General Motors TBM-3 Avenger Unit: VT-84 USS Bunker Hill, Japan home islands strikes, February, 1945 After the Battle of Midway which was disastrous for the TBD Devastator torpedo squadrons, the Grumman Avenger became the standard torpedo bomber for the US Navy. With orders for the Grumman TBF Avenger outstripping Grumman's production capacity, the decision was taken for General Motors to produce the aircraft. These would be known as TBM Avengers. While Grumman had attempted to continue development of their TBF Avenger, it would be General Motors who would do so as they produced the TBM-3 which was powered by the more powerful 1,900-hp Wright R-2600-20 engine. This required a redesign of the cowling to have more, larger cowl flaps, and double cooling intakes (with upper and bottom inlets). Additionally, the TBM-3 featured strengthened wings to allow for more types of ordnance to be fitted. General Motors Eastern Aircraft Division began series production of the TBM-3 Avengers in the middle of 1944. It became the standard USN torpedo bomber in the last year of WWII. The TBM-3 Avenger had a top speed of 267 mph, range of 1,130 miles with a service ceiling of 23,400 ft. Armament was three 0.50-in machine-guns and one 0.30-in machine-gun. Bomb load was either 2,000lb bombs, depth charges or torpedoes. Rocket projectiles could also be carried. The TBM-3 Avenger had a top speed of 267 mph, range of 1,130 miles with a service ceiling of 23,400 ft. Armament was three 0.50-in machine-guns and one 0.30-in machine-gun. Bomb load was either 2,000lb bombs, depth charges or torpedoes. Rocket projectiles could also be carried. Credits With Wolfi's permission, he allowed me to use his TBF-1C model to make the element changes for a TBM-3 model Wolfi: about 90% of the overall aircraft model Captain Kurt: TBM-3 model elements, 2D panel. paint textures, and .dp Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture Gauges: AAF_Gauges.gau by Scott Jelinek, Military_RMI.gau is a FS98 gauge by 1999 Melville Consulting, the others by Microsoft or authors unknown. Weapons: Alternate rocket rail Mk4 is originally by Bismarck13 modified by Captain Kurt to fit the TBF, db_us_wep_v2a package is by DBolt, and Depth Charges package is by Baldy

General Motors TBM-3E Avenger Unit: VMTB-232 "The Red Devils" Okinawa invasion, April, 1945 After the Battle of Midway which was disastrous for the TBD Devastator torpedo squadrons, the Grumman Avenger became the standard torpedo bomber for the US Navy. With orders for the Grumman TBF Avenger outstripping Grumman's production capacity, the decision was taken for General Motors to produce the aircraft. These would be known as TBM Avengers. While Grumman had attempted to continue development of their TBF Avenger, it would be General Motors who would do so as they produced the TBM-3 which was powered by the more powerful 1,900-hp Wright R-2600-20 engine. This required a redesign of the cowling to have more, larger cowl flaps, and double cooling intakes (with upper and bottom inlets). Additionally, the TBM-3 featured strengthened wings to allow for more types of ordnance to be fitted. General Motors Eastern Aircraft Division began series production of the TBM-3 Avengers in the middle of 1944. It became the standard USN torpedo bomber in the last year of WWII. Further TBM-3 development by General Motors proceeded for radar capabilities. The E designation would simply mean the addition of electronic equipment, in this case provisions for carrying the APS-4 radar on a stores pylon under the right wing. This also coincided with a program by Eastern to reduce weight by about four hundred pounds. The changes included the location of the tail hook, which had been internally housed on all TBFs and prior TBM production to an external tail hook, deletion of tunnel gun postion, and some armor, etc. The TBM-3 Avenger had a top speed of 267 mph, range of 1,130 miles with a service ceiling of 23,400 ft. Armament was three 0.50-in machine-guns and one 0.30-in machine-gun. Bomb load was either 2,000lb bombs, depth charges or torpedoes. Rocket projectiles could also be carried. The TBM-3 Avenger had a top speed of 267 mph, range of 1,130 miles with a service ceiling of 23,400 ft. Armament was three 0.50-in machine-guns and one 0.30-in machine-gun. Bomb load was either 2,000lb bombs, depth charges or torpedoes. Rocket projectiles could also be carried. Credits With Wolfi's permission, he allowed me to use his TBF-1C model to make the element changes for a TBM-3 model Wolfi: about 90% of the overall aircraft model Captain Kurt: TBM-3 model elements, 2D panel. paint textures, and .dp Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture Gauges: AAF_Gauges.gau by Scott Jelinek, Military_RMI.gau is a FS98 gauge by 1999 Melville Consulting, the others by Microsoft or authors unknown. Weapons: Alternate rocket rail Mk4 is originally by Bismarck13 modified by Captain Kurt to fit the TBF, db_us_wep_v2a package is by DBolt, and Depth Charges package is by Baldy

