Official Historical Campaign "Overlord"

[Jaegermeister]

"Overlord" a Scripted Campaign for the P51B-5 Mustang in Normandy

 

 

About The Campaign

The 354th Fighter Group, commonly referred to as the "Pioneer Mustang Group" was the first USAAF unit to be equipped with the new P-51B/C Mustang during WWII and take it into combat in Europe. They flew long range escort missions across the English Channel with the 8th Air Force heavy bombers during the months leading up to D-Day. Once final preparations were made for the Invasion of Normandy, the 354^th Fighter Group was reassigned to the IX Tactical Air Command and committed to direct support of the ground troops going ashore. The 354th flew escort for C-47s dropping paratroopers and towing gliders on D-Day.

 

Your role in this campaign begins as a replacement pilot arriving with the 354^th Fighter Group on D-Day and assigned to the 356^th “Red Ass” Squadron under the command of Major Richard Turner. In mid-June 1944 the Pioneer Mustangs flew strike missions across the English Channel from ALG Lashenden during the first V-1 rocket attacks on London and were directly in the path of the “Doodlebugs” as they headed towards their intended targets. They moved to ALG-2 at Criqueville in late June where they flew ground attack, search and rescue, fighter-bomber escort and fighter sweep missions during all the major battles of Operation Overlord. After the Allied breakout at Saint-Lô, the 354^th FG was reassigned to the new XIX Tactical Air Command and moved east with Patton’s 3^rd US Army through Paris and eventually into Germany. Due to the hectic flight schedule and squadron reorganization, you will move up from wingman to element leader and finish the campaign as a flight leader.

 

This is a historically based campaign depicting real events, however, the number of planes and specific squadrons involved in the missions have been altered slightly, and some event locations have been moved for improved game play.

 

 

 Timeframe: June 17^th – August 7^th, 1944

Unit: 354^th Fighter Group, 356^th “Red Ass” Squadron

Aircraft: P51B-5

Duration: 15 Missions

Average Playtime: 10 Hours

Languages: English, Russian, Spanish, French

Author: Jay =Jaegermeister= Yarbrough

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Campaign requires IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Normandy - Standard Edition to play.

 

Available in the IL2 Store HERE

Available on Steam HERE

 

Feel free to discuss the campaign or report any issues in this thread.  

 

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Jaegermeister

[easterling77]

Just completed the first mission

 

 

Awesome work Sir!

Only minor thing noticed: First mission briefing says start 19:50 - in game it's about 13:50 but nontheless a cool mission?

Edited October 25, 2023 by easterling77

[Sandmarken]

Looks cool! Il pick it up when im done with all other campaigns im playing ?

[MarcoPegase44]

On the first mission, I encountered Fw 190 “Sturmböcke” above Carpiquet.

Surprising because to my knowledge this version was not engaged in Normandy but against bombers over Germany.

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, MarcoPegase44 said:

On the first mission, I encountered Fw 190 “Sturmböcke” above Carpiquet.

Surprising because to my knowledge this version was not engaged in Normandy but against bombers over Germany.

 

IV./JG 3 was stationed over the Normandy front from June 8 -13, 1944.

[MarcoPegase44]

8 hours ago, LukeFF said:

IV./JG 3 was stationed over the Normandy front from June 8 -13, 1944.

Yes, but it was very short because it was not suited to fighting on this front.

And do not correspond to the period of the "Overlord" campaign which begins on June 17

[LukeFF]

2 hours ago, MarcoPegase44 said:

Yes, but it was very short because it was not suited to fighting on this front.

And do not correspond to the period of the "Overlord" campaign which begins on June 17

 

Over to you, @Jaegermeister. ?

[Yankee_One]

Do i have to download the skins or are they implemented?

[DN308]

On 10/25/2023 at 9:37 PM, Jaegermeister said:

"Overlord" a Scripted Campaign for the P51B-5 Mustang in Normandy

 

 

About The Campaign

The 354th Fighter Group, commonly referred to as the "Pioneer Mustang Group" was the first USAAF unit to be equipped with the new P-51B/C Mustang during WWII and take it into combat in Europe. They flew long range escort missions across the English Channel with the 8th Air Force heavy bombers during the months leading up to D-Day. Once final preparations were made for the Invasion of Normandy, the 354^th Fighter Group was reassigned to the IX Tactical Air Command and committed to direct support of the ground troops going ashore. The 354th flew escort for C-47s dropping paratroopers and towing gliders on D-Day.

