IL-2 Desert Wings - Tobruk (Part 3) - The Aircraft

Chuck_Owl · September 17, 2020, 8:10pm

IL-2 Desert Wings – Tobruk (Part 3) – The Aircraft

By @Chuck_Owl - September 17, 2020

Originally published at: Articles - Mudspike Forums

Introduction

In this episode, Chuck takes us through all of the flyable aircraft available in this, honestly, massive add on to IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. The Tobruk add-on provides a broad, exhaustive list of new aircraft, with a little something for almost everyone.

If you missed one of the earlier sections, here is a reference list of what was covered (with links) and what is coming up in a future episodes.

Part 1 - The Desert War - An overview of the history of the North Africa Desert War covered by Tobruk;
Part 2 - “I Don’t Like Sand” - A review of the map, environments and units you will encounter;
Part 3 - The Aircraft - Which I think that you can guess, is about the aircraft that you get to fly;
Part 4 - Under the Hood & Final Thoughts;

Note: this article/review is not sponsored and reflects the thoughts and opinions of the author only.

PART 3 - The Aircraft

List of all in game flyable aircraft.

3.1 - L’Armée de l’Air

Dewoitine D.520

While most of the advertisement for Desert Wings was made for the Tobruk map, an important addition is often being overlooked. The french Dewoitine D.520 is now available, and with it comes a new campaign called “On Ne Passe Pas!”, which takes place at the onset of Operation Dynamo (also known as the Dunkirk Evacuation) from May to June 1940 at Grandvilliers with the Groupe de Chasse I/3. The German panzers have punched through the Ardennes, trapped most of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and you fight against impossible odds. It’s a desperate battle where the french Armée de l’Air fights tooth and nail to buy time, and there isn’t a single mission where you will not have this sinking feeling that you are trapped in the midst of a hopeless battle.

Map depicting the Area of Operations for the D.520 campaign in Northern France

The D.520 was very much on par with the Bf.109E in terms of performance. By 1940 standards, it was one of the most modern planes designed, including an automatic propeller governor. Even if the aircraft itself was flown by some of the “creme de la creme” of french fighter pilots (which were themselves a very skilled, professional force), the aircraft production started too late in the war to equip sufficient squadrons to face the Luftwaffe. Cliffs of Dover gave us a mostly British aspect of the Battle of France, but thanks to Team Fusion’s hard work we now have a chance to experience a different perspective. There are stories of french pilots dogfighting until they ran out of fuel… and then managing to land near a gas station mere kilometers from the frontline, fill 'er up and go back in the air.

A flight of D.520 fighters.

Allied pilots will be delighted to learn that the D.520 is armed with a single 20 mm nose cannon and four wing machineguns (7.5 mm / 0.295 in), which is an appreciable change from the British 0.303s available at that time. The cockpit itself is very elegant and clean. It has some “unusual” design choices such as a throttle that is reversed in relationship to American, British and German design conventions. The recreation of the Dewoitine is a tremendous achievement in itself due to the fact that very few technical documents survived the war.

D.520 cockpit

Pair of D.520 fighers on their way to intercept a flight of Bf110s

A D.520 in a hard turn

3.2 - Royal Air Force

Beaufighter Mk IC/F

Beaufighter rhymes with firepower.

The Bristol Beaufighter is back, and an appreciable number of bugfixes with it! The engine warm-up is finally fixed, and the aircraft now feels like a more polished product. Armed with four 20 mm cannons in the nose and six 0.303 in machineguns in the wings, the Beau packs one of the scariest amount of firepower ever. This aircraft was used extensively by the RAF and RAAF in many theaters and it earned the reputation of being one of the most effective ground attack aircraft of the war.

Beaufighter diving on an unsuspecting Jerry

In April/May 1941, the long-range IC variant of the Beaufighter entered squadron service in a detachment from 252 Squadron operating from Malta. This inaugural deployment with the squadron proved to be highly successful, leading to the type being retained in that theatre throughout the remainder of the war. In comparison to the IF variant, the IC (“C” for “Coastal Command”) also had bomb racks added that allowed for the installation of either 250 lbs or 500 lbs bombs.

Inside the Beau.

The “Rising From the Ashes” campaign is set in May 1941 and features the Night Fighter variant of the Beau with No. 219 Squadron, operating from Tangmere in night missions. This campaign is set during either night or low light conditions and is surprisingly fun and challenging.

Beaufighter campaign.

Beaufighter gun-sight at dawn.

Beaufighter dawn patrol.

Gladiator Mk II

Gladiator over the water.