General Motors TBM-3 Avenger Unit: VT-82 USS Bennington February 1945 After the Battle of Midway which was disastrous for the TBD Devastator torpedo squadrons, the Grumman Avenger became the standard torpedo bomber for the US Navy. With orders for the Grumman TBF Avenger outstripping Grumman's production capacity, the decision was taken for General Motors to produce the aircraft. These would be known as TBM Avengers. While Grumman had attempted to continue development of their TBF Avenger, it would be General Motors who would do so as they produced the TBM-3 which was powered by the more powerful 1,900-hp Wright R-2600-20 engine. This required a redesign of the cowling to have more, larger cowl flaps, and double cooling intakes (with upper and bottom inlets). Additionally, the TBM-3 featured strengthened wings to allow for more types of ordnance to be fitted. General Motors Eastern Aircraft Division began series production of the TBM-3 Avengers in the middle of 1944. It became the standard USN torpedo bomber in the last year of WWII. The TBM-3 Avenger had a top speed of 267 mph, range of 1,130 miles with a service ceiling of 23,400 ft. Armament was three 0.50-in machine-guns and one 0.30-in machine-gun. Bomb load was either 2,000lb bombs, depth charges or torpedoes. Rocket projectiles could also be carried. The TBM-3 Avenger had a top speed of 267 mph, range of 1,130 miles with a service ceiling of 23,400 ft. Armament was three 0.50-in machine-guns and one 0.30-in machine-gun. Bomb load was either 2,000lb bombs, depth charges or torpedoes. Rocket projectiles could also be carried. Credits With Wolfi's permission, he allowed me to use his TBF-1C model to make the element changes for a TBM-3 model Wolfi: about 90% of the overall aircraft model Captain Kurt: TBM-3 model elements, 2D panel. paint textures, and .dp Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture Gauges: AAF_Gauges.gau by Scott Jelinek, Military_RMI.gau is a FS98 gauge by 1999 Melville Consulting, the others by Microsoft or authors unknown. Weapons: Alternate rocket rail Mk4 is originally by Bismarck13 modified by Captain Kurt to fit the TBF, db_us_wep_v2a package is by DBolt, and Depth Charges package is by Baldy

Lavochkin La-7 V.2 updated VC and panel Unit: 176 GIAP February 1945 Germany Pilot: Major Aleksandr S. Kumanichkin 35 total victories Credits Captain Kurt: Aircraft model, VC, 2D panel. paint textures, and .dp aircraft flight files: Thicko Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture Gauges: Most are by Morton for the Br Yak-9U others by authors unknown Bombs, rockets, and racks are from Ivan Hsu's I-16 series

Lavochkin La-7 Unit: 176 GIAP February 1945 Germany Pilot: Major Aleksandr S. Kumanichkin 35 total victories The La-7 entered combat in June 1944 during the opening phase of Operation Bagration, the massive Soviet offensive that destroyed Army Group Center. Equipped with the new fighter, elite Guards regiments immediately established air superiority over the battlefield, allowing Il-2 Shturmoviks and Pe-2 dive-bombers to operate with increasing freedom. Luftwaffe pilots who had been accustomed to qualitative superiority over Soviet fighters found the La-7 an unsettling opponent, faster, with better climb, and flown by increasingly experienced Soviet pilots. The kill-to-loss ratios achieved by Soviet Guards regiments in the war's final months were the best of the entire Eastern Front war, a stark reversal from the catastrophic ratios of 1941. The La-7 also saw limited postwar combat service. North Korean Air Force La-7s were used in the opening stages of the Korean War in June-July 1950, though they were quickly swept aside by USAF F-80 Shooting Star jets and even by propeller-driven F-51 Mustangs whose pilots had greater experience and training. Credits Captain Kurt: Aircraft model, VC, 2D panel. paint textures, and .dp aircraft flight files: Thicko Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture Gauges: Most are by Morton for the Br Yak-9U others by authors unknown Bombs, rockets, and racks are from Ivan Hsu's I-16 series

Lavochkin La-5FN V.3 upgraded with operating cowl air cooling shutters Unit: 3 GvIAP KBF June 1944 (VVS Baltic Fleet) Pilot: Captain Ivan Savelievich Kravtsov, 31 personal and 4 shared victories, HSU, 4x Orders of the red Banner Same blah,blah as version 1 of this plane. Credits Captain Kurt: Aircraft model, VC, 2D panel. paint textures, and .dp aircraft flight files: Thicko Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture Gauges: Most are by Morton for the Br Yak-9U others by authors unknown Bombs, rockets, and racks are from Ivan Hsu's I-16 series

This is a .dp file fix to have both cannons fire.

Lavochkin La-5FN Unit: 32 GIAP aircraft flight files, Pilot: Captain Vladimir Orekhov -- He ended the war with 19 personal victories The La-5FN's story begins with one of the most remarkable engineering rescues of the war. In 1942, Semyon Lavochkin's LaGG-3 fighter, nicknamed the "lacquered guaranteed coffin" by its pilots, was one of the worst Soviet fighters in service. Underpowered, heavy, and sluggish, the LaGG-3 was being slaughtered by Bf 109s. Lavochkin's design bureau faced closure. In a desperate gamble, he replaced the LaGG-3's inline Klimov engine with the available Shvetsov M-82 radial engine, creating the LaG-5 (soon redesignated La-5) almost overnight. The La-5 was a massive improvement over the LaGG-3, but it still had significant problems. The carbureted M-82A engine was unreliable and difficult to maintain. The breakthrough came with the ASh-82FN engine. The combination of the FN engine with Lavochkin's refined airframe produced the La-5FN, which entered production in March 1943. The La-5FN was superior to the Bf 109G-2 in speed below 20,000 feet, in rate of climb below 16,000 feet, and in horizontal maneuverability at all altitudes. For the first time since the German invasion, a Soviet fighter could claim genuine qualitative parity with the best Luftwaffe equipment. Credits Captain Kurt: Aircraft model, VC, 2D panel. paint textures, and .dp aircraft flight files: Thicko Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture Gauges: Most are by Morton for the Br Yak-9U others by authors unknown Bombs, rockets, and racks are from Ivan Hsu's I-16 series

