OVERLORD - AMIGA SUPPLEMENT
===========================
TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
LOADING AND INSTALLATION
To run Overlord first switch off your Amiga.
Insert the bot disk into the Amigas internal floppy drive and then switch on.
The program will now autoboot and subsequent disks will be requested as needed.
You may wish to install Overlord to a hard disk. To do so load up Workbench,
insert the Overlord boot disk into the internal floppy drive and select the
Install icon. This will run the hard disk install program, just follow the on
screen instructions to complete the installation.
Once you have installed Overlord just read the instructions given at the end of
the installation process. These instructions are also copied to the hard drive in
a text file called Read.Me.
MUSIC
To play Overlord with music you require 1.5 meg of memory. If you are running
Overlord with less than 1.5 meg then the music will be automatically turned off.
RUNNING OVERLORD
When you load Overlord the first screen you see contains a short menu of several
options.
Here is what they do:
CREDITS
The rolling credits can be exited by pressing the Escape key or clicking with the
right mouse button.
CONFIGURE
This selection takes you to a screen which enables you to change the default
settings. When you save the game the configuration settings are also saved, so
that when you re-load your saved game the chosen options will act as the default
settings.
For more information on the individual configuration setings see page 165 of the
manual
It is possible to change the configuration later during the game. However,
changes made during a game will not transfer to your next new game.
SCRAMBLE
Select scramble and you will be placed in your aircraft just off the coast of
Northern Cherbourg.
When you have completed your mission you can return to your base at Tangmere
where, after you have landed, you will be treated as a new pilot starting a new
game. For more information on flying your aircraft, weapons and combat see pages
117 - 146 of the main manual.
LOAD GAME
This option reloads a previously saved game. Games can be saved by going to the
Gatehouse from the Tangmere screen.
NEW GAME
This option takes you to the main Tangmere menu screen to begin a new Overlord
game.
For more information on this menu see page 148 of the main manual.
SAVING THE GAME
Please note that if you are running Overlord from floppy disks you will need a
pre-formatted disk to save your game to. This disk needs to be called USER. We
recommend that you create two save game disks. By using two disks you will
minimise the chance of losing your saved games should one become corrupted or
unusable.
MANUAL ADDENDUM
The following are a list of differences relevant to the Amiga that are not covered
in the main manual.
VIDEO EDITING SUITE (PART 5)
The Gun Camera and subsequent playback option is not available on the Amiga system.
This also means that the Video RAM digits and lights have been removed from the
cockpit system.
DIARY (PAGE 151)
The diary screen does not contain any illustration screens.
OVERLORD BRIEFING (PAGE 154)
The Amiga version does not contain the black and white photographs shown in the
manual, these photographs have been replaced by a map.
DISPERSAL (PAGE 156)
The room appearance remains the same at all times.
REAR-VIEW MIRROR (PAGE 164)
The rear view mirror is not available in the Amiga version
CONTROL TYPE (PAGE 169)
The Control types, listed from top to bottom, are as follows:
CONTROL TYPE:
KEYBOARD:
Allows flight to be controlled via the keyboard.
MOUSE:
Allows flight to be conrolled via the mouse.
JOYSTICK:
Allows flight to be controlled by a digital joystick.
GRAVIS:
Allows flight to be controlled by a GRAVIS joystick.
ANALOGUE STICK
Allows flight to be controlled via an analogue joystick.
If this option is selected a joystick calibration dialogue box will be displayed
upon selecting accept.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION REPLACES THAT SHOWN UNDER DETAIL LEVEL ON PAGE 171.
DISTANT 3D:
OFF:
This is a detail level controlling option that allows the drawing of the most
distant objects in the 3D section to be disabled.
ON:
Selecting this option enables the drawing of distant objects in the 3D.
ROADS:
OFF:
Disables the drawing of roads in the 3D section.
ON:
Enables the drawing of roads in the 3D section.
RAILS:
OFF:
Disables the drawing of railways in the 3D section
ON:
Enables the drawing of railways in the 3D section.
RIVERS:
OFF:
Disables the drawing of rivers in the 3D section.
ON:
Enables the drawing of rivers in the 3D section
COAST DETAIL:
LOW:
This causes the ground to be drawn at a very low level of detail.
The beaches are never drawn and only sections of coastline close to the viewer are
drawn.
MEDIUM:
This setting causes the fround to be drawn at an intermediate level of detail.
The beaches are not drawn but the coastline will be drawn accurately right off in
the distance as far as the horizon.
HIGH:
This setting causes the ground to be drawn at the highest level of detail.
The detail is the same as for medium but the beaches will now be drawn along the
coast as well.
3D TYPE:
16 COLOR:
The 3D is drawn using 16 colors.
32 COLOR:
The 3D is drawn using 32 colors.
KEY CHANGES
AMIGA 500/500 PLUS/ A600 / A1200
The 'W' key (brake) has been replaced. Press the 'B' key to activate and
deactivate the brake.
A600:
Due to the lack of a numeric keypad some keys have been duplicated.
Weapon select was 9 on the keypad now Help key
Weapon Ripple toggle was 7 on the keypad now Del key
Gradual rudder left was 0 on the keypad now Alt + <
Gradual rudder right was - on the keypad now Alt + >
Rudder clear was 5 on the keypad now Alt +/
NOTE: Full left and right rudder is not available on the A600 version.
A1200:
The fire key has been duplicated onto the left and right Amiga keys.
--------------------------------------END---------------------------------------
OVERLORD - KEYBOARD REFERENCE
==============================
TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
NORMAL KEYS
-----------
1................ Increases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
2................ Decreases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
5................ A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
6................ A view of the left of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
7................ A view of the front of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
8................ A view of the right of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
9................ A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
0................ Brings you back to your cockpit from an outside viewpoint
-................ Reduce your RPM continuously, in small increments
+................ Increase your RPM continuously, in small increments
BACKSPACE........ Inside Combat Lock
TAB.............. Acceleration time toggle
W................ Wheel brake
E................ External fuel toggle switch (switches fuel from external tanks)
R................ When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys to
rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the speed of
that rotation
T................ Autopilot will fire the guns for you. It works only when the
autopilot is switched on.
P................ Pause
[................ Look up towards the rear-view mirror
]................ Look down to see instrumentation
ENTER............ The Outside Combat Lock looks across your aircraft towards the
nearest unfriendly.
A................ Autopilot
S................ Sound toggle (There are three levels: off, no engine sounds &
engine sounds)
F................ Flaps
G................ Gear
J................ Increase the rate of fire to guns
K................ Decrease the rate of fire to guns
;................ Previous Waypoint
'................ Next Waypoint
Z................ Impact Viewpoint. Automicatically switches the views to any
target your weapons hit
X................ Missile Viewpoint. Automatically switches the views to any
weapons you fire
V................ Video toggle
B................ Air Brake toggle
M................ Map screen
,................ Minimum Power setting
................. Maximum Power setting
SPACE............ Fire
/................ Boost. Excessive use of the boost causes engine damage.
F1............... Zoom In
F2............... Rotate vertically around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
F3............... Rotate horizontally around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
F4............... External Chase position
F5............... Establishes a view of your aircraft with the camera maintaining
absolute heading and pitch
F6............... External Track viewpoint in which the camera pitches and turns
with the aircraft
F7............... External Satellite viewpoint
F8............... Gives the view across your aircraft to the selected target
F9............... View from your aircrafts cockpit of the selected target.
F10.............. Configuration menus
NUMERIC KEYPAD AND CURSOR CLUSTER
ESCAPE............ Return to the piloted aircraft
HOME (7).......... Weapon Ripple select
PAGE UP (9)....... Weapon select
END (1)........... Full rudder deflection, Left
PAGE DOWN (3)..... Full rudder deflection, Right
INSERT (0)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Left
DELETE (.)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Right
DWN ARROW (2)..... Climb
LFT ARROW (4)..... Roll to left
RGT ARROW (6)..... Roll to right
UP ARROW (8)...... Dive
- ................ Decreases your RPM by single, large increments
+ ................ Increases your RPM by single, large increments
'SHIFT &' KEYS
1.................. A view of Flight 1 while keeping control of your aircraft
2.................. As 1 but for Flight 2
3.................. As 1 but for Flight 3
4.................. As 1 but for Flight 4
5.................. As 1 but for Flight 5
6.................. As 1 but for Flight 6
7.................. As 1 but for Flight 7
8.................. As 1 but for Flight 8
9.................. A view of your wingman
0.................. View of the lead flight
- ................. Reduce your RPM by double the normal amount
+ ................. Increase your RPM by double the normal amount
TAB................ Super Acceleration time key [normal acceleration restricting
events such as approaching enemy aircraft will not affect this
option]
F.................. Toggle the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft. In fixed Mode,
if you have switched to the nearest unfriendly view the
aircraft shown will always be selected, even if another
unfriendly gets closer, until its destroyed, In Free Mode the
nearest or current viewed object will be reselected if
another comes closer.
;.................. Position information
F1................. Tangmere - View of your home base
F2................. Missile - View of the missile you just launched
F3................. Nearest friendly - View of the nearest friendly aircraft.
F4................. Nearest enemy - View of the nearest unfriendly aircraft
F5................. Current enemy - View of the object you have been assigned
to attack, according to the on-screen messages
F6................. Last message - View of the last friendly aircraft to send you a
message
F7................. Message about - View of the object that the last message refers
to.
F8................. Ground target - View of the object that you should attack next
F9................. Nearest target - A list of possible ground targets
NUMERIC KEYPAD
ESCAPE............. Returns to your own aircraft from another viewpoint but
retains the viewpoint you had last. For example, if you were
looking behind an enemy aircraft this option would return
you to behind your own aircraft.
-.................. Decreases your RPM by the normal amount
+.................. Increases your RPM by the normal amount
8, 4, 6 & 2........ Inside View directions, 8 = Front view.
'CTRL &' KEYS
1................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 1 leader and take control as
the pilot
2................. Jump into the cockpit of Fiight 2 leader and take control [some
missions will only have one flight]
3................. Allows you to jump into the cockpit of Flight 3 leader and take
control [many missions only have one or two flights]
4................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 4 leader and take control [most
missions have less than four flights]
5................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 5 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
6................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 6 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
7................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 7 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
8................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 8 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
9................. Jump into the cockpit of your flight Buddy and take control. If
you are in the flight leaders aircraft then you will be taken
to the wing man. If you are in the wing-mans aircraft you will
be taken back to the flight leaders aircraft.
0................. Jump into the cockpit of the mission lead aircraft and take
control [as long as this is not a bomber]
Q................. Bail Out. You can only bail out of the aircraft if you turn your
aircraft upside down. No wing-walking here!
E................. Dump external fuel. The tanks automatically switch to internal
fuel at this point.
R................. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys to
rotate around the aircraft, this key will decrease the speed
of that rotation
D................. Manually toggle the 3d detail to suit your machine
F................. Reset the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft in order that you
move to the nearest aircraft [Only works in Fixed mode - In
Free mode you are always viewing the nearest]
G................. If the gear is locked in the up position either repeatedly press
G to simulate manual pumping of the gear pumps or try this key
combination to simulate the use of Carbonic Acid. This bottle
of chemicals created a reaction when used to produce a sharp
burst of gas pressure which could lower your gear due to lockage
V................. Resets video to start and begins recording
F1................ Reset zoom
F2................ Reset the upwards rotate rate to initial positions
F3................ Reset the sideways rotate rate to initial positions
F8................ Locks the view across your aircraft to the selected item
F9................ Locks the view from in front of your aircraft to the selected
item
F10............... Increases the rate of flight acceleration
'ALT &' KEYS
X................. Exit Flight
R................. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys to
rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the speed
of that rotation
D................. Automatically selects the level of detail suitable for your
machine
F................. Moves to the next nearest fixed view object [Onlyworks in
Fixed mode]
F1................ Zoom out
F2................ Rotate down around your aircraft whilst on an external
viewpoint
F3................ Rotate left around your aircraft whilst on an external
viewpoint
F4................ External Chase position (this key combination duplicates F4]
F5................ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft with
absolute heading and pitch
F6................ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft with
pitches and turns with your aircraft
F7................ View looking down from your aircraft
F8................ View looking from your aircraft to the selected target
F10............... Slows the rate of flight acceleration
KEYS BY SUBJECT VIEWPOINTS
5................. A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
6................. A view of the left of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
7................. A view of the front of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
8................. A view of the right of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
9................. A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
0................. Brings you back to your cockpit from an outside viewpoint
BACKSPACE......... Inside Combat Lock
R................. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys
to rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the
speed of that rotation
CTRL R............ When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys
to rotate around the aircraft, this key will decrease the
speed of that rotation
ALT R............. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys
to rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the
speed of that rotation
[................. Look up towards the rear-view mirror
]................. Look down to see instrumentation
ENTER............. The Outside Combat Lock looks across your aircraft towards
the nearest unfriendly
VIEWPOINTS
Z................. Impact Viewpoint. Automicatically switches the views to any
target your weapons hit
X................. Missile Viewpoint. Automatically switches the views to any
weapons you fire
F1................ Zoom in
ALT F1............ Zoom out
CTRL F1........... Reset zoom
F2................ Rotate vertically around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
ALT F2............ Rotate down around your aircraft whilst on an external
viewpoint
CTRL F2........... Reset the upwards rotate to initial positions
F3................ Rotate horizontally around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
ALT F3............ Rotate left around your aircraft whilst on an external viewpoint
CTRL F3........... Reset the sideways rotate rate to initial positions
F4................ External Chase position
F5................ Establishes a view of your aircraft with the camera maintaining
absolute heading and pitch
ALT F5............ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft with
absolute heading and pitch
F6................ External Track viewpoint in which the camera pitches and turns
with the aircraft
ALT F6............ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft which
pitches and turns with your aircraft
F7................ External Satellite viewpoint
ALT F7............ View looking down from your aircraft
F8................ Gives the view across your aircraft to the selected target
ALT F8............ View looking from your aircraft to the selected target
F9................ View from your aircrafts cockpit of the selected target.
ESCAPE............ Return to the piloted aircraft
SHIFT 1........... A view of Flight 1 while keeping control of your aircraft
SHIFT 2........... As 1 but for Flight 2
SHIFT 3........... As 1 but for Flight 3
SHIFT 4........... As 1 but for Flight 4
SHIFT 5........... As 1 but for Flight 5
SHIFT 6........... As 1 but for Flight 6
SHIFT 7........... As 1 but for Flight 7
SHIFT 8........... As 1 bet for Flight 8
SHIFT 9........... A view of your wingman
SHIFT 0........... View of the lead flight
SHIFT F........... Toggle the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft. In Fixed Mode
if you have switched to the nearest unfriendly view the air-
craft shown will always be selected, even if another unfriendly
gets closer, until its destroyed. In Free Mode the nearest or
current viewed object will be reselected if another comes closer
ALT F............. Moves to the next nearest fixed view object [Only works in
Fixed mode]
CTRL F............ Reset the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft in order that you
move to the nearest aircraft [Only works in Fixed mode - in
Free mode you are always viewing the nearest]
SHIFT F1.......... Tangmere - View of your home Base
SHIFT F2.......... Missile - View of the missile you just launched
SHIFT F3.......... Nearest friendly - View of the nearest friendly aircraft
SHIFT F4.......... Nearest enemy - View of the nearest unfriendly aircraft
SHIFT F5.......... Current enemy - View of the object you have been assigned
to attack, according to the on-screen messages
SHIFT F6.......... Last message - View of the last friendly aircraft to send you a
message
SHIFT F7.......... Message about- View of the object that the last message refers
to
SHIFT F8.......... Ground target - View of the object that you should attack next
SHIFT F9.......... Nearest target - A list of possible ground targets
SHIFT ESCAPE...... Returns to your own aircraft from another viewpoint but retains
the viewpoint you had last. For example, if you were looking
behind an enemy aircraft this option would return you to behind
your own aircraft
VIEWPOINTS [NUMERIC KEY PAD] SHIFT
8, 4, 6 & 2....... Inside View directions, 8 = Front
CTRL F8........... Locks the view across your aircraft to the selected item
CTRL F9........... Locks the view from in front of your aircraft to the selected
item
ALT F4............ External Chase position (this key combination duplicates F4]
ACCELERATION CONTROLS
TAB............... Acceleration time toggle
SHIFTTAB.......... Super Acceleration time key [normal acceleration restricting
events such as approaching enemy aircraft will not affect this
option]
CTRL F10.......... Increases the rate of flight acceleration
ALT F10........... Slows the rate of the flight acceleration
GEAR
W................. Wheel brake
G................. Gear
CTRL G............ If the gear is locked in the up position either repeatedly
press G to simulate manual pumping of the gear pumps or try
this key combination to simulate the use of Carbonic Acid.
This bottie of chemicals created a reaction when used to
produce a sharp burst of gas pressure which could lower
your gear due to lockage
FLIGHT CONTROLS
UP ARROW (8)...... Elevator forward (Dive)
DWN ARROW (2)..... Elevator down (Climb)
LFT ARROW (4)..... Aileron (roll) left
RGT ARROW (6)..... Aileron (roll) right
END (1)........... Full rudder deflection, Left
PAGE DOWN (3)..... Full rudder deflection, Right
INSERT (0)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Left
DELETE (.)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Right
8, 4, 6, & 2...... Keyboard flight keys
1................. Increases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
2................. Decreases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
F................. Flaps
B................. Air Brake toggle
CTRL 1............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 1 leader and take control as
the pilot
CTRL 2............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 2 leader and take control
[Some missions will only have one flight]
CTRL 3............ Allows you to jump into the cockpit of Flight 3 leader and
take control [many missions only have one or two flights]
CTRL 4............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 4 leader and take control
[Few missions have less than four flights]
CTRL 5............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 5 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 6............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 6 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 7............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 7 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 8............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 8 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 9............ Jump into the cockpit of your flight Buddy and take control.
If you are in the flight leaders aircraft then you will be
taken to the wing-man. If you are in the wing-mans aircraft
you will be taken back to the flight leaders aircraft
CTRL 0............ Jump into the cockpit of the mission lead aircraft and take
control [as long as this is not a bomber]
CTRL Q............ Bail Out. You can only bail out of the aircraft if you turn
your aircraft upside down. No wing-walking here!
ENGINE CONTROLS
, ................ Minimum Power setting
. ................ Maximum Power setting
/ ................ Boost, Excessive use of the boost causes engine damage
E................. External fuel toggle switch (switches the fuel feed to the
external tank)
CTRL E............ Dump external fuel. The tanks automatically switch to the
internal fuel at this point
- ................ Reduce your RPM continuously, in small increments
+ ................ Increase your RPM continuously, in small increments
SHIFT- ........... Reduce your RPM by double the normal amount
SHIFT + .......... Increase your RPM by double the normal amount
[NUMERIC KEY PAD]
- ................ Decreases your RPM by single, large increments
+ ................ Increases your RPM by single, large increments
SHIFT- ........... Decreases your RPM by the normal amount
SHIFT+ ........... Increases your RPM by the normal amount
GENERAL CONTROLS
A................. Autopilot
T................. Autopilot that will fire the guns for you. It works only when
the autopilot is switched on
P................. Pause
S................. Sound toggle (There are three levels: off, no engine sounds &
engine sounds)
V................. Video toggle
CTRL V............ Resets video to start and begins recording
F10............... Configuration menus
CTRL D............ Manually toggle the 3D detail to suit your machine
ALT D............. Automatically selects the level of details suitable for your
machine
ALT X............. Exit flight
WEAPONS CONTROLS
J................. Increase the rate of fire to guns
K................. Decrease the rate of fire to guns
SPACE............. Fire
[NUMERIC KEY PAD]
HOME.............. Weapon Ripple select
PAGE UP........... Weapon select
WAYPOINTS & MAPS
; ................ Previous Waypoint
, ................ Next Waypoint
M................. Map screen
SHIFT; ........... Position information
--------------------------------------END--------------------------------------
OVERLORD - ENGLISH MANUAL
==========================
PART ONE
--====--
TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
PART ONE - HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
================================
PLANNING FOR COMBAT: THE BUILD - UP
-----------------------------------
DIGEST OF OPERATION OVERLORD
What follows is a unique document taken from the Offices of the War Cabinet,
S.W.I, 30th July, 1943. It postulates what form an invasion plan could or should
take and provides a valuable study for what was formally suggested and what
actually happened one year later (see the actual historical account elsewhere for
comparison).
1. The object of Operation "Overlord" is to mount and tarry out an operation,
with forces and equipment established in the United Kingdom, and with target date
the 1st May, 1944, to secure a lodgement on the Continent from which further
offensive operations can be developed. The lodgement area must contain
sufficient port facilities to maintain a force of some 26 to 30 divisions and
enable that force to be augmented by follow up shipments from the United States or
elsewhere of additional divisions and supporting units at the rate of three to
five divisions per month.
Selection of a Lodgement Area.
2. In order to provide sufficient port facilities to maintain these large forces,
it will be necessary to select a lodgement area which includes a group of major
ports. We must plan on the assumption that ports, on capture, will be seriously
damaged and probably blocked. It will take some time to restore normal
facilities. We shall thus be forced to rely on maintenance over beaches for an
extended period.
3. A study of the beaches on the Belgian and Channel coasts shows that the
beaches with the highest capacity for passing vehicles and stores inland are those
in the Pas de Calais and the Caen-Cotentin area. Of these the Caen beaches are
the most favourable as they are, unlike the others, sheltered from the prevailing
winds. Naval and air considerations point to the area between the Pas de Calais
and the Cotentin as the most suitable for the initial landing, air factors of
optimum air support and rapid provision of airfields indicating the Pas de Calais
as the best choice, with Caen as an acceptable alternative.
4. Thus taking beach capacity and air and naval considerations together, it
appears that either the Pas de Calais area or the Caen Cotentin area is the most
suitable for the initial main landing.
5. As the area for the initial landing, the Pas de Calais has many obvious
advantages such that good air support and quick turn around for our shipping can
be achieved. On the other hand, it is a focal point of the enemy fighters
disposed for defence, maximum enemy air activity can be brought to bear over this
area with the minimum movement of his air forces. Moreover, the Pas de Calais is
the most strongly defended area on the whole French coast. The defences would
require very heavy and sustained bombardment from sea and air: penetration would
be slow and the result of the bombardment of beach exits would severely limit the
rate of build up. Further, this area does not offer good opportunities for
expansion. It would be necessary to develop the bridgehead to include either the
Belgian ports as far as Antwerp or the Channel ports Westwards to include Havre
and Rouen. However, both an advance to Antwerp across the numerous water
obstacles and a long flank march of some 120 miles to the Seine ports must be
considered unsound operations of war unless the German forces are in a state not
far short of final collapse.