 

Your role in this campaign begins as a replacement pilot arriving with the 354^th Fighter Group on D-Day and assigned to the 356^th “Red Ass” Squadron under the command of Major Richard Turner. In mid-June 1944 the Pioneer Mustangs flew strike missions across the English Channel from ALG Lashenden during the first V-1 rocket attacks on London and were directly in the path of the “Doodlebugs” as they headed towards their intended targets. They moved to ALG-2 at Criqueville in late June where they flew ground attack, search and rescue, fighter-bomber escort and fighter sweep missions during all the major battles of Operation Overlord. After the Allied breakout at Saint-Lô, the 354^th FG was reassigned to the new XIX Tactical Air Command and moved east with Patton’s 3^rd US Army through Paris and eventually into Germany. Due to the hectic flight schedule and squadron reorganization, you will move up from wingman to element leader and finish the campaign as a flight leader.

 

This is a historically based campaign depicting real events, however, the number of planes and specific squadrons involved in the missions have been altered slightly, and some event locations have been moved for improved game play.

 

 

 Timeframe: June 17^th – August 7^th, 1944

Unit: 354^th Fighter Group, 356^th “Red Ass” Squadron

Aircraft: P51B-5

Duration: 15 Missions

Average Playtime: 10 Hours

Languages: English and Russian

Author: Jay =Jaegermeister= Yarbrough

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Campaign requires IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Normandy - Standard Edition to play.

 

Available in the IL2 Store HERE

Available on Steam HERE

 

Feel free to discuss the campaign or report any issues in this thread.  

Hey, I can translate that one in French if you need it ?

[Jaegermeister]

7 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

Over to you, @Jaegermeister. ?

 

Thanks Luke... I'll take a look at the specific models of all the enemy AC again. I might have missed that one by a couple of days. I believe there are a couple of Bf 109G6-AS models that might cause a stir in a later mission as well. I tried to research thoroughly, but the histories are a bit vague sometimes at that period. Particularly some of the ground attack groups that had their records destroyed.

 

1 hour ago, Yankee_One said:

Do i have to download the skins or are they implemented?

 

No. the only new skins are the OD D-Day and later skins for the P51B-5 which are a part of the game now. All other skins are stock with Tactical ID codes applied which is the new standard. There will not be any more separate skin downloads in future campaigns from what I have been told.

 

10 minutes ago, DN308 said:

Hey, I can translate that one in French if you need it ?

 

That might be very useful. Shoot me a PM and include Sneaksie and let's see what we can do. @E69_Cananas is already working on the Spanish translation.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Jaegermeister
new post

[MarcoPegase44]

[Yankee_One]

@Jaegermeister,

 

thank you very much your answer.

 

S!

[sgt_fresh]

I was excited about this campaign. I went to play it, and there was a lock over the campaign icon. I clicked on it anyway, and I was greated by a dialog box that said I have to purchase the campaign in order to play it. VERY DISAPOINTING, not the first.

[Jaegermeister]

4 hours ago, sgt_fresh said:

I was excited about this campaign. I went to play it, and there was a lock over the campaign icon. I clicked on it anyway, and I was greated by a dialog box that said I have to purchase the campaign in order to play it. VERY DISAPOINTING, not the first.

 

That's correct, It is payware. I believe it is still on sale until November 

[MarcoPegase44]

[sgt_fresh]

10 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

 

That's correct, It is payware. I believe it is still on sale until November 

Ok I see that now it is posted on the GB store. It was listed in the dev announcement, but did not indicate it was payware. Thanks for your reply.

[MarcoPegase44]

Skins P-51B5 for BON and "Overlord Campaign" available HERE

New Defaut Skins.

Skins Bare Metal PreDDay, DDay , Mid Summer 1944.
Skins Olive Drab PreDDay, DDay , Mid Summer 1944.
Skins Tyres and propellers blades reworked.

Colors, weathering and alpha layers reworked.

