IL-2 War Diary

 

The War Diary of Hans von Volitization will follow the exploits of a young pilot while serving with I./JG 54. While narrating his missions, I will interspace historical notes about JG 54 and the air war over the Eastern Front. This project has been brewing in my head for a long time and it is my hope that others will find it entertaining and informative.

In order to "fly" the missions, I'll be using the Enhanced DGEN (apologies for not remembering the author) files combined with the "Ostfront" add-on. Currently, I have IL-2:Forgotten Battles (IL-2:FB), Aces Expansion Pack (AEP) and Pacific Fighters (PF) patched to 4.04m. The campaign starts in August 1941 and follows the "hero" from the march to Leningrad to Kursk to the final days in the Courland pocket. In all, there are 436 possible missions. However, the campaign length setting is "Normal" and that should translate to about 200 missions. My goal is to keep the number of "reflys" to a minimum. I'll refly a mission if Hans is killed instead of starting the campaign over. I'll never get done with the campaign if I went by the strict "death rule" that I and other offline pilots use.

The inspiration of compiling a war diary of a fictional pilot is credited to the talented and creative Ian Boys, author of the "Ostfront" add-on for IL-2:Forgotten Battles. He is and remains a frequent contributor to the SimHQ and other message boards devoted to flight simulations. In fact, the format of the mission narratives was borrowed from one of Ian Boys' many "War Stories" that he posted prior to the release of Forgotten Battles. Thank you, Ian!

IL-2:FB/AEP/PF wouldn't be the visually appealing game it is without the support of many talented skinners. In fact, I consider skinners to be artists and many have produced a gallery of screenshots that would warrant notice in an aviation art gallery. These skinners are generous enough to share their work with the IL2 community. In the mission narratives, you'll see skins created by Canon, vpmedia, Buglord, Capt. Farrel, csThor, Helg, Sundin and many others. Several of these gentlemen have put up with my constant e-mails requesting JG 54 and VVS skins. Thank you all for your patience and hard work!

Who is Hans von Volitization? He is a fictional pilot created over 20 years ago for a war game called Mustangs and Messerschmitts. My friends and I built 1:72 scale model airplanes and stands for them. Using a friend's garage or backyard, we "flew" missions while keeping track of our pilots' kills and wadding up and throwing away their logbook if they died. This War Diary is dedicated to my M&M friends for the years of fun every Monday night.

Update: 29 Oct 2007 - Added Mission 22. Sorry for the long delay since the last update, but was moving and babysitting a new puppy.