REACH FOR THE SKIES
===================
SUMMARY OF CONTROLS
Joystick
The joystick is not used for making selections, only for flight
control,. You can use a Joystick, Joystick with throttle slider and
Joystick with throttle slider and rudder attachment. The option for
Joystick with throttle slider is referred to in the menu as stick and
throttle while the option for Joystick, throttle slider and rudder
attachment is referred to as Joystick with rudder.
Mouse
To use a mouse to make selections point at the option you want to
select and click the left mouse button to highlight it and again to
select it.
To use either the mouse or joystick during flight you will need to
calibrate them. The program will take you through this procedure
automatically when you select the control method from the menu. If the
calibration fails you can try again by selecting recalibrate from the
menu.
KEYBOARD SUMMARY
Cockpit Controls
+ Increase RPM (Shift and + increase faster)
- Decrease RPM (Shift and - decreases faster)
/ Maximum RPM
Cursor Up Stick Forwards (pushes the nose down)
Cursor Down Stick Back (pulls the nose up)
Cursor Left Stick Left (rolls a/c left)
Cursor Right Stick Right (rolls a/c right)
F3 Increase Control Sensitivity (keyboard only)
F4 Decrease Control Sensitivity (keyboard only)
Z Rudder Left
X Rudder Right
C Rudder Centre
Space Bar Fire (guns or bombs)
G Landing Gear raise/lower
F Flaps raise/lower
W Wheel Bralke on/off
M View Pilots Map
B Air Brakes (Ju87 only)
* Take Photograph
V Video Camera on/off
O Rewind and Restart Video (overwrite)
A Autopilot on/off
T Autogun on/off
I Toggle Info Panel
Backspace Toggle between gun/bombs (Ju87 only)
Ctrl &E Eject from a/c
Internal Views (Not JU88, DO17, HE110 or HE111 bombers)
Number key View Keypad
3 Left Back 45 Degrees Shift & 1
4 Left Shift & 4
5 Left Front 45 Degrees Shift & 7
6 Cockpit View Shift & 8
7 Right Front 45 Degrees Shift & 9
8 Right Shift & 6
9 Right Back 45 Degrees Shift & 3
0 Tail Gunner (Bf110 & Ju87) Shift & 2
[ Look Up view
] Retiurn from Look Up view
Internal Views (Ju88, DO17, He110 or HE111 bombers)
Number key View Keypad
6 Forward Gunner Shift & 8
Y Upper Rear Gunner Shift & 5
H Lower Rear Gunner Shift & 2
Outside Views
F5 Outside View
F6 Tracking View
F7 Home Base View
F8 Satellite View
F9 Ammo/ bomb view
Return Combat View (when enemy in range)
L Lock / Unlock combat view
` Waypoint Increment
; Waypoint Decrement
1 or 2 Rotate Camera in outside view
Alt & 1 or 2 Rotate Camera in opposite direction
F1 & F2 Zoom in & out when in outside view
Additional Controls
Shift & 9 Move to Wingman/ return from Wingman
Shift & 1-8 Move to Wingleader of another flight
Shift & 0 Show Enemy a/c if assigned
F10 or ESC Menu Bar
P Pause
S Sound Mode Select
TAB Time Accelerate
Changing Your Configuration
Once Reach for the Skies has been installed you can change the
configuration by selecting the Reach directory and typing Reach ?
AMIGA ADDENDUM
==============
Before Playing Reach For The Skies
Prior to playing Reach for the Skies you will need to do the following:
1.Follow the instructions in your Amiga user manual to malke backup copies
of your Reach for the Skies disk. Once you have made backups of your disks
store the originals in a safe place and use the copies to play the game.
2.Format a floppy disk called USER which will be used to save Video and
Photographs. (Details on formatting and naming disks can also be found in
your Amiga users manual)
Playing Reach for the Skies from Floppy.
First ensure that Disk 1 is write protected and that Disk 2 and 3 are write
enabled ( your player records are automatically saved to these disks at the
end of each game day)
Switch off your Amiga and wait for at least 30 seconds. Insert Disk 1 into
your internal drive and switch on the computer. The game will load and you
will be presented with the side select screen as described in the manual.
After choosing between RAF and Luftwaffe you will be prompted to insert
either disk 2 or disk 3.
If you are using an Amiga with more than one disk drive you can insert disk
2 (for RAF) or disk 3 (for Luftwaffe) in your external drive when you first
boot up the game.
Installing Reach for the Skies to Hard Drive
Boot your system as normal to the Workbench
Insert Disk 1 and when the icon appears select it (double click with the
left mouse button).
A window will open up containing a selection of icons, select the one
marked HD Install.
Enter the drive and path name you wish to install to then follow the on
screen prompts, changing disks when requested.
Loading Reach for the Skies from Hard Drive
Loading from Workbench
Select the reach drawer
Select the Reach for the Skies icon to run the game.
Loading from CLI
CD ( change directory) to the path Reach was installed to
Enter command: Execute Reach_for_the_skies
Playing Reach for the Skies on an Amiga with more than 1 MEG of memory
Reach for the Skies requires 720K of RAM (of which 500k should be
contiguous.
Any spare RAM will automatically be used to store longer Video footage
during recording.
On a floppy based system with more than 2 MEG of RAM it may be advantageous
to copy one of the disks to the RAM disk before playing. There is enough
room on Disk 1 for a RAM disk driver file, disk copy program and assign
program.
To play the RAF copy Disk 2 then assign RFTS2:RAM
To play the Luftwaffe copy Disk 3 then assign RFTS3:RAM
If you change each to RFTS1: and execute s/STARTUP- sequence the game
should run normally without requesting Disk 2 or 3.
=============================================================================
TYPED BY SHARD 24 JULY 1993
REACH FOR THE SKIES - THE BATTLE FOR BRITAIN
============================================
INSTRUCTION AND FLIGHT MANUAL
=============================
INTRODUCTION
Summer 1940. The future of World War II hangs in the balance. The cream
of the Luftwaffe and the aces of the R A F are locking horns in their most
crucial confrontation yet "The Battle for Britain". You have the chance to
re-live that famous battle, play the role of an R A F pilot or Luftwaffe
flying ace and shape the course of history Your performance determines
whether the outcome is a repeat of the R A F victory or an unequivocal
Luftwaffe success.
"Reach for the Skies" is not a mission based game which can be lost or won
on the basis of one mission. Instead it is a simulation of the entire
conflict that became known as "The Battle of Britain". You will win or
loose depending on your long term performance during the conflict. Your
aim as an R A,F Pilot or Controller is to maintain your reserves of
aircraft while also protecting the shores of South East England, while as a
Luftwaffe Pilot or Controller you lead the German forces as they cross the
English Channel in search of victo- ry. Climb aboard a Spitfire,
Hurricane, JU87, JU88, BF-109, BF-110, HE111 or DO17 and engage in dog
flghting with only your skill and wits to protect you. You can also plan
the battle as a Controller, actually making the strategic decisions that
will win or lose the battle
This manual contains instructions on the use of the software as well as the
mechanics of aircraft flight and combat. Air combat during the Battle of
Britain did not depend on the monitoring of complex com- puter systems in a
jet powered war horse, but rather the delicate guidance of a graceful but
temperamental mount during an airborne joust. While it is possible to
enter the game immediately by following the instructions in the "QUICK
START" section it is likely that your first outing will be a short one and
we strongly advise that you read all of the instructions as soon as
possible in order to discover the finer details of this simulation
All references below are to KEYBOARD control. For corresponding MOUSE or
JOYSTICK controls, consult the section "SUMMARY OF CONTROLS".
Please note that any additional information too recent to be included in
this manual can be found on your game disks as an ASCII "READ ME" text
file. If your version does not have this file, then the manual already
contains all of the relevant information you require
MAKING A SELECTION
When you need to make a choice within the simulation you will use one of
the following methods;
DOT SELECT - A number of option screens (such as SIDE SELECT) present you
with a choice in the form of plaques with dots on them If a dot is flashing
then that is the current default option which may be selected by pressing
RETURN/ENTER. To change the default option you use the LEFT/RIGHT CURSOR
KEYS and then RETURN/ENTER to make your selection.
Dot select is also used on map screens during the game to find out
information, where the dots represent features such as airfields, con- voys
and aircraft. Using the LEFT/RIGHT CURSOR KEYS will high light each
factory shown on a map. Pressing RETURN/ENTER will provide information on
the factory and allow you to issue orders Pressing CURSOR UP/DOWN will
change from Factories to the next category (aircraft, airfields etc) where
you can use LEFT/RIGHT, to repeat the process.
NUMBER ENTRY - There are two ways of entering numbers. If the number has a
cursor at the end, it is possible to edit the number by using BACKSPACE or
DELETE and the NUMBER KEYS. Examples of this are when setting RANGE,
HEADING etc when playing as CONTROLLER.
The second method is when there is no cursor next to the number (as you
have a fixed choice of numbers) in which case the CURSOR LEFT key will
decrease the number and CURSOR RIGHT will increase it.
MENU BAR - A number of game options, including control device and
difficulty, are selected through a MENU BAR at the top of the screen.
Should you wish to change any of these options before flying you should
refer to the section of the manual "MENU BAR".
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
This manual contains machine specific instructions for the IBM PC version
of "Reach for the Skies". Some instructions may differ for the Commodore
Amiga and Atari ST computers and these will be listed on a separate "User
Guide" included in the packaging
IBM PC and 100% compatibles
Required IBM PC (and 100% compatibles) with at least
540K of base memory, Hard disk with at least 3.5
meg of free space, High Density Floppy Disk Drive
(3.5" or 5.25"), VGA 256/16 colour or EGA
16 colour graphics
Supports Ad-lib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT32/LAPC- I
EMS/KMS, Microsoft compatible mouse and driver,
keyboard or joystick
INSTALLATION AND LOADING INSTRUCTIONS
IBM PC and 100% compatibles
To play "Reach for the Skies" it must first be installed onto your hard
disk as follows.
Insert "Disk 1 into your preferred drive (A or B). Select the drive as
normal, type INSTALL and press ENTER/RETURN and follow the on-screen
prompts.
SOUND SUPPORT: During installation you will be asked to select the sound
card to be used for SOUND EFFECTS and then again for MUSIC. "Reach for the
Skies" supports the use of twin sound cards
This means that you may select a Sound Blaster card to play the sound
effects and a Roland card to play the music, provided that you have the
necessary hardware.
The sound cards supported are Ad-lib, Sound Blaster / pro, Roland
LAPC-I/MT32.
Note: If you wish to change the configuration after installation see the
section "CHANGING YOUR CONFIGURATION" later.
SAVING PILOTS PROGRESS
Players should note that the program automatically saves your pilot's
progress and any photographs you take to hard disk at the end of each game
day.
Video footage, which uses more disk space, is not saved automatically but
only when you select the save option included on the video playback screen.
WAR AIMS - WINNING AT "REACH FOR THE SKIES"
As an R A F officer your fighters must avoid risky and unnecessary contact
with Luftwaffe fighters, concentrating instead on turning back, or shooting
down, the bombers. Remember that your sources are limited and should never
be risked in unnecessary combat with fighters for the purpose of personal
glorification.
In PILOT mode you will have three pilots with which to complete the
campaign. If you lose your life three times then the R A F will quickly
become demoralised and the Luftwaffe will win the day. In CONTROLLER mode
you must manage your resources and create a strategy to effectively protect
against the Luftwaffe threat. Your responsibility will be for all of your
fighters and, although lost pilots will be mourned, you will continue the
conflict, regardless of the number of pilots lost. Should you allow the
British Air Strength to fall below 50% the Luftwaffe will gain the
advantage they need to sweep your defences aside and launch the invasion of
Britain.
Maintain British Air Superiority until the end of September 15th and the
invasion will be cancelled and you will have won the day.
As a Luftwaffe officer you must clear the airs of R A F fighters to gain
air superiority. Only then will the way be clear for Operation Sealion -
The invasion of Britain.
In PILOT mode you have three lives with which to bomb and strafe your
assigned targets to weaken the British defences. At the con- trols of your
deadly fighters you must hunt down the British defend ers and destroy them
in aerial combat. Reduce the British Air strength below 50% and the
Luftwaffe will be successful. In CON- TROLLER mode you must select the
targets your bombers will strike at as you strive to break the will of the
R A F. Your responsi- bility will be for all of your fighters and bombers
as you set up the bombing raids and assign fighter cover in your quest to
attain air superiority. Succeed in reducing the British Air Strength below
50% and you will be eating dinner at the Ritz. Fail and you will have to
make your excuses to the German High Command.
Hard drive tidy - The PC version of Reach for the Skies includes a utility
called "tidy" which will remove unwanted files from your hard drive.
Video, photographs, high scores and game introduction files can all be
removed to free hard drive space. To use this utility select the directory
that you have installed Reach for the Skies into and then type "Tidy"
followed by the first letter of the file type you wish to remove (listed
below)
V - Video files
P - Photograph files
H - High scores and player records
D - Demo/intro fiies
A - All of the above
Actual R A.F strength during the Battle
The R A F started with about 700 fighters: 430 Hurricanes and 270
Spitfires. Fighter production during the period was about 100 fighters per
week; 60 Hurricanes and 40 Spitfires.
The simulation starts with 60 aircraft (although not all may be in ser-
viceable condition on the first day) and the production rate is one fighter
per day. The ratio with reality in both cases is just below 10%. The
ratio of Spitfires to Hurricanes for both stock and produc- tion in the
simulation is 50/50
GETTING STARTED
After loading of the simulation you will see an introduction sequence (256
colour ONLY) followed by the title/credit screen. Pressing ESC at any time
will terminate the intro or credits and take you to the first game screen.
SIDE SELECT
This is the first Screen you will see once "Reach" has loaded successfully.
It allows you to decide which side you will control during the battle. It
shows two plaques - one for the R.A F and one for the Luftwaffe. Next to
their names you will see a small square. If it is flashing it means that
the plaque is currently selected. You can change the selection by pressing
one of the CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT keys. When the flashing square is next to the
name you want, press ENTER/RETURN on the keyboard to confirm.
THE ROYAL AIR FORCE (R A F)
If you choose the R A F, you will be moved to the pilot's Ready Room
screen. This is where you select a log book into which to save your
progress. If this is your first game all the log books will be blank
(marked "Sprog")
The R.A.F. Ready room
A dark highlight bar will show which log- book is currently selected. Use
the key- board arrow keys to move the bar up and down the stack of books to
choose which log book you will use then press ENTER/RETURN
(If you choose a logbook other than Sprog's, then you will move to the
Orders Screen and continue from the point after that pilot's most recently
completed mission. This can only happen if you have played this simulation
before and have a previously created pilot). If you have not played before
you will be presented with the following screen.
LOGBOOK;
Having selected a logbook, you will be pre- sented with a top dOwn view of
the book lying on the table. You now have the oppor- tunity to enter your
name. Type in your name (a maximum of 10 characters is allowed) then press
the down arrow key on your keyboard to move the cursor down to the callsign
box. Delete the callsign and add in your own if you wish. When you are
sat- isfied with both your name and callsign, press ENTER/RETURN or press
the down arrow key and highlight NEW PLAYER then select as normal.
(Note that if you have chosen a log book that has previously been used, you
will have a different option at the bottom of the screen Select OK to use
the character and his callsign. Selecting RECONFIG allows you to
re-configure the role that character plays. CANCEL takes you back to the
initial R A F/Luftwaffe selection screen)
ROLE SELECT:
There are three options to choose from PRACTICE, CONTROLLER and PILOT.
press RETURN/ENTER to select or use CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT to change the high-
lighted selection.
PHASE SELECT/ORDERS BOARD
Following your selection of ROLE you will see the PHASE SELECT screen and
the ORDERS BOARD which will be discussed before giving details of the
PRACTICE, CONTROLLER and PILOT options
This screen allows you to choose which phase (characterised by the
Luftwaffe's vary- ing tactics) of the Battle of Britain you enter. Details
of the phases are given in FOUR PHASES OF THE BATTLE and depending on which
phase you select you will need to adjust your tactics to match the
Luftwaffe.
This screen provides a summary of the options you have selected, as well as
detail- ing the number of aircraft that Fighter Command have made available
to you. Select CONTINUE to enter the main game, RESET to return to the
first option screen or QUIT to exit the simulation.
