27 November 2007

By: Filip Truta, Games Editor
B-17 Flying Fortress Gameplay Hints (PC)
The Commodore, Amiga and Atari ST have also seen ports of this old flying sim
B-17 Flying Fortress or B-17 Flying Fortress World War II Bombers in Action is a flight simulation/role play video game released in 1992 for DOS on the IBM PC compatible personal computer by MicroProse. Commodore Amiga and Atari ST versions were released a year later. The game simulates training, combat missions and sorties in a tour of duty in the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces in the European Theater of Operations aboard a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber during World War II.The graphics are very simple (MCGA and VGA) and the requirements are meager when running on an antiquated IBM PC compatible Personal Computer; an Intel 80286 microprocessor based (or comparable AMD) based PC was required at 16 MHz with DOS 5.0 (a soundcard was also desirable). However a 80386 or better microprocessor was recommended for this software, with at least 640k of RAM. Don't laugh man, those were the days.The P.C. version came out in several media types floppy disk (5- 5.25" high density disks), compact floppy disk(4-3.5" high density disks) and CD-ROM versions.(Wikipedia)Gameplay HintsTake out enemy fighters:Go to the outside view of the B-17 and place the mouse pointer on the far right. A box should appear with some planes. The Americans are the planes next to the stars. The Germans are marked with + signs. Click on the German planes and take control by pressing M. Then, bail out. Use the [ and ] keys to get the entire squadron. Do this to every squadron to become fighter-free.Get the P-51:To get the P-51 you just have to start out in mid to late 1944. Note the missions are harder.Get the ME 262:Start a mission in mid to late 1944, then go to heavily defended areas.Custom soundtrack:Replace the game disc with an audio CD during game play. The game only uses the CD-ROM for music. The music from the audio CD will play in the menus, but not during missions. Here's a real B17G Flying Fortress featured at the 2006 New Castle Airshow:
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Press key F2 to get an exterior view of the B-17.
In Bomber Commander mode, only one bomber can be selected out of the six in the squadron. In the Squadron Commander game you can select all six bombers. Your B-17 will be centred in the middle of the screen. To access the fighters, hover your mouse pointer on the extreme right side of the mid-screen. This area will show a pop-up menu with a white icon representing your B-17, your fighters (if there are any on your mission) and the enemy fighters types (if there are any around).
If there are any friendly fighters around, click on the icon to jump to an outside view of the fighter. Press F1 to enter the cockpit of the fighter. Press key M to take control of the fighter and fly around (be careful and check the keyboard/joystick controls on the Reference Card).
Take a moment to examine the detailed cockpit and fully functioning dials, levers and joystick. Press the camera keys to view the virtual cockpit. Press key F2 to go to the outside view (youll still be in control!) Press key M to return to AI control. Return to your B-17 by accessing the B-17 icon in the pop-up panel. Press F1 to go back into your B-17.

Crew Management

Youve now looked over the basic areas of the bomber simulation. Now lets look at aspects of crew management that youll need to know when things get rough and you experience casualties or emergencies such as fires. Depending on their level of initiative set up, crew can be told to takeover other crew positions, and made to perform certain actions in emergencies (apply first aid, unjam guns, take over in case someone panics etc.). If all else fails, they can be ordered to bail out! Make sure youre in the nose section in the Compartment view (you can see the figures of the Bombardier and the Navigator).
Select the Bombardier by clicking on him and check that he is highlighted. Place your mouse cursor on the Bombardier and right click.

Icon Rose

This will open an Icon Rose. All the icons in the circle are instructions you can issue to individuals; all 10 crew in the B-17 can be given these types of orders (but they do vary depending on the job). Place your mouse cursor on a few of the icons and read the pop-up tooltips associated with these icons.
The central icon is the instruction you are issuing (such as Move To a different position). If you click on the central icon the instruction will change (Give First Aid, Repair, Use, Bail Out etc). If you select Give First Aid and you see a portrait (or portraits) with a red cross on that means there is a crewman who requires first aid. Click on the injured crew portrait and the selected crewman will go to him and help. If there is a fire additional icons with pop-up tooltips will show which fire extinguishers can be used in what compartments. Remember to put out fires as soon as you get a warning (or see smoke). Fire is your worst enemy aboard the B-17! The Bombardier also has control of the Chin Turret thats located just under his bombsight station. This is useful when he has completed the bomb run and can function as a defensive gunner on the dangerous journey back home. Now, lets change his job to that of a chin turret gunner. Right click on the Bombardier and open the icon rose. The central icon will be the Move To (walking man) order (if it isnt then right click on it until it is). Move your mouse cursor to the top of the rose and click on the Chin Turret icon (the pop-up tooltips will confirm this) and left click.

