Official Historical Campaign "Sky Nomads"

[BlackSix]

 

About the Campaign

In May 1943 the battle for the Kuban bridgehead entered its decisive phase. The North Caucasian Front troops managed to capture the village of Krymskaya, but the main German defensive line was never broken through. The Soviet command began preparing a new offensive operation, which began on May 26 in the Kievskoye – Moldavanskoye sector. The success of the actions of the ground forces largely depended on the outcome of the battle that unfolded in the air between the Red Army Air Force and the Luftwaffe.

 

You will take on the role of deputy squadron commander of the 43rd IAP (Fighter Air Regiment), which is part of the 278th Fighter Air Division of Major General Savitsky's 3rd Fighter Air Corps. The regiment arrived in the Kuban at the end of April and immediately joined the struggle to gain air supremacy, changing airfields several times and taking part in all the main events at the front.

 

You can expect both the standard tasks of covering friendly ground troops, patrolling, escorting, and intercepting, as well as intense battles over your airfields and sorties for reconnaissance and strikes deep in enemy territory.

 

Timeframe: May 6th – June 5th, 1943
Unit: 43rd IAP of 278th IAD
Aircraft: Yak-7b series 36
Duration: 15 missions
Average playtime: 8 hours

Languages: English, French, Spanish and Russian

Author: Alexander =BlackSix= Timoshkov

 

This campaign requires IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Kuban

 

While being an independent creation, Sky Nomads continues the story of the Soviet fighter pilot you may know from the Blazing Steppe campaign.

 

 

The origins of the battle

In late April 1943, having thwarted the enemy's plans to eliminate the 18th Army bridgehead around Myskhako near Novorossiysk, the troops of the North Caucasian front launched a new offensive in the central sector. By May 4, after many difficult and violent encounters, they managed to liberate Krymskaya, but their progress was halted once they reached the main German defense perimeter. The Soviet command needed an operational pause to regroup its forces and prepare for a new offensive.

 

The operational situation as it was at the end of April, at the time of the campaign start, and at the end of May 1943:

 

Soviet fighter aviation in the spring of 1943

The battle in the air above Kuban that began in mid-April was growing more intense and reaching a scale never before seen. On the Soviet side, the 4th and the 5th Air Armies participated in the battle, as well as the Black Sea Fleet Air Force which had been exigently supplemented with two air divisions and three air corps. Major General Savitsky's 3rd Fighter Air Corps (IAK) was expected to play a key part in ensuring air supremacy.

 

The 3rd IAK arrived at the front on April 19 and immediately joined the combat effort, remaining at the epicenter of events until the end of the active combat phase in June 1943. The corps included the 265th and 278th Fighter Air Divisions (IAD) that were utilizing the latest modifications of Yak-1b and Yak-7b fighters. A small number of Yak-9s were also supplied to the air corps in May.

 

The 3rd IAK fighters: Yak-1b, Yak-7b and Yak-9:

 

The nomad life of the 43rd IAP

Colonel Lisin's 278th IAD included the 15th, 43rd, and 274th Fighter Air Regiments (IAP), stationed on the Novotitarovskaya and Novovelichkovskaya airfields north of Krasnodar. These fields were over 70 km away from the front line, which significantly limited the amount of time the Yaks spent in the area of operations. In early May, the 278th IAD regiments received an order to relocate closer to the front, to the Slavyanskaya and Krasnoarmeyskaya airfields.

 

At this moment the relatively calm life of the 43rd IAP has ended and our story started. The regiment moved to Krasnoarmeyskaya on May 6th, Slavyanskaya on May 8th, and then back to Krasnoarmeyskaya the next day. On May 16th Luftwaffe attacked the airfield, and the regiment moved back to Novotitarovskaya.

 

On May 27th, after the beginning of the offensive in the Kievskoye-Moldavanskoye sector, the 43rd IAP moved to the forward airfield Abinskaya. After surviving another airfield strike and losing nearly all machines in the endless air skirmishes the regiment returned to Novotitarovskaya on June 9th and on June 16th it was pulled from the front.

 

 

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[Calos_01]

Great campaign, I´m just several missions in and I really like it, a lot of events everywhere, in the air, on the ground. Well balanced, thank you.

[Lusekofte]

I buy this. Scripted campaigns rock 

[Trooper117]

Yes bought, many thanks... these campaigns are always much more enjoyable than the stock career for my money.

[Mtnbiker1998]

I'm sure its a great campaign, but Eastern front, and flying Yaks no less? Old news, Bring on more Western Front content. We still need more Normandy stuff, especially for the USAAF!