Install with JSGME

 

P-51D blank skins on the way.

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by MarcoPegase44

[MarcoPegase44]

@Jaegermeister,

I have done a few campaign missions and the fw190s that I encounter are A6 versions. I think that the A8 version would be more historical, the A6 version becoming rare during the summer of 1944.

Would it be possible to modify this during an update?

Edited November 3, 2023 by MarcoPegase44

[Jaegermeister]

49 minutes ago, MarcoPegase44 said:

@Jaegermeister,

I have done a few campaign missions and the fw190s that I encounter are A6 versions. I think that the A8 version would be more historical, the A6 version becoming rare during the summer of 1944.

Would it be possible to modify this during an update?

 

You are correct. They change later but as I mentioned earlier when someone else brought that up, I have revisited all the German aircraft and adjusted them.

 

The revisions will be in the next game update. 

[BlackSix]

@Jaegermeister According to career data, I. and II./JG 26 continued to use the A-6 throughout much of the Battle of Normandy.

And by the way, congratulations on the campaign release!

[LukeFF]

Probably the ideal mix of A-6s and A-8s is to set them to about a 1:7 ratio for the Normandy time frame. I./JG 26 had 9 A-6s on hand at the beginning of April 1944 (so about 2 per staffel), but by the beginning of August, it was down to just 2. In II./JG 26 the numbers were similar in April, but by the end of July, they were all gone.

[Jaegermeister]

2 hours ago, BlackSix said:

@Jaegermeister According to career data, I. and II./JG 26 continued to use the A-6 throughout much of the Battle of Normandy.

And by the way, congratulations on the campaign release!

 

Thanks BlackSix! 

 

I have gotten more figures about exactly what FW 190s were in Normandy after June 6th in the week since the Overlord Campaign has been published. It's nice of everyone to contribute their information. The thing we don't know is how many A-6s and A-8s were in JG1 at Le Mans and Alencon at the time, since their records were destroyed along with their pilots and machines. 

 

What I do know is that all the fighter bombers were ordered to remove their bomb racks on June 12th and focus on enemy fighters. I also know that all the replacement planes they tried to fly into the combat area were all A-8s and whatever was originally there was almost certainly destroyed by the end of June. Anyway I decided to just make them all A-8s with no modifications to eliminate the debate. I am also changing the Bf109s to G-6 late for the same reason. It doesn't mean there weren't other types there of course.

[LukeFF]

10 minutes ago, Jaegermeister said:

I am also changing the Bf109s to G-6 late for the same reason. It doesn't mean there weren't other types there of course.

 

You can be confident III./JG 1 and II./JG 11 had some G-6/AS planes on hand from June 1944 onward, if you want some variety. 

[Jaegermeister]

1 hour ago, LukeFF said:

 

You can be confident III./JG 1 and II./JG 11 had some G-6/AS planes on hand from June 1944 onward, if you want some variety. 

 

There is one flight of G-6/AS on that end of the map now. Maybe I will just leave them there. I think III./ JG I was at Semalle until the few pilots that were left went back to Germany in July and left I./JG I there to hold the fort.

[MarcoPegase44]

Available: HERE

 

MPG_PACK Blank Skins P-51D15 for BON and "Overlord Campaign".

New Defaut Skins.

Skins Bare Metal PreDDay, DDay , Mid Summer 1944, Late1944.

Colors, weathering and alpha layers reworked.

Install with JSGME

 

[Jaegermeister]

On 11/6/2023 at 6:14 AM, MarcoPegase44 said:

Available: HERE

 

MPG_PACK Blank Skins P-51D15 for BON and "Overlord Campaign".

New Defaut Skins.

Skins Bare Metal PreDDay, DDay , Mid Summer 1944, Late1944.

Colors, weathering and alpha layers reworked.

Install with JSGME

 

 

You should probably post you links to skin mods in the skins section, not in the campaign discussion thread.

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by Jaegermeister

[Jaegermeister]

Update 5.108 changes;

 

* Start time has been corrected for mission number 1

* German AI aircraft types have been revised to current sub-variants for the time period of June 17, 1944 to August 7, 1944.

* Bomb racks removed from all German fighters regardless of mission objective.