The Blackboard If youve forgotten which targets you selected in the Map screen, click away from the File and click on the blackboard at the back of the Ops Room. This will give you full details. Click away from the blackboard to get back to the room and continue to study the Target Intelligence File. Outside Inspect the Bombers Before you send your entire squadron on a bombing mission you must first check the status of each bomber and their crew. It would be foolish to send out a badly damaged aircraft or one that did not have a complete crew. So in order to check each of your bombers, click on the office window to get into the jeep to take you on your tour of inspection. Bomber Clipboard The clipboard shows your squadron bomber strength. Point to one of the bomber names and left click. You will be taken into the 3D world with the selected bomber on its hardstand. Use the camera keys to look around the bomber. If this is your first mission it will have no visible damage. Now press ESC to go to the jeep bonnet.
Click on the files to go to read the specific reports.
Each B-17 has the following files associated with it:
Mechanical File Click on the file to open it. Here you will see bomber details including summaries of essential/ recommended repairs and maintenance. If you click on the right hand page you will see a form that allows you to order the aircraft to be scrapped for parts and to replace it with a new aircraft. If the B-17 is in a bad state of repair you will have to sign it off and ask for a replacement. You must click on the signature line at the bottom of the page. Click on the bonnet to close the file. Crew Management File Click on the file to open the file. This will give you all details about that bombers crew. On the front page is a summary of crew names and their specific positions (marked as Xs) with an indication of other specialist crew positions they could be assigned to successfully. Click on the right hand page to turn the page and you will see more details of the first member of the crew, including morale and skill levels for the key emergency tasks Gunnery, Piloting, Bomb Aiming, Navigation, First Aid and Technical. Get to know your crew and understand their strengths and weaknesses; particularly who would be useful to double up on a crew position and who is good at Technical or First Aid. You can also assign a crewmember to Ground Duties (for example, you might think his morale is too low). Click on the Ground Duties box to make the slash into a cross. A rookie will take his place and he will be shown in the Crew Replacement File. Click on the bonnet to close the file. Crew Replacement File Click on the file cover to open. This file only contains ex-flight crew that you have put there rookie replacements will always be provided to fill in any gaps but will leave when crew member is recovered. Click on the bonnet to close the file. Next Bomber When you have finished inspecting the first bomber, click on the Keys/Hat/Gloves to return to the Clipboard and inspect the other bombers in the Squadron in the same way.

Aircraft Crew Sight Dial Window
Crew Views Panel (pop-up menu) All crew positions in B-17 have a number of different views available. These are accessible through the Crew Views pop-up menu and keyboard shortcuts. If there are two or more crew shown in the compartment, the views will refer to the selected crew member (highlighted by a white border). Hover the mouse pointer on the extreme right side of the screen (about mid-screen) and a panel of icons will pop-up that allow you to access those views for a specific crewmember. Note: Some crew will not have all of these views available to them.
The Aircraft Icon External View (key F2) By clicking on the top icon (or pressing key F2) you will jump to the external view of the aircraft and be able to access all the 3D camera controls (see Reference Card). Press F1 to return to the internal crew position. The Crew Icon Compartment View (key C) Clicking on the crew icon (or pressing key C) will show the Compartment View. This is a general view of the section of the B-17 that your selected crewman is located in. There may be another crewman shown but the one selected will be highlighted with a white border. The Sight Icon Action View (key A) By clicking on the sight icon you will enter the Action View for that crewman. For example, for the pilot this will be looking through the front windshield; for the Gunners it will be the sight/machine gun view etc. The Dial Icon Instrument View (key I) This will show any instrument view and will vary depending on the crewman selected. For example, the Bombardier will have a general view of his Norden bombsight with adjustable dials. Note: Additional Instrument Views also exist for some crew that can be accessed by pressing the spacebar. Window Icon Window View (key W) This shows a view of the external world seen by the crewman through the nearest window.