6. In the Caen Cotentin area it would be possible to make our initial landing
either partly on the Cotentin Peninsula and partly on the Caen beaches, wholly in
the Cotentin or wholly on the Caen beaches. An attack with part of our forces in
the Cotentin and part on the Caen beaches is however, considered to be unsound.
It would entail dividing our limited forces by the low lying marshy ground and
intricate river system at the neck of the Cotentin Peninsula, thus exposing them
to defeat in detail.
7. An attack against the Cotentin Peninsula, on the other hand, has a reasonable
chance of success and would ensure the early capture of the port of Cherbour.
Unfortunately, very few airfields exist in the Cotentin, that area is not suitable
for rapid airfield development. Furthermore, the narrow neck of the Peninsula
would give the Germans an easy task in preventing us from breaking out and
expanding our initial bridge head. Moreover, during the period of our
consolidation in the Cotentin the Germans would have time to reinforce their
coastal troops in the Caen area, rendering a subsequent amphibious assault in that
area much more difficult.
8. There remains the attack on the Caen beaches. The Caen sector is weakly held,
the defences are relatively light and the beaches are of high capacity and
sheltered from the prevailing winds. Inland, the terrain is suitable for airfield
development and for the consolidation of the initial bridgehead and much of it is
unfavourable for counter attacks by panzer divisions. Maximum enemy air
opposition can only be brought to bear at the expense of the enemy air defence
screen covering the approaches to Germany and the limited number of enemy
airfields within range of the Caen area facilitates local neutralisation of the
German fighter force. The sector suffers from the disadvantage that considerable
effort will be required to provide adequate air support to our assault forces and
some time must elapse before the capture of a major port.
After a landing in the Caen sector it would be necessary to seize either the Seine
group of ports or the Brittany group of ports. To seize the Seine ports would
entail forcing a crossing of the Seine, which is likely to require greater forces
than we can build up through the Caen beaches and the port of Cherbourg. It
should, however, be possible to seize the Brittany ports between Cherbourg and
Nantes and on them build up sufficient forces for our final advance Eastwards.
Provided that the necessary air situation can first be achieved, the chances of a
successful attack and of rapid subsequent development are so much greater in this
sector than in any other that it is considered that the advantages far outweigh
the disadvantages.
The Lodgement Area Selected.
9. In the light of these factors, it is considered that our initial landing on
the Continent should be effected in the Caen area, with a view to the eventual
seizure of a lodgement area comprising the Cherbourg Brittany group of ports (from
Cherbourg to Nantes).
Opening Phase up to the Capture of Cherbourg.
10. The opening phase in the seizing of this lodgement area would be the
effecting of a landing in the Caen sector with a view to the early capture and
development of airfield sites in the Caen area and of the port of Cherbourg.
11. The main limiting factors affecting such an operation are the possibility of
attaining the necessary air situation, the number of offensive divisions which the
enemy can make available for counter attack in the Caen area, the availability of
landing ships and craft and of transport aircraft and the capacity of the beaches
and ports in the sector.
12. Although the strength of the G.A.F. available in 1944 on the Western front
cannot be forecast at this stage, we can confidently expect that we shall have a
vast numerical superiority in bomber forces. The first-line strength of the
German fighter force is, however, showing a steady increase and although it is
unlikely to equal the size of the force at our disposal, there is no doubt that
our fighters will have a very large commitment entailing dispersal and operations
at maximum intensity. Our fighters will also be operating under serious tactical
disadvantage in the early stages, which will largely offset their numerical
superiority. Before the assault takes place, therefore, it will be necessary to
reduce the effectiveness of the G.A.F., particularly that part which can be
brought to bear against the Caen area.
13. The necessary air situation to ensure a reasonable chance of success will
therefore require that the maximum number of German fighter forces are contained
in the Low Countries and north west Germany, that the effectiveness of the fighter
defence in the Caen area is reduced and that air reinforcements are prevented from
arriving in the early stages from the Mediterranean. Above all, it will be
necessary to reduce the overall strength of the German fighter force between now
and the date of the operation by destruction of the sources of supply, by the
infliction of casualties by bringing on air battles, and, immediately prior to the
assault, by the disorganisation of G.A.F. installations and control system in the
Caen area.
14. As it is impossible to forecast with any accuracy the number and location of
German formations in reserve in 1944 while on the other hand, the forces available
to us have been laid down, an attempt has been made in this paper to determine the
wisest employment of our own forces and then to determine the maximum number of
German formations which they can reasonably overcome. Apart from the air
situation, which is an over riding factor, the practicability of this plan will
depend principally on the number, effectiveness and availability of German
divisions present in France and the Low Countries in relation to our own
capabilities. This consideration is discussed below (paragraph 35).
15. A maximum of 30 and a minimum of 26 equivalent divisions are likely to be
available in the United Kingdom for cross-Channel operations on the 1st May 1944.
Further build-up can be at the rate of three to five divisions per month.
16. Landing ships and craft have been provided to lift the equivalent of three
assault divisions and two follow up divisions, without 'overheads,' and it has
been assumed that the equivalent of an additional two divisions can be afloat in
ships.
17. Airborne forces amounting to two airborne divisions and some five or six
parachute regiments will be available but, largely owing to shortage of transport
aircraft, it is only possible to lift the equivalent of two thirds of one airborne
division simultaneously, on the basis of present forecasts.
18. Even if additional landing ships and craft could be made available, the
beaches in the Caen area would preclude the landing of forces greater than the
equivalent of the three assault and two follow up divisions, for which craft have
already been provided. Nevertheless, an all round increase of at least 10 per
cent in landing ships and craft is highly desirable in order to provide a greater
margin for contingencies within the framework of the existing plan. Furthermore,
sufficient lift for a further assault division could most usefully be employed in
an additional landing on other beaches.
19. There is no port of any capacity within the sector although there are a
number of small ports of limited value. Maintenance will, therefore of necessity
be largely over the beaches until it is possible to capture and open up the port
of Cherbourg. In view of the possibilities of interruption by bad weather it will
be essential to provide early some form of improvised sheltered waters.
2O. Assuming optimum weather conditions, it should be possible to build up the
force over the beaches to a total by D plus 6 of the equivalent of some 11
divisions and five tank brigades and thereafter to land one division a day until
about D plus 24.
Proposed Plan.
Preliminary Phase.
21. During the preliminary phase, which must start forthwith, all possible means
including air and sea action, propaganda, political and economic pressure and
sabotage, must be integrated into a combined offensive aimed at softening the
German resistance. In particular, air action should be directed towards the
reduction of the German air forces on the Western front, the progressive
destruction of the German economic system and the undermining of German morale.
22. In order to contain the maximum German forces away from the Caen area
diversionary operations should be staged against other areas such as the Pas de
Calais and the Mediterranean Coast of France.
Preparatory Phase.
23. During this phase air action will be intensified against the G.A.F.,
particularly in north west France, with a view to reducing the effectiveness of
the G.A.F. in chat area and will be extended to include attacks against
communications more directly associated with movement of German reserves which
might affect the Caen area. Three naval assault forces will be assembled with the
naval escorts and loaded at ports along the South Coast of England. Two naval
assault forces carrying the follow-up forces will also be assembled and loaded,
one in the Thames Estuary and one on the West Coast.
The Assault.
24. After a very short air bombardment of the beach defences three assault
divisions will be landed simultaneously on the Caen beaches, followed up on D-Day
by the equivalent of two tank brigades (United States regiments) and a brigade
group (United States regimental combat team). At the same time airborne forces
will be used to seize the town of Caen; and subsidiary operations by commandos
and, possibly, by airborne forces will be undertaken to neutralise certain coast
defences and seize certain important river crossings. The object of the assault
forces will be to seize the general line Grandcamp Bayeux Caen.
Follow-up and Build-up Phase.
25. Subsequent action will take the form of a strong thrust Southwards and south
westwards with a view to destroying enemy forces, acquiring sites for airfields
and gaining depth for a turning movement into the Cotentin Peninsula directed on
Cherbourg. When sufficient depth has been gained a force will advance into the
Cotentin and seize Cherbourg. At the same time a thrust will be made to deepen
the bridgehead south- eastwards in order to cover the construction and operation
of additional airfields in the area south east of Caen.
26. It is considered that, within 14 days of the initial assault, Cherbourg
should be captured and the bridgehead extended to include the general line
Trouville Alencon Mont St Michel. By this date, moreover, it should have been
possible to land some 18 divisions and to have in operation about 14 airfields
from which 28 to 33 fighter type squadrons should be operating.
Further Developments after Capture of Cherbourg.
27. After the capture of Cherbourg the Supreme Allied Commander will have to
decide whether to initiate operations to seize the Seine ports or whether he must
content himself with first occupying the Brittany ports. In this decision he will
have to be guided largely by the situation of the enemy forces. If the German
resistance is sufficently weak, an immediate advance could be made to seize Havre
and Rouen. On the other hand, the more probable situation is that the Germans
will have retired with the bulk of their forces to hold Paris and the line of the
Seine, where they can best be covered by their air forces from north- east France
and where they may possibly be reinforced by formations from Russia. Elsewhere
they may move a few divisions from Southern France to hold the crossings of the
Loire and will leave the existing defensive divisions in Brittany.
It will therefore most probably be necessary for us to seize the Brittany ports
first, in order to build up sufficient forces with which we can eventually force
the passage of the Seine.
28. Under these circumstances, the most suitable plan would appear to be to
secure, first, the left flank and to gain sufficient airfields for subsequent
operations. This would be done by extending the bridgehead to the line of the
River Eure from Dreux to Rouen and thence along the line of the Seine to the sea,
seizing at the same time Chartres, Orleans and Tours.
29. Under cover of these operations a force would be employed in capturing the
Brittany ports; the first step being a thrust Southwards to seize Nantes and St
Nazaire, followed by subsidiary operations to capture Brest and the various small
ports of the Brittany Peninsula.
30. This action would complete the occupation of our initial lodgement area and
would secure sufficient major ports for the maintenance of at least 30 divisions.
As soon as the organisation of the L.of C.in this lodgement area allowed and
sufficient air forces had been established, operations would then be begun to
force the line of the Seine and to capture Paris and the Seine ports. As
opportunity offered, subsidiary action would also be taken to clear the Germans
from the Biscay ports to facilitate the entry of additional American troops and
the feeding of the French population.
Command and Control.
31. In carrying out Operation 'Overlord' administrative control would be greatly
simplified if the principle were adopted that the United States forces were
normally on the right of the line and the British and Canadian forces on the left.
Major Conditions Affecting Success of the Operation.
32. It will be seen that the plan for the initial landing is based on two main
principles concentration of force and tactical surprise. Concentraion of the
assault forces is considered essential if we are to ensure adequate air support
and if our limited assault forces are to avoid defeat in detail. An attempt has
been made to obtain tactical surprise by landing in a lightly defended area,
presumably lightly defended as, due to its distance from a major port the Germans
consider a landing there unlikely to be successful. This action, of course,
presupposes that we can offset the absence of a port in the initial stages by the
provision of improvised sheltered waters. It is believed that this can be
accomplished.
33. The operation calls for a much higher standard of performance on the part of
the naval assault forces than any previous operation. This will depend upon their
being formed in sufficient time to permit of adequate training.
34. Above all, it is essential that there should be an over-all reduction in the
German fighter force between now and the time of the surface assault. From now
onwards every practical method of achieving this end must be employed. This
condition above all others, will dictate the date by which the amphibious assault
can be launched.
35. The next condition is that the number of German offensive divisions in
reserve must not exceed a certain figure on the target date if the operation is to
have a resonable chance of success. The German reserves in France and the Low
Countries as a whole, excluding divisions holding the coast, G.A.F. divisions and
training divisions, should not exceed on the day of the assault 12 full strength
first quality divisions. In addition the Germans should not be able to transfer
more than 15 first quality divisions from Russia during the first two months.
Moreover, on the target date the divisions in reserve should be so located that
the number of first quality divisions which the Germans could deploy in the Caen
area to support the divisions holding the coast should not exceed three divisions
on D- Day, five divisions on D plus 2, or nine divisions by D plus 8.
During the preliminary period, therefore, every effort must be made to dissipate
and divert German formations, lower their fighting efficiency and disrupt
communications.
36. Finally there is the question of maintenance. Maintenance will have to be
carried out over beaches for a period of some three months for a number of
formations, varying from a maximum of 18 divisions in the first month to twelve
divisions in the second month, rapidly diminishing to nil in the third month.
Unless adequate measures are taken to provide sheltered waters by artificial
means, the operation will be at the mercy of the weather. Moreover, special
facilities and equipment will be required to prevent undue damage to craft during
this extended period. Immediate action for the provision of the necessary
requirements is essential.
37. Given these conditions a reduced G.A.F, a limitation in the number or
effectiveness of German offensive formations in France, and adequate arrangements
to provide improvised sheltered waters it is considered that Operation 'Overlord'
has a reasonable prospect of success. To ensure these conditions being attained
by the 1st May 1944, action must start now and every possible effort made by all
means in our power to soften the German resistance and to speed up our own
preparations.
THE FUEHRERS DIRECTIVE ON DEFENCE OF WESTERN EUROPE
Dated as 3 November 1943, just a few months until the launch of Overlord, the
following fascinating document shows how aware Hitler was of an attack and what
measures he was taking to prevent it.
Fuehrer Headquarters - 3 November 1943
Top Secret
The Fuehrer
OKW/WFSt/Op.No. 662656/43 g.K. Chefs - 27 Copies
Directive No. 51
For the last two and one half years the bitter and costly struggle against
Bolshevism has made the utmost demands upon the bulk of our military resources and
energies. This commitment was in keeping with the seriousness of the danger and
the over all situation The situation has since changed. The threat remains but an
even greater danger looms in the West: the Anglo American landing! In the East
the vastness of the space will, as a last resort, permit a loss of territory even
on a major scale, without suffering a mortal blow to Germany's chance for
survival. Not so in the West! If the enemy here succeeds in penetrating our
defences on a wide front, consequences of staggering proportions will follow,
within a short time. All signs point to an offensive against the Western Front of
Europe no later than spring, perhaps earlier.
For that reason, I can no longer justify the further weakening of the West in
favour of other theatres of war I have, therefore, decided to strengthen the
defences in the West, particularly at places from which we shall launch our
long-range war against England. For those are the very points at which the enemy
must and will attack; there unless all indications are misleading will be fought
the decisive invasion battle.
Holding attacks and diversions on other fronts are to be expected. Not even the
possibility of a large-scale offensive against Denmark may be excluded. It would
pose greater nautical problems and could be less effectively supported from the
air but would, nevertheless, produce the greatest political and strategic impact
if it were to succeed.
During the opening phase of the battle, the entire striking power of the enemy
will, of necessity, be directed against our forces manning the coast. Only an
all-out effort in the construction of fortifications, an unsurpassed effort that
will enlist all available manpower and physical resources of Germany and the
occupied areas, will be able to strengthen our defences along the coasts within
the short time that still appears to be left to us.
Stationary weapons (heavy AT guns, immobile tanks to be dug in, coast artillery,
shore defence guns, mines, etc ) arriving in Denmark and the occupied West within
the near future will be heavily concentrated in points of main defensive effort at
the most vulnerable coastal sectors. At the same time, we must take the
calculated risk that for the present we may be unable to improve our defences in
less threatened sectors.
Should the enemy nevertheless force a landing by concentrating his armed might, he
must be hit by the full fury of our counterattack. For this mission ample and
speedy reinforcements of men and material, as well as intensive training must
transform available larger units into first rate, fully mobile general reserves
suitable for offensive operations. The counterattack of these units will prevent
the enlargement of the beachhead and throw the enemy back into the sea.
In addition, well-planned emergency measures, prepared down to the last detail,
must enable us instantly to throw against the invader every fit man and machine
from coastal sectors not under attack and from the home front.
The anticipated strong attacks by air and sea must be relentlessly countered by
Air Force and Navy with all their available resources. I therefore order the
following:
A) Army:
1.) The Chief of the Army General Staff and the Inspector General Staff and the
Inspector General of Panzer Troops will submit to me as soon as possible a
schedule covering arms, tanks, assault guns, motor vehicles and ammunition to be
allocated to the Western Front and Denmark within the next three months. That
schedule will conform to the new situation. The following considerations will be
basic:
a) Sufficient mobility for all panzer and panzer grenadier divisions in the West,
and equipment of each of those units by December 1943 with 93 Mark IV tanks or
assault guns, as well as large numbers of antitank weapons.
Accelerated reorganisation of the 20 Luftwaffe Field Divisions into an effective
mobile reserve force by the end of 1943. This reorganisation is to include the
issue of assault guns.
Accelerated issue of all authorised weapons to the SS Panzer Grenadier Division
Hitler Jugend [In this month (November 1943) this division was converted to a
Panzer division [12th SS)], the 21st Panzer Division, and the infantry and reserve
divisions stationed in Jutland.
b) Additional shipments of Mark IV tanks, assault guns and heavy AT guns to the
reserve panzer divisions stationed in the West and in Denmark, as well as to the
Assault Gun Training Battalion in Denmark.
c) In November and December, monthly allotments of 100 heavy AT guns models 40 and
43 (half of these to be mobile) in addition to those required for newly activated
units in the West and in Denmark.
d) Allotment of large numbers of weapons (including about 1,000 machine guns) for
augmenting the armament of those static divisions that are committed for coastal
defence in the West and in Denmark, and for standardising the equipment of
elements that are to be withdrawn from sectors not under attack.
e) Ample supply of close combat AT weapons to units in vulnerable sectors.
f) Improvement of artillery and AT defences in units stationed in Denmark as well
as those committed for coastal protection in the occupied West. Strengthening of
GHQ artillery.
2.) The units and elements stationed in the West or in Denmark, as well as panzer,
assault gun and AT units to be activated in the West, must not be transferred to
other fronts without my permission. The Chief of the Army General Staff, or the
Inspector General of Panzer Troops will submit to me a report through the Armed
Forces Operations staff as soon as the issue of equipment to the panzer and
assault gun battalions, as well as to the AT battalions and companies, has been
completed.
3.) Beyond similar measures taken in the past, the Commander in Chief West will
establish timetables, conduct manoeuvres and command post exercises for the
procedure of bringing up units from sectors not under attack. These units will be
made capable of performing offensive missions, however limited. In that
connection I demand that sectors not threatened by the enemy be ruthlessly
stripped of all forces except small guard detachments. For sectors from which
reserves are withdrawn, security and guard detachments must be set aside from
security and alarm units. Labour forces draawn largely from the native population
must likewise be organised in those sectors, in order to keep open whatever roads
might be destroyed by the enemy air force.
4.) The Commander of German Troops in Denmark will take measures in the area under
his control in compliance with paragraph 3 above.
5.) Pursuant to separate orders, the Chief of Army Equipment and Commander of the
Replacement Army will form Kampfgruppen in regimental strength, security
battalions and engineer construction battalions from training cadres, trainees,
schools and instruction and convalescent units in the Zone of the Interior. These
troops must be ready for shipment on 48 hours' notice.
Furthermore other available personnel are to be organised into battalions of
replacements and equipped with the available weapons so that the anticipated heavy
losses can quickly be replaced.
B) Luftwaffe:
The offensive and defensive effectiveness of Luftwaffe units in the West and in
Denmark will be increased to meet the changed situation. To that end,
preparations will be made for the release of units suited for commitment in the
anti invasion effort, that is, all, flying units and mobile Flak artillery that
can be spared from the air defences of the home front and from schools and
training units in the Zone of the Interior. All those units are to be earmarked
for the West and possibly Denmark.
The Luftwaffe ground or organisation in southern Norway, Denmark, north western
Germany and the West will be expanded and supplied in a way that will - by the
most far reaching decentralisation of own forces deny targets to the enemy bombers
and split the enemy's offensive effort in case of large-stale operations.
Particularly important in that connection will be our fighter forces.
Possibilities for their commitment must be increased by the establishment of
numerous advance landing fields. Special emphasis is to be placed on good
camouflage. I expect also that the Luftwaffe will unstintingly furnish all
available forces, by stripping them from less threatened areas.
C) Navy:
The Navy will prepare the strongest possible forces suitable for attacking the
enemy landing Fleets. Coastal defence installations in the process of
construction will be completed with the utmost speed. The emplacing of additional
coastal batteries and the possibility of laying further flanking mine fields
should be investigated.
All school, training and other shore-based personnel fit for ground combat must be
prepared for commitment so that, without undue delay, they can at least be
employed as security forces within the zone of the enemy landing operations.
While preparing the reinforcement of the defences in the West, the Navy must keep
in mind that it might be called upon to repulse simultaneous enemy landings in
Norway and Denmark. In that connection, I attach particular importance to the
assembly of numerous U-boats in the northern area. A temporary weakening of U
boat forces in the Atlantic must be risked.
D) SS:
The Reithsfuehrer SS will determine what Waffen SS and police forces he can
release for combat, security and guard duty. He is to prepare to organise
effective combat and security forces from training, replacement, and convalescent
units, as well as schools and other home front establishments.
E) The commanders in chief of the services, the Reichsfuehrer-SS, the Chief of the
Army General Staff, the Commander in Chief West, the Chief of Army Equipment and
Commander of the Replacement Army, the Inspector General of Panzer Troops as well
as the Commander of German Troops in Denmark will report to me by 15 November all
measures taken or planned.
I expect that all agencies will make a supreme effort toward utilising every
movement of the remaining time in preparing for the decisive battle in the West.
All authorities will guard against wasting time and energy in useless
jurisdictional squabbles, and will direct all their efforts toward strengthening
our defensive and offensive power.
signed: Adolf Hitler
DIVISIONS AVAILABLE TO GERMANY ON 6 JUNE 1944
(BASED ON GERMAN SITUATION MAPS)
Theater Inf type Pz type Misc
Denmark 2 1+2 Brig 3
Norway 11
Finland 10
Eastern Front 122 25+1 Brig 17+1 Brig
OB SUEDOST (Balkans) 20 2 3
OB SUEDWEST (Italy) 17+1 Brig 7 1
OB WEST (France and 41+1 Brig 11 9
low Countries)
Zone of Interior 3+1 Brig 1+2 Brig 4+2 Brig
Total German Divislons 226+2 Brig, 47+5 Brig 37+3 Brig
1 Rgt
AXIS SATELLITES
DIVISIONS AVAILABLE TO GERMANY ON 6 JUNE 1944
(BASED ON GERMAN SITUATION MAPS)
Theater Inf type Pz type Misc
Finnish, Eastern Front
and Finland 14+8 Brig 1 1 Brig
Romanian, Eastern Front
and Romania 17+5 Brig 1 2
Hungarian, Eastern Front
and Hungary 9+2 Brig 2 5
Bulgarian, Occupation
Duty in Balkans and
Bulgaria 11
Italian In Zone of Interior 4
Total Axis
Satellite Divisions 55+16 Brig 4 7+1 Brig
OVERLORD: THE CAMPAIGN
THE PRELUDE
The Allies, at the beginning of 1944, had a measure of numeric and technical
superiority over the German forces. However, the upcoming 'invasion' of France
required some sort of surprise as the whole operation could still end in
catastrophe. Elaborate security precautions were thus taken and a comprehensive
deception plan was worked out.