[Sandmarken]

10 hours ago, Mtnbiker1998 said:

I'm sure its a great campaign, but Eastern front, and flying Yaks no less? Old news, Bring on more Western Front content. We still need more Normandy stuff, especially for the USAAF!

Many usermade campaigns for western are available now. Even a photo recon one I highly recomend. Have you tried the Hürtgen forrest one? Its for the p47. Very well made,as good as the officials and free ?

[sevenless]

Just bought it and am looking forward to have fun the next weeks. IMHO after reading the Black Cross/Red Star series of books we need more VVS campaigns to get a real idea about how things went on the VVS side back then. Keep it up Black Six. Appreciate your work!

Edited July 3, 2023 by sevenless

[Trooper117]

Black Six does sterling work I agree... but he should look at the West front again now would be my opinion.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Trooper117

[Niagara]

I think i will pass on this Campaign

[LuftManu]

After some Black Cross / Red Star excellent books (As a fellow pilot wrote up there) this is a must buy.

Thanks BlackSix!

[BlackSix]

On 7/2/2023 at 7:37 AM, Mtnbiker1998 said:

I'm sure its a great campaign, but Eastern front, and flying Yaks no less? Old news, Bring on more Western Front content. We still need more Normandy stuff, especially for the USAAF!

23 hours ago, Trooper117 said:

Black Six does sterling work I agree... but he should look at the West front again now would be my opinion.

Guys, I've created two Western Front campaigns in a row (His Majesty's Griffons and Wings Over Caen) and I'm a little tired of this topic)

Also, given that I'm a specialist on the Eastern Front, it's quite difficult for me to work on them. The next campaign will be for BoS but I'm considering making a Western map Fw 190 campaign.

[Trooper117]

Fair enough mate... no drama!

[BladeMeister]

What we really need is an Eastern front Campaign involving the lend lease Hurricane. It's available, it's awesome and it needs some love! Calling all Eastern front Specialists! Heed the call!!!

 

S!Blade<><

P.S. purchased this but it has to get in line behind the plethora of other unplayed Campaigns that I already own. God forbid that I die before I retire and convert to a full-time Combat Flight Simmer.

Edited July 4, 2023 by BladeMeister

[Vishnu]

I would love a campaign based on  Hans Rudel. 

[ShamrockOneFive]

I'm a few missions in now and enjoying it like I do all of Black Six's campaigns. How did everyone find the first mission? That one required me to fly it a couple of times before I survived. Challenging! Or maybe I'm a bit rusty on the Yak-7!

 

Next two went very well. Fast action!

[ShamrockOneFive]

In-case anyone wants to know what the first couple of missions are like, I've published a Flight Journal piece ahead of my full review (which may take me a couple of weeks), showing off some of the action. And here's some fun screenshots too!

 

 

 

 

Recap from the first two missions:

https://stormbirds.blog/2023/07/08/flight-journal-the-first-two-missions-of-sky-nomads/

[LukeFF]

On 7/8/2023 at 12:52 PM, ShamrockOneFive said:

I'm a few missions in now and enjoying it like I do all of Black Six's campaigns. How did everyone find the first mission? That one required me to fly it a couple of times before I survived. Challenging! Or maybe I'm a bit rusty on the Yak-7!

 

Yes, the first one is tough - you really gotta know what you're doing in order to survive, and even then you're gonna need a bit of luck in order to make it through. It took me three times before I was able to finish it, and just barely at that.

[ShamrockOneFive]

3 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

Yes, the first one is tough - you really gotta know what you're doing in order to survive, and even then you're gonna need a bit of luck in order to make it through. It took me three times before I was able to finish it, and just barely at that.

Three times for me as well! I should have done some Yak-7B practice in the QMB before getting underway.

[BlackSix]

Hmm, I didn't plan on making the 1st mission that difficult. Should I lower the level of your opponents a bit? After repeated tests on autopilot, everything looked fine...

[ShamrockOneFive]

1 hour ago, BlackSix said:

Hmm, I didn't plan on making the 1st mission that difficult. Should I lower the level of your opponents a bit? After repeated tests on autopilot, everything looked fine...

 

Maybe? Twice I was shot down (maybe on account of my rusty flying) but the third time was a frenzy and we lost a good number of the Yaks and P-39s that were in the area. Might have been a couple of Ace AI in the mix? Or again.. I might be rusty

[BlackSix]

There's a mix of high and normal AI and only one ace, I'll think about how to do it))

[alpenspion]

2 hours ago, BlackSix said:

Hmm, I didn't plan on making the 1st mission that difficult. Should I lower the level of your opponents a bit? After repeated tests on autopilot, everything looked fine...