The Pilot and Co-Pilot

The Pilot and Co-Pilot must be able to take off and land equally well. They are the senior officers on board and are also responsible for flying the aircraft. The B-17 is a big plane, more than any one Pilot can handle, you must make sure the Pilot and Co-Pilot do an equal share of flying, take-offs, landings, and instrument work. Do not allow one pilot to increase in skill to the detriment of the other. That pilot may get injured or be re-assigned to another position and you may have to rely on the skills of an inferior pilot to get the plane safely back to base. This is how the Pilot/Co-Pilot can make effective use of their specific Crew views:

The Three Axes

Although an aircraft can move in an unlimited number of directions, there are three axes of motion that you can control.
Roll Roll is the rotation of the aircraft around its length (tipping the aircraft left or right). Pitch Pitch is the rotation of the aircraft around the line of its wings (tilting the nose up or down). Yaw Yaw is the rotation of the aircraft around its middle (so if you were looking from above the nose would move left/right and the tail right/left).

The Control Surfaces

You control the movement of your plane by manipulating the basic forces (see above). Thrust is provided by the engine and you can control its level by slowing it down or speeding it up.
Gravity always pulls at the aircraft and you cannot affect this. Drag and Lift however, do not affect all parts of the aircraft equally and this permits the introduction of control surfaces that enable you to control those two forces effect on the plane. Elevators These are vertically tilting sections of the horizontal part of the tail. Through Drag they affect the pitch of the plane and the pilot controls them with the forward/back movement of the stick (or column). If you push the stick forward the elevators drop down creating an imbalance in the Drag the nose tilts down and this makes the plane dive (lessening the angle of attack). If you pull the stick back, the elevators go up and have the affect of tilting the nose up making the plane climb (increasing the angle of attack).
Ailerons These are located on the wings and act in the same way as the elevators. Moving the stick/column to either side makes one aileron go up and the other go down which means one wing gains extra lift (rises) and the other gets more Drag (drops). The aircraft will roll as it banks in the direction you moved the stick. Flaps Flaps are located in the backs of the wings. They can be extended or retracted and are particularly useful when landing. Flaps down means extending the flaps resulting in extra lift (the plane rises), increased drag (the plane slows down). Generally this lowers the speed at which the aircraft will stall, so on landing you can approach more slowly or dive to a landing more steeply (because you are moving at a slower speed). Flaps up means retracting the flaps making the plane faster but losing some lift (the plane will drop a little. Partial flaps are sometimes used on take off to provide extra lift. Rudder The rudder is located in the back of the vertical part of the tail and through its action on drag affects the yaw of the aircraft. When the rudder is moved left/right, the nose yaws left/right. The rudder is used to smooth out turns, lining up an accurate position for firing (in a fighter) and landing or recovering from a spin. Wings Your aircraft wings can also be used indirectly as control surfaces to manipulate lift. Use the elevators to increase the planes angle of attack and the airflow over the wings changes giving more lift (up to a point) as long as airspeed is high enough. Beware that too big an AoA without a corresponding increase in airspeed will create turbulence, stall and spin. Similarly, reducing the AoA creates less lift.

Miscellaneous Controls Console Mode Bail Out Quit Mission Quit to Desktop
ESC CTRL + SHIFT + B CTRL + SHIFT + Q ALT + F4
The Pilots and Co-Pilots Instrument Panel (see separate Reference Card)
Select the Pilot and begin your mission in the Pilots seat (on the left of the flight deck).
Before you begin flying, study the instrument panel and make sure you are familiar with the location of all dials and switches. If you are new to the simulation keep your Reference Card in front of you. The most important dials are:
The Altimeter This shows the height of the aircraft above sea level. The long needle shows hundreds of feet and the shorter needle shows thousands of feet. Always be aware of your flying height by keeping an eye on this dial. The Directional Gyro This dial shows your heading. A heading of 0 (or 360) is North, 90 is East, 180 is South and 270 is West. The Airspeed Indicator This shows the speed of the aircraft through the air in mph (from 0 to 500mph). The Rate of Climb Indicator This is a visual indication of your climb/dive angle shown as hundreds of feet per minute. When the indicator points to 0 this means you have achieved level flight. Landing Gear Indicator A visual indicator that the Landing Gear has been raised (Up Arrow) or lowered (SHIFT + Up Arrow). Flaps Indicator Shows the position of the Flaps (Up = key F, Down = SHIFT + F). When lowered, flaps give the aircraft extra lift at take off and slow it down for landings. The Yoke Wheel/Control Column The Yoke Wheel/Control column is the Pilots and Co-Pilots method of controlling the aircraft direction in flight. In this simulation this is controlled by a joystick or the keyboard.
Turning Left/Right Ailerons are lateral control flaps at the rear of the airplanes main wing tips. Turning the wheel/control column left/right will raise/lower these flaps making the aircraft bank left/right. Diving and Climbing Elevators are horizontal portions of the tail and these are moved up/down by pushing/pulling the control column. This makes the plane climb or dive. The Rudder Pressing the rudder controls left (key B) or right (key N) will swing the nose of the plane left/right (Yaw) by moving the trailing edge of the vertical segment of the tail left/right. The rudder will centre automatically or manually depending on the keyboard/Joystick options in Player set up. The Four Engines The B-17 is a large four-engine bomber and this simulation gives you full control of all four engines including setting individual throttle levels, fire extinguishers and feathering the props. Engine number 1 is the left outer from the Pilots position followed by 2, 3 and 4 in sequence. Engines can also be boosted with War Emergency Power (key K) for a short space of time to get you out of tricky situations.