That an invasion was to be undertaken was pretty obvious to all concerned. The
object of the security measures and the deception plan was to attempt to conceal
the time and place of the operation from the Germans.
The plan was in two stages first to lead the Germans to think that the landing was
planned for the obvious area, the Pas de Calais: the second even after the landing
in Normandy had taken place, to cause them to believe that this was a diversionary
operation to be followed by the 'real' landing in the Pas de Calais. So important
was this considered that, during the whole period of the air preparation, for
every target attacked in the assault area two other targets outside that area were
dealt with.
Tne success of these measures may be judged by the fact that on June 6 the bulk of
the German forces in France were north of the Seine. As far back as 1943 General
Morgan had drawn attention to two problems upon the solution of which the
operation might well depend: reduction of the German fighter strength and
reduction of the German reinforcement rate. By early 1944, there were some 13,000
aircraft in the UK, of which nearly 11,000 were available for the support of
Overlord. This figure included, however, nearly 3,500 heavy bombers in British
Bomber Command and the United States 8th Air Force: they were working on a long
term plan for the destruction of German industry - particularly the oil industry
and were not under the command of the Supreme Allied Commander.
It would be natural to suppose that the entire weight of the 7,500 aircraft
constituting the Allied Expeditionary Air Forces would have been available for
these preparatory air operations. Unfortunately this was not the case, for during
the winter of 1943/44 German preparations for the flying bomb campaign against
London became increasingly obvious and considerable effort had to be diverted to
action against the launching sites. Nevertheless the air effort available for
these preliminary operations was colossal by any standards.
The success of the anti Luftwaffe operation was almost complete: during the last
two months the Luftwaffe lost a total of 1,858 aircraft and when D-Day came, air
opposition was practically nil. By its nature, the Transportation Plan was
unlikely to achieve so complete a success nevertheless aided by the operations of
the Resistance, it was undoubtedly a major factor in reducing the rate of arrival
of German reinforcements round the bridgehead to an acceptable level.
As might be expected the organisation of the actual assault was perhaps the most
complicated problem the planners had to face.
To carry the overall total of 40-50,000 men with their vehicles and equipment, an
armarda of over 4000 landing ships, landing craft and barges of varying types was
required; less than half of these were capable of crossing the Channel under their
own power, the remainder having either to be towed or carried aboard the larger
ships.
Only when all this had been done, did the Royal Navy assemble for the escort and
support of the operation a fleet of over 1,500 vessels, ranging from battleships
to armed landing craft.
Although from the point of view of the assaulting troops there was much to be said
for an assault in darkness, both the navies and the air force had to have daylight
to carry out their bombardment tasks and darkness would dangerously increase the
likelihood of troops being landed in the wrong place. To assist navigation and
for the airborne landings moonlight was essential. Finally, the German underwater
beach obstacles meant that landing must be three to four hours before high tide.
The only suitable periods for the operation therefore were those when there was
four to five hours daylight between dawn and high tide and, at the same time, good
moonlight was available.
The question of rapid unloading initially appeared the most difficult of all: it
could clearly not be done across the beaches as a long term measure and the
likelihood of capturing port facilities intact appeared small, at any rate in the
early stages. The problem was solved by perhaps the most famous devices of the
entire operation - the artificial harbours known as Mulberries. They owed their
existence primarily to the fresight of Churchill himself, who had directed their
development as early as 1942 with his oft quoted minute, "They must float up and
down with the tide.... Don't argue the matter, The difficulties will argue for
themselves". They consisted of an outer breakwater formed partly of sunken
blockships and partly of concrete 'caissons', 220ft long, which had to be towed
across the Channel: in the area of sheltered water so created were floating piers
adapted to take coasters, landing ships or barges: unloading was further assisted
by a fleet of amphibious lorries known as DUKWs.
The supply of motor and aircraft fuel presented a particular problem. Initially
tankers were moored offshore and the fuel fed by buoyed pipeline into depots on
land. preparations were made however for an underwater pipeline direct from
England to the French coast - PLUTO or Pipe Line Under-the Ocean, and eventually,
though not in the early stages fuel supply was in effect drawn direct from
England. It must not be forgotten that the invasion was not just a
British/American/Canadian operation. All of the Allies had a hand in it including
the Dutch, Norwegians, Australians, Czechs, Poles, New Zealanders and of course
the French themselves who supplied boats and a co ordinated resistance campaign
assisted by the SOE (Special Operations Executive).
The actual invasion was meticulously planned with accurate models of sections of
the landing beaches which gave men a visual knowledge of their own roles.
Practice landings, fine tuning, methodical briefings and specially designed and
prepared weapons all played their part in the detailed build up to the final push.
NEPTUNE
Although the D-Day invasion itself was known as Operation Overlord, it is not so
well known that the Channel crossing had its own label, Operation Neptune.
The sustained attacks from the air on the elaborate Early Warning System of the
enemy had succeeded almost too well. In the entire Neptune area from Cap
d'Antifer to Barfleur, 74 radar stations were out of action, and the 18 still
capable of working were silent. But it was not enough to simply blind the enemy,
it was important also to mislead. For this purpose 10 stations were deliberately
left in working order north of the Seine and onto these screens the Royal Navy
contrived to produce misleading web of shapes and echoes.
There was no inclination on the part of the Allies to under-estimate the powers of
the German army in the west. Thus, all through June 5 and the night, 105 aircraft
of the RAF and 34 little ships of the Royal Navy contrived, by means of weaving
patterns over the sky and sea and flying barrage balloons, to produce the 'echoes'
in the enemy radars of a substantial fleet approaching the Pas de Calais. At the
same time jamming operations and diversions were carried on against Cap d Antifer
and Barfleur. The silent approach of the great armada to spread out in a fan from
eight to 12 miles offshore enclosing the Bay of Seine is the measure of success.
Five beaches were designated as landing areas codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno
and Sword.
The invasion began with the dropping of paratroops. A haphazard affair which lead
to the mass scattering of for example, the 82nd Division. In fact, on the day the
82nd were 4000 men short and still only at one third strength three days later.
Actually, this incoherent scattering amongst the enemy created so much confusion
behind enemy lines as to prevent co-ordinated reinforcement at the landing
beaches. In fact, by the time the US 4th Infantry Division came in to land the
battle of Utah Beach was virtually won. The assault at Utah resulted in just 12
dead.
The struggle for Omaha was very different. Heavy enemy cross fire created havoc,
while waves six foot high caused many landing craft to flounder. The DUKW's were
overloaded and, in many cases, capsized losing much of the artillery. The landing
craft carrying support tanks came upon similar problems. There is a devastating
simplicity about disaster. There were no dry landings. The assault craft and the
larger LCVPs and LCMs grounded on the sandbanks, slewed in the sand runnels and
cast scores of men knee, waist and neck deep into seas lashed not only by the wind
but by mortar bombs, shells and machine gun bullets. Many believe that General
Bradleys refusal to utilise British built specialised armour and weapons, made
especially for the landing formed a major contribution to the resultant chaos.
Why the refusal? Possibly, Bradley was unimpressed with British confidence and in
some cases perceived (rightly or wrongly) arrogance. Whatever the reason the
steady progress at the other beaches stood in stark contrast to Omaha.
Despite those other beaches having experienced similar physical conditions to
Omaha Beach.
By midnight the deepest penetration was hardly a mile. In the central sector,
specialised armour brought the British and Canadians swiftly over Gold and Juno
Beaches and, by the afternoon, they were probing inland towards Bayeux and Caen.
The Sword assault was equally rapid; by 14:00 hours leading troops had reached
Bieville and the Commandos were linking up with the paratroops. This proved a
vital factor, for it was through the gap between Juno and Sword that the Germans
made their one major counterattack - a battlegroup of XXI Panzer Division swept
towards the coast, but turned back when British reinforcements were flown into the
airborne troops behind it. From the beginning, the main weight of German
resistance was on the Allied left flank and it was there that the German armour
was pinned down, fortunately far from the precarious toe hold at Omaha, which
could have turned from a local disaster to a major crisis.
The Normandy beaches had been won: the first German counterattacks had been beaten
off - and rapidly growing but still confined Allied armies had still to break out
through the German ring into the interior of France. However, the Beach head was
now in place, the Allies were here to stay.
OVERLORD - THE COMMANDERS OF THE AIR
The air attacks precluding and during the day of 6th June 1944 were largely
governed by nine air commanders: six on the Allied side and three on the German.
ALLIED COMMANDERS - AMERICAN
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL LEWIS H. BRERETON
Brereton commanded the Ninth Air Force, the American element of the Expeditionary
Force. An aviator since 1913 and subordinate to 'Billy' Mitchell, the far sighted
commander devoted to air power. Lewis Breretons first taste of significant
command during WW2 was controlling US Far East Air Force under General MacArthur.
A situation he found overwhelming.
"There was a comprehensive project on paper for the construction of additional
airfields, but unfortunately little money had been provided prior to my
arrival...."
The US surrendered Manila in 1942 and Brereton was transferred to the Tenth Air
Force in India. He then moved to commanding the US Army Middle East Air Force
where he co-ordinated strikes against enemy supply lines focusing on Benghazi,
Tobruk and convoys around Greece and Crete in an effort to bolster the RAF's North
African campaign.
Brerecon's willingness to co-operate and learn from the British forces helped,
with the newly named Ninth Air Force, to end the North African campaign, the
invasion of Sicily and the entry in Italy. His integration of the best in USAF
and RAF techniques enabled him to produce a highly mobile force. Brereton
streamlined his organisation making it highly effective.
He also initiated attacks on enemy supply lines. One conspicuous assault being
the Ploesti oil refinery raids in Rumania which was largely successful despite
navigation errors which resulted in the loss of the leading aircraft.
When Brereton arrived in the UK late in 1943 his wide experience enabled him to
mould the Ninth Air Force into a useful tactical command that would be supportive
to Overlord operations. His previous willingness to blend British and US air
plans, ideas and techniques were to prove highly useful for the Overlord campaign
and proved a testament to a highly adaptable and committed commander.
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL JAMES H. DOOLITTLE
Doolittle commanded the US Eighth Air Force. An aviator since 1917 in the Army
Air Service, Schneider Trophy winner in 1925 and Thompson Trophy winner in 1932,
Doolittle worked as an experimental engineer in the Air Corps Material Division
and took a leading part in blind flying making the first successful flight on
instruments. His work was recognised by his award of the Harmon Trophy in 1930.
Doolittle was an out spoken advocate of air power and the formation of a separate
air arm during the 1930s and during 1942, he undertook the highly daring mission
to attack Tokyo from an aircraft carrier. The aim - to gain revenge on Pearl
Harbour and provide a psychological boost for the USA.
His fiight of 16 B-25 Mitchells (equipped with dummy guns to save weight and
dissuade air attack) flew from the USS Hornet on 18 April, 1942. The mission was
a success and Doolittle was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour.
After appointments in North Africa in 1942 commanding the Twelfth Air Force and
the North west African Strategic Air Force Doolittle was transferred to the Eighth
Air Force where he provided for the integration of his heavy bombers into the
overall pattern of air operations for Overlord.
GENERAL CARL SPAATZ
He was the Commander of the US Strategic Air Forces in Europe from January 1st
1944. After seeing the Luftwaffe's might first hand during his stint in the UK as
an official observer during the days of the Battle of Britain, Spaatz was familiar
with the UK war situation when he returned to the UK in 1943 as Commanding General
of the Eighth Air Force. Spaatz's B-17s landed at Prestwick on July 1, 1942.
Targets just outside Rouen were the first aim, six weeks later Spaatz learned all
about attacking well defended coastlines two days later when his unlikely termed
'reconnaissance in force' flight of B-17s and Spitfires paralysed the fighter
station at Abbeyville-Drucat for two important hours. Lessons were learned that
would hold Spaatz in good stead for Operation Overlord.
Before planning for Overlord became more intense, Spaatz aided General
Montgomery's El Alamein offensive by providing his services as overall air
commander a post that was desperately required at the time.
Spaatz co ordinated operations of the Eastern Air Command and the Twelfth Air
Force, later the Mediterranean Air Command, in February 1943. He followed the
campaign through to the invasion of Italy.
The planning stages of Overlord were to bring Spaatz into conflict with the
British Commanders, Leigh Mallory and Tedder. This lead to a quick cessation of
all co-operation between Spaatz and Leigh Mallory. The problem was that Spaatz
wanted to help the Overlord campaign's strategic objectives with a combined bomber
offensive as outlined in the Pointblank directive. He would, thus require
complete freedom of action and control. Leigh-Mallory was against this concept.
Although Spaatz and Harris were generally in agreement, their opinions diverged
when it came down to the question of area bombing. Harris wanted it where as
Spaatz wanted to adapt the Pointblank directive to the needs of Overlord. This
directive was known as the Oil Plan and was centred around attacks on oil
installations. The whole idea of the oil plan was an intriguing one with many
possibilities to tie up the German offensive. However Leigh Mallory prevailed
with his Transportation Plan as economic experts said that Spaatz's plan would not
achieve its effects in time for the operation of Overlord. Although personality
problems persisted, which included complaints to Eisenhower himself, Spaatz's oil
offensive had begun by the back door before D-Day, with the Ploesti attack.
Results on oil installations did finally, change operational thinking and
directives gave priority to oil targets with transportation second.
Spaatz was to end the war in command of the aircraft which dropped the two atomic
bombs on Japan.
END OF PART ONE
--===========--
OVERLORD - ENGLISH MANUAL
==========================
PART TWO
--====--
TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
ALLIED COMMANDERS - BRITISH
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR ARTHUR TEDDER
Tedder was Deputy Supreme Commander for Overlord. 1941 saw Tedder as Air Officer
Commanding in-Chief, RAF Middle East. This role proved demanding in many ways,
not the least because of Tedder's need to bridge the inter service rivalries
between the RAF and the Army. A role in which he was highly successful.
In fact Tedder was no stranger to Eisenhower as he worked closely with him as the
Commander-in-Chief of the new Mediterranean Air Command. Eisenhower, at the time,
was Supreme Commander for Torch - the allied invasion of North Africa. Tedder's
aim during the operation was to meld the air/land and sea operations. However
before the campaign towards the Italian mainland Tedder recognised the importance
of Axis airpower to the German strategic plans. Hence Tedders concentration on
anti air missions along with communication operations. The ultimate invasion
against Sicily, which used airborne troops for the first time, was completed with
all enemy airfields out of action.
Churchill nominated Tedder for the Deputy post to Eisenhower because of his
recognition in the importance of the air operations in the upcoming Overlord
campaign.
Tedders appointment for the Overlord campaign was a popular one as many of the
commanders subordinate to him were familiar faces. However, Tedder was
immediately faced with a problem that concerned the command and role of the
strategic bombers. The clashes in personality with Spaatz and Harris only backed
up his initial worries about the need for co-operation.
"As I see it, One of the main lessons of the Mediterranean campaign was not merely
the advisability of, but the necessity for, unified command of the Air Force. I
know this is Eisenhower's view. I think everybody in authority, both British and
American, realises that it is going to be hard work to maintain harmonious
co-operation during this next job. A split on the question of the control of air
forces might well.... precipitate a quite irremediable cleavage".
A compromise was sorted in the end. The upshot being that rivalries were ignored
in favour of the factual evidence and a close examination of the resources
available. Only one concentrated target attack would be successful, considering
the time limits of Overlord. Hence Leigh Mallory's Transportation Plan, the
scheme to hit enemy communications was taken on board. Both Harris and Spaatz's
plans were examined and rejected. Later Tedder was able to persuade Spaatz to hit
certain oil targets in an effort to draw the Luftwaffe. This was a good example
of how Tedder was able to modify plans to maintain motivation.
Tedder's role in Overlord was an essential one. Eisenhower described him as "one
of the few great military leaders of our time". Certainly Tedders ability to work
with his own subordinates, especially personalities like Spaatz and Harris,
complete with tact and diplomacy to suite the circumstances helped to get the
allied air forces into an effective fighting force.
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR TRAFFORD LEIGH-MALLORY
As Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Air Force, Leigh-Mallory commanded
No.12 Group during the Battle of Britain which defended the Midlands and east
coast shipping. An advocate of the 'big wing' theory of fighter tactics (ie: mass
formatiorns of fighters attacking enemy Bombers before or after they have made
their raid) Leigh Mallory replaced Sir Keith Park as 11 Groups Commander switching
the fighter operations to the offensive.
Leigh Mallory replaced Sir W. Sholto Douglas as Air Officer Commandng in Chief,
Fighter Command after the Dieppe landing in 1942 where valuable lessons were
learnt over the mainly fighter based support for the ground forces.
The selection of a fighter commander to Commander in Chief, Allied Expeditionary
Air Force was approved by all concerned because of the realisation that air
superiority would be required over the beachheads.
Leigh Mallory was rejected by Churchill and Eisenhower as the overall Air
Commander due to his rather aggressive and forceful attitude. Especially as this
attitude conflicted with similar personalities within the Allied command
structure. Leigh-Mallory's lack in heavy-bomber experience was another important
factor. That is not to demean Leigh Mallorys part in Overlord whose
Transportation Plan formed the basis for air operations in the invasion. His
skill in planning and administering the Allied air support was very important in
the success of Overlord.
AIR MARSHAL SIR ARTHUR CONINGHAM
Commander, British Second Tactical Air Force, Coningham had served under Tedder
early in the war when, in 1941, Coningham served as the Commander of the Western
Desert Air Force. Coningham was a Commander very much in the Tedder mould in
that, although he believed that air operations should be independent in their
operations, he also believed in inter service co operation with active links being
maintained with Generals, Coningham, Ritchie and Montgomery during the desert
operations in Africa. His far sighted approach served him well during the advance
through Tunisia and the invasion of Sicily as Commander of the Allied north west
African Tactical Air Force.
For Operation Overlord Coningham was responsible for much of the operational
planning and control of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force up to and including the
opening phase of Overlord. His attacks on the bridges over the Seine (his own
idea) contributed to the success of the operation.
Coningham's tactical skill was a result of his innovation and bravery which was
well used by Tedder. He allowed Coningham the freedom to exploit his own positive
attributes.
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR ARTHUR T. HARRIS
Harris was the AOC in C, Bomber Command. Born in Souch Africa, Arthur Harris flew
as a pilot in World War I. His career rose steadily during the 1930s until his
most well known posting as Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Bomber Command in
early 1942. Harris, always an aggressive personality was ideally suited to the
needs of Bomber Command which, at one time was lacking in morale and modern
aircraft. He also changed the bombing directive from precision bombing to area
bombing, initiating the highly successful 1000 bomber raid on Cologne. Harris,
however, was rather suspicious of new ideas. For example, he was set against the
bouncing bomb used in the Dambuster raid, he feared the initiation of the
Pathfinder force would create a divisive elite and he was against incendiary bombs
for more standard weapons.
He supported Spaatz in his beliefs of a strategic offensive although he disagreed
in picking out specific targets (Spaatz wanted to target oil installations). The
'area' catch all rule was the one he liked to follow. His disregard for those
directives with which he disagreed lead to personality problems. For example, he
virtually ignored Leigh Mallory who advocated the Transportation Plan. His
loyalty was beyond reproach, however. His handing over of Bomber Command to the
tactful Tedder to initiate a plan which Tedder believed in but Harris did not, for
example is a sample of that loyalty. Attacking the marshalling yards in the run
up to D-Day was another task he felt Bomber Command should not have been involved
with as he felt this effort diverted his more productive attentions from night
area-attacks. The ultimate success in the final marshal yards raids substantiated
Bomber Command's role in the D-Day build up. Harris urged his crews to perform
these missions to the best of their ability.
His problems with Allied directive, especially the later decision to target oil
installations, grew to new heights as he virtually ignored the order. This caused
severe tension between Harris and Air Chief of Staff Portal. Harris, at one point
(early 1945), even offered to resign his commission. A suggestion that was
impossible to accept given the precarious state of the war at the time.
Harris's commitment to winning the war was total. He had his own ideas of doing
it, though. This stubbornness lead to the strengthening of Bomber Command into a
superb fighting force and Harris was looked upon as an inspiration by the men who
served under him. He was ruthless in his approach, witness the bombing of
Dresden. However, he believed that these actions prevented a large number of
British lives being lost.
GERMAN AIR COMMANDERS
GENERALMAJOR DIETRICH PELTZ
Peltz was a major-general by the age of 29. He had commanded Luftwaffe
dive-bombing and bomber units during the 1940-41 assault on England and, later,
low level fighter bomber attacks on English towns.
Commander Fliegerkorps IX which controlled all the Luftwaffe long range units was
based in northern France and supplied by units in Italy which were being withdrawn
from that country. Peltz launched the last major bombing offensive on England in
early 1944 after the descruction of Hamburg. The attacks had no meaningful effect
on British morale.
Peltz was responsible for the creation of German Pathfinder units similar to chose
created by RAFs Bomber Command.
Peltz's last major action took place in 1945 during the Ardennes offensive when he
threw 800 fighters and fighter bombers at the Allies. Lack of training amongst
his pilots severely hampered any chance of success for his units.
GENERALFELDMARSCHALL HUGO SPERRLE
Sperrle was in direct confrontation with the Allies during the D-Day landings as
Commander in chief of Luftflotte 3 in France and Beigium.
Previously he had been joint leader with Kesselring of the Luftwaffe forces during
the Battle of Britain. Before that he was associated with the Nazi deployment of
air power in the Spanish Civil War as first commander of the Condor Legion in
1936.
GENERALLEUTNANT ADOLF GALLAND
A brilliant fighter pilot and a supreme tactician, Adolf Galland was General
Jagdflieger until January 1945 when he was removed by Goring for political reasons
and as a result of constant wranglings between the two men and Galland's insistent
stance on protecting and standing up for his men. Galland achieved one of the
highest ranks and most coverted decoration, the Oak Leaves with Swords and
Diamonds to the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross.
LIFE? DONT TALK TO ME ABOUT LIFE....
"The weather was not good for invasion last week along the coast of Normandy". So
began LIFE's 13-page coverage of D-Day June 6, 1944 - a decisive turning point in
the war against Hitler's Germany. It took the largest armada in history, some
5,000 ships and 150,000 men, to launch "a 53 year old Kansan with a crooked grin"
onto our cover. On D-Day plus one the Supreme Commander of the Allied
Expeditionary Force, Dwight David Eisenhower, first visited the French beaches.