PRACTICE
When you select the practice option you will be presented with a SUMMARY
SCREEN.
This screen shows the various groups of aircraft (referred to as "flights")
which your computerised CONTROLLER has ordered to respond to an incoming
threat. By using the CURSOR UP/DOWN keys you can check the orders given to
each of the flights and decide which aircraft you wish to fly in. With
your chosen aircraft highlighted press CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT to highlight one
of the options TAKEOFF, INTERCEPT, LAND or CANCEL listed at the bottom of
the screen.
Practising allows you to play one day of the simulation, without risk ing
your status in the overall conflict. If you select this option the first
time you play the simulation you will be able to practice the first day of
the first phase you have chosen. Should you be shot down it will have no
effect on the overall conflict. The difficulty level will be that of a
beginner and VULNERABLE will be selected. If you wish to practice while
invulnerable (you can not be shot down and will 'bounce' if you hit the sea
or ground) or in "REAL FLIGHT" (less powerful, more realistic flight), you
should refer to the section "MENU BAR" for information on how make such a
change. You will also need to refer to the sections of the manual listed
under FLYING WITH THE R A F.
CONTROLLER
CONTROLLER - For those players who prefer a bit more strategic involvement
in the battie, you can assume the role of a controller in the R A F. You
must decide what the R.A.F's response will be to the Luftwaffe's inbound
raids each day. Your orders will have a strong effect on the outcome.
As an R A F controller you will decide on the movement of aircraft from
factory to airfield and airfield to airfield, as well as which air- craft
to deploy against the enemy. The ultimate aim of a controller is to
maintain the number of R A F aircraft so that it remains above the critical
level needed to prevent the Luftwaffe from gaining aerial supremacy during
the battle. If the British Air Strength falls below 50%, then the threat
of an invasion will become a reality
We recommend that you assume the role of a Controller only after you have
become a successful Pilot, because when playing as a Controller you will
have to fly as a Pilot once you have set up each day's response to the
Luftwaffe.
The Luftwaffe will attempt to reduce the R A F strength in a number of
ways:
Shoot down R A F aircraft in combat Shoot R A F aircraft whilst still on
the ground Bomb R A F repair facilities located at airfields Bomb the R A F
aircraft factories Bomb shipping convoys carrying aircraft spares coming
from America Bomb radar facilities to reduce the R A F's early warning
capability
To maintain the R A F's air strength above the critical level, you must
ensure that the loss rate does not significantly rise above the aircraft
production rate.
Providing that the four factories remain undamaged, each will produce a new
air- craft once every 2 days.
(a) Currently highlighted group
(b) Current date
(c) Number of available aircraft today
(d) Name of current Airfield/location
(e) Detected threat
You are now in the Control Room, looking down over the map of the South
East of England. The text on the top line gives the name of the location
that is currently highlighted (the flashing dot), the day/date and also the
number of aircraft made available to you for today by Fighter Command.
On the map you will see several small dots which mark the following areas
of interest:
Marker Group type
Red square Spitfire airfield
Blue square Hurricane airfield
Light grey square Aircraft Factory
White square Detected threat
Blue cross Other airfield
Dark grey area Conurbation
White cross Barrage balloon
Red marker Anti Aircraft Artillery (AAA) site
Black marker Radar site
As CONTROLLER you can interact with those locations marked with a coloured
dot. (Detected threats, Aircraft factories, Spitfire and Hurricane
airfields). Use the CURSOR UP/DOWN keys to move between groups and CURSOR
LEFT/RIGHT to move between individual members of a group. The top left of
the screen gives the name of the location that is currently highlighted and
pressing RETURN/ENTER will bring up a clipboard giving more information.
1 - Detected Threats
There will always be at least one or more white "Detected Threat" squares
over the channel at the start of each day. These show the position of the
Luftwaffe aircraft as they approach England. One important point to note
is that Radar was in its infancy during the Battle of Britain. For this
reason the information given on your charts will be estimated and will
often change in some respect each time you check on a Detected Threat.
The clipboard gives each raid a letter to avoid confusion. If there are
bombers in the group, then the type is displayed. The number of air-
craft, their heading and altitude is also shown. This information has been
collated from various radar stations and is therefore consid- ered to be
reasonably accurate. The type of bomber has been calcu- lated from the
speed of the aircraft. As a result it is not possible to predict exactly
how many of the aircraft in the raid are bombers and how many are fighters.
It is possible to calculate the target of the raid from their heading, but
this isn't always reliable as the enemy often doesn't turn towards its
final target until the last possible moment.
It is wise to get information about ALL of the Detected Threats before
developing a response.
2 - Aircraft factories
Throughout the battle, new aircraft were being manufactured to increase the
number available or replace those that were destroyed in combat. A stock
of aircraft can build up at factories if left unat- tended. They must be
moved to airfields before they can be employed in the war effort.
If an aircraft factory is successfully attacked, all of the aircraft in
stock will be destroyed and the production capability will be severely
impaired in the future.
There are four factories manufacturing air- craft in the South East of
England. Two make Hurricanes and two make Spitfires. On selecting a
factory on the map, a clip- board is displayed.
This clipboard tells you the type of aircraft (a/c) manufactured at the
factory and how many completed ones are in stock. The 'next a/c shows how
many days it will be before a new aircraft will be finished. When it is
ready it will automatically be added to the ones in stock. The 'moved'
figure indicates how many aircraft you have moved from the factory on that
particular day.
Below this information are three options: DEPLOY, CANCEL ORDERS, RETURN.
DEPLOY - If there are a/c in stock at the factory you will be prompted to
select a new base (airfield) to which the a/c will be moved. Use the
CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT as normal to highlight the required airfield and press
RETURN/ENTER. A clipboard will be dis played and you should use the CURSOR
LEFT/RIGHT KEYS to increase or decrease the number of a/c to be deployed at
this air- field. Pressing RETURN/ENTER will confirm the move and ESC will
cancel it.
If you now select the same aircraft factory again on the map, you will see
that the aircraft stocks are at 0 and the moved total is at 1. The moved
a/c is now in transit to the selected airfield, but it won't be available
there until the next day. If you want to cancel the move, select CANCEL
ORDERS. To leave the clipboard without can- celling the order, select
RETURN instead.
Note: Aircraft en route to airfields will not be attacked by Luftwaffe
raids
3 - Airfields
This is where the CONTROLLER'S job really starts. With the limited number
of a/c stationed at these airfields you must defend England against attack,
issuing intercept orders to your fighters, while also keeping an eye on
pilot morale, the state of the air fields and the repair facilities.
Selecting an airfield will provide you with a clipboard showing the
following information and options
Runway Status
The Luftwaffe will try and bomb the runway to prevent use of the airfield.
If the runway is READY, then all is well and your aircraft can be
scrambled.
Damaged airfields can take up to 5 days to be repaired
Repair Status
This shows the status of the a/c repair facilities at this airfield, where
damaged (but not destroyed) a/c can be repaired. If the status is READY,
then this facility is functioning normally. Repairs will be performed
quickly unless the facilities have been affected by bomb damage.
Morale
The current state of the battle will have an effect on morale. It can
range from Poor, Fair, Fine, Good up to High. At the start of the battle
morale will be FINE. Your actions as Controller will have the biggest
influence on the state of morale (Each R A F airfield has its own morale
level as does each Luftwaffe Rendez-vous point).
(i) What affects Morale?
It goes up if
(a) the Controller gives an airfield a rest day the day after its a/c
were scrambled.
(b) any aircraft from the airfield are involved in a successful mission
against the enemy.
(c) all a/c scrambled from an airfield return undamaged
It goes down if:
(a) you use airfields every day over a long period
(b) any of the airfield's aircraft are shot down.
(Moved aircraft affect the morale of the airfield they are moved to. The
morale level becomes an average of the aircraft already present and the new
arrivals)
(ii) What effect does Morale have?
Morale affects the way the computer controlled pilots behave. A high
morale level means they will be more successful in engaging the enemy.
They will be more effective in combat and more likely to spot an enemy on
their six (behind them) and manoeuvre more effectively.
Aircraft Ready
The number displayed here shows the total number of operational (undamaged)
a/c at this airfield. However you should note that the controller's job
was made harder by the strict limits placed on the use of fighter resources
by Fighter Command. Each day you will have only a small number of a/c you
are allowed to scramble to meet all incoming threats. The number available
is listed in the top right of the map screen and will vary during the
campaign.
Tomorrow
This is the total number of a/c ready for the next day. This figure
includes repaired a/c and a/c en route from factories.
One Week
Unfortunately some a/c might take up to a week to repair. The num- ber
that fall into this category are included in this figure
Fighting
This number tells you how many a/c from this airfield are currently
involved in combat with the Luftwaffe.
Redeployed
This indicates how many a/c from here are being moved to another airfield
today.
Four options are also available on the Airfield Clipboard:
SET RESPONSE
Selecting this option will allow you to scramble aircraft to meet an
attack. This is described in more detail in PLANNING YOUR RESPONSE
STAND DOWN
This will cancel any responses that you have set up for this airfield
REDEPLOYMENT
This option allows you to move a/c to another airfield in the same way that
you move a/c from factories. It is useful when you need to reinforce an
airfield that has lost a lot of a/c or you want to move a/c with a low
morale from a front line airfield and replace them with a/c with a high
morale. You should note that as with a/c travelling from factories, a/c
redeployed in this way are unavailable for one day
RETURN
This takes you back to the map
PLANNING YOUR RESPONSE
If you have not already done so, select each of the Detected Threats and
note down the number and type of a/c as well as their altitude speed and
heading. If there is more than one threat you will need to decide upon
your tactics as CONTROLLER. Do you spread your forces and attempt to
counter all the threats or attack in strength, hoping to defeat one attack
quickly and then turn to face another.
You will rarely have enough a/c to meet all attacks, so you will have to
formulate your own strategy and see how well it works.
Once you have decided on the Detected Threat you will counter first you
should select the closest airfield with operational aircraft.
When the clipboard is shown, select SET RESPONSE from the options and the
board will be removed to show one of the 'Detected Threats' on the map
flashing. Using the CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT keys move the highlight to the
threat you wish to deal with and then select it. A new clipboard will be
displayed allowing you to set up your response
The type of German bomber is displayed Beneath this are the values that
define the R A Fs response to the threat.
The force size box is highlighted and using CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT will increase
or decrease the number of a/c to be scrambled, up to the maximum allowed by
Fighter Command. When you are satisfied use CURSOR DOWN to move to the
next field.
Your control room staff automatically insert default heading, altitude and
distance values onto the clipboard, based on the information received from
the Radar network. These figures are used by the a/c to navigate to their
'Circle Point' (where they await updated head- ings from the CONTROLLER to
guide them to their target). It is important to note, however, that these
default figures will often result in your a/c meeting the enemy head-on As
discussed later in IMPROVED FLIGHT AND COMBAT TACTICS a head on con-
frontation is far from desirable and ideally you should alter these fig-
ures to position your a/c in a better 'attack position'
Select 'OK' to close the clipboard and initiate the response
EDIT RESPONSE
If you wish to change your orders select your chosen airfield again and you
will notice that you have the opportunity to edit the response you have
just set. It behaves in exactly the same way as for when you set the
original response.
PREPARE TO SCRAMBLE
Having set up your response (or responses) it's time to check the last two
options available on the R A F Map Screen. Using the CUR- SOR UP/DOWN KEYS
move the highlighter until either SUMMARY or FLY are highlighted.
LEFT/RIGHT CURSOR will then move between the two.
(1) SUMMARY
The Summary screen lists all of the flights that you have set up for that
day. One flight is highlighted and extra information for it is displayed
in the panel at the bottom of the list. You can select whichever flight
you wish out of those available using the CURSOR UP/DOWN KEYS. The
highlighted flight will be the one you will fly in.
At the bottom of the screen are the options that allow you to confirm or
cancel the rele- vant flight. If the orders are cancelled then that will
be shown in the status column next to the flight orders and that flight
will stand down. You can reverse the cancellation by re- selecting
'confirmed'.
Use CURSOR DOWN to select 'Return to Control Room' and then RETURN/ENTER.
You will be asked to accept the changes you have made to the orders or
forget them. If you forget them, any changes you have made to the orders
will be cancelled.
Whichever option you choose, you will return to the Control Room.
(2) FLY
You are now ready to switch to being a Pilot in the RAF, helping to execute
the orders you have made as a Controller. Selecting 'Fly' will take you to
the Pilot's summary screen. Once there selecting 'TAKE OFF' or 'FLY' will
put you in the cockpit of the a/c.
See PILOT for details on how to fly the aircraft. At the start of each new
day you will return to the Control Room to formulate new orders.
PILOT
Whichever role you select (PRACTICE, CONTROLLER or PILOT) you will
eventually end up at the pilots summary screen, preparing to take to the
air.
This screen shows your a/c and the others which are to be scrambled with
you and shows where they are flying from and which raid they are going to
attack.
At the bottom of this screen will be a number of options. They will vary
depending on whether you are flying as a trainee in PRACTICE, or as a
proper PILOT.
Practice
Trainees will have the options to Takeoff, Intercept Land or Cancel
Pilot
Pilots will have the options to Takeoff, Fly or Cancel
TAKEOFF (Practice or Pilot)
This option will place you in the cockpit, on the runway, ready for
takeoff.
INTERCEPT (Practice)
Trainees can go straight into a fight with the enemy by selecting this
option.
LAND (Practice)
This option will position your a/c on an approach to your home airfield.
You will need to practice landing when you have limited fuel as this may
result in you needing to return to an airfield to refuel or to rearm.
FLY (Pilot)
This option skips takeoff and puts you in the air en route to intercepting
the Luftwaffe raid.
CANCEL (ALL roles)
This will cancel the summary screen and take you back to the previous
screens
Selecting any option other than CANCEL will put you into the cockpit of
your aircraft, ready for the battle ahead. To learn how to fly, see the
section FLYING WITH THE R.A.F.
FLYING WITH THE ROYAL AIR FORCE (R A F)
Whatever route you took to get this far, you will now be sitting in the
cockpit of either an R A F Spitfire or Hurricane aircraft. We will assume
that you are at the rank of Pilot Officer (the default rank and easiest
level). For details on changing Rank and Difficulty see "THE MENU BAR".
TAKEOFF
If you chose TAKEOFF you will enter the cockpit of your aircraft as it
taxis down the runway for takeoff. At the easiest level (Real Flight NOT
selected) this will provide enough speed to take off (for details on taking
off with the "Real - Flight" menu option selected see the section "Real
Flight" later in the manual) Once the aircraft is in the air, it is time
for you to take control. You might like to press Function key 5 (F5) to
see your a/c from an outside view. You shoould notice the landing gear
underneath. Press G to raise the undercarriage then press F5 again to
return to the cockpit.
(You can discover much more about the variety of different views available
by turning to the section "DIFFERENT VIEWS"
Press P to pause the simulation whenever you want the chance to read the
following instructions on how to fly
Because of the excessive power available to you in the beginners mode
(Pilot Officer rank with REAL FLIGHT switched off), there is no reason why
you can't throw the aircraft around the sky to get a feel for how it
responds. Try using your control device (which at the moment will be set
for keyboard by default unless you have altered it via the Menu Bar).
This section of the manual is conveniently separated into two parts.
FLYING THE SPITFIRE/HURRICANE tells you all you need to know about the
controls in the cockpit and how to fly the aircraft MAKING AN INTERCEPT
takes you through combat with the Luftwaffe and explains the best tactics
to use when in the air.
FLYING THE SPITFIRE/HURRICANE
What is in a name?
The Spitfire became a legend, a symbol of the success of the British
people. All over the country, Spitfire funds were started in nearly every
city, town and village.
Spitfire
Despite the impression that it made on the public, the Spitfire only
accounted for 20% of the enemy aircraft destroyed during the Battle of
Britain. It had a long service life and it was a very photogenic aircraft.
It han- dled superbly and was the sports car of the aircraft industry. Its
speed and manoeu- vrability made it more than a match for the Luftwaffes
best fighter the BF-109. Unfortunately the guns they had were painfully
inadequate in comparison to those fitted in the Luftwaffe aircraft.