Starting Your Engines You must start your engines in the correct sequence: Engine 1 (left outer), Engine 2 (left inner), Engine 3 (right inner), and Engine 4 (right outer). Engine One 1. Turn the Ignition Switch (Magneto) for Engine 1 ON. 2. Press F9 to go to the Co-pilots Auxiliary Panel.
1. Locate the Starter Panel above the Intercoolers (and the Fire Extinguisher control panel). The Starter Panel has four switches: two Starter and two Mesh switches. These switches each have three positions, a neutral (central) position, an up and a down position. Place the leftmost START switch in its downward position, by left clicking on it. Count for 10 seconds. Move to the next switch (the leftmost Mesh switch), and left click on it, holding it down for about 6 seconds. Judge by ear when the engine has successfully started. Return both the Starter and the Mesh switches to their Neutral positions by left clicking. Press F4 to return to the Pilots Instrument View.
Engine Two Turn the Magneto for Engine 2 ON. Press F9 to go to the Co-pilots Auxiliary Panel. Place the leftmost START switch in its up position, by RIGHT clicking on it. Count for 10 seconds. Move to the next switch (the leftmost Mesh switch), and RIGHT click on it, holding it down for about 6 seconds. Judge by ear when the engine has successfully started.
Return both the Starter and the Mesh switches to their Neutral positions by left clicking. Press F4 to return to the Pilots Instrument view.
Engine Three Turn the Magneto for Engine 3 ON. Press F9 to go to the Co-pilots Auxiliary Panel. Place the centre right START switch of the Panel in its upward position, by right clicking. Count 10 seconds. Move to the next switch to the right (the rightmost Mesh switch), and right click on it, holding it down for about 6 seconds. Judge by ear when the engine has successfully started. Return both the Starter and the Mesh switches to their neutral positions. Press F4 to return to the Pilots Instrument view. Engine Four Turn the Magneto for Engine 4 ON. Press F9 to go to the Co-pilots Auxiliary Panel. Place the centre right switch of the Starter Panel in its downward position, by left clicking. Count 10 seconds. Move to the next switch to the right, the rightmost Mesh switch, and left click on it, holding it down for about 6 seconds. Judge by ear when the engine has successfully started. Return both the Starter and the Mesh switch to their neutral positions. Press F4 to return to the Pilots Instrument view. All four engines should now have started! Note: You MUST right click on the throttle lever for each of the four engines to allow the AI access to the engines again. If you fail to do this, the pilot AI will not be able to fly the plane, and the engines will not respond to your joysticks throttle. Taxiing Taxiing must be carried out very slowly (about the speed of a running man). You must be able to stop easily without heavy use of the brakes. You can use Left/Right Brakes for steering (keys B + N). As in the real thing the cockpit view of the airfield is very limited on the B-17 and as Pilot you cannot crane your head out of one side of the window so you will have to taxi so you can either use an External (F2)/ Chase View (Spacebar) to see the B-17 from outside, or you can use the Pilot Helper (key H) to guide you in Action view.

