New German Planes for Sequel

[BGs_Ricky]

Originally Posted by 28_Condor

190A2 enter in service around may 1941, but I am not sure if in sufficient numbers in that front...

FW-190 first appeared on the eastern front in September 1942 with I/JG51 on the northern and central sector, followed by the rest of the Geschwader and then JG54 .

[rga]

I'm looking forward to seeing the Eins Zwei Drei (Hs 123) in action.

OT: why do you all think that the Fokker will be again the best fighter in the sky in game? I mean it was indeed a superb fighter, but it did not automatically own every opponents it met in 1943. CEM plays a very importal role in CloD, much more than in IL-2, and before you tell me about the Kommandogerät, I believe it was not perfect and sometimes manually adjusting gave better performance (at cost of work load though).
I know I have opened the can of worms, so let keep talking about the Doppeldecker, OK

[ElAurens]

The late war fans always need their horsepower and cannon crutch.

The FW 190 played no part in the time period/theatre of the next installment of the sim.

Why not try broadening your personal horizon a bit?

I have my favorite planes as well, but you will never hear me throw such a hissy fit about not having them in the sim.

I'll buy the next installment even if it only has I-16s, I-153s, and IL2s against the entire inventory of the Luftwaffe from 1939 onwards.

[ACE-OF-ACES]

Originally Posted by ElAurens

I'll buy the next installment even if it only has I-16s, I-153s, and IL2s against the entire inventory of the Luftwaffe from 1939 onwards.

And loving it!

[kendo65]

Wikipedia says (?) that the Luftwaffe was only operating 22 HS 123s at the start of Operation Barbarossa.

Maybe not really worth the trouble of representing in the game?

[ElAurens]

Maybe so, but there are never enough last gen biplanes that we can fly.

I'm still somewhat crushed that the Gladiator and CR.42 will not be flyable in CLOD.

[JG53Frankyboy]

even with its low numbers in service during operation Taifun, not more than one Gruppe (~40 aircraft ) , the Hs123 played a very important role in the gruondsupport of the german troops in this time. And even more when the soviet counteroffensuvevstarted!

in general:
as fighters the Bf109F-2/-4
as groundattack Bf109E-7, Bf110D/E, Hs123, Ju87B
as bombers Ju88A-5/-4, He111-6
as recon Hs126
as transport Ju52

[addman]

Originally Posted by ElAurens

Maybe so, but there are never enough last gen biplanes that we can fly.

I'm still somewhat crushed that the Gladiator and CR.42 will not be flyable in CLOD.

Me too, what a waste of gorgeous plane models...anywho let's hope for the HS-123 and maybe even a flyable Polikarpov U-2! Oh that would be so sweet. Ok, calm down now, don't get your expectations too high now like last time.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by ElAurens

Maybe so, but there are never enough last gen biplanes that we can fly.

I'm still somewhat crushed that the Gladiator and CR.42 will not be flyable in CLOD.

Maybe a Malta map in the MTO at some future point?

Here's hoping.

[ATAG_MajorBorris]

Originally Posted by kendo65

Wikipedia says (?) that the Luftwaffe was only operating 22 HS 123s at the start of Operation Barbarossa.

Maybe not really worth the trouble of representing in the game?

It sounds like this was the only operational ground attack group and the HS 123 was all they had at first.

From Wikipedia (can I post this?)...

World War II (Eastern Front)At the start of Operation Barbarossa, the single Gruppe of the Luftwaffe that was dedicated to ground support was II.(Schl)/LG 2, operating 22 Hs 123s (along 38 Bf 109Es).[4] In service use on the Eastern Front, the remaining aircraft had been field-modified with the main wheel spats removed, additional armour and extra equipment fitted as well as mounting extra machine guns and even cannons in under-wing housings.

Some volunteers of Escuadrilla Azul (15 Spanische Staffel/VIII. Fliegerkorps) of JG-27 detached in Luftflotte 2 managed Hs 123s in collaboration of II.(Schl.)/LG 2 units for ground strikes along Bf 109E-7/B fighter-bombers during 1941-42 period.

During the initial drive, the unit participated in action along the central and northern parts of the front, including a brief time in support of the fighting around Leningrad, and participating in the battles for Bryansk and Vyazma. The first weeks revealed problems associated with using the Bf 109E which was plagued by undercarriage and engine problems in the fighter-bomber role. Its liquid-cooled inline engine was also more vulnerable to small arms fire than the Hs 123's radial.

The winter brought hardship to all German forces in Russia, and the pilots in the open cockpits of the Henschels suffered accordingly. Despite this, they took part in the Battle of Moscow. In January, the unit was re-designated as the first dedicated ground attack wing (in German Schlachtgeschwader 1, SchlG 1). The Hs 123 became a part of 7./SchlG 1.

This "new" unit participated in operations in Crimea in May 1942, after which it operated on the southern sector for some time, participating in the Second Battle of Kharkov and going on to take part in the Battle of Stalingrad. In the meantime, the small number of operational Hs 123 continued to slowly dwindle. Aircraft had been salvaged from training schools and even derelict dumps all over Germany to replace losses.[2] The aircraft that had supposedly replaced the Hs 123, the Ju 87, also started to be assigned to ground support units, leaving tactical bombing to newer aircraft.

The greatest tribute to the Hs 123 usefulness came in January 1943 when Generaloberst Wolfram von Richthofen, then commander-in-chief of Luftflotte 4, asked whether production of the Hs 123 could be restarted because the Hs 123 performed well in a theater where mud, snow, rain and ice took a heavy toll on the serviceability of more advanced aircraft. However, the Henschel factory had already dismantled all tools and jigs in 1940.[2]

After taking part in the Battle of Kursk, SG 1 returned to Crimea, and there during late spring 1944, they finally gave up the aircraft that had served all over Europe from Spain to Leningrad. 7./SG 1 traded its last Hs 123s in mid-1944, for Ju 87s, a type that was to have replaced it back in 1937.

By 1945, the Hs 123s that remained serviceable were reassigned to secondary duties such as supply dropping and glider towing.[5]