Hurricane
The Hurricane was responsible for 80% of the destroyed enemy aircraft but
was not as popular as the Spitfire in the eyes of the public. Its success
was due in part to the fact that the R A F had greater numbers of
Hurricanes than Spitfires, but also because the Hurricane's wooden frame
and panels (compared to the Spitfires metal) could take more damage in
battle as enemy bullets often passed straight through, missing vital
components. rather than ricocheting around inside.
SPITFIRE / HURRICANE COCKPIT
The cockpits for the Spitfire and Hurricane are so similar that we use the
same cockpit design for both aircraft in this simulation. You can easily
tell which aircraft you are in by pressing '1' on the key- board. An
Information Readout panel in the cockpit will tell you which one you are
in. You could also switch to an external view of the a/c instead as the
Spitfire and Hurricanes were visually quite different. If you are a real
expert you should also be able to tell the difference by the way each air-
craft type handles when in the air. Both Spitfire and Hurricane
aerodynamics are accurately repre- sented, as far as is possible, in this
simulation.
The cockpit shown below should be studied along with the keyboard control
card enclosed in your package
DIALS
The dials on both the R A F and Luftwaffe aircraft were calibrated in
imperial units (ft miles etc ) rather than metric units. This step from
reality was taken for your benefit. We decided that having to get familiar
with two different sets of units in the same simulator was taking the
desire for "accuracy.' beyond a reasonable limit.
However you will probably have noticed that, for the sake of accuracy
speeds are calibrated in miles per hour rather than the more normal modern
(for aircraft) unit of knots.
(1) Sights
This allows you to line up your shots when firing on the enemy. The
distance between aircraft will obviously have an influence on whether you
hit it or not, as will the angle of your approach to the target. This is
explained in more detail in the section "MAKING AN INTERCEPT.
(2) MPH
This shows you the current speed of your aircraft. The range is from 0 to
460. The numbers on the dial are in units of ten, so 14 is really 140 MPH.
The red area from 0 to 60 is a danger zone. If the needle enters the zone,
you will be in danger of stalling. Note that neither aircraft can actually
fly at the maximum speed shown on the dial as the manufacturers were forced
to use any gauges that they could get there hands on at the time
(3) Artificial Horizon
The white line indicates the pitch and bank of the aircraft. The num- bers
6, 3 and 0 on the left and right are in units of ten degrees, so 6 is 60
degrees, 3 is 30 degrees and so on.
(4) Rate of climb indicator
This shows the rate that the aircraft is climbing or descending in feet per
minute. The gauge only shows up to 4,000 feet climbing or 4,000 feet
descending. For more detailed information you will need to 'cheat' by
referring to the V.S.I readout on the Information Panel
(5) Altimeter
This gauge shows your altitude above sea level. It works in the same way
as a clock, having two needles and the figures represent units of ten feet
or one hundred feet. If the long needle is pointing at the 2 it indicates
twenty feet and if the small needle points at the 2 it indicates 200 feet.
The number in the bottom right hand corner next to the gauge shows the
altitude in one thousand foot units only. For each 360 degree turn that
the large needle makes, a change of 100 feet has been registered. For
eeach 360 degrees that the small needle turns a change of one thousand feet
has been registered.
(6) Heading
Each unit on this readout is equal to 10 degrees, so 21 is equal to 210
degrees. From this you can easily calculate your current heading.
(7) Slip and turn
The top needle indicates the slip and the bottom needle indicates the turn.
Each graduation on the turn needle reptresents a turn rate of 3 degrees per
second. When an aircraft turns, it slips as well. This can be compensated
by use of the rudder. Z turns the rudder left, X will turn it right. To
re-centre it press C.
(8) 12 hour clock - can be used for dead reckoning
The clock shows you the correct time of day in hours and minutes
(9) R.P.M
The R P M (Revolutions per Minute) gauge reflects the percentage of power
being applied to your aircraft's engine. As with the M.P.H. dial this
does not give a true indication of the maximum R P M of your a/c as the
dials were not origlnally designed for use in these aircraft
(10) Information Readout (1)
For those pilots who find it difficult reading all of the gauges and tak-
the information in, a digital readout has been provided giving you most of
the information you require in an easier, but less realistic, format. Of
course, if you want to fly as the real pilots did then you should only rely
on the original instruments. Press I on your key- board to toggle between
the digital information and your callsign and aircraft type
(1) Speed
The speed of the aircraft is registered in miles per hour (M P H)
(2) VSI - Vertical Speed Indicator
This shows the vertical speed of the aircraft in feet per minute. A
positive or negative number indicates whether the aircraft is climbing or
diving
(3) Altitude
This show the height of the aircraft in feet above sea level
(4) Heading
The current heading of the aircraft is shown here in degrees
(5) Pitch
The pitch axis of the velocity vector (not the aircraft) is mea- sured in
degrees
(11) Fuel
This gauge shows your current fuel levels. If the needle reaches the red
zone, then you are low on fuel and should land back at your air field to
refuel before taking off again. Refuelling will be automatic but it will
take a few minutes before you can be airborne again depending on your
distance from the nearest airfield. If your aircraft is damaged the
mission will be over for you as the ground crew will take your aircraft for
repair
(12) Flap switch (F)
The flaps are down when the switch is down. Flaps are only used when you
are bringing the aircraft into land. Pressing F on the key- board will
toggle them up or down. During flight they should be up
(13) Wheel brake light (W)
When the wheel brakes are applied this light will come on. Toggle them on
and off by pressing W on the keyboard. Wheel brakes are only used to bring
the a/c to a stop once it has landed
(14) Video light (V)
When the light is on, it means that video film is currently being recorded.
Pressing V will toggle this on and off. Pressing O will rewind and restart
the tape if you wish to overwrite the footage already in memory and start
again
(15) Auto-pilot light (A)
When this light is on, the auto-pilot is engaged
(16) Auto-gun light (T)
When the guns are switched into auto mode (press T) then this light comes
on. If an enemy a/c flies through your sights and is within range, the
guns will automatically fire as long as you have enough ammunition left and
your guns haven't jammed or been damaged in battle
(17) Control device sensitivity
This number represents the current setting for the control device This can
be adjusted by using the F3 and F4 keys. Only keyboard control is affected
by any changes made. Mouse and joystick sensitivity are adjusted by their
own software or setting up procedures
(18) Control surface indicator
This shows the position of the ailerons, elevators and rudder. Move the
aircraft with your control device to note the changes registered here.
The ailerons cause the aircraft to roll the elevators cause the a/c to
climb and the rudder is used when the aircraft slips.
(19) Ammo counter
(20) Gear (G)
These lights indicate the gear status. When the red light is illuminated
the gear is raised, when the green is illuminated the gear is loered. The
gear can only be lowered when the aircrafts speed is below 200 mph.
The Pilots Map (M)
Every pilot carries a map with him in the cockpit of his Spitfire or
Hurricane which shows the location of each wing leader. To look at your
map, press the M key on your keyboard.
This map is almost exactly the same as the one available to the Controller
in tjhe Control romm back at the R A F base. Yoy can select any of the
squares on the map that represent the R A Fs aircraft (including your own)
or the enemies bandits (inbound detected threats). A page will appear
giving your additional information on each aircraft. To exit this screen
select FLY or press ESC.
DIFFERENT VIEWS
There are many different views available, both inside and outside your
aircraft
Outside view (F5)
When in the cockpit, try pressing function key F5. You will be shown your
aircraft as viewed from the outside. There is an additional panel of
information at the bottom of the screen but you don't have to worry about
that for now. It is described in detail at the end of this section. When
you wish to return to the cockpit view, press F5 again to toggle the view
Rotating the outside view (1 and 2)
You can change the position that you view your aircraft from when using the
outside view (F5). Try pressing the number 1 key on the main keyboard and
holding it down. The view will rotate in the X axis (in the horizontal)
around the outside of your aircraft. Now let go of key 1 and try holding
down key 2 instead. This moves the view in the Y axis (vertically). If
you want to reverse the direction that the view moves around in, try
holding down the ALT key first then either the 1 or 2 key.
Zoom in/Zoom out (F1 /F2)
From the outside view you can get a closer look at the aircraft by zooming
in with function key F1. You can zoom out by pressing F2
Track view (F6)
Function key F6 toggles between the cockpit and the track view Track view
differs from the normal outside view. It views the aircraft from the rear
and tries to keep the same view no matter what manoeuvres the aircraft
might make. It is just like the view you would get if another aircraft was
tracking you from behind
Home base view (F7)
F7 will show the view from your home base. In the RAF's case this will be
an airfield
Satellite view (F8)
This view will show your aircraft from above
Bomb view (F9)
Pressing F9 when you are bombing will give a view from the bomb as it
descends
Bandit views (Shift 0)
You aren't restricted to outside views of your own aircraft. You can also
have a look at the enemy under certain circumstances. When in combat, try
pressing the SHlFT key and the number key 0. You should see the outside
view of an enemy aircraft. If you don`t then an enemy isn't in range or
hasn't yet been assigned to you.
External view panel
When viewing your aircraft from outside you can still keep track of the
speed, heading etc using the external view panel
The SPEED, HEADING, ALTITUDE and CALLSIGN shown on the panel are those of
your own aircraft
View depends on which external view you selected eg. F5 = Outside view and
F8 = satellite view
'RANGE' and 'BEARING' are the range and bearing from your cur- rent
position to the current waypoint
WAYPOINT shows the navigation waypoint currently selected. If you wish to
change a waypoint press (inverted comma) to increment the waypoint and
(semi-colon) to decrement the waypoint. A waypoint is a point or an area
where the aircraft should perform an action such as bombing a target. Each
R A f flight has three main waypoints
TAKEOFF - This waypoint is over the home airfield
CIRCLE - This is the area the aircraft patrols, ready to intercept the
inbound threats. After a successful engagement an RAF fighter will return
to its CIRCLE waypoint until it is assigned a new target.
LAND - This is also over the home airfield. If during combat an a/c is low
on fuel it will return to its home base to refuel and then return to the
circle waypoint. If it is out of ammunition it will continue to fy, acting
as Wingman for its partner until both aircraft are out of ammunition, at
which time they will return to base to re-arm. Damaged aircraft will
return to base for repair.
Waypoint note - Aircraft will always attempt to reach their current- ly
selected waypoint. However, these are a standing order' and will be
overruled if an enemy comes within range. If this happens the air- craft
will attempt to engage or evade the enemy before returnlng to its original
course.
Internal views
As well as external views the Spitfire and Hurricane have a number of
internal views. These allow the player to scan the skies for enemy a/c
from within the cockpit. The internal views available are;
Key Internal view
3 Left back 45 degrees
4 Left
5 Left front 45 degrees
6 Front (normal cockpit view)
7 Right front 45 degrees
8 Right
9 Right back 45 degrees
Pressing [ in any of these views will move to a 'look up view' which will
allow you to see a larger part of the sky, but less of the cockpit and
controls. To exit 'look up view' press ].
Behind you!
Unfortunately you cannot look directly behind you, mainly because it wasn't
physically possible because all you would see is your own pilot's chair!
To see what is directly behind you either use the look up view and check
your mirror or try the 3 or 9 key views and weave the aircraft left and
right to get a brief glimpse of anything on your tail
SWITCHING BETWEEN AIRCRAFT
Reach for the Skies allows you to switch between the aircraft of any flight
in the air (as long as they are on your side!). This gives you an even
stronger infuence on the outcome of each day's mission.
To switch, hold down the SHIFT key and press number 9 to jump to the
cockpit of your wing man (if you have one) or a number from shift 1 to
shift 8 to jump to the cockpit of another wing leader then SHIFT 9 to get
to their wing man. You will see the callsign in the Information panel
change to show that you are now in a different air- craft.
MAKING AN INTERCEPT RADIO MESSAGE
In those days, a radio was referred to as a wireless
The RAF aircraft were fitted with an AM set which could be picked up by
domestic wireless. This meant that people on the ground could listen to
the exitement, drama and tragedy of air warfare.
The RAF aircraft were also fitted with something called pip-squeak. The
signal transmitted was used on the ground to track friendly aircraft. It
was an obvious ancestor to the modern IFF technology.
Shortly after the start of your mission you will start to recieve radio
messages about the bandits (enemy aircraft) nearby. The messages appear at
the top of the screen preceded by the callsign of the sender and are colour
coded as follows:
Another pilot or your Controller
If the message is in WHITE then it has been sent specifically to you by
another pilot or your controller. You should take note of it and act
accordingly
DARK BLUE messages are radio chatter being sent to another pilot and
provide information on how the battle is going
If the message is GREEN then you have sent the message as a comment on your
immediate situation. These messages are the simulations way of warning you
about enemy aircraft that you would normaly be aware of in a real
situation. You should act on these warnings immediately.
For example - FROM RED 2: BANDIT AT 11 O CLOCK. RANGE 6 MILES
This is a message from a fellow pilot. If the message was displayed in
WHITE then the message was specifically for you. BANDIT AT 11 O CLOCK
means that there is an enemy aircraft at the 11 O clock position a head of
you, 6 miles away.
To reach the enemy and engage, you may fly manually (in-real time) or turn
on the Auto-pilot by pressing the A key. If you want to get to the enemy
quickly, you can also turn on Accelerated Mode.
ACCELERATED MODE
Pressing the TAB key on the keyboard will put the simulation into
accelerated time mode. This will speed up time for everybody, allow- ing
you to get to the interception point in seconds rather than min- utes. It
affects the enemy in the same way. Note; If you activate Accelerated Mode
while in manual, with a negative pitch, you may quickly end up crashing.
A message at the top of the screen will inform you that Accelerated Mode
has been activated.
If you come under threat or come within 6 miles of the enemy, then
Accelerated mode turns off automatically.
In addition SHIFT and TAB will lock the game into accelerated mode (as will
holding the TAB key) but these are dangerous as your a/c may be destroyed
while not under your control.
You should soon see the aircraft ahead. If it is far away (6 miles or
more) then it will only be visible as a small moving dot in the sky. As
you get closer you will begin to see more detail. If all goes well, you
should eventually see it at close range.
(You might receive updates from you controller if the aircraft makes a
change in heading. Respond to the new information accordingly).
Speech
Some machines will have a digitised speech option. When turned on, you
will hear radio messages from other pilots. A few examples and their
significance are given below;
Some trade for you - An enemy aircraft is close by your position
Okay, let's engage - I have seen the bandit (message to Wingman)
Tally Ho - I have seen the bandit and am engaging (message to
controller)
SHOOTING
If this was a modern day fighter, you would probably just launch a couple
of AIM9R sidewinders and sit back and watch as they chased the enemy
aircraft. However in the 1940s combat was totally dependant on the pilots
own skill and reactions which is why com- bat is so much more exciting as a
result. You must be within 250 yards of the enemy target before you can
start shooting (SPACE BAR) and the only weapon you have at your disposal
are your machine guns.
Deflection
The problem with bullets is that they do not arrive at their target point
instantaneously. They take time to reach their target which could mean the
enemy has moved out of the way. To compensate for this you will have to
anticipate where the target will be and aim for that area so that your
bullets hit it as it arrives.
The ability to defeat the enemy in air combat means the difference between
success and failure. You should refer to the section 'IMPROVING YOUR
SHOOTING' for furthur details of the best tactics to employ
Look up front view-([and])
There are many different views available to you when in the cockpit of your
R A f aircraft. However, one of the most useful during com- bat is the
'look up' front view.
Press the [ key on your keyboard. You will see a new view of the sky from
within your cockpit. This is the view you would get if you were to look up
a little from your normal cockpit view. You get a much clearer view of the
sky here so you can track enemy aircraft more easily. You also have the
added bonus of a rear view mirror so you can see when an enemy bandit is
behind you (on your six),
You might think that side views are more important when trying to follow an
enemy plane, but they aren't! When you turn to follow an aircraft you will
bank steeply, so your side views will only show a very high shot of the sky
(too high to be of any use) or the ground or sea will fill the view on the
other side as you turn, Without the `look up' view, it would difficult to
follow the enemy accurately and give chase).
Whenever you want to go back to the normal cockpit view from the `look up'
view, press the ] key.