Taxi in the same way as for take off using throttle/steering brake and try to keep the cone in the centre of your windshield view and edge slowly towards it.
The cone will move to another position, repeat this process until the cone guides you to your bomber position. It will then turn red. Slow down and stop (throttle down). Apply the Parking Brake (key P).
Once you have parked the aircraft in its correct position the mission is effectively over. You will then be taken to the Mission Debriefing.

Bombardier School

Bombardier - General Principles If you want to be the Bombardier give yourself plenty of time to get into position from whatever view or location you are in and re-familiarise yourself with the bombing controls. Remember the mission has only one aim: to drop the bombs on the correct target accurately and promptly. You must be sure of your target identification and you must set the sight correctly to hit that target. Whilst the Norden bombsight is an incredibly flexible and accurate instrument, it can be brutally punishing to inexperienced users make sure you have flown both Training Missions, and are well acquainted with the skills of displacing and synchronising. The Targets The Primary target is your main objective. If the Primary is impossible or unavailable due to weather or other unhelpful conditions, you must switch to Secondary this is usually a lower order target that is within close range of the Primary. If you have to switch to secondary you must issue the Select Secondary Target message in the radio compartment. The Pilot will fly a new heading set by the Navigator. You may also have another option of a Tertiary target. If all three mission targets are unavailable to you (for whatever reason) then you may set an Opportunity target from the Navigators Map station. Click on a green bomb icon and drag it to a likely target on the map. The waypoints will appear automatically. Remember that random, ill-directed bombing will be penalised. However, if bombs are jettisoned to preserve the safety of the crew and the bomber, there will be no penalty imposed by Bomber Group. A mission is deemed to be successful by the amount of damage done to the target. If you fail to drop the bombs on the correct target the mission will be classed as a failure.
Bombardier Skills The Bombardier must know his bombsight, what it does and how it works. The Bombardier must understand the automatic pilot and how it works in the bomb run. The Bombardier must know how to operate all gun positions on the aircraft. The Bombardier must understand the destructive power of the bombs his aircraft is carrying and the vulnerability of the targets he is seeking. The Bombardier must be fully conversant with target and aircraft identification. The Bombardier is in effective command of the aircraft on the bomb run. He should be mindful of this responsibility. Bombing Factors The following bombing factors will come into play when dropping bombs from a heavy bomber: Altitude Altitude determines the length of time the bomb is in flight and therefore the time the bombs can be affected by the atmospheric conditions. This in turn affects the range (the forward travel of the bomb from launch) and deflection (the distance the bomb drifts in a crosswind). True Airspeed True Airspeed is a measure of the speed of the airplane through the air. Its this speed that gives the bomb its initial forward velocity and thus affects the trail (see below) of the bomb (the distance the bomb lags behind the airplane at the moment of impact). Bomb Ballistics This is the size, shape and density of the bomb - factors that give it an air resistance value. Trail This is the horizontal distance the bomb is behind the airplane at the moment of impact and is therefore affected by altitude, airspeed, bomb ballistics and air density. A value is obtained from bombing tables and is pre-set into the bombsight. Actual Time of Fall This is the length of time the bomb stays in the air from the point of release to impact. Groundspeed This is the speed of the aircraft in relation to the earths surface and has an effect on the range of the bomb. Groundspeed is entered into the bombsight through synchronisation on the target while the pilot maintains constant airspeed and the correct altitude.

Search Mode Crosshairs Bomb Release Indices
Enter Search Mode by using SHIFT + K (A light will come on). Use your joystick to locate the target, place the crosshair over the target and then hit SHIFT + K to lock the target. The Sight starts in DRIFT Correction mode. Moving the joystick left adjusts the angle of Drift to the left the target will begin to drift more to the right of the sight picture. Moving the joystick right will alter the angle of Drift to the right the target will begin to drift more to the left of the sight picture. Press key N to enter RATE Correction mode. Moving the joystick up makes the rate track more slowly, so the target will move towards the bottom of the sight picture. Moving the joystick down will make the rate track more quickly, hence the target will appear to move back up towards the top of the sight picture. The objective is to freeze any vertical movement of the target.
You should adjust DRIFT and RATE until the sight picture shows no movement at all. This is called SYNCHRONISATION, and means the bombsight is correctly allowing for speed, altitude and wind drift. During your alterations, the target may have slipped out from the crosshairs. If you have time, you can enter SEARCH mode, using the SHIFT + K key combination, and place the target directly under the crosshair again. Provided that you have correctly SYNCHRONISED the sight, as described above, the crosshair will remain where you left it. Watch the two markers close towards each other. When they meet, the bombs will be dropped automatically by the bombsight, thus ensuring a drop accurate to the millisecond. Watch bombs release from bay and then press F6 to view down from inside the bomb bay and F6 again to view target from ground level (use mouse left button to zoom in and right hand button to move around target.
Bombing Results Full details of your bomb drop pattern and reconnaissance film of the damage to the target will be shown when you are in the Mission Debriefing. Chin Turret Its highly likely that enemy fighters will attack you on your journey back to your home base. Before and after the Bombardier has completed his bombing tasks he should man the powered Chin Turret (unless otherwise assigned by the Commander), to fend off any attacks from the front of the B-17.

