PDA

View Full Version : No.401 Squadron Presents: FINEST HOUR



No.401_Wolverine
Jul-09-2015, 17:42
It's been a crazy few months, but we're finally there. It's time to officially unveil:

No.401 Squadron Presents:
FINEST HOUR

First, I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the creation of the campaign.



|450|Squiz, |450|Kookaburra, and ATAG_Freya for helping with the creation of necessary mission target files and especially Squiz for creating all of the fantastic AI bombing raids available to the Luftwaffe team
No.401_StiC for creating a very handy program that allows the admin of the campaign to quickly review and edit the various data files associated with the campaign persistence features
Cassius_Calhoun for creating the custom spawn locations for all of the available Luftwaffe airfields
ATAG_Colander for the Watchdog tool that allows us to keep the server running and rotating the campaign timezones with minimal effort
Kodiak, Salmo, TheEnlightenedFlorist, Vogler, Reddog, and others whose code work has been instrumental in helping me learn how to create missions and whose scripts have been freely offered to the community to the betterment of IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover content everywhere
And lastly to everyone who has helped to test the campaign map over the last few months and helped to find all the little bugs that needed squashing


Thank you!

Let's get to the meat of it then, shall we?

July 10th, 1940. The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin.

THE SETUP
Finest Hour begins on the date most commonly accepted as the start of the Battle of Britain with forces arrayed as they were on that historic date.

The RAF begins the campaign with aircraft dispersed at the various 11 Group airfields in as exact an accounting of aircraft on that date as can be found. The number of serviceable combat ready aircraft as well as unserviceable aircraft at each airfield is as accurate historically as I can make it.

The Luftwaffe begins the campaign with airfields located in France arrayed such that the historical squadrons located at those airfields are represented as of July 10th, 1940. While Finest Hour does not track Luftwaffe serviceable and unserviceable aircraft (the reason being that resources for the Luftwaffe during the battle were not critical to the outcome of the battle), the dispersal of fighters and bombers across the map is as historical as I can make it.

Resources are a concern for the RAF. In addition to maintaining their stable of fighter aircraft, the RAF team must be aware FUEL, AIRCRAFT PARTS, MORALE, and CONVOYS.

FUEL - Every day during the battle, an amount of fuel will be produced by the fuel refineries located on the map. This fuel is then transferred to the various fuel depots located on the map. More active, undamaged fuel refineries equals more fuel produced and transferred to the fuel depots. The number of fuel depots on the map controls the amount of fuel that can be effectively held in reserve by the RAF. If a fuel depot is damaged, it will not hold as much fuel and will also begin to 'leak' fuel on a daily basis. Any fuel produced by a fuel refinery that cannot be effectively held by a fuel depot is lost. Fuel is consumed by each sortie made by an RAF fighter.
AIRCRAFT PARTS - Every day during the battle, an amount of aircraft parts will be produced by the aircraft factories located on the map. Some of these factories produce parts to service the Hawker Hurricane while others produce parts to service the Supermarine Spitfire. These parts are retained until days when repairs are made to unserviceable aircraft (every other day) and days when new production batches of aircraft are completed for delivery to squadrons (every 7th day). This is the only way in which damaged aircraft can be repaired or new aircraft produced.
MORALE - Every day during the battle, the morale of the British people is determined based on the successful actions of the courageous pilots in the air, how badly England is bombed that day, and how many targets have been damaged but are still in need of repairs. Civilian targets affect morale to a higher degree than military ones. If the morale of the British people falls too low, there may be consequences for the government and for the war in general.
CONVOYS - Every day during the battle, there is the possibility that a convoy of ships is sailing through the channel. These convoys will be carrying goods that impact the three resources of FUEL, AIRCRAFT PARTS, and MORALE. If these convoys are successfully defended and are allowed to reach their port of call, these resources are transferred to the RAF and can be a significant boost. These convoys can either be destroyed in the channel or they can be prevented from offloading their cargo by damaging or destroying the ports to which they are headed.


The Luftwaffe is responsible for destroying the RAF and paving the way for the invasion of England. There are three features of the campaign that will be integral to that end. LOSS RATE, RECONNAISSANCE, and RAIDS.