Combat View (RETURN/ENTER)
Only possible when an enemy is within 6 miles of your a/c, this is probably
the most useful view available. It is an outside view where the camera
moves so that, regardless of which manoeuvres you and the enemy perform,
both aircraft will remain in view (Draw a line from the camera to the enemy
aircraft and it will always go through your aircraft). In this way you can
work out the best manoeuvre to perform in order to get the enemy into your
sights
Locking on (L)
You can lock the combat view onto the currently displayed bandit by
pressing the L key. This key will toggle the lock on and off. When
unlocked, the view will automatically change to the nearest bandit. You
will notice the bandits callsign (as displayed on the panel in the outside
view) will change colour to indicate that the combat view is locked onto
it.
The locked bandits will always remain in the centre of the screen so you
can see exactly where they are at all times. If you put your air- craft
into auto-pilot and auto-guns then you might be able to watch the dog
fighting unfold before you from the outside view.
Note that the rotational keys (1 and 2) do not have any effect during
combat view. However, zooming in and out again with F1 and F2 does operate
as normal (See Different views for more details)
WINNING THE DAY
As an RAF officer you must hunt down the Luftwaffes bombers while evading
their deadly fighters. Destroy the bombers before they reach their
targets, or inflict such heavy damage that they will be forced to turn
back, while minimising the loss of the RAFs precious air- craft. You will
kow that your mission is over when you CONTROLLER informs you that the
Luftwaffe are returning home, but you will not know how well you have done
until you finally return to base. For this you should;
(1) Find an airfield (preferably your own) and land.
(2) Turn on the auto pilot (press key A) and Accelerated Mode (TAB) to
land automatically.
(3) Press F10 to bring up the Menu Bar and select End Mission
(only available when the RAF have destroyed all Luftwaffe bombers or the
Luftwaffe bombers have attacked their target).
On ending a mission you are usually taken directly to the Debriefing
Screen.
LOSING THE DAY
There are a number of ways in which to end the day in failure.
(1) Crash/ get shot down
In practice mode you will be taken to the debriefing screen described later
before returning to the side select screen.
In pilot mode you will be taken to the ready room when you first or second
pilots are killed, in order to enter a name for your new pilot. On the
death of your third pilot you will go directly to the debriefing screen
before restarting the campaign.
In Controller mode the loss of a pilot will not affect you directly except
that the number of aircraft available will be reduced and your task will
become harder.
(2) Select abort mission
Aborting the first mission will return you to the side select screen as no
player record will have been saved. After the first day your char- acter
record will be active and so you will return to the beginning of the day in
order to restart.
(3) Ejecting (Ctrl & E)
RAF pilots who eject over England will usually survive to fly the following
day, ewhile those who eject over the channel are often drowned.
Luftwaffe pilots ejecting over England are likely to be captured and sit
out the remainder of the war, while those bailing out over the channel will
often survive due to the superior search and rescue facilities provided by
the German U-boat fleet
DEBRIEFING
To get to the debriefing screen you must have ended a mission either by
selecting 'End Mission' from the Menu Bar, or by landing safely at your
home airfield (See 'Real fight' for more details) or by ejecting (Ctrl and
E) or being shot down.
A Debriefing Clipboard is displayed with a number of options available
(1) PHOTOGRAPHS
If you took any photographs during the mission, select this option to
review them
If you have taken any photographs the first one photograph A, will be put
up on the projection screen automatically. The slide projector has three
options on it. NEXT takes you to the next photograph. DELETE will destroy
a photograph if you don't want to keep it on disk. PREVlOUS will take you
back one to the previously viewed photo- graph
To leave this room and return to the Debriefing, select the EXIT door.
(2) VIDEO
This allows you to view any recorded video film that you shot during a
mission. Until it is saved, video is held in the computer's memory (RAM).
You should ensure that you save any video you wish to keep so that you can
use the memory for recording new footage on your next missions. (The O key
rewinds and restarts the video, thus over writing old recordings).
The available options give you the chance to look at the recorded footage.
(a) Load
To load in a previously saved film you will have to type in the name of the
footage you previously saved and select OK. You must then select PLAY to
view it.
(b) Play
To play the footage in memory select this option.
(c) Exit
To leave this room and return to Debriefing, select this option.
(d) Save
To save the video in memory, select this option and give the file a name
before selecting OK. The footage will be saved to floppy or hard disk.
(e) Next
If you recorded more than one piece of footage in a mission without using
up all of the available film then you can proceed to the next film and then
PLAY it with this option. The length of film available depends on the
amount of available memory. (On the PC this feature takes advantage of
expanded memory if any is available).
(3) Progress Report
On selecting the Progress Report option, you will first see the data for
your individual pilot covering the last mission and also giving the grand
total since you began. The information tells you how many air- craft you
have lost, how many you have shot down, the number of ground targets hit by
the Luftwaffe whilst you were in the air, how long you have been in combat
for and your kill rating.
The same information is available for the entire squadron by select- ing
the squadron option at the bottom of the clipboard.
The Kill rating is a score which is calculated from the number of enemy
bandits you shot down and your current rank. The higher the rank, the
higher your rating will be for each bandit.
The current British Air Strength is also displayed at the bottom of this
clipboard. This is a very important figure and shows you how well you are
doing. If it falls below 50% then the RAF will lose the whole battle and
the simulation will end.
To leave the Progress report and return to the Debriefing clipboard, select
EXIT
(4) COMBAT REPORT
The Combat report gives a detailed breakdown of the day's combat including
the date, the home airfield, the type of Luftwaffe bombers encountered, the
time of the attack the height of the attack, and the number of casualties
on either side.
To leave the Combat report and return to Debriefing, press any key
(5) ACES
The Aces list gives you the top ten RAF pilots in terms of their total
confirmed kill rating. Your name will only appear on the list if you
manage to get more than the lowest entrant. How high up you appear depends
on your total. If a pilot on the list is killed, this will be entered next
to his name.
(6) NEXT DAY
The final option in Debriefing will end the day and take you to the next
one. What happens next depends on the role you chose earlier.
Practice
Trainees in practice cannot go to the next day. You are only allowed to
practice on the first day of any phase. Selecting 'Next Day' will return
you to the orders board for additional training.
Controller
You will advance to the next day of the conflict to plan out your tactics
in the Control Room
Pilot
You will advance to the next day in the phase
At the very bottom of the Debriefing clipboard you will find any comments
from your superior officers on how the battle is going. The messages can
only change once a day depending on the events that have occurred. If you
are in PRACTICE you will be informed how well or how badly you did in that
day's training exercise instead.
For further information on controlling the simulation you should refer to
the section 'THE MENU BAR' for details on how to improve your flying and
combat refer to the sections 'REAL FLIGHT' and 'IMPROVED FLIGHT AND COMBAT
TACTICS' (lmproving your shooting, Fighter combat and Notes on the theory
of fight).
THE LUFTWAFFE
Having chosen the role of the Luftwaffe from the selection screen, you will
be moved to the Squadron Meeting Room where you will see Obersteleutnant
Werner Molders sitting pensively at a table. On the blackboard behind him
are a list of available pilots (default set- tings at start). You should
select one of these and then proceed through the option screens in the same
way as for the RAF.
Depending on which ROLE you selected there will be some slight differences
from the RAF. These are listed below.
PRACTICE
The Luftwaffe PRACTICE mode features different options to the RAF as you
will be taking an attacking role rather than a defensive one. The option
you can select are;
COAST
This option will take you in your aircraft and place you immediately at the
edge of the SE coast of England, ready to execute your orders.
INTERCEPT
This will take you immediately to an interception with the RAF Be ready for
a dogfight.
BOMB JU87
This option takes you in your aircraft to a position just before a bombing
run. This is the perfect opportunity to practice bombing and strafing
CANCEL
This will take you back to choose another role if you change your mind.
To learn how to fy and what tactics to use in the air once you are in your
cockpit, please refer to the R,A.F. PILOT section and IMPROVED FLIGHT AND
COMBAT TACTICS'.
CONTROLLER
Once you are adept in the role of a Pilot you should try taking on the role
of Controller. You will make decisions about which targets to attack.
Each day the German High Command will present you with a selection of
strategic targets (one of which was actually bombed on that day during the
battle) and it is up to you which tar- get, or targets, you will attack and
the number of your available air- craft to use.
As Controller, your aim is to reduce the effectiveness of the RAF by
lowering the British Air Strength to less than the critical level of 50%.
If the strength drops below this level then the final preparations for the
invasion can be started.
There are a number of ways of reducing the air strength:
Shoot down RAF aircraft in the air.
Shoot RAF aircraft whilst still on the ground.
Bomb RAF repair facilities located at airfields.
Bomb the RAF aircraft factories
Bomb shipping convoys carrying aircraft spares coming from America
Bomb radar facilities to reduce the RAF's early warning capability
Deny the RAF the use of their airfields
Having selected the phase you wish to start the battle in, select CONTINUE
on the next screen to confirm your choice. You will then move into the
Luftwaffe's Control Room. Here you will see a large map of the SE corner
of England.
(A) Currently highlighted group
(B) Current date
(C) Number of available aircraft fights today
(Each fight is two a/c)
(D) Name of current Airfield/location
(E) Available targets
(F) Rendez-vouz points
The general layout is very similar to the RAF Control Room. However the
ultimate objective of the Luftwaffe is obviously very different.
All Luftwaffe aircraft are organised in flights of two aircraft. As you
progress through the campaign High Command will provide you with varying
numbers and types of aircraft, depending on how well the campaign is going.
The map in the Control room shows similiar items to that of the RAF
CONTROLLER
Marker Group Type
Blue Cross Airfield
Light grey marker Aircraft Factory
Dark Grey area Conurbation
White cross Barrage Balloon
Red marker Site
Black marker Radar Site
White Dots Rendez-vous point
Red Dots Target
However the groups that you can interact with (red and white dots) are
different. The white dots show your rendez-vous point, where groups of
bombers and fighters join in formation for the journey to the target. The
red dots are the targets and these will vary in type from day to day, and
phase to phase depending on the plan of the German High Command
One of the targets will be highlighted (flashing) and you should now check
the identity of each target in turn by highlighting then pressing
RETURN/ENTER
In this example the target in question is a Convoy carrying cargo to the
shores of England from the United States of America. The state of the
convoy (whether it is damaged or not), the size (number of ships) and the
current heading is also revealed.
Press any key to make the clipboard disappear.
Now select a Rendez-vous point and press RETURN/ENTER to select it.
The Rendez vous point will be assigned an identification letter (to
distinguish it from other points). It also shows the aircraft type and the
current morale level.
(Morale can range from Poor, Fair, Fine, Good up to High. At the start
of phase one it will be at FINE).
You will also notice a number of selectable options underneath.
SET ATTACK
This allows you to set an attack on a Target of your choice. Press
RETURN/ENTER to select this option and you will return to the map. One of
the available targets will be highlighted (flashing) and you should now use
CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT keys to highlight the tar- get you wish to attack. Press
RETURN/ENTER to select the target and display the 'ATTACK AGAINST:'
clipboard.
Target
The name of the target is shown first. In this example, it is a shipping
convoy in the chan- nel on approach to England with vital supplies
Bomber Type
This shows the currently available Bomber Type for this day. All bomber
types are available during the entire confict but the following list shows
those most likely to be used in each phase
Phase Type
1 Ju87
2 Ju88
3 He111
4 DO17
Flights
Below this is the number of fights assigned to this target. Press the down
arrow key to highlight this then use the CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT keys to change
the number of fights until you are happy. Remember a fight is two a/c so
selecting two fights will launch two wing leaders, each accompanied by one
wing man
Altitude over coast
You can manually alter the altitude by typing in a new number from the
keyboard. The lower the altitude the closer the aircraft will get to the
target before detection. Keep in mind that you might want to set up a few
aircraft at higher altitudes to act as decoys. In this situation you want
them to be detected early so that the RAF concentrates on them instead of
the real threat from the aircraft coming in undetected at the lower
altitude.
Target bearing at turn/ Target range at turn
These two values dictate where the assigned aircraft will make its final
turn towards its ultimate target. You include a sudden turn to disguise
your ultimate target.
Bombing method
The penultimate option on the clipboard is the bombing method This can be
set at one of three settings:
(i) DiveBomb
This begins at an altitude of 10,000 feet (See 'Combat' for more
information on 'Bombing' manually)
(ii) Low level
This is at an altitude of only 2000 feet
(iii) High Level
This is at an altitude of 10000 feet
When the bombers are setup to your satisfaction, select Setup Escourt.
Another clipboard is displayed.
You can choose between Bf109 and Bf110 for fighter type
The formations available are Close, High and Free. See Fighter Tactics in
the section IMPROVED FLIGHT AND COMBAT TACTICS for an explanation of these
CANCEL ATTACK
This will cancel any responses you have set up for this Rendez-vous point
RETURN
This option returns you to the map without setting an attack
EDIT ATTACK
Once you have set an attack from a Rendez-vous point selecting it again
will give the option to EDIT ATTACK. Selecting this will take you back to
the map where you can choose an attack to edit. An attack clipboard will
be displayed and you can alter the attack in the same way that you set an
attack.
SUMMARY
When you have set up all you want for that day, you should select
'Summary'. This will summarise the orders you have given for the day. If
you want to cancel any of them select CANCELLED from the bottom of the
screen. This will appear in the status column next to the relevant
aircraft's orders. To change it back select CON- FIRMED and the status
column will be empty again. When you are happy with the orders use CURSOR
DOWN key to highlight 'Return to the Control Room'. You will be asked to
ACCEPT or FORGET anything you have changed on the Summary screen.
ACCEPT will return you to the Control room and accept the orders on the
summary screen, including any changes you have made. FORGET will also
return you to the Control room, but it will forget any changes you made and
leave the orders as they were before you selected the Summary screen.
FLY
This will take you from the Control Room and into the Cockpit of your
aircraft from here on you will assume the role of a PILOT until the next
day, when you return back to the Control room ready to set up the new days
orders.
PILOT
Each of the three roles (PRACTICE, CONTROLLER or PILOT) will eventually
lead you to climbing into the cockpit of the aircraft assigned to you. You
will first have to select an option from the bot- tom of the Summary
screen.
This screen shows you your aircraft and the others which are to be
scrambled with you on that day. You can highlight a different aircraft by
using the CURSOR UP/DOWN keys. Whichever aircraft is high- lighted will be
the one you will fly in. At the very bottom of the screen there will be a
number of options depending on your role
Practice
You can either select Coast, Intercept, Bomb or Cancel. To learn to fly
the aircraft you should select Coast. This gives you a chance to
familiarise yourself with the controls before you have to enter combat or
bombing runs.
Controller
Controllers can select Begin or Cancel.
Pilot
Pilots can also select Begin or Cancel
Having made your choice you will be taken to the cockpit of your aircraft.
SUCCESS OR FAILURE
If you select PILOT mode you will have three pilots to use in the campaign.
You will win if your pilots can survive until the end of the campaign and
reduce the British Air Strength to below 50%. You will lose the campaign
when you lose your third pilot.
As a CONTROLLER you will win upon reducing the British Air Superiority or
lose when the simulation reaches the 15th of September with the RAF
maintaining their superiority.
FLYING WITH THE LUFTWAFFE
We will assume that you are at the rank of Leutnant (the default rank and
the easiest and most unrealistic level).
All of the dials and gauges displayed in the cockpits of the various
Luftwaffe aircraft are calibrated in imperial units (feet, miles etc) This
step from reality was taken for your benefit. Having to famil- iarise
yourself with two different units of measurement in the same simulator was
taking the desire for accuracy beyond a reasonable limit.
Now you are in the cockpit, it is time to look at the controls before you
Press P to pause the simulation. You can now study the con- trols at your
leisure. Whenever you wish to see them in action un- pause (press P
again). There are six different aircraft to fly in as a Luftwaffe pilot,
(four bombers and two fighters). The type you are allocated depends on the
phase and the mission orders.
FLYING THE JU87 BOMBER
The Ju87 or Stuka bomber was a great success in the spring of 1940 where it
played a major part of the German BlitzKreig. It proved to be a remarkably
accurate bomber and with its high pitched wailing siren it instilled panic
into the enemy. So much so that the German High Command developed tunnel
vision when it came to making bombing strategy. In fact much time and
effort was wasted in trying to modify the Big Bombers to allow them to dive
bomb. The Stuka's stable mate, the Ju88, was actually used in a dive
bombing role as well as the more nor- mal level bombing approach.