Navigator School

Its the job of the Navigator to direct your flight from the moment of take off to landing back at base (or any other airfield). Navigation is the skill of knowing where your bomber is geographically by means of either pilotage or dead reckoning. The skilled Navigator will use a combination of these methods.

Pilotage

This is the method of working out the aircrafts position by visual reference to the ground. This requires accuracy to within 400 metres. The Navigator performs this by referring constantly to groundspeeds and ETAs for points ahead, on the ground, and on maps and charts. As long as a Navigator can keep visual contact with the ground he can work out pinpoint positions and plot the exact track of the airplane.

The Radio

Communicates with crew, ground control and other aircraft.

Messages Inward Log

The Messages Inward Log shows all messages received (from whatever source) written down. Make sure you are in Manual Mode (key M). Click on the Messages Inward Log cover to open the book. Review the messages received (with the timing shown). Click on the page to turn it over.

Messages Outward Log

The Messages Outward Log shows a list of messages that can be issued by various members of the crew and can be for internal use for the individual bomber crew or for squadron use. For example, the Bombardier may not have released his bombs over the target in which case he can request the Pilot to Go Around Again. Or, if the Primary Target is unavailable, he can ask for the route to be changed to the Secondary Target. To send a message: Make sure you are in Manual Mode (key M). Click on the Message Log cover to open the book. Select the message you want by clicking on it.
If the message is a one off such as Return to Base it will from that point be unavailable.

GUNNERY SCHOOL

Essentially, the B-17 is a moving gun platform that can be very effective in defending the airplane from enemy fighter attacks, but the effectiveness will always depend upon the skill and application of the Gunners.
Top Turret Chin Turret Ball Turret
Right Waist Gun Cheek Gun

Tail Gun Left Waist Gun

Gunner Skills
Gunners can be categorised into two types: the flexible gun operators and the turret operators. Power turret gunners need some of the qualities required from good pilots because operating a power turret is much like that of controlling an airplane in flight. Flexible gunners do not need to have the same touch as turret gunners but must have a good sense of timing and an understanding of the basics of exterior ballistics.

Machine Guns

Originally, most bombers defensive armaments were single hand operated machine guns pivoting on a mounting attached to the structure of the craft. The main disadvantage being that it was difficult to turn the gun into a 200mph slipstream and so the field of fire was severely limited. The next development was to give the gunner a rotating mounting so that he could pivot towards the enemy. The slipstream problem was overcome by installing powered gun turrets that traversed the turret and gun-mounting ring, leaving the gunner free to control movement in azimuth and elevation by hand. B-17 machine guns are electrically fired and electrically fed with ammo.

Red Text Warning

All messages you hear will be shown on the screen in black text but in combat when a member of the crew spots enemy fighters, this text will be in red. By clicking directly on the text you will be able to jump immediately to the source of the message and be able to take over manual control of the action area.