 

Edited November 22, 2023 by Jaegermeister

[Patricks]

On 11/22/2023 at 4:17 AM, Jaegermeister said:

Update 5.108 changes;

 

* Start time has been corrected for mission number 1

* German AI aircraft types have been revised to current sub-variants for the time period of June 17, 1944 to August 7, 1944.

* Bomb racks removed from all German fighters regardless of mission objective.

 

 

Excellent, just purchased this and will start it up right after I finish the Hell Hawks campaign (again, this time in VR!).. 

 

[Skycat1969]

I just completed Mission #3 and I love the detail at the airfield near Criqueville. I thought maybe I had flown out of IL-2 Great Battles and into DCS Normandy.

[Jaegermeister]

11 hours ago, Skycat1969 said:

I just completed Mission #3 and I love the detail at the airfield near Criqueville. I thought maybe I had flown out of IL-2 Great Battles and into DCS Normandy.

 

Don't hit the cows, they were there first!

[FoxbatRU]

Thank you! Cool campaign. I liked the literary part and historical information, the richly populated map (but CPU was taken out!). Of the missions, the most memorable were the attacks on Cherbourg and field airfields.

 

   

[MarcoPegase44]

[DN308]

French translation is ready to go

[Jaegermeister]

19 hours ago, DN308 said:

French translation is ready to go

 

Outstanding, Thanks very much for all your work, I know those briefings were very long!

 

Hopefully it will be added in the next game update.

[Spidey002]

Anyone else having issues in VR?

I love all the details on Normandy beach, but flying near there slows my frame rate down to a slideshow. 
 

Current specs: 

GPU - ROG Strix 3080 OC 10Gb

CPU - Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core

[Patricks]

56 minutes ago, Spidey002 said:

Anyone else having issues in VR?

I love all the details on Normandy beach, but flying near there slows my frame rate down to a slideshow. 
 

Current specs: 

GPU - ROG Strix 3080 OC 10Gb

CPU - Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core

 

Just flew my first mission, didn't notice any FR issues but maybe didn't fly where you did?

[Spidey002]

55 minutes ago, Patricks said:

Just flew my first mission, didn't notice any FR issues but maybe didn't fly where you did?

For me, it’s everywhere near that air field on the Normandy coast. 
 

Maybe I need a better CPU. What are you using?

[Patricks]

15 hours ago, Spidey002 said:

For me, it’s everywhere near that air field on the Normandy coast. 
 

Maybe I need a better CPU. What are you using?

 

Again, not sure we are referring to the exact same area as I only have flown mission #1 "Across the Pond" so far. You enter France ~Saint-Laurent sur Mer, fly south to target, head East then back toward UK exiting ~ Saint Auben sur Mer. The one major airfield I flew over at ~1000' was Capiquet, never noticed any frame rate issues. My VR is set as Fixed at 45FPS, pretty much stays there at all times. CPU is i9-13900, 64gb RAM, GPU RTX 4090, so hard to compare..

[Jaegermeister]

20 hours ago, Spidey002 said:

Anyone else having issues in VR?

I love all the details on Normandy beach, but flying near there slows my frame rate down to a slideshow. 

 

There are a lot of ships on all of the landing beaches My computer can just barely do it so I figured it was right on the edge of acceptable. They delete when you fly out of range which is not very far. Unfortunately in this case it's a problem to have them and a different problem if they are not there. You pass by them in 2 or 3 missions, that's it.

 

2 hours ago, Patricks said:

Again, not sure we are referring to the exact same area 

 

The Landing Ships are activated Within 6000 meters of Utah Beach, and the Mulberry ports at Omaha and Gold Beaches 

[Patricks]

5 minutes ago, Jaegermeister said:

 

There are a lot of ships on all of the landing beaches My computer can just barely do it so I figured it was right on the edge of acceptable. They delete when you fly out of range which is not very far. Unfortunately in this case it's a problem to have them and a different problem if they are not there. You pass by them in 2 or 3 missions, that's it.

 

 

The Landing Ships are activated Within 6000 meters of Utah Beach, and the Mulberry ports at Omaha and Gold Beaches 

 

Next mission i'll try to pay attention to FPS in that area..