Nakajima B5N2 Kate Unit: Akagi Air Group Pilot:flown by Lt.JG Jinichi Goto on December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Attack. It's torpedo hit the USS Oklahoma. The B5N2 was officially adopted in December 1939 as a follow-up of the B5N1. Allied code-named “Kate,” the B5N2 was a highly maneuverable aircraft for its type, powered by one Nakajima Sakae 21, a twin-row 14-cylinder 1000 hp radial engine. With a top speed of 235 mph, it had a operational range of 610 miles. A three-man crew was standard. Its armament featured one 7.7mm machine gun for rearward defense and payload capacities of either: one 800kg bomb, two 250kg bombs, six 60kg bombs, six 30kg bombs, or one 800kg torpedo. The B5N2 was given a more powerful engine and streamlined a bit to try and make it capable of outrunning enemy fighters. the B5N2 Type 97 proved to be an accurate bombing and torpedo platform and equipped all six IJN carriers in the Nagumo task force that attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet in the Pearl Harbor raid. The type 97 became the Navy’s mainstay in the early stages of the war wherever it saw extensive action, including combat campaigns in the Solomons, Southwest Pacific, and Indian Ocean. It was very successful in the early stages of the war, more because of it’s superbly trained aircrews, than any outstanding performance on the aircraft’s part. The B5N2 was becoming obsolete by the end of 1942. It was replaced by the B6N Tenzan starting in 1943, but continued to serve right through to the end of the war. This package includes the following weapons: Type 91 Torpedo Type 91 Torpedo with wooden tail as used at Pearl Harbor Type 80 800 Kg bomb Type 98 250 Kg bomb Type 97 60 Kg bomb B5N2 torpedo rack B5N2 bomb rack for 6x60Kg bombs B5N2 bomb rack for 250Kg bombs B5n2 bomb rack for 800Kg bomb ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Credits Aircraft model, VC, panel.cfg, dp, weapons models, and textures are by Captain Kurt The pilot figures are Wolfi's freeware Japanese pilot .fsc source file. The prop spinning texture is by Kelticheart. The 2D panel background image is freeware by Phil Perrott of AlphaSim The gauges are by Microsoft, JWB, ACWai, FDG2, and Mopar Mike The air files from the Overhauled B5N2 Kate by The B24Guy

Henschel Hs 126A-1 Unit: 1.(H)13, location unknown, 1942 Pilot: unknown The Henschel Hs 126 was a Luftwaffe two-seat parasol wing reconnaissance and observation aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Henschel. By 1939, it had become the principal short-range reconnaissance aircraft of the Luftwaffe. The pilot was seated under the parasol wing and the observer in an open rear cockpit. In the autumn of 1936, the first prototype made its maiden flight; it was soon followed by two more prototypes and a batch of pre-production aircraft. An odd feature was the entire tail unit was angled 2 degrees from the centerline. During early 1938, the Hs 126 underwent service evaluation; it was well received for its good short takeoff performance and low-speed flight characteristics, attributes that were useful during its operational history. The first production standard Hs 126A-1s came of Henschel's production line in early 1938; this model differed from the pre-production aircraft mainly in terms of their fitout, being powered by a BMW 132Dc radial. A total of 257 Hs 126s had been delivered to the Luftwaffe by the start of the Second World War. Production of the Hs 126 was terminated during January 1941, after some 600 had been produced. The Hs 126 saw combat on numerous fronts, the first occasion being with the Legion Condor contingent that participated in the Spanish Civil War. It was active on numerous fronts of the Second World War. Large numbers of Hs 126s flew during the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, North Africa, and the Invasion of the Soviet Union. On 12 September 1943, a number of Hs 126s were used to tow ten DFS 230 attack gliders from Pratica Di Mare airfield near Rome to the Gran Sasso on a raid to rescue Benito Mussolini. The Royal Hellenic Air Force also operated 16 Hs 126s, which saw action during the Greco-Italian War. It was withdrawn from Luftwaffe service in 1943, by which point the Hs 126 had been superseded by the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, a general-purpose STOL aircraft, as well as the twin-boom Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu. Credits Captain Kurt: Aircraft model, VC, paint textures, panel, aircraft flight files, and .dp The crew figures are a mashup of Captain Kurt, Wolfi and Dave Eckert Prop blurred texture: Kelticheart Gauges: Groundcrew Design Group, Microsoft and others unknown