Unjamming Machine Guns

Guns will overheat and/or jam. If this happens, return to Compartment view (C), select the gunner by clicking on him (he will be highlighted) and right-click to access the crew management Icon Rose. Right click on the centre icon until you see the Unjam icon.
Left click on the icon to unjam the gun(s). You can watch the gunner try to unjam the gun(s). The simplest way of dealing with jams is to keep your bursts short and on target. This will also maximise your efficiency as regards ammunition.
If you are playing a historical scenario, you will have a limited number of rounds available to you in any mission so do not fire needlessly. Apart from the initial test firing (usually over the Channel) save your ammo for the fighter attacks. Select Instrument View (key I) or the Dial icon in the Crew Views pop-up panel to access the gunners ammunition box. Hover the pointer over the box to see how many rounds are left. Note: Space is limited on a B-17 and once you have used up all your ammunition there is no more available to you.
Section Five: Crew/Bomber Management
MOVING CREW TO NEW POSITIONS
All the B-17 crew can be re-allocated to other positions on board. This is crucial if you are attacked, suffer injury (or panic) and are short of a key crew (such as the Navigator). If you know your crew well enough you will be able to assign a substitute who has some level of skill in that key task. Note: If a crew station is not manned that station is unavailable to you to jump to. You must send a man to takeover before you can assume manual control. The crew of the B-17 are specialists in their particular skill but have to be prepared to do each others jobs in the event of injury. You must be able to manage the crew and re-allocate them to other positions in any emergency. At the start of any mission, the 10-man crew will be in their correct compartments. You can view them in their compartments by pressing the keyboard keys ` to 0. A white highlight will appear around the selected figure. Right click on a highlighted figure to open the Crew Management Icon Rose: a circular display of all other crew positions with a command icon in the centre.

If you are in control of the gunner, right click on the figure to open the Icon Rose and click on the Unjam Guns icon.
You may also find that the bombs are jammed on their racks and may require freeing by a member of the crew the sequence is similar to unjam guns (above).

FIGHTING FIRES

If there is a fire onboard, you will either see it immediately in the compartment or hear a message from one of the crew (red text). Crew will make attempts to put the fire out, but you can also order crew members to lend a hand using the Icon Rose system.

BAILING OUT

If all else fails and you know that the aircraft is going to crash, you must order your crew to bail out. Its better to try and save the crew to return home to fight another day rather than let them die in a crash. Select the crew member and right click to open the icon rose then click on the Bail Out Icon. Alternately, you can press CTRL + SHIFT + B to order everyone to bail out. Remember, once all crew have left the aircraft you will not be able to go back inside it will be out of your control.

BOMBER MANAGEMENT

This section deals with aspects of the simulation when you are up in the air in external camera views and heading for your target.

External Views

The simulation has a wealth of external camera views that you can use to look all around your bomber and at the stunning 3D. If nothing much is happening and you can spare the time from your flying or navigating tasks why not have a good look around. Press F2 from any interior position and you will go to external view and then use Camera Controls in the Reference Card.

Flight

You can take over control of flying the aircraft from the external view. This is often a good way to get a feel for the large bomber and appreciate the flight dynamics. Press key M and the AI control symbol (Computer) on the lower right of the screen will change to the manual control symbol (Hand). You will immediately be in control of the aircraft.

Formation

The bombers must fly in squadron formation to the target for greater safety so when you are controlling the aircraft in manual mode you must try to stay in formation. Use the camera keys to best effect and if you find thats too difficult use the Pilot Helper key (H). This will create a white box to show you where you should be flying to stay in formation. If you lose formation find this box with the outside views and try to fly close to it.

P-47 Thunderbolt

Built by: Aircraft Type: Dimensions: Engine: Max Speed: Cruise Speed: Ceiling: Combat Radius: Fixed Weapons: * Models C to D
Republic Aviation Corporation Fighter/Fighter bomber; Single-seater 36 1" Length; 40 9" Span Pratt & Witney R-2800 Double Wasp 419 436mph* 210 275mph* 41,000ft miles* 8 wing-mounted.50 calibre Browning machine guns
Often referred to as the Jug by its pilots, the P-47 was designed around the new Pratt & Witney R-2800 Double Wasp 2000 hp radial engine the most powerful at the time. It was also equipped with a turbo supercharger that gave full power even at an altitude of 30,000 feet,
allowing the P-47 to outperform all German fighters at high altitude. The aircraft also served as a low altitude fighter-bomber making use of its heavy firepower and its ability to sustain heavy damage. The P-47s main weakness is its poor rate of climb but this is more than compensated for by its first class diving ability. Use this feature to regain height rapidly once you lose momentum from the dive, climb in gentle turns and not in a steep, straight ascent. Flying the Thunderbolt, your best defence is to initiate the attack. Use the planes superior speed and the quickness of its dive to make a pass at an enemy, and then drop sharply away. When threatened in combat, if all else fails and you cant shake off an attacker, take comfort in the fact that the P-47 can take a lot of punishment before it gives up the ghost.