The Gloster Gladiator, despite being obsolete with the rise of monoplane aircraft, remains one of the most fun additions to the Desert Wings roster. It sounds like a plane built for the wrong war with an upper wing that more often than not blocks your view from the “perfect shot”, yet it’s a plane that grows on you since it can out turn almost anything.

Inside the Gladiator.

In North Africa, Gladiators had to face Italian Fiat CR.42 Falco biplanes, the performance of which was slightly superior to that of the Gladiator at higher altitudes. However, the Gladiator had superior low-altitude overall performance, including speed and a markedly superior horizontal manoeuvrability over its Italian opponent. Armed with two 0.303 in guns in the nose and two 0.303 in guns in the wings, the Gladiator can certainly hold its own in the right circumstances. After all, the South African pilot Marmaduke “Pat” Pattle was the top Gladiator ace with 15 victories with the type.

A pair of Gladiators during Operation Compass

The Operta Aperta campaign features the RAAF No. 3 Squadron during Operation Compass, which conducted combat patrols from the Bir el Malla South (LG76) airfield. This campaign is specifically intereresting since it is based on the combat reports of the real No. 3 Squadron.

Gladiator campaign.

Hurricane Mk II

Hurricane Mk II equipped with bombs.

While the Hawker Hurricane Mk I was the real RAF workhorse of the Battle of Britain, it was overshadowed by the legendary Spitfire. However, the Mk IIb gives the Hurry a much needed “oomph” with its twelve 0.303 in machineguns. But it doesn’t end here! All Cliffs of Dover players that cursed the 0.303 guns will rejoice to see the Mk IIc, which has four 20 mm cannons. They hurt. They hurt bad. You can’t help but laugh maniacally once you cut a wing in half. It’s glorious… but it still doesn’t end here!

Hurricane Mk IIc and its mighty 4 x 20mm cannons.

The Hurricane’s pilot view and instrument panel.

Team Fusion also provides us with the Mk IId Tank Buster variant, aptly nicknamed the “Flying Can Opener” with its two 40 mm cannons and two 0.303 machineguns. Oh, and wing bomb racks are also available. Isn’t that awesome?

Hurricane ‘tank buster’ Mk IId model.

The Hurricane variants available are much more interesting and give you some much needed options. Just like in the Battle of Britain, the Hurricane proved to be a very dependable aircraft for the Desert War and was used extensively to defend Tobruk. The “Rats Over Tobruk” campaign features the RAF No. 73 Squadron, Hurricanes, ground strikes from El Gubbi airfield and a lot of panzers to wreck.

Hurricane campaign.

Spitfire Mk V

The Spitfire Mk Vb.

The Supermarine Spitfire gets a new set of fangs with the Mk Vb: a pair of 20 mm cannons and four 0.303 in machineguns. There isn’t much to say about the Spitfire that you don’t already know. The basic Mk V was a Mk I with the Merlin 45 series engine. With this Vb variant, the “B wing” was fitted as standard and a large “tropical” Vokes air filter was fitted under the nose. The reduced speed of the air to the supercharger had a detrimental effect on the performance of the aircraft, reducing the top speed by 8 mph and the climb rate by 600 ft/min, but the decreased performance was deemed acceptable since the aircraft had to operate in such a harsh environment. The Mark Vb was also fitted with a larger oil tank and desert survival gear behind the pilot’s seat.

Spitfire cockpit view.

Spitfire over the North African coast.

The Mk Vb also has a “HF” version available, which stands for “High Altitude Fighter”. This version has a different engine rating better suited for altitudes above 20,000 ft. Most Spitfires employed in high altitude operations were used against high flying German reconnaissance aircraft and thus were not really meant for fighter combat but instead for interceptor operations at higher altitudes.

Following Battle of Britain tradition, a Spitfire shoots down a Bf109.

An interesting point about the Spitfire Mk V is that while its better armament increased its combat effectiveness, its performance rapidly started to become an issue against later Bf.109 variants and the FW190, which completely outclassed the Mk V at the time of its operational use. This forced the engineers at Supermarine and Rolls-Royce to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new Spitfire variant that could stand a chance against the “Butcher Bird”. These efforts eventually culminated in the Spitfire Mk IX.

Tomahawk Mk II (P-40B/C)

The Curtiss P-40 is one of the most fun additions to the North African theater. These american aircraft were provided to the Commonwealth forces under the Lend-Lease policy. In all, Eighteen Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons, four Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), three South African Air Force (SAAF) and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadrons serving with RAF formations, used P-40s. Though strongly built, the early P-40A variant was poorly protected and lacked armor and self sealing tanks. This was partly rectified with the P-40B, which had additional armor behind the cockpit, but fuel system and control line vulnerability remained a problem to some extent with all Tomahawk types.