Five days later he crossed the English Channel again bringing with him what LIFE
called "an astonishing concentration of four star commanders. Then in mid June,
he was joined in a tour of the front by his newly commissioned son John, 21. Ike
would go on to become the first head of the North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO) and a two term president of the US. He would also, through out the next
quarter century, make our cover 19 more times, a record for the weekly magazine.
LIFE MAGAZINE
THE DIRECTIVE TO THE SUPREME COMMANDER, ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
The following document was the directive given to Gen. Eisenhower, as the Supreme
Commander, drawing up his duties just prior to the Normandy invasion.
1. You are hereby designated as Supreme Allied Commander of the forces placed
under your orders for operations for liberation of Europe from Germany. Your
title will be Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force.
2. Task. You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the
other United Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the
destruction of her armed forces. The date for entering the Continent is the month
of May 1944. After adequate channel ports have been secured exploitation will be
directed towards securing an area that will facilitate both ground and air
operations against the enemy.
3. Notwithstanding the target date above you will be prepared at any time to take
immediate advantage of favourable circumstances, such as withdrawal by the enemy
on your front, to effect a re-entry into the Continent with such forces as you
have available at the time; a general plan for this operation when approved will
be furnished for your assistance.
4. Command. You are responsible to the Combined Chiefs of Staff and will
exercise command generally in accordance with the diagram at Appendix. Direct
communication with the United States and British Chiefs of Staff is authorised in
the interest of facilitating your operations and for arranging necessary
logistical support.
5. Logistics. In the United Kingdom the responsibility for logistics
organisation, concentration, movement and supply of forces to meet the
requirements of your plan will rest with British Service Ministries so far as
British Forces are concerned. So far as United States Forces are concerned, this
responsibility will rest with the United States War and Navy Departments. You
will also be responsible for co-ordinating the requirements of British and United
States Forces under your command.
6. Co-ordination of operations of other Forces and Agencies. In preparation for
your assault on enemy occupied Europe, Sea and Air Forces agencies of sabotage,
subversion and propaganda, acting under a variety of authorities are now in
action. You may recommend any variation in these activities which may seem to you
desirable.
7. Relationship with United Nations Forces in other areas. Respornsibility will
rest with the Combined Chiefs of Staff for supplying information relating to
operations of the Forces of the USSR for your guidance in timing your operations.
It is understood that the Soviet Forces will launch an offensive at about the same
time as OVERLORD with the objective of preventing the German forces from
transferring from the Eastern to the Western Front. The Allied Commander in
Chief, Mediterranean Theatre, will conduct operations designed to assist your
operation, including the launching of an attack against the south of France at
about the same time as OVERLORD. The scope and timing of his operations will be
decided by the Combined Chiefs of Staff. You will establish contact with him and
submit to the Combined Chiefs of Staff your views and recommendations regarding
operations from the Mediterranean in support of your attack from the United
Kingdom. The combined Chiefs of Staff will place under your command the forces
operating in Southern France as soon as you are in a position to assume such
command. You will submit timely recommendations compatible with this regard.
8. Relationship with Allied Governments the re establishment of Civil Governments
and Liberated Allied Territories and the administration of enemy territories.
Further instructions will be issued to you on these subjects at a later date.
PATTON: TALKING TO THE THIRD ARMY - JUNE 1944
Major General Cook introduced Lieutenant General William H Simpson (whose Fourth
Army was still in the USA, preparing for its overseas voyage to the front0.
General Simpson spoke briefly: "We are not here for you to listen to me, but to
the man who will lead you into whatever is to be faced, with heroism ability and
foresight He is a man who has proven himself many times amid shot and amid shell.
My fondest hope is that some day I may have the privilege bringing my own army to
fight beside his.
General Patton arose and stepped swiftly to the microphone. The men arose to
their feet, standing silently, General Patton then surveyed the sea of brown.
Grimly: "Be Seated" - his words, not a request, were a sharp command. His voice
was high and clear:
"Men: This stuff some sources sling about as talk about America wanting out of
this war - not wanting to fight is a lot of b*****t. Americans, traditionally,
love to fight! All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle! When you
every man of you here - were kids you all admired the Champion: the champion
marble player the fastest runner, the handiest, boy with his fists, the big league
baseball player. Americans love a winner! Americans do not tolerate a loser!
They despise cowards! Americans play to win - all the time and every time. I
wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. Thats why Americans
never lost and will never lose a war. The very THOUGHT of LOSING is hateful to
Americans!
All you men aren't going to die. Only two percent of you, right here today will
die inj a major battle. Death, in time, comes to all - it must not be feared.
Yes, every man is scared in his first battle and if he says he isn't, he is just a
God-damned liar! Some are f******g cowards - yes but they must fight just the
same, or they will get hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as
scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared.
Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire for others, it takes days
But the real man never lets fear of death overpower his honour, his sense of duty
to his country and his manhood.
Throughout all your army careers, you men have bitched about what you call chicken
s**t drill' and like everything else in the Army, that has a definite purpose:
obedience to orders and to create constant alertness. These must be bred into
every man. I dont give a damm for any man whos not always on his toes YOU are
veterans or you wouldnt be here. You are ready for what is to come. To continue
breathing - that is, to live - you must be alert ALL the time. If not, some
German son of a b***h will sneak up behind you and beat you to death [THE MEN
ROARED]
There are four hundred nearly new marked graves somewhere in Sicily, all because
one man went to sleep on the job. But they are GERMAN graves, because WE caught
the b*****d asleep before his officers did!
An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps eats and fights as a team. This individual
hero stuff is a lot of s**t. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff
for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire
than they do about f*****g.
[The men slapped each other in glee. Delighted howls of a Negro outfit carried
above them all. This was Patton as the men imagined him to be. He was in rare
form. He hadnt let them down and was all he was cracked up to be. He had IT!]
"We have the best food, the finest equipment, the best spirit and the best
fighting men in the world,
[The men roared their agreement. Patton snapped erect, faced his men
belligerently and continued ]
Why, by God, I actually PITY some of those Sons of b*****s we are going up
against. Yes, by God, I do!'
[There would be many barracks tales about the old man's choice of phrases; they
would become part and parcel of Third Army history and the bible of their slang]
"My men dont surrender. I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command
being captured unless he has been hit. Even when hit, you can still fight and -
thats not bulls**t either! The kind of men I want under me is (like) the
Lieutenant who, in Libya, with a slug in his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept
the gun aside with one hand and busted hell out of the Boche with it! Then he
jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German before he knew what the
hell was coming off and all the time this man had a bullet in and through his
lungs THERE WAS A MAN!
All the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in
the army plays a vital part. Don't ever think that your role is unimportant Every
man has his job to do he is a link in the great chain. What if every truck driver
decided he didnt like the whine of shells overhead, turned yellow and jumped into
the ditch? This bird could say to himself. Hell they won't miss one guy in a
million! What would our country, our loved ones, our homes even the world be?
No! Thank God AMERICANS do not think like that! Every man DOES his job. Every
man serves the WHOLE. EVERY department, EVERY unit is important in the vast
scheme of this war! Ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and the machinery
of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster brings up food and clothing - for
where we are going, there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every one of you - even
the ones who heat the water to keep us from getting the GI s***s has an important
job to do!
[Patton paused and half turned to the officers behind him:]
Even the Chaplain is important, for if we got killed and he wasn't there to bury
us, we'd all go to hell. Every man must not think of himself alone but also of
his buddy fighting besides him. We don't want yellow cowards in THIS army! They
should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go back home after the war and
breed some more cowards! The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the
God damned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men!
[The vast hillside stirred and thought of these words Patton's personal banner, a
great scarlet devils head in a white field waved triumphantly in the morning
breeze. That banner would become the scourge of Central France and Germany to
thousands of retreating Germans]
One of the bravest men I ever knew was in the African Campaign - one fellow I saw
on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of furious fire. We were plowing towards
Tunis. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at that time. He
answered "Fixing the wire, sir, "Isn't that a little unhealthy spot right now?' I
asked 'Yes, sir but the God-dammed wire has got to be fixed!' Now, there was a
REAL soldier! THERE was a man who devoted all he had to his duty. It mattered
not how great the odds, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might
appear at the time. And, you should have seen those trucks on the road to Gabes.
The drivers were magnificent! All day and night they rolled over the son of a
b******g roads never stopping, never faltering from their course - shells bursting
all around them all the time! WE GOT THROUGH ON AMERICAN GUTS! Many of those men
drove over 40 consecutive hours; they weren't combat men but there WERE soldiers
with a job to do! They did it and in a whale of a way. They were part of a team!
Without them, the fight would have been lost. All links in the chain worked and
pulled together - and that chain became unbreakable!"
[The General paused. He stared challengingly out over the silent sea of men. A
pin-drop could have been heard anywhere on that vast hillside]
"Don't forget - you don't know I'm here. No word or fact of that is to get out or
be mentioned in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what became of me.
I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army; I'm not even supposed to be in
England. Let the first b******s to find out be the God damned Germans! Some day
I want them to rise up on their hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ! It's that
God-damned Third Army and that son of a b***h Patton again!'
We want to get the hell over there. We want to get this thing over with, then go
home But a war can't be won lying down. The quicker we clean up this God dammed
mess, the quicker we can take a jaunt against the purple-p*****g Japs and clean
their nest out, too before the Marines get all the credit.
Sure, we want to go home; sure we want to get this thing over with. The quickest
way to get it over is to GET THE B******S! The quicker they are whipped, the
quicker we get home! The shortest way home is through Berlin!
When a man is lying in a foxhole, if he stays there all day a Boche will get him
eventually.
TO HELL WITH THAT IDEA! My men won't dig foxholes. Foxholes only slow up
offensives Keep moving! Don't give the enemy time to dig in. We will win this
war and win it by fighting and showing the Germans we have more guts than they
have.
There is one great thing you men will be able to say when you get home. You may
thank God for it. Thenk God - at least 30 years from now, when you are sitting
around the fireside with your grandson on your knees - and when he asks what you
did in the Great War, you won't have to cough and say that you shovelled s**t in
Georgia!
REQUIEM FOR A FIASCO
Sunday, November 15, a day Ken Small had long anticipated, dawned to gale force
winds and torrential rains lashing the bleak seafront of Slapton Sands, England.
The grey beach in South Devon was a mournful setting for the commemoration of a
nearly forgotten tragedy. Just after 12:30 pm in the nearby village of Torcross,
as Small stood proudly by and a group of 500 people huddled under umbrellas, a
band struck up Amazing Grace. A US Army colour guard presented arms and a small
stone memorial was unveiled beside a WW2 Sherman tank that had been pulled from
the seabed offshore.
In that moment 43 years of dark rumours and official neglect surrounding the
deaths of at least 749 American GIs and 97 Navy men in an ill-fated battle drill
called Exercise Tiger were formally laid to rest. The ceremony also was the
culmination of Small's one man crusade to honour the victims of a disastrous
misadventure by the US arnd British wartime military. "Call my role what you
like, it seemed fate destiny," says the 51 year old Englishman and owner of a
local guest house. This has taken 6 years and a lot of money, time and
frustration, a lot of dreams and nightmares. But never even remotely considered
giving up I knew that I just had to do it.
Until Small grabbed Exercise Tiger by the tail, the incident had remained wrapped
in obscurity. In the pre dawn hours of April 28 1944 a flotilla of US LST troop
carriers, loaded with thousands of troops and live ammunition for a rehearsal of
the D-day invasion of Normandy, were surprised and attacked by German torpedo
boats. A series of command blunders had left the troop ships so inadequately
protected that more men died on this training manoeuvre for the Utah beach landing
than on the actual D-Day assault. The bodies of hundreds of drowned service men
washed ashore at Slapton Sands but since seaside communities in the area had been
evacuated to make way for the invasion rehearsal there were few civilian witnesses
to the catastrophe. The pressing need for secrecy at the time and official
embarrassment later kept the disaster out of the public mind, if not out of some
history books. After the war rumours that there had been an official cover up and
that GIs had been buried in mass graves became the stuff of local legend, through
both rumours were repeatedly denied by US authorities and seemed to have no basis
in fact. The incident was swamped at the time by the big news of D-Day. It was
then forgotten until Small happened to stumble on evidence of Exercise Tiger while
walking the beach near his home.
A former police officer who had gone into a ladies hairdressing business, Small
had bought the guest house and moved to Torcross. In 1967. He subsequently
suffered a nervous breakdown and, after being treated with valium and electroshock
therapy, was befriended by a local fisherman who got him interested in
beathcombing as a relaxation. Early in 1972 he came across unexpended bullets
mines and shells washed up on the shore. Neighbours told him about Tigers tragic
outcome but the only official acknowledgement was a monument put up by the
Americans thanking the local people for leaving their seaside homes, which were
frequently damaged by the elaborate invasion rehearsals. In the midst of his own
troubles Small felt compassion for the fate of the American GIs whose lives were
unnecessarily lost. Says he, "I thought to myself, Why did the American
government put this here in 1954, 10 years after they had lost all these lives,
with no mention of the lives?' It didn't seem right to me"
Small's budding interest found a focus shortly thereafter when he joined a local
fisherman and two divers who were investigating an underwater object that had been
snagging trawler nets a mile offshore. The sunken mystery turned out to be an
American Sherman tank. Of course I thought, 'Well, if I could acquire this thing
and recover it it would be a really fitting memorial to the men who had died,'
says Small. "But thinking that was one thing and doing it was another thing
entirely". For Small the memorial was becoming an obsession. He spent the next
2.5 years trying to wrest the tank from both the sand and the Pentagon
bureaucracy, which refused to consider it abandoned even though the hulk had been
left 30 years on the seabed. A US government official visited, trying to dissuade
Small from the project, while the British War Office warned him that it was
illegal in the UK for private individuals to own or import a tank. In 1974 Small
nevertheless succeeded in purchasng the sunken Sherman from the US Treasury for
$50. He next spent 10 years and $28,000 to have the tank salvaged. Just before
the 40th anniversary of D-Day, the Sherman was finally floated to the surface and
towed ashore. Water was gushing from the hulk," recalls Small, "and a lady
commented that it looked like the tank was crying".
The tank was restored and placed on a plinth and the town affixed a plaque
dedicating it to the dead of Exercise Tiger. Still, Small wasn't satisfied.
"Having done the tank," he says, "I decided that the ultimate must be the official
American government recognition of this whole thing. I really took the bull by
the horns".
Ex-US Army Major Attlee Wampler, whose tank battalion had operated the Sherman,
invited Small to the US and introduced him to Congresswoman Beverly Byron (D-Md),
whose father, Captain Harry Butcher, had participated in the Tiger manoeuvres as
naval aide to the Allied Supreme Commander Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower. In January
1983, Byron introduced a bill in Congress for a US-sponsored memorial. Thinking
to do some lobbying of his own, Small called the Pentagon, which he did in May
1983 and was eventually connected with the office Deputy Defence Secretary William
Taft. Two days later he was invited to meet with Taft at the Pentagon, which he
did May 1983. Taft offered his full support. Recalls Small "One colonel said to
me, "Man, you've climbed one mountain of bureaucracy, and you've gone up and down
the second and now you're halfway up the third. How the hell you've done it I
don't know".
Though the Slapton Sands ceremony was a tribute to Small's tenacity, he was by no
means alone in his wish to remember the men of Exercise Tiger. Among the mourners
that Sunday was Manny Rubin 64, an American-born clothier who had married an
English girl and made his home in nearby Plymouth after the war. He was a
signalman second class aboard a landing ship the night of the disaster.
According to sailing orders, we had a British destroyer on our starboard flank, he
says. "I didn't learn until 40 years later that it never left port". The
destroyer had been disabled, apparently after hitting another vessel, but the
Allied Command nevertheless allowed the operation to go ahead. A British radar
station detected German torpedo boats in the operations area, but the warning
never reached the ships because their radios were tuned to a different frequency.
At 2 am the fast moving German E boats fell upon the flotilla in a surprise attack
and Rubin saw two vessels explode after being hit by torpedoes. In the confusion
the frightened soldiers on Rubin's ship even fired on one of their own troop
carriers. Two of the troop packed ships had sunk and Rubins ship was eventually
anchored near shore, when the light of dawn revealed a horrible tableau. "There
were hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies," says Rubin. "Most of them didn't have
a mark on them. They were just bobbing up and down, up and down. Some were black
with oil, some were black groups burnt together. It was something out of hell".
Many of the GIs drowned because they were wearing inadequate lifebelts instead of
life jackets. Burdened by heavily loaded packs, they toppled helplessly into the
sea. It was a costly lesson for military leaders. Six weeks later the use of
life jackets saved untold lives when GIs hit the French beaches.
When the histories were written, however, the men of Tiger got very short shrift
indeed. Ike and his generals never had much to say about the bungled operation.
In fact its not clear that Ike ever knew evactly what had occurred. According to
Captain Butchers memoir, My Three Year's With Elsenhower, the general was aboard a
ship observing the rehearsal from a distance. He was disturbed by delays in the
manoeuvres, yet left for his headquarters unaware of the tragedy. The scale of
world war, after all, dwarfed even the losses at Slapton Sands.
A fitting tribute was therefore left to a more peaceful time, and in Ken Smalls
view even 43 years later was not too late "I have done it all for those young men
- scared, ignorant, untrained - who lost their lives, he says. "More so, I have
done it for their friends and relatives back home in America".
It was clear, as the final notes of Taps died away in Torcross village, that the
men of Exercise Tiger had finally received their due - and Ken Small had done his
duty.
DROPPING IN
Lieutenant Colonel Hoffman had just glanced at his watch. The time was 40 minutes
past midnight, June 6 was less than three-quarters of an hour old. For the past
hour there had been a continuous drone of aircraft above the battle headquarters
of III Battalion, 919th Grenadier Regiment, east of Montebourg. The roar grew
louder.
Hoffman stepped outside the bunker. He gave a start. Six giant birds were making
straight for his battle headquarters. They were clearly visible, for the moon had
just broken through the clouds "They're bailing out". For an instant Hoffman
thought the aircraft had been damaged and its crew was going to jump. But then he
understood. This was an airbourne landing by paratroops. The white mushrooms
were floating down - straight at his bunker.
"Alarm! Enemy paratroops!" The men at III Battalion headquarters had never pulled
on their trousers so fast before.
Alarm! Alarm!'
The sentries' carbines were barking. They were firing at the parachutes floating
down from the sky. Then the moon hid itself. Darkness enveloped the descending
army. Hoffman grabbed a rifle. Then the darkness was rent by the first burst of
fire from an American submachine-gun.
The battle for Normandy was on
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SPITFIRE AT WAR VOL I & 2..............ALFRED PRICE - IAN ALLAN
THE BIG SHOW ..........................PIERRE CLOSTERMAN - CORGI
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE ...................PROFILE PUBLICATIONS
SPITFIRE STORY ........................ALFRED PRICE - ARMS & ARMOUR
I FLEW FOR THE FUHRER .................HEINZ KNOCK - EVANS
LUFTWAFFE NIGHT FIGHTER
UNITS 1939-45 .........................OSPREY - JERRY SCUTTS
WINGS OF THE WEIRD AND
WONDERFUL VOL.2 .......................AIRLIFE - CAPTAIN ERIC BROWN
HIGH FLYERS ...........................MICHEAL FOPP - GREENHILL BOOKS
WW2 FIGHTER CONFLICT...................ALFRED PRICE - PBS
UNITED STATES ARMY IN
WORLD WAR : The European Theater of
Operations, CROSS CHANNEL ATTACK.......Gordon A Harrison, Office of the
Chief of Military History Department
of the Army, Washington DC 1951
TYPHOON/TEMPEST IN ACTION .............JERRY SCUTTS - SQUADRON SIGNAL
PART TWO - THE AIRCRAFT
=======================
THE AIRCRAFT
MUSTANG III
The Mustang III was the RAF's designation for the equivalent USAAF mark, the
P-51B. It was a superb aircraft with a roll rate only slightly worse than the
excellent Focke-Wulf Fw 190A. The greatest advance in the Mk III over the Mk.I
(which had been in service in the RAF for some time) was the fitting of the Merlin
63 engine and a four bladed airscrew. The initial engine change took place in the
UK by Rolls Royce. This success was taken by North American who redesigned the
P-51 to take the Packard 1520hp V-1650-3. This engine was basically a Merlin 63
with a two speed, two stage supercharger and aftercooler. The airframe was also
beefed up to take the new engine, there was a new radiator installed and a set of
new ailerons were fitted to improve roll rate.
The RAFs Mk 111s were rather unique in that they used the Malcom hood. This was a
backward sliding bulged cockpit hood which was an advancement over the older
hinged style.
The RAF had complained about some American aircraft cockpits saying that they were
overly large. However, the Mustang III was a welcome exception to that rule.
Taxiing was a little bit awkward due to the tail sitting approach of the design.
However, that problem was ameliorated due to the tail wheel being able to be
locked to the rudder bar. Hence the Mustang was swung side-to-side in order for
the pilot to see where he was going. During initial take off the Mustang was
totally blind looking forwards. However, only a small amount of boost was
required for a comfortable take off. Flight performance was very good indeed with
mild stall characteristics. Although, with a fuel tank attached the aircraft was
longitudinally unstable. Landing the Mustang was rather more difficult than the
Spitfire as the forward view was poor and the under carriage's high rebound ration
made a three-point landing tough. In fact, the poor forward view prevented the
Mustang becoming carrier capable even though the US Navy underwent extensive
trials. The Mustang III was very useful in the later stages of the war as a V-1
chaser, along with the Spitfire XIV and Tempest V.
SPITFIRE MK.IX
Essentially the Spitfire Mk.IX was designed as a stop-gap until a number of
MK.VIIIs could be designed and built. Initially, trials had been completed using
a Mk III with the latest Merlin 61 engine. The RAF wanted an operational
Spitfire/Merlin 61 combination into service immediately following the realisation
that the Spitfire V was outclassed by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. However, to get the
new fighter, the Mk VIII, into the air required some re-tooling including a
stronger airframe, additional fuel and a retractable tail-wheel. This would take
time, too much time for the RAF who demanded a stop gap to fill the breach.
Enter, the Mk.IX. Although under stressed, the new aircraft could handle the new
Merlin. The Spitfire's performance received an immediate boost. See the
comparitive performances on page 115 with the Focke Wulf Fw 190.
The production Mk.IXs rolled off the lines in June 1942. One of the first Mk.IX
flights was a specialist squadron formed to hit high altitude Junkers Ju 86R
bombers. Although bereft of a pressurised cabin, the stripped Mark IX was able to
achieve the required interceptor height. Armament was reduced to two 20mm cannons
for weight reasons. Even the propellor was changed to a new light-weight version.