However, the Stuka's success in Europe was due to the fact that the
Luftwaffe had air superiority. During the "Battle of Britain", the RAF
found the Ju87 to be easy pickings. When the Stuka pulls out of its dive
it is very slow and so very vulnerable. During the course of the battle,
the Stuka squadrons were allocated more and more escort fighters. In the
end though the Sruka had to be withdrawn.
In this simulation you can fly the Stuka. It is also possible to dive-
bomb and strafe targets. You can move to the rear gunner position to
defend the aircraft. The forward guns that are used for strafing can be
used in air combat. However, unless you are playing at the easy levels,
you will be either very lucky or very skillful to get an RAF aircraft in
your sights long enough for a shot.
JU87 COCKPIT
Dials
(1) Sights
This allows you to line up your shots when shooting or bombing the enemy.
When shooting, the distance that the aircraft is away from you will
obviously have an influence on whether you hit it or not, as will the angle
of your approach to the target. This is explained in more detail in the
section 'IMPROVED FLIGHT AND COMBAT TACTICS'
(2) Altimeter: This instrument measures the height above sea level The
zero position is at 12 o'clock. The large needle rotates 360 degrees for
every 100 feet. The small needle rotates 360 degrees for every 1000 feet.
The digits display the altitude in 1000's feet
(3) Direction Indicator: This dial displays the aircraft heading. No
corrections for deviarion or variation are required. North is at the 12
o'clock position
(4) Air Speed indicator: This shows the indicated speed calibrated in tens
of miles per hour. The indicated air speed does not always show the speed
that you are flying at (true air speed). In fact the true air speed and
the indicated air speed only coincide at sea level
(5) Fuel dial (Fuel capacities are shown in Aircraft Comparison Table)
(6) Turn indicator: Each graduation on the dial represents a turn rate of
3 degrees per second
(7) Rate of Climb indicator: This displays the vertical speed of the
aircraft in 1000s of feet per minute. The zero position is at 9 o'clock
Climb is represented by a clockwise movement. The instrument is limited to
show a maximum reading of 4000 feet per minute.
(8) 12 hour clock - This can be used for dead reckoning
(9) The rpm dial shows the engine speed. The maximum reading in straight
and level fight is 5000 rpm
(10) Air brakes are applied when the light is illuminated. The air brakes
are used to slow down the dive
(11) Flaps are down when the light is illuminated. The flaps are either up
or down. There is no intermediate position and they are normally only used
for landing. Flaps are toggled up and down using the F key
(12) When the light marked "VID" is illuminated a video of the action is
being recorded. The video can be played back at the debriefing. On second
world war aircraft, gun cameras were used to produce motion pictures of the
action when the guns were fired.
(13) When the light marked "AUTO.' is illuminated the autopilot is engaged
(14) When the light marked "GN" is illuminated then the autopilot will fire
automatically. Please note though that the autopilot must be on before
auto firing can occur
(15) This number indicates the sensitivity of the keyboard and digital
joystick controls
(16) Press I to toggle between the two types of information present- ed on
the aircraft data panel
(17) The control surface indicator shows the position of the ailerons.
elevators and rudder
(18) The weapon instruments and controls are to the right of the cockpit.
There is a switch to toggle between guns and bombs using the backspace key.
The rounds remaining are shown below.
(19) Gun rounds remaining
(20) Bombs remaining The Stuka is fitted with 3 bombs at the beginning of
each mission One bomb is released for each press of the trigger
Pilot's Map (M)
Pressing M when in the cockpit will display the pilot's map. This shows
the wing leader of each fight of aircraft.
You can select any of the squares on the map that represent the wing
leaders of your nights or those of the enemy or the assigned targets for
that day. A clipboard will appear giving you additional information
DIFFERENT VIEWS
For details of the various views available see the section 'FLYING WITH THE
ROYAL AIR FORCE
WAYPOINTS
As with the RAF the Luftwaffe have three different types of Waypoint:
TURN POINT - This is where the bomber turns to make the final approach to
the target. If you are playing as a controller, you can choose where to
set the turning point. This is important because you can disguise your
intentions until the last minute.
ATTACK - This is the point where the bombs get dropped on the target
Dive-bombing with the Ju87 "Stuka".
Dive-bombing, as developed by the Luftwaffe is a very accurate bombing
technique which requires no instrumentation. Select bombs using the
backspace key First attain a height of 15000 feet and a speed of 150 mph.
Then bunt (stick forward) the aircraft to start the dive Dive at the target
at a pitch of about 80 degrees with air brakes extended. At 4000-6000 feet
pull back on the stick as the target moves through the gun sight press the
trigger.
RETURN - This is where the aircraft heads for after the mission In reality
it will be the same as the rendez-vous point where the mission began
Internal views
The JU87 aircraft has all the same internal views as the Spitfire or
Hurricane, as well as an additional 'rear gunner view'. The Ju87's
internal views are:
Key Inside view
3 Left back 45 degrees
4 Left
5 Left front 45 degrees
6 Front (normal cockpit view)
7 Right front 45 degrees
8 Right
9 Right back 45 degrees
0 Rear Gunner (also the Y key)
Pressing [ in any of these views will move to a 'look up view' which will
allow you to see a larger part of the sky, but less of the cockpit and
controls. To exit 'look up view' press ].
SWITCHING BETWEEN AIRCRAFT
When playing the Luftwaffe you can switch between aircraft in exactly the
same way as for the RAF by pressing Shift and a numeric key from 1 through
to 4. From each of these wing leaders you can jump to a wing man by
pressing Shift and 9.
FLYING THE HEAVY BOMBERS (JU88, DO17, HE111)
When on the Luftwaffe side if you are using Big Bombers then the objective
is to defend them against the RAF fighters. The actual flying, bombing and
subsequent strafing is done automatically. You can defend the Big Bombers
by escorting them with Bf109 or Bf110 fighters or you can take control of
the gunner positions inside the bomber. There are three gunner positions
each with a small control panel:
Forward gunner (press 6)
1.When this light is illuminated then the gun is damaged and will not
work
2 When this light is illuminated, then the gun will fire automatically
Guns will fire automatically anyway if you move to another cockpit
view
3.This number indicates the rounds remaining.
Rear look up (press Y)
Rear look down(press H)
JU88
A stable mate of the JU87, the JU88 was used in both normal level bombing
and dive-bombing raids
Shooting
When you aren't the pilot, you take the job of gunner. Instead of steering
the nose of the aircraft to point at the enemy, you wait until the enemy
appears in view and then you can move the gun sight around the screen with
the CURSOR keys to track it. Fire when the enemy is in your sights using
the SPACE BAR. You can also use CONTROL and CURSOR KEYS to move the sights
quickly around the screen
Auto-fire (T)
This will put your gun into auto-fire mode. However, when an enemy a/c
comes within range, the cursor will track it automatically and attempt to
shoot it down.
Damage light
If your gun is damaged or jammed then this light will come on to warn you.
During a mission your crew may manage to repair the gun at which time the
light will go out.
Rounds
This tells you how many rounds of ammunition you have left on board and
ready for use.
These three features are present on all three internal views (6, Y and H
keys). Each gunner position behaves in the same way. If an RAF aircraft
ducks under your front gunner (6) then switch to the gunner underneath (H)
to track it. If it passes you then it might end up behind. Press Y and
keep your eyes peeled!
DO17
The Dornier 17 (DO 17) bomber was a new bomber design that the Luftwaffe
intro- duced during the course of the battle.
HE111
The Heinkel 111 (HE111) bomber was another new bomber design that the
Luftwaffe introduced during the course of the battle.
Luftwaffe Fighters (Bf109 and Bf110)
The Luftwaffe used two fighters during the "Battle of Britain" to escort
their bombers. Both aircraft were designed by Willy Messerschmitts
Bayerische Flugzeugwerke design team. The single engined Bf109 was an
outstanding success and was well matched gainst the Spitfire. The two
engined Bf11O was an outright failure The Bf110's shortcomings were
recognised during the battle and at times the Luftwaffe were forced to
adopt the absurd tactic of using Bf109 squadrons to escort the Bf110 so
called fighters. When there were no Bf109s to protect them, Bf110 pilots
would, if attacked, sometimes fly in a defensive circle. This tactic has
been used many times during the history of air combat, notably during the
Vietnam war and The First World war
Both the Bf109 and the Bf110 are present in this simulation. You will find
that Bf109s are not always available and so you will have to make do. This
could be quite a problem if you are flying at Wing Commander level
Cockpits
In this simulation there are six different Luftwaffe aircraft (four bombers
and two fighters) from which to choose. During any one mission it is
possible to move between one of the bombers and either of the fighters. As
it is not possible to fit three sets of cock- pits into memory we have
compromised by using the same set of cockpits for the two fighters. There
is one difference though. In the single seater Bf109 there is no rear view
because in practice a pilot could not look directly behind him. To see
behind, follow the proce- dure outlines for the RAF Fighters. The Bf110
does have a rear view, in fact which is manned by a rear gunner
(1) Sights
This allows you to line up your shots when shooting or bombing the enemy.
When shooting the distance that the aircraft is away from you will
obviously have an influence on whether you hit it or not, as will the angle
of your approach to the target. This is explained in more detail in the
section 'IMPROVED FLIGHT AND COMBAT TACTICS'
(2) Altimeter: This instrument measures the height above sea level The
zero position is at 2 o'clock. The large needle rotates 360 degrees for
every 100 feet. The small needle rotates 360 degrees for every 1000 feet.
The digits display the altitude in 1000's of feet
(3) Direction Indicator: This instrument displays the aircraft heading No
corrections for deviation or variation are required
(4) Turn indicator: Each graduation on the dial represents a turnrate of 3
degrees per second.
(5) Air Speed indicator: This shows the indicated speed calibrated in tens
of miles per hour. The indicated air speed does not always show the speed
that you are flying at (true air speed). In fact the true air speed and
the indicated air speed only coincide at sea level.
(6) 12 hour Clock - can be used for dead reckoning
(7) Fuel dial (Fuel capacities are shown in the Aircraft Comparison Table)
(8) The rpm dial shows the engine speed. The maximum reading in straight
and level flight is 5000rpm.
(9) Flaps are down when the switch is down. The flaps are either up or
down. There is no intermediate position and they are only used for
landing. Flaps are toggled up and down using the F key. See the section
'Landing in Training' for more information.
In reality, on the Bf109, flaps were used for takeoff as well. For this
purpose, it was possible to vary the degree of flaps applied. In this
simulation, Luftwaffe aircraft always start in the air and so it is not
necessary to simulate variable flaps. It is possible to defect by landing
a Bf109 in England so landing flaps have been provided. It is not possible
to defect in the Bf110, the rear gunner will not let you. You will find it
impossible to lower the gear on the Bf110.
(10) When the lights are illuminated, the gear is down. The gear is
toggled up and down using the G key. The gear cannot be lowered above
200mph. Also, as noted above, the gear cannot be lowered at all on the
Bf110
(11) The wheel brake light is illuminated when the brakes are applied. The
wheel brakes are toggled on and off using the W key
(12) When the light marked "VID-' is illuminated a video of the action is
being recorded. The video can be played back at the debriefing. On second
world war aircraft, gun cameras were used to produce motion pictures of the
action when the guns were fired
(13) When the light marked "AUTO" is illuminated then autopilot is engaged
(14) When the light marked "GN" is illuminated then the autopilot will fire
automatically. Please note though that the autopilot must be on before
autofiring can occur
(15) This number indicates the sensitivity of the keyboard and digital
joystick controls
(16) Press I to toggle between the two types of information presented on
the aircraft data panel
(17) The control surface indicator shows the position of the ailerons,
elevators and rudder
(18) Remaining Ammunition The BF110 has a rear gunner position. Press Y
key to switch to the rear gunner. This position is controiled in exactly
the same manner as any of the gunner positions found on the JU88 bomber
aircraft.
COMBAT
As a gunner on a heavy bomber the enemy will come to you. When the RAF
fighters suddenly swoop to attack you will need to be fast and accurate
with your shooting to send them spiralling downwards
As a fighter pilot in either the BF109 or BF110 you will have to hunt down
the RAF's intercepting fighters in order to protect your bombers
Speech
Some machines will have a digitised speech option. When turned on, you
will hear radio messages from other pilots. A few examples and their
significance are given below:
We are under attack! - The bombers you are assigned to protect are under
attack from the RAF
Spitfire attacking - A Spitfire aircraft is attacking
BOMBING
Luftwaffe bomber aircraft must destroy specific tar- gets. In the JU87 you
can accomplish this by bomb- ing or staffing your target.
The other bomber aircraft available (the JU88, DO17 and HE111) perform
their bombing runs automatically. (You are positioned as a gunner and so
have no influence on piloting the aircraft).
ENDING THE DAY
Your mission with the Luftwaffe will end when you either,
(i) Complete your mission and return to Luftwaffe airspace
(ii) Get shotdown/crash or eject
(iii) Defect by landing at an enemy airfield
(iv) You select Abort Mission from the file menu in order to start again
(v) End mission option on menus
In the above situations you will follow the procedure covered by the
sections "Winning the Day", "Losing the Day" and "Debriefing"
REAL FLIGHT
With 'Real flight' selected on the Menu Bar (which is discussed in a
moment) your aircraft's power will be set at a more realistic level meaning
that you have less power available and thus need to be more skillful
Take off
In Real Flight takeoff is not automatic. Instead you should press the /
key to increase the engines R P.M to maximum. At just over 40mph, gently
push the stick forward. This brings the nose down and it is possible to
see more of the ground. As well as being important for safety, this
manoeuvre reduces drag and hence increases acceler- ation. At a speed of
over 80 mph, gently pull back on the stick until you are airborne. Also as
soon as possible after takeoff lift the gear (G key). The easiest way to
see if you are airborne is to watch the altimeter on the digital readout.
Takeoff speed is not sufficient to allow adequart climbrate. So fly with
little or no climb until the speed has reached 180 mph. It is safe to
climb at speeds of over 140mph. Climbrate of between 2500 feet/min and
3000 feet/min can be sustained. The actual value depends on altitude and
aircraft type
First Production Spitfire
Height Top Speed Rate of Climb
feet mph ft/min
2000 295 2195
5000 307 2295
10000 328 2490
15000 348 2065
18500 362 1700
20000 360 1480
25000 349 900
30000 315 325
Landing
Press G to lower the landing gear. Check that the light comes on. If it
has been damaged and the light fails then you will have to perform an
emergency landing without them!
Press F to bring the flaps down. Check that the flap lever is down. On
the cockpit. If you cannot get the flaps down (due to damage) then you
will have to approach at about 10 mph faster than normal.
The correct speed for landing is either 85 mph. (with everything working)
or 90 mph if you are gliding in (due to lack of any fuel)
Mislandings
If you fail to land increase speed to 120 mph before attempting to climb
After landing
Bring the RPM down to 0 by pressing the - key then wait. The ground crew
will re-arm and re-fuel your aircraft. If your aircraft is damaged then
you will be moved to Debriefing.
You will find that you have to power right down to get the speed to below
100 mph when descending on the glide path. You should aim for a glide path
which is at about 5 or 10 degrees below the horizon- tal, ideaily aiming
for 7-8 degrees
Try the following:
(i) Reduce speed to 90 mph
(ii) Set glide path to 7 degrees.
(iii) Pull back to bring the nose up. The aircraft should lose speed and
after a few seconds it will continue but on a steeper descent
(iv) Increase the RPM by pressing the + key to change to a shallow- er
descent
THE FOUR PHASES OF THE BATTLE
Phase 1: Convoys
Start: July 10th 1940
In this phase, the Luftwaffe are attacking the convoys in the channel. The
main aim is to entice RAF aircraft to fight over neutral waters. The RAF
did not oblige in large numbers. Their response was limited to preserve
strength for the battle to come.
Phase 2: Eagle Eyes
Start: August 9th 1940
The Luftwaffe changed tactics and decided to attack the RAF in its home
territory. Before attacking the airfieids, it was decided to dis- able the
RAF's eye, ie destroy the radar. This would make it possi- ble to mount
more permanently damage the radar stations and the phase was short lived
Phase 3: Eagle
Start: August 13th 1940
This was the Luftwaffe's attack on the RAF airfields. This attack was
devastaring. When the RAF was at the point of collapse, the phase ended.