LOSS RATE - The Luftwaffe will be accountable for how many pilots they lose over England and the Channel during the battle. For the German high command to be committed to the final assault on England's shores, these losses must be kept manageable and not exceed a certain percentage of the historical number of pilots available to the Luftwaffe's groups in France in July 1940. If losses reach this number, the German high command will postpone the invasion indefinitely.
RECONNAISSANCE - There are many targets in England which can be attacked by the Luftwaffe's bomber groups. However, in order to send these groups to the targets, reconnaissance must be carried out. Each target must be identified by a player pilot flying directly over the target allowing for an accurate view from directly above the center of the target. There are no specific actions the player needs to take other than taking their aircraft through the correct position on the map. The target areas are not large, however, and aircraft without the benefit of using a bomb sight for accuracy may need to descend to altitudes where anti-aircraft gunfire can reach them as well as scrambled fighters.
RAIDS - Once a target has been recon'd, the next day and every day thereafter there will be the option to send an AI raid to that target. These raids follow routes deliberately designed to make their target difficult to identify, even after they have been used more than once. Several raids will use the same initial courses but then split to different targets close to England. Raids are the easiest way to successfully attack a target in England without suffering serious losses of player pilots.


THE TOOLS
Both teams during the campaign have access to various tools via the TAB 4 menu system that will allow them to keep track of the battle and take actions necessary to continuing the fight. The options are outlined below and, unless stated otherwise, are accessible though hitting the TAB key and then 4 (selecting 'Mission').

1. Ground Control
This option is available to both RAF and Luftwaffe teams and opens up a sub-menu with the following options:

Select Dispatch Controller
Get Enemy Contacts
Get Friendly Contacts
Daily Operations Report (RAF ONLY) / Wind and Operations Report (Luftwaffe Only)
Authorize Bomber Mission or Get Briefing for Current Target: X (Luftwaffe Only)


Select Dispatch Controller: This option must be selected before any of the others may be used. When selected, a list of available control dispatch towers will be displayed or, if the player is out of range of a control dispatch tower, the player will be notified that there are no dispatch towers available. Each dispatch tower is responsible for controlling the air contacts in their respective areas. For example, Luton (CH EAST) is responsible for watching the Chain Home radar that overlooks the eastern portion of the available map, while Alert (CH Low and Observer Corps) is responsible for the Chain Home Low radar that overlooks the entire coast of England close to shore and also the Observer Corps who observe aircraft which have made landfall. When you select a tower, the controller will contact you audibly to inform you that you are connected.

Get Enemy Contacts: This option will request enemy contacts that are present within your controller's scope of vision. The CH radar can observe aircraft at great distances but those aircraft must be at a certain altitude in order to be revealed on their radar screens. Similarly so for the FREYA stations, although they have a shorter range. Once contacted, the controller will ask you to stand-by and a period of time will elapse before the controller responds with any available contact reports. These reports will be displayed in your 'Server' info window, so be sure to have an info window that displays that text. You will also receive an audible message to inform you if bandits have been detected or if you are clear with no contacts. After another period of time, the controller will contact you to inform you that you are again able to make a request. Until you have been given this message, no other options will be actionable within the Ground Controller menu.

Get Friendly Contacts: Similar to the Get Enemy Contacts menu option except this report will display any friendly contacts locatable within the view of your connected Ground Controller. Keep in mind that your own aircraft will show up on the report. This is an effective way of locating your own position but also your friends and friendly bomber groups, making rendezvous flights more easy. Aircraft numbers reported in this way are exact whereas in the Enemy report, the number of aircraft detected is a guess (1+, 3+, etc.).

Daily Operations Report (RAF Only) / Wind and Operations Report (Luftwaffe Only): Selecting this option will give you information about the current day's operations and, depending on which side you are on, will display details about the operations of other systems. For both the RAF and the Luftwaffe, you will see the current wind strength and the direction the wind is coming from. If you were to turn and face the degree heading indicated in the report, the wind would be blowing at your face. Both teams will also be given information about the current day and time at which mission operations will conclude. Because the mission operates with random weather / time, this information is useful to determine how much time is left in the mission and to plan your sorties.
The RAF team will also get information about any convoys that are currently in the channel, including their cargo, where they started from, and where they are headed. In addition to this, the RAF will receive information about whether or not aircraft repairs will be made at the end of the day or if new production batches of fighters are being prepared for dispersal to squadrons.

Authorize Bomber Mission or Get Briefing for Current Target: X (Luftwaffe Only): Through the use of this option, the Luftwaffe team is able to send AI Raids to targets in England. If a target has not been successfully recon'd in days previous, the target will not be available due to lack of information. Note that the targets are organized by sector. These sectors correspond to the sector station airfields in 11 Group during the summer 1940. The targets are further organized into type: Airfields, Ports, Factories, Fuel, and Civilians.