I did the first mission the first time. It was demanding and one must not forget that the Germans at that time also had good pilots.

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, BlackSix said:

There's a mix of high and normal AI and only one ace, I'll think about how to do it))

 

Yes, maybe drop a few of the high-skill level pilots down to normal level, but otherwise, I think it's alright. I recently finished reading about the spring Kuban air battles, and one thing that really stood out was how intense the fighting was. This first mission is overall a good reminder of that.

[Varibraun]

10 hours ago, BlackSix said:

Hmm, I didn't plan on making the 1st mission that difficult.

 

Maybe I was lucky, but no problems on Mission #1.  Mission #6 however has been a different story, and it is a masterpiece of your design skills @BlackSix  

You really got my blood pumping, but then quickly taught me not to take on the whole Luftwaffe by myself. 

 

I look forward to reading about "In the on-duty flight" soon in Stormbirds @ShamrockOneFive.

 

 

 

 

[BlackSix]

18 hours ago, alpenspion said:

I did the first mission the first time. It was demanding and one must not forget that the Germans at that time also had good pilots.

16 hours ago, LukeFF said:

Yes, maybe drop a few of the high-skill level pilots down to normal level, but otherwise, I think it's alright. I recently finished reading about the spring Kuban air battles, and one thing that really stood out was how intense the fighting was. This first mission is overall a good reminder of that.

Thanks! It's desirable that the complexity increases gradually.

 

In any case, it will be a rather difficult campaign and I advise the following:
- look after your wingmen and help them, even at the expense of your personal victories;
- follow the first flight. When they finish the task and go home, it's advisable for you to do the same, because many missions spawn new waves of aircraft from both sides.

 

10 hours ago, Varibraun said:

Maybe I was lucky, but no problems on Mission #1.  Mission #6 however has been a different story, and it is a masterpiece of your design skills @BlackSix  

You really got my blood pumping, but then quickly taught me not to take on the whole Luftwaffe by myself.

Thanks, I hope you also enjoy the weather conditions in the next mission))
By the way, in the last mission of the Steel Birds campaign, you are just attacking Krasnoarmeyskaya airfield and you can watch the lone Yak-7 take off. I decided to show this story from the other side.

[Varibraun]

On 7/11/2023 at 4:39 AM, BlackSix said:

Thanks, I hope you also enjoy the weather conditions in the next mission))
By the way, in the last mission of the Steel Birds campaign, you are just attacking Krasnoarmeyskaya airfield and you can watch the lone Yak-7 take off. I decided to show this story from the other side.

 

I look forward to that...hopefully I will be able to fly again soon.  Also, what a great idea to mirror those missions, now I need to go and re-fly Steel Birds just to see if I can pick out that poor heroic Yak driver!

[easterling77]

On 7/10/2023 at 3:51 PM, BlackSix said:

There's a mix of high and normal AI and only one ace, I'll think about how to do it))

I may found your Ace or should I say - he found me.

 

Just started your campaign today after buying it as a normal no brainer direct after release - your campaigns are top notch - and got shot down in the first atempt.

I leveled out after a shalow dive to investigate a possible enemy (one of my biggest problems is the bad canopies wiht poor visibility of russian fighters - but I red this was common in this time period so it has to be)

In the moment I was starting to look for enemies I saw a 109 diving on me from 1 o'clock high....my thought "oh no - that's gonna hurt".... and this one pass in that angle killed my engine.

So I will try it again.?

 

And if it's challenging, we get more out of it, we don't need arcade here.

 

Thank you for your work Sir

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by easterling77

[BlackSix]

4 hours ago, easterling77 said:

I may found your Ace or should I say - he found me.

 

Just started your campaign today after buying it as a normal no brainer direct after release - your campaigns are top notch - and got shot down in the first atempt.

I leveled out after a shalow dive to investigate a possible enemy (one of my biggest problems is the bad canopies wiht poor visibility of russian fighters - but I red this was common in this time period so it has to be)

In the moment I was starting to look for enemies I saw a 109 diving on me from 1 o'clock high....my thought "oh no - that's gonna hurt".... and this one pass in that angle killed my engine.

So I will try it again.?

 

And if it's challenging, we get more out of it, we don't need arcade here.

 

Thank you for your work Sir

Thanks!))

Still, the first mission will be a bit simplified since the campaign difficulty should increase gradually. I've created the first missions in 2021 and the Messerschmitts AI was a little different and performed worse in combat than in the current versions.

Also, Spanish localization is expected to appear in the next update and, perhaps, French localization will also appear someday.

