User manual GAMES PC BATTLE OF BRITAIN II-WINGS OF VICTORY

[. . . ] CONTENTS Developer's Notes Chapter One OVERVIEW Chapter Two THE MAIN MENU Chapter Three MISSIONS Chapter Four THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN II CAMPAIGN Chapter Five FLYING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN AIRCRAFT Chapter Six THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN REMEMBERED Chapter Seven CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Appendix A COCKPITS 2 4 9 31 41 73 115 123 128 Developer's Notes Back in the year 2000, Rowan Software created a game called "Rowan's Battle of Britain. Battle of Britain II "Wings of Victory" is built on top of the hard work of a very dedicated team. Never have we played a flight simulation with such in-game atmosphere and delivered it on top of one of the most ambitious, historical re-creation of a living, strategic theater. The world is vast, yet detailed down to a single building or ammo shack. [. . . ] The news will usually be general assessments of progress so far and updates on the proposed invasion date. 59 Section 4 RAF Campaign Tutorial Command Briefing · You lead RAF Fighter Command charged with the duty of defending the air space over the United Kingdom. Specifically you must defend your country from the invasion force building up on the continent of Europe You must ensure that Fighter Command remains an effective force throughout the summer until mid September 1940 when bad weather begins to eliminate the risk of invasion. You have 53 fighter squadrons at your disposal: 34 have Hurricanes and the rest are equipped with Spitfires. You are limited to scheduling missions for a maximum of 32 squadrons at any one time. In pursuit of your campaign objectives, you will respond to threats as they appear on the map display. This map shows the result of collating intelligence about enemy movements from various sources including the RDF and ROC. You can either design a mission from scratch personally or just set the overall parameters and let your staff complete the details using 'directives'. (In the following section we will generally call all missions patrols, for brevity. ) You are cleared to fly missions in Spitfire and Hurricane fighters · · · · Overview and RAF Organisation Your role as an RAF Commander is quite different from that of a Luftwaffe Commander. You must react to incoming raids by scrambling fighters, yet always holding enough in reserve so that you have cover when you most need it. Unlike the Luftwaffe, the RAF plans few missions at the start of each time period throughout the day, other than standing patrols over convoys or other vulnerable assets. You'll scramble squadrons as and when you feel it necessary throughout the day. It is expected that during the course of summer 1940 the Luftwaffe will be able to allocate up to 2000 aircraft to prepare for the invasion of England. Initially you can expect to be confronted by Junkers 87D Stuka dive-bombers and the formidable twinengine Me110 fighter. Later in the campaign you will encounter heavier bombers like the Dornier 17, Heinkel 111 and Junkers 88. It is vital that you don't damage the integrity of Fighter Command by over committing your forces. Obviously it makes sense to respond to threats against Fighter Command assets. On the other hand, defence of other assets should be limited to the minimum that is deemed to be politically acceptable. Each group is assigned a geographical area rather than a specific set of squadrons. Squadrons can move from group to group to fulfil the objectives of Fighter Command. Although a squadron can have more pilots and aircraft assigned to it, a complete squadron in the air consists of twelve aircraft. You have 53 fighter squadrons at your disposal: 34 Hurricane and the rest are Spitfires. 11 Group covers the south-east of England and so it is in the front line. [. . . ] To parry this thrust, squadrons were airborne, reinforced at midday by the five squadrons of 12 Group's so-called `Duxford Big Wing', led by Squadron Leader Bader. Such was the ferocity of Fighter Command's attack that the enemy apparently bombed at random across southern England. Hardly had this first mass attack been dispersed, however, than the radar stations reported further incoming raids. Between 2. 10 and 2. 34 p. m. , eight or more German formations crossed the English coast bound for London. [. . . ]