2. Battle Report
This option is available to both RAF and Luftwaffe teams and displays some common information as well as information that is specific to each team.

Both reports will provide information on number of sorties made by players, number of players who have been captured by the enemy, missing presumed drowned, returned safely to friendly territory, etc.

The Luftwaffe report will indicate the opinion of the Luftwaffe commander on the ongoing progress of the battle. A poor ratio of pilots returned safely to the number of pilots who have made combat sorties will influence this report and provides feedback on the possibility of losing the battle due to the attrition of pilots.

The RAF report will indicate the morale level of the British people and provides feedback on how effectively the RAF team is managing the protection and repair of targets in England.

The RAF report will also indicate current levels of other resources available. Fuel is listed as how much fuel is available and how much fuel can currently be effectively stored. Aircraft parts are listed in number of parts available for each aircraft type: Hurricane and Spitfire.

3. Asset Reports (RAF Only)
This option is only available to the RAF team and allows the RAF team to assess the current damage levels of each individual target on the map as well as the current operational status of the various airfields available to them.

This report is divided up into the various sectors based on the RAF section station airfields. The reports are then further divided into target type: Airfields, Ports, Factories, Fuel, and Civilians.

Airfield reports will indicate whether or not an airfield is Active and whether or not an airfield is Operational. An Active airfield is an airfield that has received no damage (or has been repaired to no damage) and is thus available as an airfield to be used without conditions. If an airfield is damaged, it will not be active. An airfield that is Operational has enough fighters based at it to be used as a point from which to take-off. An airfield may be Active but Non-Operational if that airfield does not have enough combat ready serviceable aircraft to be used. To make a Non-Operational airfield Operational, simply fly combat ready aircraft to that airfield or have a production batch of aircraft assigned to that airfield for delivery (more on this later).

Each report will indicate the level of damage that the target has received and if repairs have been sent to the target.

4. Send Repair Crews (RAF Only)
This option is only available to the RAF team and is used to send repair crews to the various targets in order to bring them back to fully repaired status. The number that is displayed in ( ) at the end of the sector options indicates how many repair crews are still available for that day. The targets are sorted in the same way they are sorted in the Asset Reports menu (by sector and then by type). When a repair crew is sent, a message will be displayed to all players of the RAF team to indicate such.

5. Assign Aircraft Production (RAF Only)
This option is only available to the RAF team and is used to assign the airfield to which production batches of fighters will be sent. The currently selected airfield is indicated in ()'s at the ends of the menu options for Hurricane and Spitfire. Organized by sector, the player simply chooses whether to assign the Hurricane production or the Spitfire production and then selects the sector and airfield to which they will be sent. On the day when production batches are to be delivered (viewable via the Daily Operations Report from the Ground Control menu), Hurricanes and Spitfires will be produced using any available parts and delivered to the airfields indicated in this menu.

THE CONDITIONS
The battle is intended to run for 70 days until the 17th of September, 1940 at which time the German high command decides to postpone the invasion of England indefinitely. Should the battle run this long, the RAF is declared as the winner. There are a few other ways in which the battle may end before this point:



The Luftwaffe lose too many pilots during the battle
The morale of the British people falls so low that Churchill is ousted from government and Britain makes terms with Germany
The RAF is completely destroyed as a fighting force and is unable to defend England's shores


TIME ZONES
There will be 6 time zones in which the battle will be available for 4 hours at a time. These are (in order in which they will become activated):

Australian
Russian
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
North America East
North America West

The first official day of the campaign will begin on Friday July 10th at 7pm Eastern Australian Time (reference city: Sydney, NSW, Australia). For reference, this will be Friday, July 10th at 5am Eastern Daylight Savings Time (reference city: Toronto, Ontario, Canada).

Every 4 hours, a new time zone will launch and the battles will continue persistently from that point on. Therefore, those players wishing to participate in the North American East campaign will find that their campaign will always be available to them at 9:00pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

The reason for the separate campaigns is to allow players of one time zone not to worry that their campaign is being fought and lost while they sleep or work. It's potentially somewhat confusing, but note that you can always check which campaign timezone you are in by viewing the mission briefing in the game.