The only Mk IX SpitfIre to perform without any guns at all was the PR IXs, the
reconnaisance version, painted in "PRU Blue" and first used in November 1942.
Those Mk.IXs that fought during the run up to D-Day however, were rather different
from the early production versions. These Spitfires had a differently shaped,
rather straighter rudder, the E-Type wing containing either 4 x20 mm cannons or 2
x 20 mm cannons and two .5 inch Brownings. Two, rear mounted internal fuel tanks
and a tear drop canopy were also added.
HAWKER TYPHOON 1B
The Typhoon, it was often said, sorted the men from the boys. Pilots called it
many names: monster and beast were among them. Whatever the names, the Typhoon
became a most successful ground attack fighter during WW2.
The Typhoon had actually been slated, by Hawker's Sidney Camm, as a fighter. The
early years of the aircraft were troublesome, in fact the whole project was under
threat of extinction until the emergence of the Fw 190A. So, far from being
shelved the Typhoon project was accelerated.
However, the whole project nearly came crashing down when the Typhoon began to
experience disasterous structural failures. Specifically, the entire tail
structure collapsed, on several occasions, during recovery from a dive. The main
problem was that lengthy structural tests during the war were just not possible
especially, in this case, when Fw 190s were eating away at the finite Squadrons of
Spitfire Vs! Another problem was the seepage of carbon monoxide into the cockpit
- the continual wearing of an oxygen mask became standard practice very quickly
afterwards.
In the air, the Typhoon proved a valuable asset against Fw 190s at low level but
flew like a pig at 20,000ft plus. The Typhoon was branded a failure as an
interceptor. This fundamental weakness brought an amazing turnaround in its
fortunes from interceptor to ground attack aircraft fitted with rockets and 20mm
cannon.
As D-Day approached, Typhoons switched their attacks to shore installations all
along the French Channel coast. The "No Ball" sites, radar installations and gun
emplacements were harried and often damaged. As a prelude to the actual landings,
Typhoons of Nos 198 and 609 Squadrons on 2nd June 1944 destroyed the vital radar
installation of Dieppe/Caudecote with bombs and gunfire, and as part of the
preliminary air assault 26 Typhoons of Nos 174, 175 and 254 Squadrons eliminated
the Joburg radar site which would have covered the actual landing areas. The
astonishing element of surprise achieved on D-Day has seldom been adequately
attributed to this attack yet its success must have been a key factor in the
Allies ability to gain a foothold on the mainland. Certainly the Luftwaffe was
deprived of all local fighter control over the landings.
MEETING THE BEAST
With my parachute on my back it took three people to help me up to the Typhoon's
cockpit, which is nine feet off the ground. As the plane is very streamlined
there is nothing to hang to. You have to get your fingers into the hollows which
are covered by metal plates on spring hinges. They close up again when you remove
your hand or your foot, just like a rat trap. In the end they hoisted me up,
settled me in, slapped me on the back, shouted "good luck" and found myself all
alone inside the bowels of the monster.
I rapidly called back to mind all the gen my instructors had given me. As the
exhaust gases had a high carbon monoxide content and seeped into the cockpit you
had to breathe oxygen all the time. I therefore hurriedly put on my mask and
opened the intake valve. On take-off Typhoons swing hard right and there fore
adjusted the rudder trim very carefully. I opened the radiator wide checked the
locking of the undercart - the lever looked uncomfortably like the one for the
flaps. I lowered the flaps control to open up the pneumatic circuit in order to
avoid ram effect just as I started up.
I switched on the instrument panel light, I regulated the throttle lever - open
five-eigths of an inch (not one fraction more, otherwise the carburettor would
flood and there might be a blow back) I pushed the pitch control lever right
forward and then back an inch or so, to avoid run away in the constant speed unit.
I verified that my tanks were full and selected the centre fuselage tanks for the
take-off (gravity feed in case the pump packed up). I unscrewed the Wobble pumps;
one sent a mixture of alcohol and ether into the carburettor, the other a mixture
of petrol and oil to the cylinders.
I inserted a cartridge into the starter (The Koffman system, which uses the
violent expansion of explosive gases to get the engine turning. If the engine
doesn't start first time it will almost certainly catch fire, being bung full of
juice). With one finger on the coil booster and another on the starter button, I
fired the cartridge. The mechanic hanging on to the wing, helped to "catch" the
engine and it started up with a deafening roar. The amount of noise is about five
times as great as in a Spitfire. After missing a few times the engine settled
down to a reasonable steady rhythm, though not without exuding oil at every pore.
The sound of the engine and the way it vibrated struck me as suspicious. My
nerves were very much on edge and I didn't feel at all easy in my mind. What on
earth had ever induced me to return to ops?
These reflections probably lasted some little time because, when I looked up,
there were the mechanics looking lightly surprised and waiting for a sign from me
to remove the chocks. I began to taxi - a bit too fast, I must be careful not to
over-work the brakes. They overheated very quickly and hot brakes don't function.
That engine! You moved forward quite blindly, picking out the way like a crab,
with a bit of rudder now left now right, so as to be able to see in front. Once I
was on the edge of the runway, before venturing further I cleared the plugs as per
instructions, by opening up to 3000 revs, and a film of oil immediately spread
over my windshield. Two Typhoons who were in the circuit landed clumsily, but the
controller seemed disinclined to give me the green light. I stuck my head out to
make a sign, even though I would probably get a dollop of boiling hot oil in the
eye. Still a red light. Christ, I must have forgotten something and my
confounded engine was beginning to heat. My radiator had already got to 95o. A
glance round - my flaps were at 15o all right, my radiator was open. Hell, the
radio! I quickly switched it on and called: "Hallo, Skydoor, Skydoor, Tiffle 28
calling May I scramble?" The controller replied by at last giving me a green
light. Here goes! I tightened my straps, released the brakes, carefully aligned
myself on the white line down the middle of the concrete and slowly opened the
throttle, with my left foot hard on the rudder bar.
I had been warned that the Typhoon swung, but surely not as much as this! And the
brute gathered speed like a rocket! I corrected as much as I could with the
brakes but even then I found myself drifting dangerously on the right.
Half way down the runway my right wheel was practically on the grass. If I came
off the runway I would gracefully flip on my back! To hell with it! I tore her
off the ground.
This plane just had no lateral stability at all. I still went on drifting to
starboard and, with those miserable ailerons that only a "bit" at speeds higher
than 100mph. I daren't lower my port wing too much.
Luckily they had hauled F hanger down, after a series of accidents all due to the
same cause, but even then I passed uncomfortabkly close to E hanger.
I retracted my undercart but forgot to put the brakes on. A terrific vibration
which shook the whole plane from stem to stern reminded me that my wheels had gone
into the cavities in the wings still revolving at full speed. I only hoped the
tyres hadnt been ruined.
Really, it had been very pleasant behind that office desk...
MESSERSCHMITT BF 109G
The Gustav, although built to increase the ascendency over the Spitfire Mk V was
considered by many to be inferior to the Bf 109F. Early production "G"s were
distinguished from the "F" model by the installation of a 1,475hp Daimler Benz DB
605A engine. Armament consisted of one 20mm cannon and two 7.9mm guns. The 109G
also featured some structural strengthening and the provision for a pressurised
cabin. Later production models featured a boost control to boost engine power
above the engine's rated altitude. Other versions included a tropical, large
ventral intake version, a fighter bomber version, the G-5 which featured a more
powerful engine (plus two 13mm guns instead of the 7.9mm guns). The G-6 was the
most important model featuring the addition of two underwing 20mm cannons and the
replacement of the nose mounted 20mm cannon with a 30mm version. There were
plenty of other versions of the "G". Space restricts a fuller account here,
unfortunately.
The Bf 109G was a widely used and much travelled aircraft flying for many
airforces around the world such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechoslavakia, Finland,
Hungary, Rumania, Spain and Switzerland.
One of the many tragic events of the war took place at the very end of the war,
involving the Bf 109G when, following suggestions by Obst. Hajo Herrmann, a
special fighter Geschwade of four Gruppen was formed designated Rammkommando Elbe.
Most of the pilots were students, children by any other name, with perhaps one or
two solo flights to their credit, volunteers whose enthusiasm was bolstered by
patriotic speeches and martial music. Only one mission was undertaken by the Unit
on 7th April 1945 when 120 aircraft took off to intercept a USAAF bombers
formation. Only 15 returned.
JUNKERS JU88
Designed by W H Evers and the American Al Gassner (who worked in Europe during
1935-36) and first flying on December 21, 1936, the Ju88 became the Germans most
successful "all-purpose" aircraft of the war. Flying and fighting on all fronts
to which the German forces were commited to during WW2, the Ju88 was to appear as
a day fighter, night fighter, dive bomber, level bomber, torpedo bomber, mine
layer, reconnaissance aircraft, communications aircraft, close support aircraft
and flying bomb. The Ju88 was to be the most modified the world had ever seen and
prove itself to be the best by far of the indifferent selection of bombers that
the Luftwaffe flew.
FOCKE-WULF FW 19OA
The brainchild of Dipl. Ing Kurt Tank, technical director of Focke Wulf
Flugzeugbau, the Fw 190 was a spectacular success combining a bulky air- cooled
engine with a slim airframe. Beautifully proportioned, the fw 190 spread
consternation and alarm throughout the Allied forces especially Spitfire V pilots
who found that they were, suddenly, heavily out-classed. This gave rise to the Mk
IX.
The first major action in which the Fw 190A participated was the 'Channel Dash'.
On the night of the 11th/12th February 1942 the German capital ships Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau left Brest with escorting vessels and began a hazardous voyage
through the Channel on their way to safer anchorages in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven
Galland, newly promoted to Inspector of fighters on the death of Werner Molders,
had the task of providing fighter cover throughout the voyage. The Fw 190s
aquitted themselves well in almost continual combat of February 12th and Operation
Thunderbolt (the official German code name).
Fearful for their depleted fighter units in Northern france, the Luftwaffe High
Command ordered the dispersal of the Gruppen of JG 26 away from the intensive
Allied bombing of the invasion coasts in May/June of 1944. Thus it was that on
the morning of June 6th the only fighter forces to launch an attack on the
Normandy beaches were two Fw 190As! They were the machines of Oberst Josef "Pips"
Priller the flamboyant Geschwaderkommodore of Wodarczky I/JG 26 had flown to
Rhiems, II/ JG 26 to Mont de Marsan in Gascony, and III/JG 26 to Metz. The two
pilots, strafing run was the only Luftwaffe activity over the beachhead during the
daylight hours of D-Day.
B-25 MITCHELL
The North American was the most widely used American bomber in WW2. A steady
increase in firepower adaptability to combat and good flying qualities made this
twin engined medium bomber the most popular plane in its class.
It was the RAF who used the Mitchell over German occupied Europe. The RAF had
received 23 B25-Bs, named the Mitchell I and the B-25D, named the Mitchell II.
FIGHTER COMPARISONS
What follows are selected comparisons between many of the combatants and allied
aircraft to give the reader a general idea as to how technically balanced the air
war over the D-Day skies actually was. Of course, technical comparisons say
nothing for pilot skill. However, pilots can only use what tools they are given.
This section is a digest of those tools.
MUSTANG P-51B v SPITFIRE IX
The comparison between these two aircraft is an intriguing one because they both
had similar engines similar in both design and in their capacity. The Mustang was
rather cleaner than the Spitfire but a little heavier. It also had a higher wing
loading of around 12-13 pounds per square foot.
When looking at the endurance of both aircraft it can be seen that the Mustang had
a greater range with a maximum fuel load of around 1.5 to 1.75. The Mustang was
able to carry more fuel and oil. With long-range fuel tanks the Mustang could
carry 279 gallons of fuel as opposed to the Spitfire's 177 gallons (all
measurements are "imperial"). Fuel consumption was similar but speed was greater
for the P-51B, in level flight, by around 20mph. Even with the same engine
settings the Mustang was 20-30mph faster than the Spitfire IX for all heights.
With the engine settings set to maximum (say, around 3,000 rpm) the best
performance heights are similar between 10,000 and 15,000ft and between 25,000 and
32,000ft.
Where the Spitfire excelled was in the rate of climb which was superior at all
heights to he P-51B at full power. At other settings the rate is more even. The
Mustang had a better zoom climb, however. It also required less power to regain
altitude and speed from a dive.
During a dive the Mustang pulled away very quickly. At the same revs the Spitfire
needed more engine boost to remain in formation. Another plus point for the
Spitfire was the turning capability of the aircraft. It always out turned the
P-51B, even when the Mustang used flaps. Nor could the Mustang roll as quickly as
the Spitfire IX at normal speeds. However the rate of roll was similar at around
the 400mph mark. Finally, the four .5 Brownings of the Mustang were rather small
in comparison with the Spitfire IXs two 20mm cannon and four Browning .303 guns.
MUSTANG P-51B v FOCKE-WULF FW 19OA
The P-51B was almost 50mph faster at all heights than the Focke Wulf. This figure
increased to around 70mph above 28,000ft. However the maximum rate of climb was
similar and the Mustang was a lot faster in the zoom climb at all heights.
Similarly the P-51B could out dive a Fw 190A.
When it comes to the turning fight the two aircraft are similar. If anything the
Mustang was slightly superior. Where the Fw 190 was in a class of its own was in
the rate of roll which was exemplary in the Focke Wulf.
Mustang pilots were always advised to retain high speeds in order to gain height
advantage when attacking Fw 190s, although climbs at less than 250 mph were
frowned upon. As the Focke Wulf could not dive out of trouble the Mustang pilot
was always recommended to turn steeply and engage full throttle when defending
against the Fw 190.
MUSTANG P-51B v MESSERSHMIDT ME 109G
The Me 109 was slower than the P-51B at all heights for example at 16,000 ft, the
Mustang was 30mph faster and at 25,000ft the Mustang exceeded the Me 109 in speed
by 50 mph.
Climb, however, was similar. The Mustang was a little bit better above 25,000 ft
but not so good as the Me 109 below 20,000 ft. The Me 109 did have a very good
climb rate which meant that it was similar in this respect to the Mustang. When
defending against the Me 109 the Mustang could pull away from the Me 109 in a
prolonged dive.
Although the Mustang could out-turn the Me 109 the rate of roll was very similar.
However, because the Me 109's wing slots kept opening at the most inopportune
moments, the Mustang could defend itself against the Me 109 by quickly changing
its direction. This would normally throw the sights of the Me 109 off the chased
P-51B. If the P-51B was on the attack, the Mustang would always catch the Me 109
except in a climb. When defending, the P-51B pilot was advised to initiate a
steep turn and a dive if necessary.
TYPHOON 1B v TEMPEST V
Only the Typhoon is simulated in this game, the Tempest V appeared on the scene
after D-Day However, as the Typhoon was the principle air to ground attack
aircraft of the war, that is, the Typhoon was tailor made for this purpose, it
might be interesting to see what the RAF had to deal with before the improved
Tempest came into the inventory.
Both aircraft were similar in many respects and differed mainly in the wing
section which was around two pounds less for the Tempest. Without extra tanks the
Typhoon and Tempest had similar ranges. The Typhoon cruised at around 15-20 mph
less at the same engine settings. Similarly the Typhoon was 15 - 20 mph slower
than the Tempest at all heights and at all engine settings.
The Typhoon climbed at a rather shallower angle than the Tempest at the same
airspeed producing 200 - 300 ft decrease in the maximum rate of climb. The zoom
climb was less, too due to the "dirty" configuration of the Typhoon to the
Tempest. Again, in a dive, the Tempest was faster. The turning circle was very
similar with any differences favouring the Typhoon although the Typhoon lost out
on the rate of roll.
END OF PART TWO
--===========--
OVERLORD - ENGLISH MANUAL
==========================
PART THREE
--======--
TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
FOCKE WULF FW 19OA V SPITFIRE IX
The Spitfire was slightly superior in speed to the Fw 190 at medium and high
altitudes with the Fw 190 gaining the edge in low altitudes. However, the
difference was a matter of around three to eight miles per hour over all heights.
Again, the Spitfire IX was slightly better in climb under maximum continuous
climbing conditions. Above 22,000 ft the improvement was increased. Climbing
from level flight or up from a dive resulted in the Fw 190 gaining the edge.
In a dive, however, the Fw 190 was faster and more manoeuvrable in all regimes
other than turning circles. The rate of roll was excelled by the Fw 190. The
flicking into a dive turn by Fw 190 pilots enabled it to evade the Spitfire IX on
numerous occasions. If the Spitfire was cruising at high speeds then the Fw 190
could never attack it successfully. The Fw 190s superior acceleration meant that
an attack on a Spitfire which was cruising at low speeds was far more successful.
PART THREE - FLYING YOUR AIRCRAFT
=================================
BASIC FLIGHT SKILLS
TAKING OFF
Assuming that you want to begin the night from the airfield, on entering the
cockpit you will notice that the engine has already been started and that the RPMs
quickly run up to full power.
The first job is to drop the flaps and ease the nose of your tail sitter forward
in order to allow your aircraft to gain maximum take off speed. As the speed hits
140mph ease back on the stick. Notice the vertical speed indicator indicates that
the aircraft is climbing. Once you have between 50 and 100 ft on your Altimeter
raise your gear to increase your speed still further (raising the landing gear
reduces drag on your aircraft) and join the outward bound squadron who will be
taking off, simultaneously, with you.
If you forget to raise your landing gear, or inadvertently lower it during high
speed flight you risk jamming the gear in the lowered position. At the very
least, your aircraft will begin to yaw to the right making control difficult and,
eventually, leading into a difficult to control roll.
CLIMBING
To climb you must increase your throttle and pull back on the stick. The extra
engine power will result in a climb. The greater the angle of attack the greater
the rate of climb. However, do not increase the angle of attack too far otherwise
the aircraft will stall. Around 20o of climb is a recommended angle of attack.
REDUCING ALTITUDE
There are two ways to reduce altitude. The first, is to decrease the throttle.
This will result in your aircraft losing speed which will mean that the aircraft
cannot generate enough lift and, hence, loses altitude. The second method is to
push the joystick forward to dive which will increase your speed and lose altitude
very quickly.
TURNING YOU AIRCRAFT
To turn your aircraft you move the joystick left or right, depending on which
direction you wish to turn. Using this method for more acute turns will also
reduce your speed gradually resulting in some loss of altitude. To maintain your
altitude you should pull on the joystick as you turn left/right and apply a little
rudder in the same direction as the turn.
STALLING
If you ever stall your aircraft just let the nose fall below the horizon, it will
then gain enough speed to return control to your joystick.
LANDING YOUR AIRCRAFT
After you have lined up with the runway, position yourself about two to three
miles from it, reduce the throttle to 60%, then drop your flaps. This action
lowers your stall speed enabling you to approach the airfield at a slower speed
and a steeper angle. Gradually descend towards the runway itself. When you cross
the threshold of the runway you should be around 40 feet from the ground. Reduce
your height to around 20ft, then cut the throttle and pull the nose up. The
aircraft will then settle on the airfield. Try to position this landing so that
all three wheels hit the floor at the same time. This is the classic three point
landing.
COMBAT BOOST
The Combat Boost is a valuable feature that boosts the performance of your engine
for a brief period. However, as this increase in performance extends beyond the
rated power of your engine it does put a considerable strain upon it. Hence, you
should only use the Combat Boost very sparingly. As a guide the first 30 seconds
of use should offer no damage to the engine every 10 seconds after that reduces
your engine power by 1/16th. At zero power your engine blows up.
AIR BRAKES
Air brakes are very handy for gaining an advantage during combat as they
drastically reduce your speed and force pursuing enemy aircraft to over shoot, for
example. The problem is that WW2 aircraft, in general, didn't use air brakes.
So, therefore, using this feature in the game will not give you historical flight
conditions. We recommend air brakes for those of you who have become used to
using them in other simulations and wish to become familiar with flight combat in
Overlord before "weaning" yourself off them for more realistic flight.
GUNNERY TACTICS
DEFLECTION SHOOTING
Deflection shooting is required when you are attempting to hit an enemy aircraft
at an angle. That is, when the enemy aircraft is not moving directly towards or
away from you. Deflection shooting is all about prediction. In effect you are
shooting at where you "predict" the enemy will be. The reason is elementary by
the time your bullets arrive at the point where the enemy is at the time of the
trigger pull, the aircraft will have moved onwards. Deflection shooting is
essential in air combat, therefore. The bullets and shells leave the aircraft at
over twice the speed of sound. An enemy fighter, at a range of 250 yards, flying
at 300mph, travels a distance of 70 yards in the time it takes for the bullets/
shells to reach it. In a beam attack (from the side), the pilot must aim at 70
yards in front of the targets to get a hit.
Normally the angle between the two aircraft is much less than the 90o of a beam
attack. As the angle is reduced then the "lead" required is reduced from the 70
yards mentioned above. In the stern attack (directly behind) no 'lead' is
required at all. A stern attack is only usually likely when the target is taken
completely by surprise. Normally you will be faced by a deflection shot.
Becoming an expert on deflection shooting is essential if you want to become an
Ace. The gunsight can be used when setting up a deflection shot.
First of all it is necessary to estimate the angle between your aircraft and the
target. For instance a target is 20o off, if lines extending along the length of
yours and his aircraft meet an an angle of 20�. For a target which is 20� off the
target should touch the ring and point at the centre of the ring.
GROUND TARGETS
Ground targets consist of Buildings and Bunkers of various types, E Boats, V 1
Sites, Trucks and the like, Trains and Marshalling Yards, Triple A guns large and
small calibre, Radar stations, etc. There are also other objects scattered around
such as Chateaus and so on.
To attack a ground target, especially as we are talking about the WW2 period is a
rather hit and miss affair. Precision bombing / strafing especially for fighter
type aircraft was fairy tale stuff. Hence, you will become more adept at the
techniques with more practice and adjustment.
However, as a guide if you are bombing or attacking a target with rockets you
should begin an attack in a shallow dive, pointing your aircraft at the target a
fair distance away in order to allow you to make minor course adjustments. For a
rocket attack you will need to get close in for a kill with both bombs and
rockets. When you have released your load quickly pull up and get the hell out.
There are two reasons for this, firstly, as you are concentrating on your target,
enemy aircraft will be concentrating upon you. As you're unaware of what's going
on around you as you line up for a target it's best to make sure of your safety by
pulling up, jinking and weaving. In addition this evasive manoeuvring is handy
for avoiding the small arms ground fire that will home in on you as you reduce
your altitude. Finally, do not get too close to the target upon weapon release as
you are liable to shoot yourself down from the blast of the explosion.