[TRRA15]

Just began flying this campaign, and so far I like very much. Though homely looking, that Yak 7 is a great all around fighter, and has the best armament ( IMO ) of all the in-game versions of the Yaks.

 

Currently stuck on mission #3 I believe...the one where we takeoff and fly a short distance to a very besieged airfield, dispatch the hornet's nest of axis A/C and then land. Target rich environment for sure. That also applies to the enemy from his perspective as well.

 

Currently looking for a way to survive this mission without resorting to cowardice. ?

[BlackSix]

Reasonable and timely cowardice is your salvation in some missions))

[LukeFF]

Phew, yes, mission #6 is no joke. ? I won't spoil it for anyone other than to say, don't get greedy - @Varibraun is right!

[BlackSix]

Guys, I'd like to know your opinion on such an innovation as reserve airfields (if you've already used them). Is this a good idea and should they be added to future campaigns (where possible)?

[JG4_Moltke1871]

I don’t have this new campaign so far but this idea sounds great. And it sounds also a great idea for the career mode. It would be great for the immersion have more than one open airfield for emergency landings. Maybe including RRR?

[BlackSix]

1 hour ago, JG4_Moltke1871 said:

I don’t have this new campaign so far but this idea sounds great. And it sounds also a great idea for the career mode. It would be great for the immersion have more than one open airfield for emergency landings. Maybe including RRR?

I think this is a multiplayer only feature. A short RRR time is unrealistic, a long time is unplayable, an average time - the mission will still become empty in the air, and in order to solve this, I'll have to invest much more time in its creation. Moreover, with the exception of a few cases in the German memoirs I've not seen it practiced anywhere else in reality.

[JG4_Moltke1871]

1 hour ago, BlackSix said:

I think this is a multiplayer only feature. A short RRR time is unrealistic, a long time is unplayable, an average time - the mission will still become empty in the air, and in order to solve this, I'll have to invest much more time in its creation. Moreover, with the exception of a few cases in the German memoirs I've not seen it practiced anywhere else in reality.

These limits are acceptable. But the Idea with more than one open airfield still sounds good. Especially when can reach the status landed and mission accomplished instead of ditched and mission failed.

[Varibraun]

6 hours ago, BlackSix said:

Guys, I'd like to know your opinion on such an innovation as reserve airfields (if you've already used them). Is this a good idea and should they be added to future campaigns (where possible)?

 

I finished the campaign this past weekend, so thank you for truly awesome work!  I am a fan of the reserve airfields and think they make a lot of historical sense.  I used them on at least 2 occasions to save the mission from failure because of a damaged aircraft.  I think getting the aircraft down in friendly lines where it can be repaired should still count as a success, so I appreciate your work on this new feature. 

 

Spoiler Alert - The General got me killed on my first attempt on the last mission (1 of my 2 deaths in the campaign).  The second time around, I just left him on his own and I joined up with the P-39 boys and we did fine.  Had a blast...thanks again!!

 

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, Varibraun said:

I am a fan of the reserve airfields and think they make a lot of historical sense.  I used them on at least 2 occasions to save the mission from failure because of a damaged aircraft.  I think getting the aircraft down in friendly lines where it can be repaired should still count as a success, so I appreciate your work on this new feature. 

 

Same here - it's a great feature that should continue to be utilized.

[BlackSix]

Campaign update in version 5.105:

- difficulty level is lowered a bit in the first mission;

- the briefings texts are corrected;

- Spanish and French translations added thanks to enthusiasts @E69_Cananas and @DN308.

[LukeFF]

One more mission to go for me with this one! I really like the sense of urgency on this campaign - the idea that you get in, complete your assignment, and get out before enemy reinforcements appear. It's been interesting to see on the post-mission screen how often I barely avoided enemy fighter patrols after completing my mission tasks.

[Jaegermeister]

On 7/26/2023 at 4:08 AM, BlackSix said:

Guys, I'd like to know your opinion on such an innovation as reserve airfields (if you've already used them). Is this a good idea and should they be added to future campaigns (where possible)?

 

I often put in the option to get a successful landing if you put down at an alternate airfield closer to the front. In the FCII single missions, this is an option in several of them.

 

In a mission I am currently working on, there is an alternate airfield you can land at on the Normandy Beachhead if you cannot fly back across the Channel after completing the mission objectives. I think it is a good idea and does not detract from the historical realities in any way. Pilots frequently landed at alternate airfields and returned to their home airfield after repairs or improvement in the weather.

 

A simple set of logic activated on landing and confirming a successful landing as a secondary goal is easy to do and place at whatever airfields you like.