---

There are no further rules to be adhered to other than to be respectful of your fellow players on both sides, make every effort to help those who need it, and have fun! The server will be running with a password during the official campaign and it is: bob75th

Virtual No.401 Squadron would like to dedicate this map and the next 70 days to the brave pilots and crews on both sides of the war who fought and died 75 years ago.


"... Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'"

- Sir Winston Churchill, June 18, 1940

DoubleStandards
Jul-09-2015, 18:03
This looks great! Will give it a go tomorrow.

DS

Catseye
Jul-09-2015, 18:48
Hi Wolverine,
This is going to be great!

questions:
Can a person fly in a different time zone than where they are? eg., Pacific time fly in the Easter time zone? (From a Pacific perspective, more pilots may be available in an Eastern zone or even Euro zone compared to the West and allow for a larger team.)

Is each time zone a discrete mission/campaign? or is it part of the whole that is activated during an allocated period but results tallied as a whole?

Cheers,
Cats . . .

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-09-2015, 18:56
questions:

Can a person fly in a different time zone than where they are? eg., Pacific time fly in the Easter time zone? (From a Pacific perspective, more pilots may be available in an Eastern zone or even Euro zone compared to the West and allow for a larger team.)

There is no restriction on when you play. If you are a non-sleeping, non-eating robot, you can play in every campaign!


Is each time zone a discrete mission/campaign? or is it part of the whole that is activated during an allocated period but results tallied as a whole?

Each time zone is a discrete campaign. Victory for the Luftwaffe in the Russian timezone does not affect Victory for the RAF in the Western European timezone.

ATAG_Freya
Jul-10-2015, 14:03
Can't wait to get the attack on! You RAF types are in for a proper thrashing! :-P

Calling all LW Pilots - Bomber and fighter!

(Especially for the 9pm eastern timezone :D) Raids will be running every day!!

Sign in to the 401 site, and request LW access (or RAF)

Thanks for putting this on, Wolverine and crew!

:salute:

DoubleStandards
Jul-10-2015, 16:36
You can count me in Freya. I'll fly 109s. Heading over to 401 site now.

DS

Cassius
Jul-10-2015, 17:23
Just flew 1st day on Eastern Europe time zone map. 5 blue pilots took part. No reds.
Done recon of 25 objects mostly in the 1, 2, 3 sectors. On the second half mission we on two He111 and Bf109B attacked Ramsgate Docks. Moderate damage fixed.
9 LUFTWAFFE COMBAT SORTIES
0 LUFTWAFFE AIRCREW CAPTURED BY THE ENEMY
0 LUFTWAFFE AIRCREW DROWNED OR MISSING AND PRESUMED DROWNED
0 LUFTWAFFE AIRCREW WOUNDED IN SERVICE
0 LUFTWAFFE AIRCREW ESCAPED FROM ENEMY LINES
8 LUFTWAFFE AIRCREW RETURNED SAFELY
:salute:
Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygrr03wIBI0

Combat Wombat
Jul-10-2015, 17:48
Wonderful work all involved I had a taste last week (sacrificed) :) hope to enjoy more in the future .:salute:

=FI=Murph
Jul-11-2015, 00:57
Thanks to 401 Sq RCAF from Fighting Irish! Great fun.

Dice
Jul-11-2015, 15:05
Hello Murph!

Rumor has it that you ran into a couple of 109`s doing an armed recon down around the Ilse of Wight during your patrol...if that was you Salute and good flying Sir!

May all your landing`s be three pointers. :D

69th_SunDog
Jul-11-2015, 16:51
I can hardly wait to try this!

Thanks for all the hard work fellas!

=FI=Murph
Jul-11-2015, 21:40
Yeah that was me. Managed to slide in at Thorney Island with no pilot injuries. I can see I've got work on my spotting skills, I couldn't see you until you were right behind me!

DoubleStandards
Jul-12-2015, 13:20
Had a blast last night during the NA/West time slot flying with Dice, Heavy, Berserker, Freya and a few others. I really enjoyed the fact that it was just as important for me to get back home as it was to fly the mission. It added another layer of immersion for me and made me more careful about what I was doing. While I did not significantly contribute to the campaign last night, I did not cost the Luftwaffe any pilots from the pool.

1st sortie: Assisted in the escort of a bombing raid on Eastchurch. Got .88 of a kill and was able to limp my damaged bird back home.

2nd sortie: Flew wingman for an armed recon patrol in which we spotted targets for the next days raids. Made it back to base with a heavy heart due to losing my lead to AAA fire.