If it had continued, the Luftwaffe would surely have been vic- torious
Phase 4: Blitz
Start: September 7th 1940
The attack moved to the city of London. Goring hoped to crush the morale
of the RAF and also force the RAF into the air to protect the capital
Comparing The Killing Machines
In the few weeks of the "Battle of Britain", the courage of the pilots from
both sides were tested to the ultimate limit. The aircraft were also
severely tested. The aircraft had similariries but many differ- ences.
Some more subtle than others. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of
friendly and unfriendly aircraft is an important part of the job of being a
fighter pilot.
This section contains information about the aircraft used during the
battle. Mixed in among this general background information, there are some
facts that you can put to use in the cockpit
Aircraft Comparisons
RAF
Spitfire Hurricane
Wing Span 36ft 11in 40ft 0in
Length 29ft 11in 31ft 4in
Height 12ft 3in 13ft 1in
Wing Area 242sq ft 258sq ft
Engine Merlin III Merlin III
1030hp 1030hp
Armament eight.303 machine .303 machine guns
guns wing 300 rpg wing 1000 rpg
Max.Speed 362 mph 328 mph
at 19000ft at 20000ft
Max.Range 395 miles 505 miles
Ceiling 31900 ft 34200 ft
LUFTWAFFE
Bf110 Ju87 Bf109
Wing span 53ft 5in 45ft 3in 32ft 4in
Length 39ft 9in 36ft 1in 28ft 8in
Height 11ft 6in 13ft10in 11ft 2in
Wing area 413sq ft 343sq ft 174sq ft
Engine 2xDB601A Ju211A-1 DB601A
2x1150hp 1100hp 1150hp
Armament Four 7.9mm Two 7.9mm Two 7.9mm
machine guns machine guns machine guns
1000 rpg 500 rpg engine
Two 20mm two 20mm
machine guns cannon in wings
180rpg 60 rpg
One rear firing One rear firing
7.9mm MG 7.9 MG
750 rpg 900 rpg
Max speed 349mph at 232mph at 357mph at
23000ft 23000ft 12000ft
Max range 530 miles 370 miles 412 miles
Ceiling 32000feet 26500feet 36000 feet
LUFTWAFFE BOMBERS
HE111 Ju88 DO17
Wing Span 74ft 1in 59ft 10in 59ft 1in
Length 53ft 10in 47ft 1in 50ft 0in
Height 13ft 2in 15ft 5in 14ft 11in
Wing Area 943sq ft 540sq ft 592sq ft
Powerplant 2 x DB601A 2 x Ju211B-1 2 x Bramo 323P
2 x 1100hp 2 x 1200hp 2 x 1000hp
Armament three 7.9mm three 7.9mm four 7.9mm
machine guns machine guns machine guns
nose nose nose
dorsal dorsal dorsal
ventral ventral ventral
750rpg 750rpg 750rpg
Max.Speed 247 mph 286 mph 265 mph
at 16000ft at 16000ft at 16400ft
Max.Range 1224 miles 1553 miles 745 miles
Ceiling 26000 feet 26500 feet 26400 feet
Bomb Load 4410lbs 3968lbs 2200lbs
The performance figures here are only indicative. In the simulation with
"Real Flight" selected on the menus it will be possible to obtain
performances similar to those in the table. However there will be
differences as no two aircraft are exactly the same and the total weight of
the aircraft is affected by fuel carried.
Performance is also affected by the quality of the fuel. Just before the
battle, RAF pilots were to receive a very welcome boost from an American
petroleum company. Up to the battle, the standard fuel was a 87 octane
mixture. However, under a veil of secrecy a deal was agreed to obtain a
100 octane fuel that had been used by the US Army Air Corps since 1938.
The British Air Ministry managed to finalise the contract for the supply of
the fuel just before the out break of the "Battle of Britain"
The Do17 had extra machine guns fitted, these are not used in the simulator
Kills claimed Actual losses
Luftwaffe 2698 1733
RAF 3058 915
Fighter command overstated by just over fifty per cent while the Luftwaffe
overstated by more than 200 per cent
Many people expect the enemy to exaggerate their successes and dismiss the
claims with something like..."well they would say that though wouldn't
they"
Then there is the feeling of being let down when you find that your side's
claims are shown to be exaggerated too
How can this happen? Well, propaganda is a powerful weapon and it is
likely that wishful thinking did colour peoples judgement. However the
distortion is not as great as that seen in some Arab newspapers during the
1967 war where for the first five days the Arabs were said to be
experiencing spectacular success followed on the sixth day by an
announcement that the Israelis had won!
The most important weapon that Britain has ever produced. had we not had
it we would have been in big trouble"
Reginald Mitchell was Chief designer of the Supermarine Company Woolston
Southampton. During the 20's, the Supermarine Company were concerned with
the production of sea planes. They were also heavily engaged in producing
aircraft to break the absolute speed record and win outright the "Schneider
Trophy".
The experience gained by Mitchell in designing these metal mono planes was
used in the production of a series of fighter aircraft designs in the early
thirties. Gradually the design was improved and finally with the
introduction of the 1000hp Merlin engine, the design was sufficiently
impressive for the Air Ministry to place a small order
The prototypes were a success and a large order was placed
The Spitfire was a thoroughbred but as production got under way its roots
started to show. In the design there were no compromises to production
techniques. In fact the only compromises were to aerodynamics. It was
like a rich man's hand built sports car
Production proved to be difficult slow and expensive. Delivery was late
and behind budget. However the British did get there act together and
managed to produce aircraft in sufficient numbers throughout the Battle and
the Spitfire caught the public imagination Now, after so many years, the
impression is that the "Battle of Britain" was won because of the Spitfire.
It is surprising, then, to find that the Hurricane accounted for 80% of the
enemy aircraft destroyed.
How did the Spitfire manage to win such admiration when the facts clearly
show that the accolades should have gone to the Hurricane
Why has history has been unkind to the Hurricane.
The Spitfire had a number of advantages. Its very long service life kept
it in the public eye. Its elegant lines made it a very photogenic
aeroplane; some say it is the most beautiful fighter aircraft ever to be
built. The aeroplane handled superbly. For the young pilots, it was like
being given a very fast and desirable Sports car and being paid to operate
it. It was fast and manoeuvrable.
The Hurricanes advantages were more mundane. Its was a very sta- ble gun
platform and could take more damage than a Spitfire. It could also out
turn any of its temporaries. Finally, the RAF had more Hurricanes than
Spitfires
In fact, the Spitfire and Hurricane complemented each other and the RAF
needed both. The fact that the Hurricane achieved more kills mostly
attributed to tactics used by the RAF
The Spitfire's speed and manoeuvrability meant that it was a match for the
Luftwaffe best fighter, the Bf109. These fighters were sent over to escort
the relatively vulnerable bombers. When inbound air- craft were detected
by the RAF, they would send Hurricanes to attack the bombers and Spitfires
were used to keep the fighters busy
The Hurricane had the easier targets and took advantage of the situation.
It is obvious though that they could not have achieved so much if the
Spitfire had not been so successful
War is not so neat and tidy as the above summary would suggest Hurricanes
did sometimes engage Bf109s and sometimes they got the better of their
enemy. Spitfires sometimes failed to counter the enemy fighter force. So
many factors are involved not least of which are pilot skill, experience
and luck
Of all the RAF aircraft available at the onset to the battle, only the
Spitfire and the Hurricane made a significant impact. So in this simu-
lation we feature on the RAF side, the Spitfire and Hurricane
Armament
Spitfire and Hurricane were fitted with eight 303 Browning machine guns.
Each gun was fitted with 300 rounds of ammunition belted and fed from boxes
for quick rearming. In fact an efficient ground crew could rearm and
refuel in eight minutes.
When compared with the cannons on the Luftwaffe, it is obvious that these
guns were painfully inadequate. During the pre-war days the RAF were
starved of funds and little was available for gun development.
Some aircraft were fitted with 20mm cannon in the early days of the Battle.
These aircraft could be distinguished by the bulges on the wings to
accommodate the cannon magazines. Unfortunately, these cannon frequently
jammed and were not fitted generally.
Messerschmidt Bf109
The Bf109 was the Spitfire's main rival. In some areas the Spitfire
excelled and in others the Bf109 was supreme. Overall the aircraft were
well matched and a lot depended on luck, pilot skill and tactics However
considering the end results were so similar, it is surprising how different
the aircraft designs were.
The Bf109 was designed for mass production and ease of mainte- nance. It
had no difficult-to-manufacture elliptical wings, in fact no double curved
panels. Consequently, it took only one third of the time to build a Bf109
compared with the time taken to build a Spitfire. For field maintenance,
the spark plugs, oil pump etc were easily accessible. All this didn't
effect the pilot much. But the fuel injection system did. Luftwaffe
pilots could bunt (stick forward) with no loss of engine power. RAF pilots
whose aircraft were fitted with gravity fed carbs could not. In RAF
aircraft it was necessary to do a half roll before diving. This was to
maintain positive g on the fuel sys- tem.
Just before the war, the Bf109 broke the land plane record by flying at
379mph
Visibility
Visibility was poor on all the fighters. A lot of nastiness could be going
on under the nose and the wings and behind you. The provi- sion of the
tiny make up mirror was certainly an after thought on the Spitfire and the
situation for the Bf109 was no better. In fact because the cockpit was so
much more cramped on the Bf109, it was more difficult to turn to look
behind.
Landing
The Bf109 was very difficult to land and the canopy was such that inversion
during landing was generally fatal. As a consequence, over 1500 student
pilots were killed in the first two years of the war
IMPROVED FLIGHT AND COMBAT TACTICS
AIR COMBAT MANOEUVRES
Break - This is a traditional defensive move use when an enemy is attacking
from the rear. By turning hard into the line of attack you can make the
enemy over shoot.
Scissors - This is a counter attacking manoeuvre which can be performed
after a successful break. After evading an attack you can attempt to move
in behind the enemy aircraft. The aircraft criss cross each others paths
as each attempts to gain and maintain an attacking position behind the
other
Split S - This is a move that results from an attacking enemy getting too
close. You should roll upside down and pull into an accelerated dive to
evade the attacker before they can react.
Vertical Loop - This is an evasive move which may be transformed into a
counter attack manoeuvre. You should pull into a steep climb, continuing
up and over the top in the same direc- tion. As you come down back onto
your original path you may find that the attacking aircraft has continued
on its attack course and you may be able to position yourself in an
attacking position on its tail.
Lag Pursuit - When the enemy you are attacking performs a break you may be
able to prevent over shooting and maintain an attacking position by
performing the Lag Pursuit. This entails holding a path below and behind
that of the enemy aircraft and occasionally pulling into a slight climb to
reduce speed and remain behind the enemy.
Immelmann Turn - This move was pioneered by the German World War I Ace Max
Immelmann,nick- named the "Eagle of Lille" It can be used to change
direction in the least amount of horizontal space by pulling into a near
vertical climb and rolling to face in the desired direction when you reach
the top of the climb. By applying hard rudder and performing a stall turn
at the top of his climb, Immelmann used this manoeuvre to position his
Fokker for a dive on his enemy with devastating results. The manoeuvre was
adopted and used well into World War I and was only abandoned when the
intro- duction of more powerful Ailied fight- ers rendered the stalling
Fokkers vul- nerable to counter attack.
Head on - As mentioned earlier, the head on encounter is not recom- mended
as it amounts to a game of chicken with bullets. If you fail to score a
hit on your enemy during this initial encounter the aircraft with the
tightest turn arc is likely to end up in the best position. By looping
back and across your original flight path in a tight turn you may be able
to gain an advantageous position against a slow- er turning enemy.
IMPROVING YOUR SHOOTING
_
To succeed in this simulation, you have to be or become a pretty good shot.
It is much more difficult to down an aircraft with gun or cannon fire than
with a missile. For one thing you have to get much closer, also
bullets/shells don't guide like missiles. Finally, one hit from a
bullet/shell is not necessarily fatal.
These perceived advantages of the missiles led airforces in the fifties to
equip fighter aircraft with missiles only. The justification was that the
day of the dogfight was over and that fighter aircraft were to become
missile platforms for the interception of big bombers. All this doctrine
was thrown out of the window during the Vietnam war Dog fighting was back
in and American fighter pilots at the beginning of the conflict "would have
killed to get a gun fitted to their aircraft' It is true to say that some
American aircraft started the conflict with guns fitted but most didn't.
During the conflict most aircraft were fit- ted with guns to various
degrees of success. However, American Fighter piiots have said that if
they had guns, the number of kills they could have achieved would have been
twice their actual score.
Guns are still in favour on modern fighters even though the gun kill is
still the most difficult to achieve. The modern pilot does have some
advantages over his second world war colleague:
the cailiper of the gun/cannon is greater and so fewer hits are needed
the gun/cannon will be mounted more centrally rather than on the wings. On
second world war fighters, guns were harmonised to focus on an area a set
distance in front of the fighter
head up instrumentation gives the range of the target as well as the
predicted path of the shells. The guess work is largely taken out of the
process
But there is one crucial advantage for the second world war pilot: speed.
The aircraft were much slower and this meant that there was more time to
set up and prose- cute an attack.
Also there was more chance to "catch your breath". Many times in the
literature you will read of pilots saying that they were engaged in a
hellish dogfight with scores of aircraft milling around and within seconds
the sky was empty. Modern day radar ensures that it is not as easy to
escape notice to recover
Gun Sights for range finding
All the fighters are fitted with multiple guns and these guns are focused
to a point which is 250 yards in front of the fighter. To be effective
then you need to close to a range of 250 yards or closer. The gun sight
can be used to help you judge range. For instance, if a small fighter
(wingspan, say 35 feet) fills the ring of the gun sight then it is 100
yards away.
If the fighter's wingspan is only half the diameter of the ring then it is
200 yards away.
It is possible to estimate the range of other aircraft by reference to the
Aircraft Comparison Table which contains wingspan information. For
instance a He111 with a wingspan of about twice a small fighter will be at
a range of 200 yards when it fills the gun sight circle
In reality, the pilot could make modifications to the gun sight to help in
range finding. For instance on the RAF gunsight the horizontal and
vertical lines could be adjusted so that the gap between the lines could be
varied. When the target filled the gap, it was at the optimum range.
During the development of this simula- tion, it was shown that this extra
sophistication was not useful.
Some aircraft, in the simulation, are fitted with an alternative gun sight
design. For this sight, the display consists of eight diamond shaped dots
arranged in a ring:
The diameter of the ring was controlled by the pilot until it encircled the
target. The sight then automatically calculated the range of the target.
However for the purposes of this simulation, the sight should be used in
the same way as the previously discussed ring sight
Gun sight for deflection
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/shell to reach
it. In a beam attack (from the side), the pilot must aim at 70 yards in
front of the target to get a hit
Normally the angle between the two aircraft is much less than the 90
degrees of a beam attack. As the angle is reduced then the "lead' required
is reduced from the 70 yards mentioned above. In a 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 with a deflection shot, that is one where you have to fire where the
target will be, not where he is on firing.
Becoming an expert on deflection shooting is essential if you want to
become an ace.
The gun sight 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 twenty degrees off if lines
extending along the length of yours and his aircraft meet at an angle of
twenty degrees
For a target which is 20 degrees off the target should touch the ring and
point at the centre of the ring.
Targets that are 10 degrees off, should be half way between the ring and
its centre. The target should still point at the centre of the ring:
Here is an example of a 5 degrees off setting
This setup will result in a miss. Although the twenty degree off target is
touching the ring, it is not point- ing at the centre of the ring.
Range Tables
Target a/c RAF Bf109 Bf110 Ju87 Ju88 He111 Do17
Range(yards) 100 100 150 130 170 210 170
The figures in the table shows the range in yards when the target fills the
circle. The range will be double when the target's wingspan is only half
the diameter of the ring
Gun Harmonising
Neither the Hurricane or the Spitfire had guns on their fuselage. In fact
both were fitted with eight relatively smallbore (0.303 in) machine guns,
four on each wing. The combination of the wing mounting and the small bore
meant that the issue of harmoni- sation was vital for the RAF.
Harmonisation is the name given to the process of focusing all the guns so
that their fire will converge at a chosen point in front of the aircraft.
This harmonisation is done on the ground by a member of the ground crew and
should be regularly checked
As the guns fire they vibrate causing the bullets to spread out into a cone
shaped pattern.
