Freeware downloads to add on to the Royal Navy Aircraft Collection
I produced an number of ship models and Combat Flight Simulator missions which appear on the Royal Navy Aviation Collection CD (available from from FlightCraft Simulations):
WW2 Kreigsmarine - Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Prinz Eugen, U-boat, destroyers, etc.
WW2 Royal Navy - HMS Ark Royal, HMS Victorious, Tribal class destroyers, etc.
Modern Royal Navy - HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious, HMS Ark Royal
Sink the Bismarck (from HMS Victorious)
Sink the Bismarck (from HMS Ark Royal)
Operation Fuller (British mission to intercept the "Channel Dash" by Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen)
Seen here as they never were in real life ... from front, Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen. All of these ships take part in CFS missions (see below).
HMS Ark Royal and HMS Victorious - the ships can be landed on or crashed into (depending on preference!):
HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal - the ships can be landed on, have working radar scanners and even working ski jumps:
Sink the Bismarck - two missions simulating real attacks on her from HMS Victorious and HMS Ark Royal (in reality, the latter mission damaged her rudder, enabling pursuing ships to catch up and sink her). However, Bismarck does get rather ticked off if you get too close:
Channel Dash - in February 1942, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen broke through the Dover Straits to return to Germany. The main Allied effort to stop the ships was an attack by six Swordfish based at Manston. This mission simulates the battle fleet and part of the huge air battle that raged over the ships. In reality, no hits were scored and all six Swordfish were shot down, most of the crews being lost (the Squadron Leader had been awarded the DFC the day before for his part in the attack on Bismarck from HMS Victorious, and was awarded a posthumous VC for leading this mission).
Laid down in 1942, HMS Eagle served the Royal Navy between 1952 and 1972. She famously took part in the 1956 Suez operations. She was refitted in 1964, receiving a fully angled flight deck and larger island. Several of the aircraft types operated by HMS Eagle feature on the Royal Navy Aviation Collection CD. The model in this scenery features a working Mirror Landing Sight, working radar scanners and aircraft parked on deck.
Although recommended for use with the Royal Navy Aviation Collection CD, these HMS Eagle models with work without it too!
Aircraft from HMS Victorious and other ships attacked the Tirpitz in her Norwegian fjord lair in several raids during 1944 (she was finally sunk by Lancasters using Tallboy bombs in November 1944).
Operation Tungsten (April 1944) was the first (and most successful) of these raids, which attempted to beat the heavy defences and smoke laying apparatus on the shore and on the Tirpitz herself. In reality, several hits were scored on the ship, killing over 100 of her crew. The attack was made using Fairey Barracuda dive bombers, with Wildcats and Hellcats shooting up shore-based flak and other targets of opportunity, and Corsairs flying top cover in case of fighter attack (none came).
Two missions are included below - one in the bomber rôle in a Barracuda (to attack the Tirpitz), and one in the top cover rôle in a Corsair (to keep any attacking German fighters away from the Barracudas). The missions start just after take-off from the carrier, and can be flown through to the return to land on HMS Victorious. The shots below show the attack from one of the Barracuda bombers, firstly on the approach over Kaa Fjord, then over the battleship and the smokescreen.
Sink the Bismarck - revised version
Having designed a CFS mission to fly John Moffat's Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal to attack the Bismarck for the original RNA Collection, I was astonished to discover that he lives not far from Dundee! John is now credited with the fatal torpedo hit on 26th May 1941 that disabled the Bismarck's rudders, allowing her to be sunk next morning by Royal Navy warships. I arranged a meeting with him to demonstrate the simulation, and he was "quite impressed" by the package.
The pictures above show John at the controls of the Swordfish on the simulator (left), and me presenting John with a copy of the Royal Navy Aviation Collection CD (right).
Discussion with John allowed me to update my mission recreating his flight - the revised version is available for download here (348 KB file) and includes updated historical notes for the mission and minor revisions to Moffat's Swordfish. The shots below show the signal from HMS Sheffield and the final attack on Bismarck.
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