3rd sortie: Flew a solo defensive patrol along the coast of France looking for Red recon planes. Flight uneventful, returned to base with low fuel.

Hats off to Wolverine and all those that put this campaign together. I will be flying the NA/West time slots as often as I can.

DS

P.S. The wind at ground level was a bit too much though. Many pilots were having issues taking off.

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-12-2015, 13:36
Glad you had a good time!

Regarding wind:

You need to use the in game menu to receive the accurate wind information from the tower. In addition, you will need to get to know your airfields. The 109 is much more difficult to take off and land cross wind (as is historical). If the wind is high and reported from a certain direction, choose a starting airfield that has a best fit airstrip.

You CAN take off cross wind in the 109, but it will take some skills you probably haven't been honing on maps without windy conditions.

DoubleStandards
Jul-12-2015, 13:44
Duly noted Wolverine, I will pay more attention to the wind reports and plan my take off and landings accordingly'

DS :salute:

ATAG_Freya
Jul-12-2015, 13:57
Had fun! from what I remember: 1st sortie: overrevved, but made it back. 2nd sortie: flak buggered my engine while on recon with Heavy and DS, captured. 3rd sortie: in 110, hit a target, flak buggered engine 2, made it back but game froze while on final. I think I pissed off Goering more than Dice did. lol.

Questions:

re convoys, when spotted and attacked must ALL the ships be destroyed to have impact on resources or is it scaled?

Does a game freeze add to the 'lost planes/pilots' tally?

Does a plane have to be fully airborne to become valid to that tally as well? (crazy take-off event at calais marck, seemed more like a bug, it claimed 3 planes on ground, at least.)

Also, could you check ashford recon trigger? It may have been fired, not sure if it was on the list (will check tonight), but flew over a few times and it wouldn't go.

Thanks again!

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-12-2015, 14:26
Hi Freya,

Answers!

Convoys are scaled. Partial convoy survival means partial cargo delivery. Escort cruisers do not carry cargo.

Unfortunately, game crashes will result in pilot loses. Nothing I can really do about that at the moment.

Your aircraft is counted as a sortie after achieving a successful, controlled take-off. Botched take-off attempts will only lose you time.

Ashford appears to be working normally.

S!

ATAG_Freya
Jul-14-2015, 20:00
Day 4 and the battle rages. Seriously, people, this is a gold mine for B.O.B. enthusiasts. I've never seen anything as immersive for this sim before. Once you sink your teeth in, you'll be hooked because everything you do has consequences. 66 days remaining. We could use some luftwaffe bombers and fighters for the north american time zone, starting 9pm eastern. I usually join at 22:30 ish (eastern time) if you see me on, join for a sortie! Join the 401 TS channel (T331.DARKSTARLLC.COM:10336).

:thumbsup:

:salute:

PS. if your hesitant about joining, just do it, just hop in and we'll get you up to snuff about the whole thing! It casual, relaxed and fun!

1lokos
Jul-16-2015, 17:50
I log yesterday and today, but dont find any activity.

Select the "dispatch", ask for contacts - enemy, friends - the Control say:

"Stand by".

"Let me know when ready". ????

"I have no trade to you".

Chat with other guy in the server and he too dont see nothing.

~30 minutes later a message inform that the mission will be finish in 30 minutes.

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-16-2015, 18:34
I log yesterday and today, but dont find any activity.

Select the "dispatch", ask for contacts - enemy, friends - the Control say:

"Stand by".

"Let me know when ready". ????

"I have no trade to you".

Chat with other guy in the server and he too dont see nothing.

~30 minutes later a message inform that the mission will be finish in 30 minutes.

Like any server, results will vary based on the number of people participating. The most active time zone, and the experience Freya is referring to, is the NA East time zone. 2am GMT.

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-20-2015, 17:01
A head on pass against Ju88s in our campaign. You can't see them in this shot, but there were several 109s lurking above at angels 25 to 28 waiting to pounce. You can hear the Spitfire pilots calling them out as they attempt to intercept before they can jump on the Hurricanes.

Special test! See if you can spot ATAG_Freya in the Ju88 formation!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKSDVuND3tc

You can hear the voices of: No.401_Wolverine, |450|Devil, No.401_Alpine, |450|Kookaburra, AKA_Jericho, and No.401_StiC (who recorded the footage and nicely bagged a Ju88 on the pass).