The harmonisation point is a compromise between safety (the fur- ther away
the better) and the desire to concentrate your fire (the closer the smaller
the cones of fire due to vibration).
RAF pilots found that the regulation harmonisation point of 400 yards was
too far. During the battle the distance was reduced to 250 yards. In fact
it was found beneficial to press home attacks even closer than 250 yards.
It is reported that many pilots modified their gun settings unofficially
because the change was not sanctioned by Fighter Command. The squadrons
did not see eye to eye with Fighter Command over a number of issues. Many
myths developed after the battle and it is dif- ficult to extract the
truth. It does appear that some stories "improved" with the telling and
some myths seem to have been developed intentionally. It is a fact though
that Dowding was removed from office within weeks of his Command's
successful defence of Britain. Goring didn't suffer that fate and he lost!
So something as seemingly technically-based as gun harmonisation has its
political side.
FIGHTER COMBAT
About 80% of "kills" are the result of surprise attacks. That is the
target is hit and going down before he knows that he was even under attack.
You should try to maintain the element of surprise as long as possible. By
referring to the Map it is possible to fly a course which keeps you out of
visible range until you are on the target's six. If you can come out of
the sun then your position is even better.
In this simulation, if you are flying an RAF fighter, Luftwaffe pilots only
become aware of you when you come into their visible range. However
whenever a Luftwaffe pilot can see you, then a Luftwaffe Fighter Leader
will be informed of your presence. If you are flying a Luftwaffe fighter
you will find that generally RAF fighters are sent to engage bombers and
will only engage you if they see you.
Once the element of surprise is lost, you will be mixed up in a dog- fight.
You can either try to turn harder or smarter. This section gives you some
ideas on how to turn smarter.
Being smart involves attempting manoeuvres that use the third dimension.
But also being smart means making fewer mistakes
Flying in pairs
lt is generally accepted that in air warfare. a single fighter is a
liability. A pair is an asset. When paired, aircraft can watch each
other's blind spots and tasks such as naviga- tion can be shared. As well
as providing mutual support, Pairing is also in-line with the well
established doctrine of concentrating your fire power
The Luftwaffe understood these principals well. Their aircraft, from the
start of the battle, were organised in pairs. Pairs of aircraft were then
grouped to form bigger formations
The RAF still had to learn about tactics the hard way. Much of their
training was based on the assumption that they would be faced with
unescorted bombers. Squadrons would fly in tight V formations Pilots
concentrated on not hitting each other and so the squadron as a whole did
not keep an adequate look out. The aircraft at the end of the V" was
called "tail end Charlie", he was the most vulnerable His job was to
maintain a rear guard. In fact he was worse off than a singleton because
he had to avoid colliding with aircraft in front Essentially the V system
did not provide mutual support
RAF pilors did change tactics and for the purposes of this simulation RAF
pilots will fly in pairs wherever possible. They were outnum- bered and so
on occasions RAF aircraft will be sent up as singletons.
A fighter aircraft spends most of its time in its most vulnerable state:
on the ground. It is not surprising then that the bombing of airfields was
the Luftwaffe's most successful tactic. In fact on September 5th, Parks
reported that Luftwaffe bombing was seriously affecting the flying
efficiency of his command.
It has been said that, "the bombers will always get through" However it is
the number that get through which will determine the fate of the battle
RAF tactics concentrated on attacking the bombers rather than the fighters.
Spitfires were used to keep Luftwaffe fighters at bay whilst Hurricanes
tore through the bombers
The Luftwaffe had to develop tactics to protect the Bombers. There was a
good deal of controversy about this and in fact the "layman's" tactic is
wrong. Luftwaffe fighters recognised that to beat the RAF they needed
surprise, height and the room to manoeuvre. Two methods were developed:
Free - Luftwaffe pilots were allowed to fly ahead of the bombers and
intercept the RAF fighters
High - Fighters fly much higher and behind the bombers. As the RAF pilots
come in and attack the rear of the Bombers. Luftwaffe fighters can then
pounce on the unsuspecting RAF pilots. If the attack can be from the sun
then all the better
German bomber losses mounted as RAF tactics improved and Goring had to do
something. He decided that the fighter pilots were either avoiding battle
or were just flying around enjoying themselves Bomber Command would feel
more assured if they could actually see the escort. So, against Fighter
Command advice, Goring ordered that fighters should provide a close escort.
At a stroke the Luftwaffe fighters were denied the advantage of surprise,
height and the ability to manoeuvre
Damage
If you take a hit you won't go down immediately. However you could have
sustained damage which will hamper you
There are no damage lights like you find on the modern fighter jets and so
you will have to diagnose the problem
If you are flying a one or two seater then try this:
as you move the stick from right to left (full deflection) watch the
control surface indicator. If the indicator does not move as much as usual
you know that you have sustained aileron damage
repeat the test for the elevators flying straight and level and select
maximum rpm by pressing the / key. When flying an RAF Fighter, if you
don't get the rpm dial to point straight up you know that you have engine
damage. On the Luftwaffe aircraft, the max rpm at straight and level is at
4600 rpm. Once damage has been sustained, further hits will make the
situation worse. So disengage once damaged.
NOTES ON THE THEORY OF FLIGHT
"The Phantom F4 is living proof of the aerodynamic principle that given
enough power you can even make a brick fly."
Obviously all aircraft are governed by the same aero- dynamic principles
and forces. However it is true that most of the subtleties of flight can
be largely disre- garded when your aircraft can deliver huge quantities of
thrust.
Second world war aircraft have limited thrust outputs and so some of the
subtleties of aerodynamics become more appar- ent. Knowing about them
could save your skin
Flight is governed by four main forces: lift, thrust, drag and weight
For an aircraft to fly straight and level, the four forces must be per-
fectly balanced. If they were not an acceleration would develop which
would result in a change in velocity or direction. All the forces would
then be different. Changes occur until either nature or the pilot finds a
situation where all the forces are balanced. IT IS IMPOR- TANT to note
that the aircraft is moving when the forces are bal- anced but it won't be
accelerating.
The weight is due to the mass of the aircraft and it always acts downwards.
During flight in this simulation, the weight will drop as fuel is burned
(if "Limited Fuel" is selected). The lighter you can make an aircraft, the
longer it can stay in the air. In modern aircraft fuel and weapons can be
jettisoned to reduce weight. In the aircraft of this simulation, the only
thing of any weight that you can jettison is yourself. The theory of
flight is the last thing on your mind when you are floating down at the end
of a parachute.
The thrust is supplied by the engine(s). Control in the simulation is
simplified to modifying the rpm. This is not strictly accurate but the
effect is the same as reality: the pilot can control the thrust supplied
by the engine. Thrust is also effected by altitude and velocity
Thrust gives the aircraft a velocity. The resultant movement of air over
the wings provides lift. This is a force at right angles to the velocity
and is due to the design of the wings. The air pressure below the wing
increases and the pressure above the wing decreas- es. The end result is
that the wing gets pushed upwards. As well as the design and size of the
wing, the size of the force depends on two variables: velocity and drag.
velocity: - lift is proportional to velocity squared angle of attack(AoA):
lift is directly proportional to angle of attack the AoA is the angle
between the airflow and a line drawn from the front to the back of the
wing:
From this, you should be able to explain why it is possible for an air-
craft, when it has built up sufficient speed, to takeoff without the pilot
touching the stick. Also you should be able to explain why it is possible
for a pilot to takeoff at lower speeds by pulling back on the stick
Drag is a very interesting force. It is made up of three significant
parts: parasitic, shock and induced. Parasitic drag is closely linked to
the drag experienced in automobiles. The faster you go, the greater the
drag. To oppose this drag, greater engine power is needed. So to go
faster you put your foot down. Also to stay at the higher speed, you KEEP
your foot down.
Shock drag is encountered as the speed approaches the speed of sound. This
is not a concern here because the speeds of aircraft in straight and level
flight are too low
Induced drag is important though because induced drag is at its greatest at
low speed. This is the exact opposite to parasitic drag and it leads to
some very odd effects. Lift is proportional to AoA and velocity squared.
So to maintain an aircraft in the air, as the velocity decreases then the
AoA must increase. As the AoA increases it is possible to see how the
aircraft presents a less streamlined profile to the airstream. So
increasing the AoA increases the induced drag.
Merging the two curves leads to a u shape. At the bottom of this u, you
can find the speed for minimum drag. From this it is possible to develop
the argument to obtain the speed for minimum fuel con- sumption and maximum
range
If you are travelling at the speed for minimum drag and then increase
thrust, you will speed up. At some velocity the drag will have increased
until it matches the new thrust and the aircraft will stop accelerating.
Reducing the thrust to a level between the two previ- ous levels will
result in a velocity between the two previous veloci- ties. Just like the
effect in a car.
Reducing the thrust when travelling at minimum drag has very unex- pected
results. First of all the aircraft slows as expected. However no new
balance is achieved. The drag has increased, not decreased as it would in
a car. The increased drag actually results in a braking effect and the
aircraft will move towards the stall. In fact, to maintain the aircraft on
the "backside of the drag curve" you need to apply thrust, more thrust than
was needed to maintain the higher velocity achieved at minimum drag.
In some instances there may not be enough power to overcome the high
induced drag and so acceleration is sluggish or even non exis- tent.
Sometimes it is better to dive out of trouble rather than fight the
situation by pouring on the power
Turning When the aircraft is banked, the lift force no longer faces
straight up.
This has two effects:
the sideways force results in the aircraft turning
the vertical force is diminished, the air- craft's weight is no longer
balanced and so the aircraft will nose down
To counter the second effect pilots pull back on the stick to produce more
lift. The measure has further knock on effects:
the turn is made tighter because the side- ways force is increased
the induced drag is increased
Now the increase in induced drag can vary from negligible at high speeds,
to overpowering at low speeds. Hence the saying "avoid tight turns at low
speeds".
In this simulation the correction needed to maintain level flight is done
automatically at low bank angles. At high bank angles a manual correction
is required. So diving turns, as favoured by the pilots of the day, are
quite possible. Just bank the aircraft to an angle in excess of 45
degrees. Of course, if you really want to get down, flip over onto your
back.
Stall
Earlier it has been stated that to maintain lift as velocity is reduced, it
is necessary to increase the angle of attack (AoA). There is a limit
though:
The graph shows that the lift rises steadily as AoA is increased. However,
at the stall angle and beyond, lift rapidly drops off.
You can practice stalling your aircraft. First get to an altitude of over
5000 feet. Then remove all power and attempt to maintain straight and
level flight. As the speed drops below 100 mph you may notice that the
even though the nose of the aircraft may be pointing up, the aircraft is
descending. This indicates that the AoA is getting quite large
If you continue to stop descent by pulling back on the stick (increas- ing
AoA), the velocity will continue to drop. As the velocity approaches the
low 80's and high 70's, the aircraft is near the stall Buffeting of the
aircraft will now be experienced
Finally in the low 70's mph, the aircraft will stall. As lift is lost the
nose drops and the aircraft's control will not respond
Provided that you have the altitude, recovering from a stall is relative
easy let go of the stick apply power allow the aircraft to build up speed
as it dives at a speed of over 120 mph, gently pull back on the stick
Stalling at low altitude is dangerous!
THE MENU BAR (F10)
The Menu Bar has a number of features that you will find useful whilst
running this simulation. It is identical for both RAF and Luftwaffe
players except for the choices available in the 'Rank' category
Pressing F10 will display a menu bar at the top of the screen with the
following categories:
ABOUT, FILE, RANK, CONTROL, OPTIONS and DETAIL
Each of these categories features a number of options (listed below) but
you should note that some options are not available while you are in the
aircraft cockpit. (You can not change options to do with difficulty as
this would effect your scoring).
To make menu selections, move the pointer to the menu you wish to activate
and press the RETURN/ENTER. The menu options will drop down and remain
displayed. To select a menu option, move the pointer down to highlight the
option of your choice and press RETURN/ENTER. The menu will then close.
To make multiple selec- tions from the same menu, press the number 5 key on
the numeric keypad for each selection in turn
About
This gives you information about the people who created 'Reach for the
Skies as well as the version number of the software and any other relevant
information
File
This category has a number of choices available. They are related to the
mission in hand or the taking of photographs or video film during flight
(i) Abort Mission
Selecting this will abort the mission. It has also been referred to as
giving up! You are taken back to the screen before you started the mission
so you can try again
(ii) End Mission
Selecting End Mission will allow you to end without having to go back to
the airfield and land. Normally this will only be selectable once you have
been told that the Luftwaffe are returning home. You will then go to
Debriefing.
(iii) Return
This will turn off the menu bar and return you to whatever you were doing
before you pressed F10 or Escape
(iv) Exit
This gives you the chance to exit out of the simulation altogether and
reset your machine. You will be asked to confirm this choice No Scores
from the mission in flight will be recorded
(v) Phorograph (*)
As soon as this is selected the photo will be taken and the simulatior will
resume. You can take a photo without bringing up the menu bar by pressing
the * key during flight. Photographs can only be viewed via an option
found during debriefing. They are saved to floppy or hard disk
automatically
(vi) Video On/Off (V)
This choice will toggle the video film recorder on and off. The video can
only be viewed after the day's mission has been ended via the debriefing
screen. You can also toggle the video on and off by press- ing the V key
during flight without needing to bring up the menu bar first. O will
rewind the video back to the start so you can record over one already in
memory. The video is off by default at the start of each mission. Video
film can also be saved and restored to and from floppy or hard disk during
Debriefing. Until then the latest footage is held in RAM only
The length of film footage that you are able to shoot depends on the amount
of memory you have available on your machine. Footage will be truncated
(shortened) when saved to hard disk or floppy if there isn't enough room
for the entire footage to be saved. IBM PC users should note that if EMS
is present, it will be utilised to store film footage in expanded memory as
well as conventional base memory.
Rank
The five ranks ranging from Pilot Officer through to Wing Commander (for
the RAF) or Leutnant through to Oberstleutnant (for the Luftwaffe) are
available. Once you have entered the cockpit of the aircraft you cannot
change the rank manually. Note that when you do, the realism options
change automatically to match the selected rank.
You will start at the rank of Pilot Officer. After a set number of suc-
cessful events you will be promoted up through the ranks. Each increase in
rank will in turn affect the difficulty level of the simulation so that it
gets progressively harder and more realistic the more experience you
accumulate.
RAF rank Luftwaffe
Pilot Officer Leutnant Easiest
Flying Officer OberLeutnant
First Lieutenant Hauptmann
Squadron Leader Major
Wing Commander Oberstleutnant Hardest and realistic flight
Control
There are a number of different choices during flight available, depending
on the computer that you are running the simulation on
(i) Keyboard
This is the default setting for IBM PC
(ii) Recalibrate - This allows the joystick to be calibrated again if there
was an error or the maximum range of the mouse to be reset
(iii) Joystick
IBM PC users will have to calibrate their joysticks before using them
Joysricks ran only be used during flight. To manipulate the various
pre-flight screens and menus you must use a mouse or keyboard
(iv) Mouse
IBM PC users must have loaded a mouse driver into memory before loading the
simulation. You must then set the maximum movement range by calibrating
(v) Stick and Throttle - Some joysticks have throttle controls. This is
equivalent to the pitch control on a second joystick
(vi) Stick and Rudder - This option selects both analogue throttle and
analogue foot pedals as rudder. This is equivalent to the roll control on
a second joystick
It is possible to use the pitch trim knot on a second stick as the throttle
There are also a few choices available on the control menu affecting sound
during flight
(vii) All Sound Off
This makes the simulation run without any sound effects at all
(viii) Engines Off
This will play all of the sound effects apart from the noise of your own
engine
(ix) All Sound On
This will play all of the sound effects available.
Pressing the S key will cycle through the three sound options in turn
(x) Radio Speech
If your sound card supports digitised speech then selecting this will
enable radio messages from your controller
(xi) Music
This option switches on/off music when on option or map screens
Options
These effect the way the flight simulation behaves in regards to the
realism and difficulty of the opponents. Note that they are directly
related to the player's current rank and they cannot be altered once the
player is in the cockpit of their aircraft.
(i) Real Flight
This option allows you to experience the real flight dynamics of second
world war prop aircraft. It will result in you having a much less powerful
aircraft at your disposal than if you were flying without real flight.