For ground strafing it is best to "walk" the bullets to the ground target. That
is, start firing your guns, see where they are hitting and adjust your line of
flight so that the line of bullets will coincide with your target as you progress.
One hint for Triple A attacks is wait for the guns to fire then hit them as the
guns have to be reloaded after a burst of fire.
For trains, it is best to crlpple the engine to stop the train and then pick off
the carriages at your leisure.
When attacking E boats you should be aware that, although the individual armament
of a single E-boat is no great threat, the combined efforts of a bunch of E- boats
IS. Beware of cross-fire.
AIR TARGETS
Dealing with enemy fighters is discussed in detail, elsewhere. However, if you
want to hit a bomber then there are alternative attacks that should prove
effective.
The Ju88 has two rearward facing machine guns and a nose mounted gun thus there is
no rearward blind-spot. However the front gun is very restricted in its
manoeuvrability so a frontal assault can be more productive. Nevertheless you
will also have to contend with the higher degree of manoeuvrability the Ju88 can
employ. Of course, the Ju88 will normally be escorted by fighters which makes the
job that much harder. As for the He III you could try the stern approach.
However, you must be careful of rearward firing guns. This approach requires a
high degree of flight skill. High and low attacks from the rear of the He III
could be more fruitful. Approach the bomber at a 45o angle and utilise deflection
shooting to gain a hit. As you pass the bomber, turn when you are alongside the
bomber and turn into 45o to try another pass. Another successful attack position
is to dive onto the side of the bomber from height, using the speed gained from
the dive to zoom past and climb again over the opposite side. The head-on pass is
similar to the stern attack as it requires high skill to avoid the nose gunner.
It can be a lethal attack though if it hits the cockpit and engines in the right
place. Probably the most fruitful approach is the lower rear attack. The lower
gunner has a greater difficulty in achieving a good sighting.
THE SIX O'CLOCK NEWS
FIGHTER COMBAT GUIDELINES
Dogfighting provided the staple diet of all fighter pilots during WW2. Getting on
the tail, or the "six" of the enemy was all important to achieve a kill. Here's a
few manoeuvres and procedures on how you can best get to grips with the enemy
psyche in Overlord.
Having a highly specified aircraft is all very well. However, the principle
variable in determining just whose butt gets shot off is the pilot himself and his
intimate knowledge of all aspects of relative performance and design, as well as
familiarity with his weapons.
Basically, if you know your own aircraft and your enemys aircraft like the back of
your hand then you have an enormous advantage over the enemy. Despite the popular
misconception, air-to air combat is a very "human" affair. Pilots aren't kidding
when they say that they strap on a aircraft. Never forget that technology is but
a tool of the pilot.
The aim of the game is all about one pilot exploiting the opponent's most serious
weaknesses while taking full advantage of his own fighter's greatest strengths.
For example, what do you do if your aircraft is highly manoeuvrable (eg Fw 190)
but your opponent is more powerful and, hence, faster (eg Typhoon)! You employ a
system known, in some quarters, as Angles Tactics. The manoeuvrable aircraft can
get up close to the faster aircraft by using Pure and Lead Pursuits (Figure 1 on
page 131) High and Low YoYos (Figures 2a & 2b on pages 132 & 133) and Barrel Roll
attacks (Figure 3 on page 134) also may be useful. On the other hand if you are
flying the faster, more powerful aircraft, your best option is to keep the fight
to the horizontal plane.
Nose To Nose Turns (Figure 4 on page 135) make best use of turn radius potential
and Lead Turns (Figure 5 on page 136) can be very useful for immediate turn
superiority. Hence, the pilot of the faster, less manoevrable aircraft will want
to watch and keep clear of these manoeuvres. He"ll also want to try to anticipate
his opponent attempting to trap him into these manoeuvres. If this happens then
it's time to break off and start again.
The Typhoon would suffer by a Flat Scissors (Figure 6 on page 137) since it has
both turn performance and minimum speed disadvantages. The Fw 190 might also have
some advantage in a Rolling Scissors (Figure 7 on page 138) because of better
slow-speed controllability although not as great as the Flat Scissors.
It is plain that the Typhoon should keep to what he knows best, high energy
tactics when engaging a highly manoeuvrable aircraft like a Fw 190.
A handy manoeuvre for the Typhoon which is on the defence is the Defensive Spiral
(Figure 8 on page 139). A Typhoon often can generate much greater drag than a Fw
190 which can lead to a rapid vertical overshoot and a subsequent positional
advantage for the Typhoon which can then blow the Fw 190 out of the sky with its
guns. However, if this spiral cannot be initiated quickly then the Fw 190 can use
its superior low speed turn performance to shallow out the spiral and regain the
upper hand as the manoeuvre continues.
Throughout the fight, the pilot of the Fw 190 can be somewhat less concerned with
overshoots than he would be in the case of similar fighters, since the Typhoon's
larger turn radius and higher speed make it more difficult for its pilot to gain
advantage after an overshoot by the Fw 190. Gross vertical overshoots should
still be avoided by the Fw 190 since they may allow the Typhoon a temporary
advantage and, possibly a snapshot after one of the Rolling Scissors. The Fw 190
should resist climbing or diving when faced with a Typhoon to guard against zoom
manoeuvres from the Typhoon. Greed is the Fw 190's greatest enemy. He should
avoid trying to grab angles faster than the Fw 190's performance permits.
Patience is the key. The Fw 190 pilot must wait for the Typhoon to wear himself
out, to dissipate the majority of his energy so that his flight becomes sluggish.
Now, with the Fw 190's greater degree of manoeuvrability at low speeds, he can
finish off the Typhoon at his leisure.
Again, though, the Typhoon, must be aware that this is just what the Fw 190 is
wishing and wanting. Hence, the Typhoon pilot must maintain a relatively high
speed. Even if the situation becomes to look favourable, if the Fw 190 is not
within the gun sight then it is safer to get out of there, gain more speed and
live to fight another day.
When two aircraft are more evenly matched then a pilot's cunning becomes more
important and the dissimilar aspects of the aircraft's performance might be rather
closer to the 10% figure. Stepping back in time the two famous adversaries that
epitomised dogfighting were the Sopwith Camel and the Fokker Triplane. As both
aircraft are highly manoeuvrable pilots had to develop new tactics. For example,
when flying at slow airspeeds the pilot may choose to push over the top of a
vertical climb or to employ a rudder reversal, at the peak of his zoom. Also
called the hammerhead turn, the latter manoeuvre causes the aircraft to rotate
about its vertical axis, pivoting sideways from a nose high to nose low attitude.
In most aircraft the rudder reversal is performed in an unloaded condition by
applying full rudder in the direction the pilot wishes the nose to fall. If you
ever get to an airshow watch the aerobatic Pitts Specials or the Sukhois perform
this manoeuvre. They tend to spill smoke whilst doing so to emphasise the
action. The lazy tipping of the aircraft looks like the aircraft is balanced on
its tail and is slowly tipping over to the side.
This technique apparently was first used in combat by Max Immelmann, the famous
WWI German flyer who was also one of the world's first fighter aces. One of
Immelmann's favourite tactics was to make a high speed diving attack on his
victim, then pull up vertically, perform rudder reversal and dive back down for
another attack and so on, until the target was destroyed. This tactic so
confounded the Allied opponents that they dubbed it the Immelmann Turn (Figure 9
on page 140) and were convinced that it defied the laws of aerodynamics. Once it
was figured out, the technique was widely copied by both sides. American ace, Air
Vice Marshal, Jonnie Johnson explains, however, how when more powerful aircraft
like the Camel came onto stream, that the manoeuvre could be a dangerous one. If
it wasn't timed properly.
"...for the lower pilot could climb after the Fokker Triplane and attack when it
hung almost motionless in the vertlcal position, not under full control and
presenting an easy shot".
Of course, all of the above look nice in a manual. However, in practice you have
the practical problems of keeping your eye on your opponent looking over your
shoulder at a bogey and trying to keep a visual during high g manoeuvres, is
tough. Although, in Overlord, this situation is eased somewhat with the use of
the Inside Lock. Keeping visual under these conditions makes aircraft control and
energy management difficult to maintain. For example, it's difficult to know
whether your wings are level. Also, speed and altitude have to be judged by feel
since the pilot may not be able to afford the luxury of actually taking his eyes
off the bogey to look at the gauges - arduous and hazardous when you're fighting
at low level.
THE 'LEAD' AND 'PURE PURSUIT'
The Pure Pursuit is where the chasing aircraft keeps his nose firmly on the target
aircraft at all times, generating a curved flight path that ends in a tail-chase
with the target intercept at about point 5.
The Lead Pursuit results from the aircraft leading the aircraft somewhat, keeping
the nose of the aircraft ahead of the enemy by a small amount. This pursuit also
results in a tail chase but it takes less time to do it between 4 and 5.
HIGH AND LOW YO-YOS
The High Yo-Yo is handy for preventing overshoots and reducing the angle off
the-tail. Speeds of both aircraft should be about the same. One tip for the
attacker is, not to raise your nose too high as this can result in you losing
speed/energy and the defender getting away from you.
The Low Yo-Yo should be used to get closer to the aircraft and improve your angle
off the tail. This is handy for less manoeuvrable aircraft who can not pull their
nose around to get a shot in. This manoeuvre allows you to turn your aircrafts
nose down whilst rolling your aircraft into the turn thus manoeuvring your nose
well in front of, but below, your enemy's position. Gravity also helps this
turning manoeuvre. Thus backing up your belief that God is on your side.
BARREL ROLL
The Barrel Roll is a classic manoeuvre to defend against a gun attack. Completed
as per the illustration the defender can cause the attacker to break off the
attack or overshoot the defender's flight path. This form of nose low high g
manoeuvre is not recommended at low altitude, though. Don't forget to keep a look
out for bogies because this manoeuvre is best adopted after the bogey is spotted
at some distance from your aircraft. If you allow him to get too close before
going for the Barrel Roll you will not divert the bogey from his flight path at
all. Also, if you let him get too far away he will be able to correct.
NOSE-TO-NOSE TURN
A handy turn for manoeuvrable aircraft as, when the two aircraft have passed, the
manoeuvrable aircraft is able to turn quickly to achieve superiority. It's the
aircraft with the tighter turn radius that wins the nose to nose turn battle, not
the aircraft with the better turn-rate capability.
LEAD TURN
A Lead Turn is where the attacker turns early before he passes his opponent. This
manoeuvre is often used as a linking operation to a Lead Pursuit or a high angle
gun snapshot. This manoeuvre has to be well timed, though, to prevent you
planting yourself in front of the opponent's nose and guns.
FLAT SCISSORS
This manoeuvre is, actually, a series of nose to nose turns and over shoots
performed by two aircraft flying in the same direction and at a similar altitude
both are trying to get behind the other. However, the aircraft with the smaller
turn radius will always win this tussle as it can turn tighter into the opponent's
tail.
ROLLING SCISSORS
A Flat Scissors approach follows a slow speed horizontal overshoot. However the
Rolling Scissors often results from a high speed overshoot. Here, the defender
pulls up to reduce speed, the attacker follows and starts the Scissors sequence.
The secret to winning this bout is more a combination of aircraft performance and
pilot technique in preventing an overshoot whilst maintaining energy.
DEFENSIVE SPIRAL
Related to the Scissors, the Defensive Spiral is a form of tight Rolling Scissors
going straight down. This manoeuvre benefits the faster aircraft as it results in
a transferal of the faster aircrafts energy into useful energy. If recognised
early the attacking aircraft can maintain a level turn, passing over the position
of the target, then beginning the pull down. Thus, the defender cannot keep the
attacker in sight. This maintains a degree of separation and prevents any
possibility of an overshoot.
IMMELMANN TURN
Often performed as the result of a head on pass by two aircraft. The 'Hammerhead
Turn', 'Rudder Reversal' or 'Immelman Turn' allows the aircraft with the highest
energy to perform this manoeuvre and become the attacker as shown in the diagram.
The attacker, by having the option of deciding which way to flick his rudder, can
choose the position of attack. If performed correctly the defender is in a heap
of trouble. He might try a high g turn to gain a sight for his guns. However,
this will result in dramatically slowing his aircraft and, thus, endangering it.
If he decides to run for it the defender will be diving away to gain speed and
distance breaking away from a possible attack from the attacking aircraft is
guesswork at best and will either end up as a lucky shot by the defender onto the
over shooting attacker or the defender breaks off from the combat entirely.
Again, defending this manoeuvre is best done before the manoeuvre is accomplished
in the first place. If recognised early enough the defender can break off and
gain height to maintain energy.
DESIGNER ADVICE
by Rod Hyde
Would an ace pilot from the second world war be able to cope in the hot seat of a
modern jet fighter?
Would the best of today's fighter jocks be at home in the cockpit of the legendary
Spitfire?
Well many of the hard lessons learnt over 50 years ago are as relevant now as they
were then. However there are enough differences to make the speculation
interesting.
In this article I am going to consider the differences and similarities, but with
special emphasis on the problems that the World War 2 pilot faced.
In the real world of air combat, over eight out of 10 kills are forgone
concluslons by the time the victim knows there is a problem. So if you get
involved in a dogfight, you have already given up your best weapon: surprise. It
is essential that you become a hunter and not one of the hunted. A modern jet
fighter has radar, TVs with magnification and threat indicators to help detect the
enemy. In comparison, the WW2 pilot was limited to the Mark I Eyeball. Good
eyesight was essential, far more important than it is now. It was also important
to use the gift of good eyesight properly: this comes with experience.
Inexperienced pilots would be concerned with flying and not fighting. So here are
some tips to help you live long enough to gain your experience.
.Keep the sun behind you. If you have to fly away from the sun, 'tack' away at 45
degrees from the direct course.
.Keep your eyes out of the cockpit. Don't get fixated by the instruments.
Relying on the 3D view displayed on the cockpit screens of a typical flight sim
will also lead to trouble. In a real aircraft the pilot is not limited to a small
tunnel of vision, he moves his head to cover as much of the sky as possible. In
Overlord, you need to move to the Inside Lock view to get the same effect.
.Look for relative movement. At the edge of visibility where a stationary
aircraft would be invisible, the relative motion of a moving aircraft against the
backdrop will give it away. In many flight sims, designers include layers of dots
to enhance the impression of speed and perspective. These make it more difficult
to pick up aircraft. However relative motion will give away a moving aircraft
every time.
.WW2 aircraft did not fly as high as modern fighters. This means that a pilot can
also look for aircraft shadows over the ground and sea. Sometimes it is easier to
see the shadow than the aircraft casting the shadow.
.Watch out for the messages from your ground controllers and fellow aviators.
These should help you to make your search more profitable.
.Watch your six and don't rely on the rear view mirror. More often than not,
danger comes directly from behind you (your six). Although your mirror gives a
view of the area, it is only a very narrow view. Use the Inside Lock view.
.Fly in pairs. A man on his own is a liability, a pair is an asset. Having a
buddy close by is like having an extra pair of eyes. Not only that, it complies
with the ancient doctrine of concentration of firepower. However, this doctrine
resulted in the RAF adopting some very poor tactics in the early months of the
World War 2. Large wings of fighters were instructed to fly so close to each
other that only the leader couldspend any time looking out for the enemy. Many
"Tail end Charlies" were shot down before the tactics were discarded in favour of
the approach adopted by the Luftwaffe. It is essential that you should fly close
enough to provide mutual support but not so close that the act of formation flying
requires too much attention.
One you have spotted the enemy, you should attempt to keep out of his sight. If
you have not already done so, move up sun and gain more height and use and cover
provided by clouds oor high ground. Modern fighter pilots will attempt to move to
the rear of the enemy. If the opponent is unattentive it is possible to approach
to missile or gun range without detection and without danger. The WW2 pilot did
not have things so easy. Some aircraft had rear facing crew with guns. This was
a real sting in the tail for an unsuspecting pilot coming in for the kill. So it
was important to identify the aircraft before adopting attacking tactics. For
aircraft bristling with guns, an aggressive fast slashing attack would make the
most sense. This doesnt give the gunman a chance to take aim. Sometimes aircrew
were left at home to increase aircraft range. Once discovered, this would be an
unexpected bonus for RAF pilots.
After the attack, get away as quickly as possible using all speed. Only go for
the deck as a last resort. At low altitude, small arms fire from the ground can
be very dangerous.
A pilot is at his most vulnerable when he is attacking another aircraft. He needs
to concentrate his attention on the attack and does not have much time to look
around. So getaway as soon as possible, there could be a bandit on your tail.
Incidentally, target fixation is a real problem in its own right. Pilots have
collided with other aircraft, been shot done and hit the ground when they have
concentrated on the target to the exclusion of everything else. All this
strengthens the argument of flying with a buddy.
You should attack suddenly and aggressively. Be sure of the shot before you open
fire. Once the shells start to fly, your position will not remain a secret for
very long. Once war time commander ordered that tracers be removed from his
squadron's ammunition. This removal of the squadron's calling card increased the
kill rate significantly.
Now there are no absolutes in air combat. It has been said that if you ask three
American pilots the correct procedure given the same set of circumstances in a
combat situation, you will get three different answers. Ask three Russians and
you will get the doctrinal answer. Who is to say who is right? Anyway, here are
a couple of examples to contradict the advice to hold your fire until you are sure
of a shot.
In a tail chase where you have an enemy aircraft in front and you are not gaining
on him give him a burst of gun fire. This may scare him into weaving about. This
could be enough to slow him down and let you catch up. This next trick was used
by Adolf Galland when he found himself in a sticky situation with a Thunderbolt
fighter behind him. Galland tried a burst on his guns. The shells had no chance
of hitting, they were going in completely the wrong direction. However the
Thunderbolt pilot was so surprised to see smoke and shell cases coming towards him
that he broke off the attack. He probably thought he was the unlucky guinea pig
for the Luftwaffe's latest weapon: fighters with rear facing guns!
The modern jet will be armed with a range of missiles. One of the major
differenccs between World War 2 and modern fighters is the introduction of guided
missiles. These missiles have improved tremendously and now it is much easier to
get a kill. The World War 2 fighter was limited to his gun/cannon. Obviously
shells don't guide like modern missiles, so this makes combat more difficult,
demanding, interesting and stimulating. You have to aim your shells ahead of the
target so that the shells and the target arrive at the same point of space at the
same time. This is called deflection shooting (see elsewhere).
Once you have made visual contact, don't let the bandit out of your sight.
There are two basic problems:
.When you start a manoeuvre the bandit will respond. If you are not looking at
him he certainly will not be where you expect him to be when you finish your
manoeuvre.
.The bandit can turn away during the moment of your inattention. This could make
him almost invisible as he presents a smaller area to you. Also as he is moving
away, relative motion will not be enough to pick him out of the backdrop. The
distance that the bandit covers in the few seconds you are not looking could give
him enough of a lead to get away.
No matter how skillful a pilot is, sooner or later he will find himself in a
vulnerable or defensive position. Here are some words of wisdom from fighter
pilots:
.The best defensive tactic is a hard and fast offensive movement. At the very
least this will unsettle the attacker.
.Don't run from the aggressor, turn towards him. This may make the attaker
overshoot.
.If you try to protect something, you protect nothing. Attack is the best form of
defence.
In summary then:
1. spot the enemy first
2. get into a strong attacking position
3. attack swiftly, suddenly and aggressively
4. then get out as quickly as possible
PART FOUR - IN-GAME TOUR
=========================
TANGMERE STATION MENU
This is the main menu for Overlord. From here you can reach any station in the
game (ie the Tower, Gatehouse, your Bedroom, the CO's Office, Briefing Room,
Dispersal). Selection can be made via mouse or you can toggle through the
selections via the <TAB> key on the keyboard.
There will be random occasions when Tangmere will find itself under attack from
enemy aircraft. When this happens you will have the option of running for cover
for an available trench to dive into (if you are slow with this decision there is
a random chance that you will be killed). As an alternative, you will also be
able to face the foe by jumping in your cockpit and attempting to get into the air
to beat off the Hun. The main problem here is that, as you are taking off, the
enemy aircraft will be looking to shoot you up before you leare terra firma.
TOWER MISSIONS
If you arrire at Tangmere and you just want to jump into the air, but you would
like a little more control to your combat than the Scramble mission offers you,
then you can select the Tower.
Here, you can select what aircraft you want to fly, the height and the position of
the combat, the bombers involved in the combat, whether they should be escorted
and, if so, by what.
YOUR BEDROOM
This bedroom is where you, oddly enough, sleep and, more importantly for this
game, where your diary is kept. Your diary is kept by all three pilots (ie : your
three lives - see Noticeboard on p.157 for more information). All the days events
are recorded here. You'll also hear of events and people who surround Tangmere
and the goings on therein. Each pilot has his own personality and will record
diary entries in a slightly different way, in sympathy to that personality. If
you have been grounded or cannot fly due to weather problems then you will find
yourself in your bedroom.
DIARY
This is where you will be able to read about the day's events. Move the cursor
over red hotspots to see associated illustrations.
COs OFFICE
This is where you will receive any awards coming your way.
Medals include the DSC and Bar, DFC and Bar and the VC. There are other 'awards'
such as citations from Churchill himself plus a few surprises that we'll let you
discover yourself.
Sometimes, an officer will jump on your wing after a mission to inform you that
you are wanted at the CO's office. This could be an indication that a medal is on
the way. A note will be made regarding the medal or award in your Diary
(available in your Bedroom).
Other happenings that could warrant a visit to the CO's Office would be if you
have done something wrong such as shooting down a friendly - or the Spy has some
additional intelligence information for you. There is no need to pop off to this
office on the off chance of something happening, you will always be informed.
NEW PILOT BRIEF OPTIONS
As a new pilot you can choose:
OVERLORD BRIEF
Examine the Overlord situation as you arrive at RAF Tangmere
AIRCRAFT BRIEF
Look at a breakdown of the aircraft involved in the game.
GUN CAMERA FILM
Examine any gun camera film made in fliglt during a Scramble or Tower mission
CHOOSE AIRCRAFT
Choose an aircraft to fly in
AIRCRAFT SELECTION MENU
Select the aircraft of your choice at this menu. Just click on the required
picture.
OVERLORD BRIEFING
If you have selected a briefing of any sort, such as the Overlord briefing as
illustrated here, you will be taken to the left hand side of the briefing room
where a full slide/film show will be given along with explanationary text.
MAP SCREEN
The map screen shows the target area, the list of viable ground targets (red), the
railways (black), rivers (blue) and night waypoints which you should follow to
enable you to find your target and your way home (pink). The map screen can be
called up in night using the hot-key 'M' This also shows your aircraft as a
flashing blue dot and other aircraft in the area Light blue dots are friendly
aircraft; pinkdots are enemy aircraft and red dots are mobile targets such as
tanks, trains and trucks.
