mouser]

1 hour ago, 13/JG5_Luck said:

Thanks for the new content. I like the historical details you provide in the briefing. Unfortunately we can not use the U17 modification of the FW 190, it is locked. The briefing of the mission talks about the usage of the A5/U17, but in the game one can only use the regular A5???

 

Only just started the campaign myself but perhaps we will have to be patient. I'm sure BlackSix has done his research, and if it was present at some time during the campaign then it will be included in the later missions.

[Alexmarine]

U17 entered in use only by June, the campaign will finish by mid-May as per BlackSix posts, from what I can guess the campaign will focus mainly on the U3 variant

[BlackSix]

11 hours ago, 13/JG5_Luck said:

Thanks for the new content. I like the historical details you provide in the briefing. Unfortunately we can not use the U17 modification of the FW 190, it is locked. The briefing of the mission talks about the usage of the A5/U17, but in the game one can only use the regular A5???

 

I'm sorry, but you could read about U17 in the campaign announcement only:

Quote

Specialized ground attack modification U17 entered service with the Gruppe only in June 1943 and had reinforced armor and additional wing bomb racks.

The campaign is set from April 14 to May 16, 1943 and during this period they only had U3. Unfortunately, this doesn't provide a variety of weapons in the campaign, but it was ...

[Jade_Monkey]

Purchased!

[easterling77]

Just back home from the first mission....blowing stuff up in the 190 is

Thank you Mr BlackSix Sir!!!

[13/JG5_Luck]

On 8/13/2021 at 10:06 AM, BlackSix said:

 

I'm sorry, but you could read about U17 in the campaign announcement only:

The campaign is set from April 14 to May 16, 1943 and during this period they only had U3. Unfortunately, this doesn't provide a variety of weapons in the campaign, but it was ...

Yes, my mistake, thanks for clarification°

[FTC_Zero]

I preordered it an I am happy to support, no questions asked. The idea was probably to create a dense and alive battlefield. However, playability came too short for me, because there is just too much going on (amount of AI planes in the background?), that might cause the game slows down way too much compared to all other scripted campight I have ever played. I see the passion and love for detail in that project, but is doesnt work me at least. Anyways, FW190 love and I wonder how well it runs for others, peace.