ATAG_Freya
Jul-21-2015, 01:30
NICE! :thumbsup:

I'll have one up tomorrow, from my perspective of the events that took place shortly after that initial attack...unfortunately I couldn't get the head-on pass recorded, dammit.

ATAG_Freya
Jul-21-2015, 11:29
Here it is, that gun sound bug might drive you nuts, sorry! Watching this makes me realize how clueless I am to the situation when I'm trying to hold formation. :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXp2uByq_Rw&feature=youtu.be

:salute:

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-21-2015, 17:34
Having a rear gunner in those kinds of situations is priceless, not only for the better gunning but also exactly that: situational awareness. See if you can't grouse up someone to go with!

=FI=Murph
Jul-25-2015, 12:31
A less than stellar night for the FI last night. We spent more time trying to locate each other and trying to navigate than in actually protecting any targets. Thus we lost quite a bit of valuable shipping. S! to the lone Luftwaffe pilot who got to our ships so easily because of our ineptitude.
I think we need some further help and advise for some of you old hands.

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-25-2015, 13:30
Locating each other:

It may seem counter-intuitive, but it's sometimes better just to land your aircraft and take-off together in order to make sure you're flying as a group. You might not want to give up all that altitude and range that you've gained, but combined strength is worth it when protecting each other against the formidable 109.

Locating the enemy:

Remember, the RDF call outs are on a delay, so you not only have to plot the course to the contact but also intuit what their likely target might be in case they made a course or altitude change. You want a few thousand feet above your quarry, but not so much that you will have difficulty spotting them when you reach the area.

StiC
Jul-29-2015, 12:56
Direct Link (http://www.tpcnetwork.com/podcasts/tpc/3%20Player%20Co-Op,%20Episode%20105%20-%20Shooterlicious.mp3)
iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/3-player-co-op/id663107977?mt=2)

No.401_Wolverine
Jul-29-2015, 13:23
As I said over on our forum:

I listened again and there are a few things I think I didn't quite convey properly. At one point it sounds like I'm saying Maddox Games took the series away from 1C when I'm actually meaning the other way around.

Also, I meant to make it clear that I have been building on top of the work of a lot of other coders, but didn't get the opportunity or have the presence of mind to make sure I said it, but it's certainly true and should be said.

But it was fun to chat about it and try to help get the word out about the game.

Thanks for making it possible, StiC!

No.401_Wolverine
Aug-21-2015, 15:48
Calling all Hurricane and Spitfire pilots!

Our Battle of Britain day by day campaign has reached late August and while the morale of the British people is still high, the RAF is suffering at the hands and guns of the German Luftwaffe.

Any pilots who are able to serve for 1.5 to 2 hours on Saturday at 9pm Eastern are invited to join us on our TeamSpeak server ( T331 .DARKSTARLLC. COM: 10336) and carry on the defense of England. I can't stress that part enough. Unless you hop onto TeamSpeak and join us, your enjoyment will be vastly compromised. We don't bite! We're nice Canadians and Australians!

Server password is: bob75th

I have it on good authority that one or two squadrons will soon be testing a new Mk. of Spitfire as we move into September...

No.401_Wolverine
Sep-17-2015, 13:41
With the arrival of September 17th we reach the conclusion of the Finest Hour Virtual No.401 Squadron Battle of Britain Commemorative Campaign.

For 70 days we have run a persistent online server which ran 6 time zones and presented each day of the Battle of Britain for players to participate in and affect the outcome. Convoys brought needed supplies to sustain the RAF and England, waves of bombers were sent to targets both coastal and further inland, and pilots and their aircraft took to the sky to battle over virtual Southern England's green and pleasant land.

We thank all the players who participated in the campaign. Everyone conducted themselves with grace and a spirit of friendship that was clearly evident in our many after action discussions that would often last very late into the night.

Later today, the campaign mission files will be reset to their starting points and the collected mission uploaded for anyone to download and use. The mission does not require a dedicated server to run and will operate quite happily as a locally hosted mission for players of all groups to enjoy. No special skills are required to use or maintain the mission files so we hope that it will continue to provide something of value to the community for some time to come.

We also would like to reiterate our thanks and thoughts for the many pilots, ground crew, observers, radar operators, and other individuals who played their part 75 years ago during the battle. Without them, Europe would look very different today and we will all be forever in their debt. With conflicts and crises rising all over the world today, the sacrifice and service of the men and women who took part in the war 75 years ago is all the more worthy of rememberance.

Clear skies and light winds to all,

Wolverine
Virtual No.401 Squadron