DISPERSAL
This room changes in appearance when you change the type of aircraft you are
flying and, hence, the Squadron you are attached to. However, it will always be
the place that you can select the Logbook, Noticeboard, Combat Reports and Score
board.
NOTICEBOARD
This is the area in which you can check on the well being of your pilots. If your
pilot is on duty or missing or killed in action, you'll see his fate posted here.
You can also change your aircraft type by transferring to another squadron. You
experience no drop in standing or any detriment to your campaign with this option.
It has been included in order for you to get to see the other aircraft types
relatively painlessly whilst retaining the realistic atmosphere.
When you start the game you are allocated Bill Scott. If he dies then Jack
Goodwin takes orer and finally Sandy Wallace. Three game lives, if you like. The
three lives serve as a handle for you to use as a focal point for your control of
the entire campaign. This pilot selection process provides one divergence in
gameplay. For example....
You should not look upon the pilot as the be all and end all. He is not your sole
persona. What he does is help connect you with Tangmere and the build up to
Overlord itself. As an example, during flight, if you're Bill Scott and his
aircraft is terminally damaged then you can (via the use of a keyboard hot key)
jump into another cockpit leaving your last mount to dive to its death. Now,
you're in a new cockpit, yet you are still Bill Scott What? The RAF dabbling in
the paranormal? No, it's just that, in Overlord we want to steer you away from
'the few' in Favour of 'the many' So, Bill Scott returns home to carry on his
fight. Think of Bill being a symbol for the squadrons of pilots who fought for
the Allies.
On the other hand....
Okay, if you don't like that idea then you can take the three pilots personae as
individuals in a big war and play Overlord as a one-character game, protecting
them with all your might and going down with the ship, as it were, when mortally
hit.
This is one example of how free form Overlord can be.
THE SCORE
Available in the Dispersal area, the Score rudder gives you all of your kill
statistics, broken down into individual target types and hits types.
LOGBOOK
When you have completed a flight the results of the flight are recorded in the
Logbook.
EXTERNAL VIEW
There are many external viewpoints to select in Overlord. However, if you are
concerned about losing control of your aircraft whilst at this view then the
performance bar at the base of the screen will provide all of the information you
require.
On the top line of the box is the information for the aircraft you are flying in.
The second line, after the Next Wp (Next Waypoint) is a selectable mission profile
(use keys ';' & ''' to toggle through the different waypoints). Using this system
you can guide the other aircraft in your flight to change their mission profiles.
The missions are:
Navigation: Fly to the next waypoint
Attack: Attack the selected target
Land: Land at the home base
The Rel Bearing (Relative Bearing) is a bit like the carat shown on the HUD of
many jet simulations. That is, if you move your aircraft so that the relative
bearing reads '0' you will be on the waypoints course. The range is the distance
to the next waypoint. The altitude is the altitude you should be at the next
waypoint in order to achieve the objective.
The third line shows the position information. Hence, select the object of your
choice (SHIFT :) and inFormation regarding its position will be offered. Objects
can either be:
Home - Your home base
Opposition - Your goal or target
Escortee - The bomber you are escorting
Buddy - Information about your buddy or wingman
The bottom line gives you information for the view type and viewee that you have
selected.
INSIDE COMBAT LOCK
The problem with most flight simulations is that, during flight combat, your view
is fixed lorwards. In effect, you are given a small window onto the outside world
without any peripheral vision. Options for turning your head are restricted to
cumbersome key/view changes that plant your view left/right/back. It does the job
but without fluidity and, if you're grappling to keep a bead on a bogie, it is
unusable in the tension of combat. There are other flight simulation examples
that allow the game view to roam freely around the cockpit in a realistic 3D mode,
tracking the target around the sky with ease and allowing you to keep your eye on
all air bogies. The trouble with this system is that it often results in
disorientation. For the player which can be catastrophic for your combat
situation as you lose your mental positioning in the sky. Overlord's 'Inside
Combat Lock' solves all of these problems.
When you switch on the Inside Lock view, via the <BACKSPACE> key, the normal
cockpit view disappears and a floating view appears. It looks like you are
sitting on a higher chair inside the cockpit itself. This view position was
created to remove those instruments that get in the way of your outside view.
The first thing that the Inside Combat Lock does is to look for a flight target.
If it finds one then it will 'lock' onto it and follow it wherever it goes until
you ask the Inside Combat Lock to do otherwise (see Keyboard Reference Chart).
This allows you to track the enemy aircraft as if you were turning your head in
the cockpit, and anticipate it's manoeuvres when it would normally be out of
normal forward vision. Hence, you can manoeuvre your own aircraft and perform
productive manoeuvres to counter enemy moves rather than having to second guess an
out of-sight out-of-mind bogie.
Now, this is all very well such a floating viewpoint is, in this day and age,
nothing new. The difference in Overlord's Inside Combat Lock view point is how
the Lock prevents you from becoming disoriented. It does this by providing you
with noticeable orientation markings that never get in the way. At the front of
the cockpit you are provided with a gunsight on both sides of the cockpit is a
stretched arrow pointing towards the front of the aircraft. Finally, at the top
of the canopy is a squashed arrow presented in a denser shade to differentiate
between the top and sides of the canopy. Couple the arrows with the usual
additional furniture and canopy framing that you would normally expect to see in a
cockpit and you have a perfect combat utility that, for the first time in a
simulation presents a usable combat viewpoint.
When using the Inside Combat Lock, practice with it for a few Scramble missions.
Of course, it'll be strange to use at first but you will quickly become used to
the orientation and Inside Combat Lock will become second nature to you.
REAR VIEW MIRROR
Using the square brackets on the keyboard (i e: [ & ] ) you can examine the rear
view mirror for those enemy aircraft who like to sneak up on your 'Six'
CURRENT OPERATING CONDITIONS
This screen is the core of the Overlord engine as it controls all of the variables
in the game. This screen allows you to modify some of the important variables in
the game.
MISSION TYPE
This option allows you to override the mission chosen by the computer.
CIRCUS - Escort bombers.
There are three types of Circus mission:
RAIL - Attacking the larger Marshalling Yards
AIR - Attacking airfields
BATTERY - Attacking Coastal batteries
Circus missions are handy to use when you need some heavy bombs to destroy a
target, such as those listed immediately above.
TRANSPORTATION PLAN - A set of fighter missions. There are eight small
Marshalling Yards and eight large Yards. If a previous Circus mission has
damaged, but not destroyed, a large Marshalling Yard, then the fighters will be
tasked to finish it off. This is all related to the categorisation of targets
that the AEAF used:
Category A: destroyed
Category B: damaged
Category C: undamaged
If there are no Category B large Marshalling Yards then one of the eight small
Yards will be targeted.
RANGER - This is a Sweep mission. A Sweep is a general mission, flying over
France looking for trouble. In this case your Squadron Leader chooses which
mission you should fly.
RODEO & RHUBARB - These are both Sweep missions to hit coastal and secondary
waypoint targets. However, Rodeo involves more aircraft on the attack than
Rhubarb.
TRAINS - Another Sweep but the computer encourages more trains to hit the tracks
than would normally be the case.
BRIDGES - Attacks against one of eight bridges that cross the River Seine. In
this mission you will be carrying rockets (Typhoon) or bombs (Spitfire or
Mustang). You will have escorts on this mission.
RADAR - Similar to the Bridges mission. Here you will be hitting one of eight
radar stations. Again, you will carry rockets or bombs and will be escorted.
ROADSTEAD - This is a Sweep against boats.
RANK
The increases in ranks signify an increase in the difficulty level of the game in
general. For example, if you selected the highest rank you would automatically
toggle the other options on this screen to more realistic and/or tougher
selections. If you begin at the lowest rank you will during the course of the
game, be promoted which will, again, increase the difficulty levels on a relative
basis.
FUEL
Either historical or unlimited
ENGINES
The engines either work as they did historically or, if you select Super Engines,
the engines will perform without any problems. They will also run 50% faster.
This increase in speed allows for "smoother" engine performance.
VULNERABILITY
Select this option to make your aircraft indestructible or open to damage
ARMS
Weapon numbers are either finite and historical or unlimited
TARGET
An Easy target selection means that the object kill volume is larger than the
shape. Medium means that the kill volume is about the same size as the shape.
However, the Hard selection means you must centralise your hit to kill the target.
ENEMY ACTIVITY
This alters the enemys ability to manoeuvre from hardly any manoeuvres to an enemy
who will do his damnedest to out turn and out manoeuvre you.
STARTING POSITION
When beginning the mission you can start on the tarmac in your home base or in the
air on the way to a mission target.
REAL TIME
Visible means that, when you automatically come out of Acceleration Mode you will
stop within visible range of the enemy, about eight miles. Combat means that you
will come out of Acceleration Mode within combat distance or around a mile from
the enemy.
CONTROL TYPE
Joystick - This is a standard joystick with two axes and two fire buttons (A and
B). However, if you have a second joystick connected, the fire buttons on that
stick can also be used as buttons C and D.
Joy-Throttle - This joystick also has an additional independent lever that can be
used as a throttle, controlling the aircraft's fuel intake and RPM. There may be
up to four fire buttons. If you have a standard Flightstick or a Maxx Yoke then
this option should work with them.
FlightStick Pro - The FlightStick Pro has a throttle to control RPM on the base
and a "coolie hat" on the top of the stick which provides four extra switches.
Thrustmaster - The Thrustmaster PFCS has a "coolie hat" on the top of the stick
which provides four extra switches.
Recalibrate - This option allows you to re centre your joystick if you notice a
tendency to yaw or pitch when the joystick is centred. Note that certain events
in the simulation also have this effect, so it is worth checking that the rudder
is centred and the gear is up before blaming the joystick. Having changed this
option the joystick will have to be calibrated after you "accept" the changes.
See later section for details on this procedure (Page 172).
SEPARATE RUDDER
If you have separate rudder pedals you will need to toggle the separate rudder
selection.
SOUND
Turn Sound on, off or have all the sound on bar the engine's
MUSIC
Turn music on or off
DETAIL LEVEL
Allows you to manually select the detail level according to your PC type: 386,
486, 486 33Mhz or faster. However, this manual method does not take your
individual PC's features into consideration. For example, a particularly fast
video card, a slow memory management system and so on might affect your selection.
Hence, experimentation is a wise move.
AUTO DETAIL
This system automatically turns off detail that is beginning to slow down your PC.
It does this on the fly, turning off and on detail as you progress throughout the
sky.
AUTO WINDOW
This system is an alternate detailing system that offers the additional feature of
automatically reducing the size of the window onto the outside world if your PC
cannot handle the flight detail. It does this on the fly reducing and increasing
the window size when necessary.
SCREEN FADES
Toggle on or off. Faster machines might like to leave this on - well, it looks
pretty. However, slower PCs might benefit with this option turned off as screen
fades eat up CPU power.
END OF PART THREE
--=============--
OVERLORD - ENGLISH MANUAL
==========================
PART FOUR
--=====--
TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
JOYSTICK CALIBRATION
After changing the joystick option and choosing accept you will be asked to move
the joystick controls in order to calibrate the game to your joystick. On the PC
and AMIGA there are a number of factors which can effect the operation of the
analogue joystick and it is necessary to go through this process in order to get
the best from it. First, ensure that any auto-fire devices are turned off. These
will not be useful in this simulation and will confuse the calibration process.
ALL JOYSTICKS
For all joysticks you will be asked to:
"Centre Stick & Press Fire Button"
Then you will be asked to:
"Move Stick thro' full movement & Press Fire Button"
Make sure that you push the stick to its maximum deflection in each of the four
sides. On some joysticks the maximum deflection is in the corners, on others it
is in the middle of each edge, so to be certain of covering all the positions you
should run along each edge and into each corner before pressing the joystick fire
button. If the joystick is not connected then after a few seconds the following
message is displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight control
device.
"CALIBRATION ERROR"
"Press Enter"
You may also see the message:
"Warning Poor Calibration"
"Press Enter"
This means that in order to accommodate a small reading on one side of the
joystick there will be a large dead area on the opposite side. You may find that
flight control is still acceptable, in which case you may ignore the warning, or
you may wish to use the trim controls on your joystick to give better centreing.
This is the end of the joystick configuration for normal joysticks.
FLIGHTSTICK PRO AND THROTTLE CALIBRATION
For the FlightStick Pro and Throttle joysticks there are two extra request
screens. These vary depending on whether you have also selected analogue rudder
pedals.
If you have not selected rudder the first screen reads:
"Min Throttle" "& Press Fire Button"
You may arbitrarily decide to make your throttle work in either direction so you
can choose either end as the minimum.
If you have also selected Rudder pedals then this request will read:
"Min Throttle", "Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button"
If the screen times out, or the throttle or pedals cannot be detected the
following message is displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight
control device.
"CALIBRATION ERROR" "Press Enter"
If you have not selected rudder the second screen will then ask you:
"Max Throttle" "& Press Fire Button"
You should move the throttle control to the opposite extreme then press the
joystick fire key. If you have selected rudder the second screen will ask you:
"Max Throttle"
"Move Pedals thro' full movement & Press Fire Button"
As well as moving the throttle to the opposite extreme you should also press down
each of the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire key.
If the centring of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned:
"Warning: Poor Calibration" "Press Enter"
This means that in order to accommodate a small reading on one side of the pedals
there will be a large dead area on the opposite side. You may find that flight
control is still acceptable, in which case you may ignore the warning, or you may
wish to use the trim controls on your pedals if you have any to give better
centring.
The coolie hat on the FlightStick Pro does not require calibrating.
THRUSTMASTER CALIBRATION
For the Thrustmaster PFCS coolie hat there are two additional request screens.
These vary depending on whether you have also selected analogue rudder pedals.
If you have not selected rudder the first Screen reads:
"Centre Coolie" "& Press Fire Button"
If you have rudder selected the screen will read:
"Centre Coolie", "Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button"
The coolie centre position is the position it returns to when released. If the
Screen times out, or the coolie hat or pedals cannot be detected then the
following message is displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight
control device:
"CALIBRATION ERROR" "Press Enter"
NOTE: If you have also attached the WCS (Weapon Control System) you can either
calibrate the PFCS as a standard joystick and use the keyboard mapping program to
activate the coolie hat or set the mode switches to TEST and ANALOGUE on the WCS.
If you have not selected rudder the second screen will then ask you:
"Move Coolie thro full movement" "& Press Fire Button"
It is important that you push the coolie-hat into all four possible positions.
If you have selected rudder the second screen will then ask you:
"Move Coolie thro' full movement"
"Move Pedals thro full movement & Press Fire Button"
It is important that you push the coolie hat into all four possible positions and
press down each of the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire
key.
If the centring of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned:
"Warning Poor Calibration"
"Press Enter"
This means that in order to accommodate a small reading on one side of the pcdals
there will be a large dead area on the opposite side. You may find that flight
control is still acceptable in which case you may ignore the warning or you may
wish to use the trim controls on your pedals if you have any to give better
centring.
If you have Thrustmaster's WCS Mk II, which attaches to the keyboard port and can
emulate the keyboard keys that control the throttle, as well as any other
functions, here are the keys that can be used for that unit:
/? Boost throttle
.> Max throttle
shift=+ Continuous large increases
pad + Single large increase
=+ Continuous small increases
shift pad + Single small increase
shift pad - Single small decrease
- Continuous small decreases
pad - Single large decrease
Shift -_ Continuous large decreases
,< Min throttle
RUDDER PEDALS
If you have selected Thrustmaster or FlightStick then you have already configured
the rudder. If you selected joystick and rudder pedals then the following two
additional screens will calibrate the rudder. Screen 1 requests:
"Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button"
If the screen times out, or the pedals cannot be detected then following message
is displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight control device:
"CALIBRATION ERROR" "Press Enter"
The second Screen will then ask you:
"Move Pedals thro' full movement & Press Fire Button"
Press down each of the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire
key. If the centring of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned:
"Warning: Poor Calibration" "Press Enter"
This means that in order to accommodate a small reading on one side of the pedals
there will be a large dead area on the opposite side. You may find that flight
control is still acceptable, in which case you may ignore the warning or you may
wish to use the trim controls on your pedals if you have any to give better
centring.
JOYSTICK CONTROLS
The basic joystick provides elevator (pitch) and aileron (roll) controls, and two
fire buttons. Button "A" fires the guns. Button "B" switches between guns and
other weapon types.
There are two additional buttons fitted to many extended joysticks:
Button "C" switches to track view.
Button "D" steps though the available targets in "Nearest Friendly" "Nearest
Unfriendly", and "Nearest ground target" view.
When available the throttle controls the RPM of the aircraft.
When available, the four positions of the coolie hat are used to select additional
views and aircraft controls:
front: engages and disengages boost
back: engages and disengages air brakes
left: switches to an inside lock view of anything currently being viewed
right: switches to an outside lock view of anything currently being viewed
TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR ADVANCED JOYSTICK USERS
It is possible to take advantage of the rudder throttle and additional fire keys
using two joysticks attached to a two port joystick card or using a joystick 'Y'
splitter. Note that basic 'multi i/o' cards fitted as standard in many machines
often only implement the standard two axes of one joystick, so a "Y" splitter, or
an extended joystick will not work with these cards. On the second joystick the
trim control of the "Y" pitch axis cqan be used as the throttle and the left to
right movement of the joystick can be used for rudder. This is similar to a model
aircraft radio controller. In addition the two extra buttons can be utilised.
The joystick configuration data is held within the player record and could be
binary edited by the experienced user to define a more customised configuration of
the joystick interface than is possible using the program. This editing allows a
few additional permutations of analogue devices to be created, the curve of the
stick to be modified, clipping of noisy sticks, and the remapping of the joystick
switches to different keys.
The Joystick configuration block is in the SAVEGAME\*.SAV file.
There are numerous other game control flags in this file.
Changing a named player record, eg SWORD.SAV, will only effect that game, but
modifying NEWPLAY.SAV will effect any new games.
The joystick block starts with the ascii text "STIK". This is followed by the
translate table for the elevators. This table is 64 bytes long and is indexed
with absolute joystick Y position scaled to the range 0 to 63. It should return a
value in the same range. This is followed by six overflow entries for elevator
making 70 entries in total.
This is followed by the translate table for the ailerons. This table is 64 bytes
long and is indexed with absolute joystick X position scaled to the range 0 to 63.
It should return a value in the same range.
This is followed by six overflow entries for aileron to make 70 entries in total.
This is followed by the scaling and centring factors needed by the program for
each stick axis. These can vary depending on the speed of the machine, the brand
of interface, and the joystick itself. Once set, however, it may be useful to
make slight modifications to the values. For each axis there is a word reading
for the centre, and a word reading for the distance between centre and closer
edge. The order of the words is:
CentreX1, CentreY1, DistanceX1, DistanceY1
CentreX2, CentreY2, DistanceX2, DistanceY2
This is followed by a word defining the current controller mode:
Basic modes:
0 Keyboard
1 2 axis joystick
2 Y2 axis used for Throttle
3 Y2 axis used for Thrustmaster coolie hat
+4 X2 axis used for rudder
+8 Button patterns used for FlightStick coolie hat
It is possible therefore to use rudder without joystick, the FlightStick Pro
button patterns with a normal 2 axis stick, or just the Flightstick switches and
no joystick.
This is followed by the keyboard mappings for the various switches on the
joystick. There are up to four buttons and four positions on the coolie hat.
Button A is reserved for fire. The other seven switches are encoded as two
consecutive bytes defining the scancode and simultaneous shift keys. The values
for scancode can be found in PC references. The values for shiftkeys are:
1 Normal key on its own
2 Shift key pressed simultaneously
4 Alt key pressed simultaneously
8 Ctrl key pressed simultaneously
Only the initial press event is detected by the program for the switch
translations, so they cannot be used to emulate keys that are normally held down
in use - such as the outside view rotates.
The order of the switch codes is:
Switch Default use Key Encoding
Button B Weap sel PgUp 01 49
Button C track view F6 01 40
Button D next viewee Alt F 04 21
Coolie Left Inside lock F9 01 43
Coolie Back air brakes b 01 30
Coolie Right Outside lock F8 01 42
Coolie Forward Boost rpm slash 01 35
The encodings for the coolie hat are as follows:
Coolie hat Thrustmaster FlightStick
position axis Y2 Pro buttons
centred 100%
left 75% AB-
back 50% ABC-
right 25% AB-D
forward 0% ABCD
Those building their own sticks may like to note that our code allows +/- 10%
tolerence in the Thrustmaster position reading, and that the Flightstick Pro
blocks multiple button presses except for the patterns above for the coolie hat.
GATEHOUSE
This is where you can restart, save or quit the game. If you have accessed this
screen by mistake just click on "Continue" to return to the Tangmere menu screen.
PART FIVE - VIDEO EDITING SUITE
================================
TITLE BAR
This strip runs along the top of the Video Editing Suite and tells you what
filename the present video relates to, the Position (within RAM) that the current
video frame is in and the Last Page (of RAM) that the video ends at.
VIEW TYPE SELECTOR
The red label shown at the top of this box is the selected viewpoint.
INSIDE - The view within the aircraft's cockpit
OUTSIDE - The view outside your aircraft
CHASE - As if you are flying behind your piloted aircraft in a "chase" plane
SATELLlTE - A look down viewpoint
IN LOCK - Locks on to an external object looking from your cockpit
OUT LOCK - Locks on to an external object but this time you are looking at it
from outside your aircraft
VIEWEE SELECTOR
The Selected viewee position is always shown in red text.
PILOT AC - This shows the view in the aircraft's cockpit
NR GROUND - This selection shows the nearest ground target to you
HOME BASE - Shows Tangmere
NR UNFRND - Shows the nearest enemy aircraft to your aircraft
NR FRIEND - This option shows the nearest friendly to you
MOVEMENT BLOCK
Moving from left to right and then downwards the buttons are:
PLAY/PAUSE - Play the video or pause it at a paticular frame.
MOVE FORWARD ONE FRAME - Move the video film a single frame forwards
STOP - Stop the video
REWIND TO BEGINNING - Rewind the video to the beginning of the entire video.
FAST REWIND - Rewind the video at an accelerated pace
REWIND ONE SECTION - Rewind the video one section
FORWARD ONE SECTION - Move one section forwards
FAST FORWARD - Move the video forward at an accelerated pace
FAST FORWARD TO END - Move the video forward to the end of the entire video.
Note: A section is an area of EMS RAM totalling 16K in size.
ZOOM & ROTATE KEYS
H = Horizontal. The left and right arrow keys allow you to rotate left and right
V = Vertical. The up and down keys allow you to rotate up and down
Z = Zoom. The up and down keys allow you to zoom in and out.
NOTE. With the rotation keys, click once to start the rotation and again to pause
the action. When you click on either H, V or Z keys you will reset to the default
setting for that command.