This is due to the aerodynamics of a 1940's aircraft and the limitations it
imposed on its pilot. These limitations include stalling and the effects
of drag, amongst others
(See 'Real flight' for details)
(ii) Limited arms
This limits ammunition to the amount that the relevant aircraft could carry
in reality. An unlimited supply is assumed if this option is not selected
(iii) Limited fuel
This limits fuel to the amount that the relevant aircraft could carry in
reality. An unlimited supply is assumed if this option is not selected
(iv) Vulnerable
You will be affected by enemy fire or collisions with other aircraft and
the ground, if you have this option selected. Just like in reality
Invulnerability (ie being indestructible) is assumed if this option is not
selected
(v) Low, Medium or High Enemy Activity
This affects the number of Luftwaffe aircraft that you can encounter during
each days mission.
(vi) Soft, Medium or Hard Targets
This affects both your's and the enemy's capacity for taking hits before
being damaged or shot down. On Soft, one shot is enough to take aircraft
out of the battle
Detail
You are given the choice to change the complexity of the detail included in
the 3D flying sections. The lower the detail level, the faster the
simulation will run because it will have less to do. The more options you
enable, the slower it will be. The speed differences are not as noticeable
on a fast IBM PC but they are on a slower machine
(i) Distant 3D
When other aircraft and other objects are in the distance they will still
be shown. The default for this choice is on
(ii) Mirror 3D
The rear view mirror as seen in the 'look up front view' of most air- craft
will show all aircraft behind you. The default for this choice is on
(iii) Do Roads
As it suggests, this will display all roads on the ground. The default for
this choice is on
(iv) Do Railways
This will display all railway lines featured on the ground. The default
for this choice is on
(v) Do Rivers
Rivers featured on the ground will be displayed if this choice is on The
default is on
(vi) Most Detail
This affects the level of detail shown on the aircraft themselves when
viewed from the available external views. The aircraft obviously look
better with most detail on, but the simulation might run slower as a result
(vii) Light shade (256 VGA PC only)
This will add realistic light source shading to the aircraft, which depends
on the position of the aircraft relative to the sun
(viii) Sky Gradient (256 VGA PC only)
For a more authentic skyline, this option will provide a realistic colour
gradient to the horizon
(ix) Canopy Clear (256 VGA PC only)
The Canopy of all aircraft can be displayed as solid or clear. The default
is clear
(x) Polysmooth (256 VGA PC only)
The surface of the aircraft is smoothed over to hide the polygons aircraft
used to create the aircraft in 3D. It results in a more realistic looking
aircraft.
QUICK START
You can get into the thick of things quickly by following the quick start
instructions given below. They describe the first day for an RAF pilot.
For a more detailed explanation you will need to go back and read the
detailed instructions beginning with the section 'STARTlNG UP'
After loading of the simulation you will see an introduction sequence (256
colour ONLY) followed by the title/credit screen. Pressing ESC at any time
will terminate the intro or credits and take you to the first game screen
SIDE SELECT
This screen allows you to choose between playing the RAF or Luftwaffe. Two
aircraft are displayed (Spitfire and BF109 and beside each one is a plaque
giving the name of the side. The default setting is the RAF, which is
shown by a small flashing dot on the plaque Press RETURN/ENTER to select
READY ROOM
This screen shows the RAF Pilot's ready room where a player can decide
between starting a new game or selecting a previously saved position
A stack of unused log books lie on the table, each with the name SPROG on
the side. The top book is highlighted with a dark bar over the name.
Select this book by pressing RETURN/ENTER
LOG BOOK
You are now shown the cover of the log book you have selected. As you are
starting a new game the name field is blank. Type in your name (max ten
characters) then press RETURN/ENTER
ROLE SELECT
This screen is where you select either PRACTICE, CONTROLLER or PILOT. You
will recognise the flashing square next to PILOT indi- cating that it is
the currently selected role. Confirm the choice by pressing RETURN/ENTER
PHASE SELECT
The Battle of Britain is divided into four phases, details of which are
given later. The flashing square tells you that the first phase "Convoys:
Jul 10 - Aug 8" is selected. Confirm this choice
CONFIRMATION SCREEN
You are now shown the Orders Board, which has your orders for that
particular day of the phase pinned up for all to see. The number of
aircraft available that day is also shown here. At the bottom are three
options, with CONTINUE highlighted. Select this option as normal
SUMMARY SCREEN
As a PILOT you are given orders by a computerised CONTROLLER The summary
screen gives you details of the aircraft going out with you on the first
day. The first 'flight' (group of aircraft) will be high- lighted in red
and details of the enemy raid it is to intercept will be given further down
the page. By pressing the CURSOR DOWN key you can highlight each flight in
turn and see details of each one's target. Move the highlight back to the
first flight using CURSOR UP and then press RETURN/ENTER to accept.
At this point you will be asked to refer to the manual and type in whatever
information is requested from a particular page and para graph number.
Once you have completed this password protection procedure, you will enter
the cockpit of your aircraft.
You are now sitting in the cockpit of either a Hurricane or Spitfire
aircraft preparing for take off, with the cockpit laid out before you.
Press P to pause the simulation for a moment in order to refer to the
cockpit picture below and familiarise yourself with a few of the key
features
For this mission we will use the simulations autopilot to handle take off
so you should now press P again to un-pause and then press A to engage the
simulation's autopilot. Your aircraft will accelerate down the runway and
take off then begin turning to the heading chosen by the computerised CON-
TROLLER. You might like to press F5 for outside view, in order to watch
the take off. Remember to press F5 again to return to the cockpit when
ready.
The controls you will be using during this first mission are the MINI- MUM
ones necessary to fly and fight. While the autopilot continues to control
the aircraft you should familiarise yourself with the layout of the
following keys on your keyboard.
LEFT/RIGHT CURSOR KEYS roll the aircraft onto its left or right side,
UP CURSOR is equivalent to pushing an aircraft joystick forward and so
pushes the nose of the aircraft DOWN, causing the aircraft to dive,
DOWN CURSOR pulls the aircraft nose up causing the aircraft to climb
To turn the aircraft to the left you will need to use the LEFT CUR- SOR to
roll and the DOWN CURSOR to pull the nose 'up' (remem- bering that the
aircraft's 'up' is actually to the left once it has rolled) Check that your
aircraft is above 1000 feet by looking at the altime- ter then try some
simple flying by pressing A to de-select the autopi- lot and performing a
gentle left turn. If you are successful you can try a right turn before
re-engaging the autopilot. If you start to loose control of the aircraft
press A quickly and the autopilot will recover and correct your course.
Now that you have had a go at moving the aircraft around in the sky, it's
time to intercept those enemy aircraft (often referred to as Bandits during
the simulation). Engage the autopilot if it is not already active and it
will turn back to the correct direction (heading) The computerised
controller will have decided on a point for you to circle around in order
to be ready to intercept incoming enemy air- craft. The autopilot will
head towards this point and will only change course if it comes within
range of an enemy or the CONTROLLER gives more detailed course information
to intercept a particular bandit
Press the TAB key to activate ACCELERATED MODE and the pas- sage of time
will be increased. Your aircraft will stay in accelerated mode until it
comes within range of an enemy aircraft. The simula- tion will then drop
back into normal mode and it's time for your first taste of combat
You should have noticed various messages appearing along the top of the
screen. These are mostly charter messages between various pilots. Only
the white messages relate directly to you, and they try to keep you up to
date regarding the position of the enemy bandits. As we are going to take
on the enemy in visual range, we don't need to worry about the messages at
the moment.
In a real fighter you would look for the enemy by turning your head and
looking around to scan the skies. You can do this in 'Reach for the Skies'
by pressing the number keys 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (6 is for- ward view).
Unfortunarely while these views are useful for checking one particular area
of sky they can not match the ease with which you would look around during
combat in real life. For this reason an alternative has been provided in
the form of the COMBAT VIEW
Press RETURN and provided that there is an enemy in range the view will
change from cockpit to outside view. The positioning of the 'camera' is
such that your aircraft will always remain between the camera and the
nearest enemy. No matter how you or the enemy manoeuvre the camera will
adjust automatically to track the enemy (This view becomes vital when you
wish perform complex aerial combat manoeuvres, rather than just 'turning in
a circle' to find your enemy). Your autopilot should still be engaged and
will be heading for the nearest enemy aircraft. Press L and your combat
view will be locked to the aircraft your autopilot is currently engaging.
Next make sure you know where the enemy is, relative to your aircraft, and
press 6 to return to the cockpit. Press A to switch off the autopilot and
begin to control the aircraft yourself using the cursor keys. The only
other keys you should use during this engagement are + and - (ACCELERATE
and DECELERATE) and SPACE BAR (fire your aircraft's wing mounted canon).
Set the RPM to about 75% by using the + and keys and manoeuvre to keep the
enemy in view through the front cockpit windshield. If the enemy turns
sharply and escapes from view then press RETURN to find out where they are.
manoeuvre to face them and then RETURN again to jump back into the cockpit
Your wing-mounted canon have an effective range of only 250 yards This
means that a fighter would have to fill half your gun sight, or a bomber
the whole gun sight to be in range. As your aircraft currently has
unlimited ammunition you can afford to fire at will by pressing the SPACE
BAR. It is suggested at this point that you stop reading and start
shooting until, either you or the enemy have been shot down
If you survive your first encounter with the enemy you can continue with
the mission until your controller informs you that the Luftwaffe are
disengaging and that you should return home in order to end this 'quick
start' mission you should then press F10 for the menu bar and select 'End
Mission' from the file menu. You will be presented with a debriefing which
is described in the section 'Debriefing'
If you lose in combat you will either be shot down and killed or forced to
bail out (Ctrl & E). What happens then is covered in the section Winning
the Day and Losing the Day
SUMMARY OF CONTROLS
Joystick
The joystick is not used for making selections, only for flight control,.
You can use a Joystick, Joystick with throttle slider and Joystick with
throttle slider and rudder attachment. The option for Joystick with
throttle slider is referred to in the menu as stick and throttle while the
option for Joystick, throttle slider and rudder attachment is referred to
as Joystick with rudder.
Mouse
To use a mouse to make selections point at the option you want to select
and click the left mouse button to highlight it and again to select it.
To use either the mouse or joystick during flight you will need to
calibrate them. The program will take you through this procedure
automatically when you select the control method from the menu. If the
calibration fails you can try again by selecting recalibrate from the menu.
KEYBOARD SUMMARY
Cockpit Controls
+ Increase RPM (Shift and + increase faster)
- Decrease RPM (Shift and - decreases faster)
/ Maximum RPM
Cursor Up Stick Forwards (pushes the nose down)
Cursor Down Stick Back (pulls the nose up)
Cursor Left Stick Left (rolls a/c left)
Cursor Right Stick Right (rolls a/c right)
F3 Increase Control Sensitivity (keyboard only)
F4 Decrease Control Sensitivity (keyboard only)
Z Rudder Left
X Rudder Right
C Rudder Centre
Space Bar Fire (guns or bombs)
G Landing Gear raise/lower
F Flaps raise/lower
W Wheel Bralke on/off
M View Pilots Map
B Air Brakes (Ju87 only)
* Take Photograph
V Video Camera on/off
O Rewind and Restart Video (overwrite)
A Autopilot on/off
T Autogun on/off
I Toggle Info Panel
Backspace Toggle between gun/bombs (Ju87 only)
Ctrl &E Eject from a/c
Internal Views (Not JU88, DO17, HE110 or HE111 bombers)
Number key View Keypad
3 Left Back 45 Degrees Shift & 1
4 Left Shift & 4
5 Left Front 45 Degrees Shift & 7
6 Cockpit View Shift & 8
7 Right Front 45 Degrees Shift & 9
8 Right Shift & 6
9 Right Back 45 Degrees Shift & 3
0 Tail Gunner (Bf110 & Ju87) Shift & 2
[ Look Up view
] Retiurn from Look Up view
Internal Views (Ju88, DO17, He110 or HE111 bombers)
Number key View Keypad
6 Forward Gunner Shift & 8
Y Upper Rear Gunner Shift & 5
H Lower Rear Gunner Shift & 2
Outside Views
F5 Outside View
F6 Tracking View
F7 Home Base View
F8 Satellite View
F9 Ammo/ bomb view
Return Combat View (when enemy in range)
L Lock / Unlock combat view
` Waypoint Increment
; Waypoint Decrement
1 or 2 Rotate Camera in outside view
Alt & 1 or 2 Rotate Camera in opposite direction
F1 & F2 Zoom in & out when in outside view
Additional Controls
Shift & 9 Move to Wingman/ return from Wingman
Shift & 1-8 Move to Wingleader of another flight
Shift & 0 Show Enemy a/c if assigned
F10 or ESC Menu Bar
P Pause
S Sound Mode Select
TAB Time Accelerate
Changing Your Configuration
Once Reach for the Skies has been installed you can change the
configuration by selecting the Reach directory and typing Reach ?
GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS
AAA Anti-Aircraft Artillery
ACM Air Combat Manoeuvring. The art of
dog fighting
active airfield one of the ten airfields from which RAF
fighter can be scrambled in this simulation
Angels Altitude in 1000's of feet "Blue 1 at
angels 9" means that Blue 1 is at 9000 feet
AoA Angle of attack. The angle between the
airflow over a wing and a line drawn from the
front to the back of a wing.
Autopilot Almost self explanatory; a device to fly an aircraft
automatically, that is without pilot input
In reality, auto pilots exist that will fly an aircraft
from point A to point B. In the simulation,
the autopilot is also capable of engaging the enemy
Bandit This is an enemy aircraft
Bf109 Messerschmidt 109
Bf110 Messerschmidt 110
Big bombers Collective name for He111, Ju88 and Do17
bogey An unidentified aircraft, it may be friend or foe
bunt push the joystick forwards
callsign A name used over the radio instead of
the pilots real name. Pilots were grouped into
flights, so for insrance in Blue flight the leader
would be called Blue 1 and the second in
command would be Blue 2
Combat Circle When a dogfight develops into a turning fight
the two aircraft will fly in circles These circles
are called combat circles
Do17 Dornier 17; the flying pencil
dogfight Combat between two aircraft. The name was
coined by early writers who recognised
that the constant circling which is typical of aerial
combat resembled the circling typical of dogs
when they are fighting.
He111 The Heinkel 111 two engine Luftwaffe bomber
IAS Indicated airspeed. This is the speed
measured by the flight instruments. It is
only equal to the true air speed at sea
level. As an aircraft climbs, the error
increases. At an altitude of about
50000ft the indicated air speed is only
half of the true airspeed. The error is
due to the fact that the instrument
works by measuring pressure changes
The air density is an important element
of the calibration As the air density
falls with increasing altitude, the error
gradually increases At first sight then,
the instrument doesn't seem to be all
that useful. It is certainly not useful for
navigation work. However it is useful
to the pilot. This is because air density
also effects the lift on the wings. So if
an aircraft stalls at 90mph. IAS at sea
level, it will also stall at 90 mph IAS at
20000ft.
IFF Identification Friend or Foe
Jink Fly in an irregular flight path to prevent
enemy gunners from tracking you. The
flight path should be changed every 15
seconds or so
Ju87 Junker 87; the famous Stuka diver
Ju88 Junker 88
knot A measure of speed, 1 knot equals
1.15 mph
Luftwaffe The German Airforce
nautical mile 6076.12 feet or 1.15 statute miles This
distance represents one minute of
latitude.
one seater collective name for Spitfires,
Hurricanes and Bf109s
operational
airfield All the airfields visible are operational
This includes the ten active airfields
pancake The act of landing in a controlled
fashion.
piloted aircraft This is the aircraft in which the player
is "sitting". During a mission the player
can move into and control any of the
aircraft on his side that are taking part
in the mission. In single and two seater
aircraft, the player can control flight
and the guns. In two-seaters the player
can control the rear gunner.
bombers, the player can control the
three moveable gun stations.
six o'clock Pilots use a clock code to indicate the
position of things 12 o'clock is directly in
front 3 o'clock is abeam on the right
So six o'clock is directly behind
sprog RAF term for a beginner, youngster or
offspring. It is equivalent to the American
term "Rookie".
two seater collective name for Bf110 and Ju87
TAS True air speed This is the actual speed
at sea level The true air speed is essential for
navigation work
wireless radio
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++=-END-=+++++++++++++++++++++++++++