P-51 Mustang

Built by: Aircraft Type: Dimensions: Engine: Max Speed: Cruise Speed: Ceiling: Combat Radius: Fixed Weapons: * Models B to D
North American Aviation Fighter/Single-seater 32 3" Length; 37 0" Span Packard Rolls-Royce Merlin V-1650-3/7* 439 437mph* 210 320mph* 42,000ft 450 miles (750 miles on drop tanks) 4 6* wing-mounted.50 calibre Browning machine guns
Considered by many to be the best fighter of the war, the Mustang began life with an Allison engine as an underpowered, low-altitude attack aircraft. But when it had the Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 engine installed it was transformed into an excellent high altitude escort fighter. With a pair of drop tanks, the Mustang could escort from England to anywhere in Germany. Entering service in 1944 this was an aircraft that became the vital lifeline for US bomber crews throughout the rest of the war.
With its vast range, great manoeuvrability and a speed no other fighter can beat, the P-51 is the shining star of the USAAF, taking more kills than any other plane. The Merlin engine gives you the power for quick, steep climbs and the Mustang has the firepower to take care of any situation, plus its accurate and stable in a dive. Beware that the P-51s guns can jam during tight turns (the ammo belts cause the gun breech to block). Its also very vulnerable to enemy ground fire due to an easily punctured cooling system.

The Luftwaffe

From take off to landing you have to fight for control as it pulls to the right, requiring a delicate balance between elevators, rudder and throttle on take off. This is made doubly difficult by a high ground angle that makes visibility in taxiing extremely limited. Landings are also perilous because the 109 does not respond well to last minute corrections and may crash when approach speed is too low. A useful strategy for a Bf-109 pilot is to take advantage of the negative-g roll that leaves Spitfires and Hurricanes shooting at air. However its a plane that is vulnerable to deflection attacks the armour is 4 feet behind the pilots seat - and to fire from below hitting the coolant reservoirs. Use its speed and renown durability to escape from difficult situations.

Me-262

Messerschmitt Fighter/Single-seater 10.6m (349") Length; 12.5m (41 0") Span 2 Junkers Jumo 109-004B-4 turbojets 868km/h (540mph) 670km/h (416mph) 11,448m (37,560) 241km (150 miles) 2 fuselage-mounted 30mm MK108 cannon (above nose) 2 fuselage-mounted 30mm MK108 cannon (below nose) The first combat jet aircraft to be actively used in World War 2, the Me-262 was faster than anything the Allies could put into the sky in 1944. It could rip through bomber formations and turn well at high speed, out-performing any pursuing escort fighter. However, its development and widespread use was stifled by the lack of competent pilots, the scarcity of fuel and German failure to recognise its full combat potential at an early stage. When it did appear, in October 1944, it was a stunning success.
Heavy bomber gunners did not have time to aim, let alone fire, and even the fastest Allied fighter was left behind. Unfortunately, the Me-262 pilots were also unused to combat at such high speeds and often chose to slow down for the actual attack (and it was then that they were most vulnerable to conventional bomber defences). Beware that the Me-262 is slow to accelerate and not very manoeuvrable, Allied pilots may try to attack you when you are most vulnerable during take off and landing.
Effective flak coverage generally covers an area the size of a dome 75,000 feet horizontal radius and 40,000 feet vertical height around each AAA emplacement. These domes ideally are placed to overlap and combine to form an almost continuous coverage over a target area. A flak shell could take over 25 seconds to reach a height of 25,000 feet and in that time a B-17 could travel 1.5 miles. The main AAA gun was the 88mm Flak 36 with a slant range of 8226 metres and a 20,000 feet ceiling. The fired shells are detonated by a clockwork time fuse and are lethal within 30 metres and will cause severe damage within 200 metres. An AAA gunner doesnt simply shoot shells at random hoping youll fly through them. Every time a round is fired hes calculated a firing solution based on altitude, direction and relative velocity of the target. Since these shells arent self-propelled they can take quite a while to cover the distance so every shell thats flying towards you was aimed several seconds ago based on your current altitude, direction and speed. An Optical Director uses a mechanical computer to work out the range of the airplane, if its flying level and at a constant speed, then computes the time the shells will take to get there (to help set the fuses), the elevation and azimuth of each gun in the firing battery.