MARKER BOX
All symbols [i e : 1, 2, 3,] within this block are keyboard hotkeys
Start Marker
START - Places Start Marker at the beginning of the video. That is, position 0
MARK - Places Start Marker whereever you are on the video 'tape'.
GO - Go directly to the Start Marker
Block Edit
NOTE - The definition of a 'Block' is a section of video that has been braketed
with a 'Start' and 'End' marker.
DEL - Delete a block of video you no longer want.
WRITE - Write a block of video to disk.
READ - Read a block to RAM. That is, this option allows you to insert ablock of
video from the disk to the video already in RAM at the current position
File Edit
LOAD - Remove a video in memory and load in a new video from the disk
SAVE - Save the current video to disk
DEL - Delete a video from the disk
End Marker
END - Places the end marker at the very end of the entire video
MARK - Place the End Marker wherever you are on the tape
GO - Go to the End Marker
FLAGS
The following flags work in conjunction with the other options on the Video
Editing Suite. All of the options are hot-keyed to respond to their flrst letter
(eg : the hot key for Viewee fix is "V").
VIEWEE FIX/FREE - Toggled as "fixed" or "free", this option moves the view to the
nearest object (ie Free) or fixes the viewpoint to the nearest
object and then fixes upon it, following it wherever it goes.
The latter option is handy to follow an aircraft within a crowd
ed sky.
COCKPIT OFF/ON - Toggles the cockpit on or off. When "off " the cockpit dis-
appears and you get a 'window' onto the outside view.
TIME NORM/ACCEL - Gives you normal time or accelerated time
NEXT ITEM - If you have selected the VIEWEE FIX option then this selection
moves your view to the next available "fixed" item.
MSL VW OFF/ON - This toggles the missile (which can be a rocket/bomb/gun) on
or off. If "On" will follow launches that have been recorded
IMPT VW OFF/ON - If toggled "On" then just before your weapon hits the target
you are whisked to the target to see it blow up and expel smoke
etc. Then you are taken straight back whence you came.
PART SIX - THE VIEW MATRIX
==========================
One of the most important features within Overlord is the large amount of wide
ranging viewpoints that can be accessed whilst flying your aircraft. The sheer
amount of viewpoints on offer is staggering and potentially confusing to the
beginner. However, once you have become accustomed to the game and have
experimented with the various viewpoints (see the Keyboard Reference charts) you
will be able to use the View Matrix, as the Overlord viewing system is known, to
your advantage (see below).
It must be stressed, however, that the View Matrix is not, merely, a bunch of
random viewpoints thrown together haphazardly. The View Matrix is unique in that
it allows you to select a view, then it requests how you would like to modify that
view to your own satisfaction. The large amount of viewable combinations that are
possible using this system gives you just about any scene you could wish to have
at any position in the sky and in response to any situation that you might
encounter.
To give you some idea of what can be achieved using the View Matrix let's take
three mission profiles to act as vehicles for the viewable options.
AIR COMBAT
To begin with from the initial main Tangmere menu, select the Tower.
Then select the default mission to get up into the air.
Once up in the air, with the sky full of unfriendly aircraft, press the <ENTER>
key to get an Outside Lock of the nearest unfriendly aircraft. Because you can
see the piloted aircraft in the foreground it is easy to understand the combat
situation.
Next type <ALT f> to step through the enemy aircraft in the sky. This gives you
some idea of what you are up against in terms of total numbers.
Once you've spotted your target aircraft you can obtain a track view by pressing
<f6>.
To get a different viewpoint of this aircraft you can press <ENTER> again to
obtain an Outside Lock of the target aircraft.
Now that the enemy aircraft have been examined you will want to manoeuvre your
aircraft into a favourable position to press home your attack. A rear attack, for
example. You may wish to press "7" for a traditional cockpit view.
Once you have positioned yourself into this favourable position you may wish to
revert to the Inside Combat Lock to prosecute the kill <BACKSPACE>.
The Inside Combat Lock is invaluable to maintain a visual fix on your target,
especially if they decide to manoeuvre away from you. If you get disoriented
pressing <ENTER> to get the Outside Lock will allow you to become oriented.
If another enemy becomes a threat you can also use <ALT F> to target it. This
view shows a possible threat which is present over your left shoulder. You can
see part of your seat, the bogie is still a small dot on the horizon.
Pressing <SHIFT F> will free the lock so that the view is automatically changed to
the nearest aircraft. This will prevent surprises. However, you will have to
balance the advantages that this view can offer with the possible disadvantages of
the view changing just as you are about to make a kill.
GROUND TARGET
Now for a ground mission let's hit a bridge. Select this mission via the current
operating conditions' screen (P 165). To begin the mission, you must select bombs
via the weapon selector <PG Up>.
To take a look at the target, as you approach the bridge, select <SHIFT F8> to
move to the inside lock of the target.
If you need to shift to the front cockpit instruments hit "7".
Check out your situation and then fly until the target is 90o relative bearing.
Next, you must wing over to get the bridge onto the centre screen. This should
involve a dive. When bomb aiming, the cross hair should just be behind the
target.
There's a wide selection of views that can be utilised at this point. For
example, <F8> will give you an Outside Lock of the target.
<F6> gives you another view, the Track View of the target. Here, you can see that
your wingmen are already attacking the bridge, this attack resulted in a near
miss.
"X" gives you a Missile viewpoint, In effect, in this case, you follow the bombs
down to the ground.
Selecting "Z" gives you the Impact toggle to give you a close up view point of the
target as it is hit.
SWEEP
To finish this brief look at the View Matrix let us fly a typical Rodeo Sweep over
the French coast. Select this mission via the current operating conditions screen
(P 165).
Once in the air key <SHIFT F9> to check out the nearest ground target. In this
case it's a juicy E Boat.
Switching to <F6> gives you a close up view of the E Boat within the nearest
target Track View.
Then <ALT F> steps through each of the remaining targets that lie in your
immediate area. This allows you to quickly change your mind and re-target. For
example, here's a train.
On the other hand, you might want to hit the "M" key to access the in flight map
and select a new target this way.
When you have finally made your decision (we'll stick with the E-Boat for now)
regarding your selected target you can select <F8> to get an Outside Lock of the
target. No, we haven't made a mistake, your aircraft isn't that target. The E
Boat target is shown at some distance. However, your aircraft is in shot to give
you a relative bearing as to the position of your aircraft and its target.
Then you can fly towards the target to finalise your attack position. To help you
to establish your perfect attack posture try hitting <F9> to move to the Inside
Lock and then initiate the attack.
GENERAL ADVICE FOR VIEW KEYS:
The shift & Function plus Shift & Numeric keys give you a view of something.
The number and function keys by themselves define what you want to do with that
view.
PART SEVEN - KEYBOARD REFERENCE
===============================
NORMAL KEYS
-----------
1................ Increases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
2................ Decreases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
5................ A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
6................ A view of the left of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
7................ A view of the front of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
8................ A view of the right of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
9................ A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
0................ Brings you back to your cockpit from an outside viewpoint
-................ Reduce your RPM continuously, in small increments
+................ Increase your RPM continuously, in small increments
BACKSPACE........ Inside Combat Lock
TAB.............. Acceleration time toggle
W................ Wheel brake
E................ External fuel toggle switch (switches fuel from external tanks)
R................ When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys to
rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the speed of
that rotation
T................ Autopilot will fire the guns for you. It works only when the
autopilot is switched on.
P................ Pause
[................ Look up towards the rear-view mirror
]................ Look down to see instrumentation
ENTER............ The Outside Combat Lock looks across your aircraft towards the
nearest unfriendly.
A................ Autopilot
S................ Sound toggle (There are three levels: off, no engine sounds &
engine sounds)
F................ Flaps
G................ Gear
J................ Increase the rate of fire to guns
K................ Decrease the rate of fire to guns
;................ Previous Waypoint
'................ Next Waypoint
Z................ Impact Viewpoint. Automicatically switches the views to any
target your weapons hit
X................ Missile Viewpoint. Automatically switches the views to any
weapons you fire
V................ Video toggle
B................ Air Brake toggle
M................ Map screen
,................ Minimum Power setting
................. Maximum Power setting
SPACE............ Fire
/................ Boost. Excessive use of the boost causes engine damage.
F1............... Zoom In
F2............... Rotate vertically around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
F3............... Rotate horizontally around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
F4............... External Chase position
F5............... Establishes a view of your aircraft with the camera maintaining
absolute heading and pitch
F6............... External Track viewpoint in which the camera pitches and turns
with the aircraft
F7............... External Satellite viewpoint
F8............... Gives the view across your aircraft to the selected target
F9............... View from your aircrafts cockpit of the selected target.
F10.............. Configuration menus
NUMERIC KEYPAD AND CURSOR CLUSTER
ESCAPE............ Return to the piloted aircraft
HOME (7).......... Weapon Ripple select
PAGE UP (9)....... Weapon select
END (1)........... Full rudder deflection, Left
PAGE DOWN (3)..... Full rudder deflection, Right
INSERT (0)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Left
DELETE (.)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Right
DWN ARROW (2)..... Climb
LFT ARROW (4)..... Roll to left
RGT ARROW (6)..... Roll to right
UP ARROW (8)...... Dive
- ................ Decreases your RPM by single, large increments
+ ................ Increases your RPM by single, large increments
'SHIFT &' KEYS
1.................. A view of Flight 1 while keeping control of your aircraft
2.................. As 1 but for Flight 2
3.................. As 1 but for Flight 3
4.................. As 1 but for Flight 4
5.................. As 1 but for Flight 5
6.................. As 1 but for Flight 6
7.................. As 1 but for Flight 7
8.................. As 1 but for Flight 8
9.................. A view of your wingman
0.................. View of the lead flight
- ................. Reduce your RPM by double the normal amount
+ ................. Increase your RPM by double the normal amount
TAB................ Super Acceleration time key [normal acceleration restricting
events such as approaching enemy aircraft will not affect this
option]
F.................. Toggle the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft. In fixed Mode,
if you have switched to the nearest unfriendly view the
aircraft shown will always be selected, even if another
unfriendly gets closer, until its destroyed, In Free Mode the
nearest or current viewed object will be reselected if
another comes closer.
;.................. Position information
F1................. Tangmere - View of your home base
F2................. Missile - View of the missile you just launched
F3................. Nearest friendly - View of the nearest friendly aircraft.
F4................. Nearest enemy - View of the nearest unfriendly aircraft
F5................. Current enemy - View of the object you have been assigned
to attack, according to the on-screen messages
F6................. Last message - View of the last friendly aircraft to send you a
message
F7................. Message about - View of the object that the last message refers
to.
F8................. Ground target - View of the object that you should attack next
F9................. Nearest target - A list of possible ground targets
NUMERIC KEYPAD
ESCAPE............. Returns to your own aircraft from another viewpoint but
retains the viewpoint you had last. For example, if you were
looking behind an enemy aircraft this option would return
you to behind your own aircraft.
-.................. Decreases your RPM by the normal amount
+.................. Increases your RPM by the normal amount
8, 4, 6 & 2........ Inside View directions, 8 = Front view.
'CTRL &' KEYS
1................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 1 leader and take control as
the pilot
2................. Jump into the cockpit of Fiight 2 leader and take control [some
missions will only have one flight]
3................. Allows you to jump into the cockpit of Flight 3 leader and take
control [many missions only have one or two flights]
4................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 4 leader and take control [most
missions have less than four flights]
5................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 5 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
6................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 6 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
7................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 7 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
8................. Jump into the cockpit of Flight 8 leader and take control [few
missions have more than four flights]
9................. Jump into the cockpit of your flight Buddy and take control. If
you are in the flight leaders aircraft then you will be taken
to the wing man. If you are in the wing-mans aircraft you will
be taken back to the flight leaders aircraft.
0................. Jump into the cockpit of the mission lead aircraft and take
control [as long as this is not a bomber]
Q................. Bail Out. You can only bail out of the aircraft if you turn your
aircraft upside down. No wing-walking here!
E................. Dump external fuel. The tanks automatically switch to internal
fuel at this point.
R................. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys to
rotate around the aircraft, this key will decrease the speed
of that rotation
D................. Manually toggle the 3d detail to suit your machine
F................. Reset the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft in order that you
move to the nearest aircraft [Only works in Fixed mode - In
Free mode you are always viewing the nearest]
G................. If the gear is locked in the up position either repeatedly press
G to simulate manual pumping of the gear pumps or try this key
combination to simulate the use of Carbonic Acid. This bottle
of chemicals created a reaction when used to produce a sharp
burst of gas pressure which could lower your gear due to lockage
V................. Resets video to start and begins recording
F1................ Reset zoom
F2................ Reset the upwards rotate rate to initial positions
F3................ Reset the sideways rotate rate to initial positions
F8................ Locks the view across your aircraft to the selected item
F9................ Locks the view from in front of your aircraft to the selected
item
F10............... Increases the rate of flight acceleration
'ALT &' KEYS
X................. Exit Flight
R................. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys to
rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the speed
of that rotation
D................. Automatically selects the level of detail suitable for your
machine
F................. Moves to the next nearest fixed view object [Onlyworks in
Fixed mode]
F1................ Zoom out
F2................ Rotate down around your aircraft whilst on an external
viewpoint
F3................ Rotate left around your aircraft whilst on an external
viewpoint
F4................ External Chase position (this key combination duplicates F4]
F5................ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft with
absolute heading and pitch
F6................ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft with
pitches and turns with your aircraft
F7................ View looking down from your aircraft
F8................ View looking from your aircraft to the selected target
F10............... Slows the rate of flight acceleration
KEYS BY SUBJECT VIEWPOINTS
5................. A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
6................. A view of the left of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
7................. A view of the front of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
8................. A view of the right of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
9................. A view of the rear of your aircrafts cockpit, from inside
0................. Brings you back to your cockpit from an outside viewpoint
BACKSPACE......... Inside Combat Lock
R................. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys
to rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the
speed of that rotation
CTRL R............ When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys
to rotate around the aircraft, this key will decrease the
speed of that rotation
ALT R............. When at an external viewpoint and using the F2 and F3 keys
to rotate around the aircraft, this key will increase the
speed of that rotation
[................. Look up towards the rear-view mirror
]................. Look down to see instrumentation
ENTER............. The Outside Combat Lock looks across your aircraft towards
the nearest unfriendly
VIEWPOINTS
Z................. Impact Viewpoint. Automicatically switches the views to any
target your weapons hit
X................. Missile Viewpoint. Automatically switches the views to any
weapons you fire
F1................ Zoom in
ALT F1............ Zoom out
CTRL F1........... Reset zoom
F2................ Rotate vertically around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
ALT F2............ Rotate down around your aircraft whilst on an external
viewpoint
CTRL F2........... Reset the upwards rotate to initial positions
F3................ Rotate horizontally around your aircraft whilst at an external
viewpoint
ALT F3............ Rotate left around your aircraft whilst on an external viewpoint
CTRL F3........... Reset the sideways rotate rate to initial positions
F4................ External Chase position
F5................ Establishes a view of your aircraft with the camera maintaining
absolute heading and pitch
ALT F5............ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft with
absolute heading and pitch
F6................ External Track viewpoint in which the camera pitches and turns
with the aircraft
ALT F6............ View looking away from the outside of your aircraft which
pitches and turns with your aircraft
F7................ External Satellite viewpoint
ALT F7............ View looking down from your aircraft
F8................ Gives the view across your aircraft to the selected target
ALT F8............ View looking from your aircraft to the selected target
F9................ View from your aircrafts cockpit of the selected target.
ESCAPE............ Return to the piloted aircraft
SHIFT 1........... A view of Flight 1 while keeping control of your aircraft
SHIFT 2........... As 1 but for Flight 2
SHIFT 3........... As 1 but for Flight 3
SHIFT 4........... As 1 but for Flight 4
SHIFT 5........... As 1 but for Flight 5
SHIFT 6........... As 1 but for Flight 6
SHIFT 7........... As 1 but for Flight 7
SHIFT 8........... As 1 bet for Flight 8
SHIFT 9........... A view of your wingman
SHIFT 0........... View of the lead flight
SHIFT F........... Toggle the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft. In Fixed Mode
if you have switched to the nearest unfriendly view the air-
craft shown will always be selected, even if another unfriendly
gets closer, until its destroyed. In Free Mode the nearest or
current viewed object will be reselected if another comes closer
ALT F............. Moves to the next nearest fixed view object [Only works in
Fixed mode]
CTRL F............ Reset the Fixed viewpoint on current aircraft in order that you
move to the nearest aircraft [Only works in Fixed mode - in
Free mode you are always viewing the nearest]
SHIFT F1.......... Tangmere - View of your home Base
SHIFT F2.......... Missile - View of the missile you just launched
SHIFT F3.......... Nearest friendly - View of the nearest friendly aircraft
SHIFT F4.......... Nearest enemy - View of the nearest unfriendly aircraft
SHIFT F5.......... Current enemy - View of the object you have been assigned
to attack, according to the on-screen messages
SHIFT F6.......... Last message - View of the last friendly aircraft to send you a
message
SHIFT F7.......... Message about- View of the object that the last message refers
to
SHIFT F8.......... Ground target - View of the object that you should attack next
SHIFT F9.......... Nearest target - A list of possible ground targets
SHIFT ESCAPE...... Returns to your own aircraft from another viewpoint but retains
the viewpoint you had last. For example, if you were looking
behind an enemy aircraft this option would return you to behind
your own aircraft
VIEWPOINTS [NUMERIC KEY PAD] SHIFT
8, 4, 6 & 2....... Inside View directions, 8 = Front
CTRL F8........... Locks the view across your aircraft to the selected item
CTRL F9........... Locks the view from in front of your aircraft to the selected
item
ALT F4............ External Chase position (this key combination duplicates F4]
ACCELERATION CONTROLS
TAB............... Acceleration time toggle
SHIFTTAB.......... Super Acceleration time key [normal acceleration restricting
events such as approaching enemy aircraft will not affect this
option]
CTRL F10.......... Increases the rate of flight acceleration
ALT F10........... Slows the rate of the flight acceleration
GEAR
W................. Wheel brake
G................. Gear
CTRL G............ If the gear is locked in the up position either repeatedly
press G to simulate manual pumping of the gear pumps or try
this key combination to simulate the use of Carbonic Acid.
This bottie of chemicals created a reaction when used to
produce a sharp burst of gas pressure which could lower
your gear due to lockage
FLIGHT CONTROLS
UP ARROW (8)...... Elevator forward (Dive)
DWN ARROW (2)..... Elevator down (Climb)
LFT ARROW (4)..... Aileron (roll) left
RGT ARROW (6)..... Aileron (roll) right
END (1)........... Full rudder deflection, Left
PAGE DOWN (3)..... Full rudder deflection, Right
INSERT (0)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Left
DELETE (.)........ Gradual rudder deflection, Right
8, 4, 6, & 2...... Keyboard flight keys
1................. Increases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
2................. Decreases the keyboard flight control sensitivity
F................. Flaps
B................. Air Brake toggle
CTRL 1............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 1 leader and take control as
the pilot
CTRL 2............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 2 leader and take control
[Some missions will only have one flight]
CTRL 3............ Allows you to jump into the cockpit of Flight 3 leader and
take control [many missions only have one or two flights]
CTRL 4............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 4 leader and take control
[Few missions have less than four flights]
CTRL 5............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 5 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 6............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 6 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 7............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 7 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 8............ Jump into the cockpit of Flight 8 leader and take control
[Few missions have more than four flights]
CTRL 9............ Jump into the cockpit of your flight Buddy and take control.
If you are in the flight leaders aircraft then you will be
taken to the wing-man. If you are in the wing-mans aircraft
you will be taken back to the flight leaders aircraft
CTRL 0............ Jump into the cockpit of the mission lead aircraft and take
control [as long as this is not a bomber]
CTRL Q............ Bail Out. You can only bail out of the aircraft if you turn
your aircraft upside down. No wing-walking here!
ENGINE CONTROLS
, ................ Minimum Power setting
. ................ Maximum Power setting
/ ................ Boost, Excessive use of the boost causes engine damage
E................. External fuel toggle switch (switches the fuel feed to the
external tank)
CTRL E............ Dump external fuel. The tanks automatically switch to the
internal fuel at this point
- ................ Reduce your RPM continuously, in small increments
+ ................ Increase your RPM continuously, in small increments
SHIFT- ........... Reduce your RPM by double the normal amount
SHIFT + .......... Increase your RPM by double the normal amount
[NUMERIC KEY PAD]
- ................ Decreases your RPM by single, large increments
+ ................ Increases your RPM by single, large increments
SHIFT- ........... Decreases your RPM by the normal amount
SHIFT+ ........... Increases your RPM by the normal amount
GENERAL CONTROLS
A................. Autopilot
T................. Autopilot that will fire the guns for you. It works only when
the autopilot is switched on
P................. Pause
S................. Sound toggle (There are three levels: off, no engine sounds &
engine sounds)
V................. Video toggle
CTRL V............ Resets video to start and begins recording
F10............... Configuration menus
CTRL D............ Manually toggle the 3D detail to suit your machine
ALT D............. Automatically selects the level of details suitable for your
machine
ALT X............. Exit flight
WEAPONS CONTROLS
J................. Increase the rate of fire to guns
K................. Decrease the rate of fire to guns
SPACE............. Fire
[NUMERIC KEY PAD]
HOME.............. Weapon Ripple select
PAGE UP........... Weapon select
WAYPOINTS & MAPS
; ................ Previous Waypoint
, ................ Next Waypoint
M................. Map screen
SHIFT; ........... Position information
CREDITS
Programming Team: Paul Dunscombe, Rod Hyde, Chris Orton, James Taylor
Steve Tickle, Dave Whiteside
Artwork: Mark Shaw, Andy McCann
Others:
Music: Martin Walker
Manual Text: Paul Rigby
Pack and Manual Design: Definition
Pack Illustration: Philip Castle
Shape file: Andy McCann
World file: Mary Hyde
Photo Ref: Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum, Photo Archives
Compression: LZEXE: Bellard, France - PKZIP: Pkware Inc, USA
Testing: Andrew McCann, Mark Shaw, Tony Hinds, Paul Welton
Mike Wenn, Tony Byus, Carl Perrin, Richard Hewison
Paul Coppins, John Martin
Virgin Team:
Marketing: Danielle Woodyatt & Doug Johns
Design Co-ordinator: Matthew Walker
Production Co-ordinator: Rosemarie Dalton
Production Assistant: Rizwan Khan
Producers: John Roberts(ex), Jon Norledge
'Meetin the Beast' on Page 101, taken from 'The Big Show' by Pierre Clostermann
Published by Chatto & Windus
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