DarenMoss
Posts: 30
Joined: 7/21/2018
Status: offline
|
There seems to be an error in the way the ME-109 usage is modelled in the game and I wonder what the source documentation you used for WITE2. I'm lucky enough to have access to the library at the UK Defence Academy which has extensive historical documents such as historical OOBs and also works such as Nigel Askey's Operation Barbarossa: the complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis which is incredibly detailed and seen as one of the definitive books on Barbarossa. An example of this excellent work is here (https://operationbarbarossa.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Luftwaffe-OOB-sample.pdf).
There seems a particular miss-match between the game's treatment of the ME109 with regard to the production dates of the various models as well as their deployment. For instance, the F2 was in production from Oct40-Aug 41 (the game has this as Jan41-Aug 41), whilst the F4 was produced from May 41-May 42 (the game has this as Aug 41-May 42).
This later date is a key factor for the game as whilst the move from the ME109E-ME109F airframes was significant, the changes from the F2 to the F4 were relatively minor from the production point of view, mainly the change from the MG 151 nose canon to the MG 151-20 nose canon and the switch from the DB601-N engine to the slightly more powerful DB601-E. These differences didn't require any additional tooling and production lines switched serially with F2s/F4s being in production alongside each other in factories from May 41 until the final 'F2s' where completed in Aug 41. More importantly, uniquely, the Germans produced several field conversion kits to upgrade F2s to F4s whilst serving in Russia which allowed them to keep Ftr strength up and standardise on the F4 without ac rotating back to factories in Germany for upgrade/repair which was the usual German practice.
The normal German practice was to update production lines to the new model which would indeed result in an approximation of rule 28.4.2. But given the above, it would make more sense for WITE 2 to switch the start date for the F4 to the correct May 41 date. Not only is this historically accurate but it will avoid the Luftwaffe suddenly having a halt to fighter replacements for the month of Aug which can seriously hamper the German player. The way the game handles auto upgrades, means that most of the F4s will go to Western Front units as a priority. Some may well go to 'east', particularly if the human player manually upgrades the aircraft type but this will simply mirror reality as several German JGs had a mix of F2s and F4s at the start of Barbarossa, whereas the game (understandably) requires all units to have the same aircraft type.
Some other ME109 issues are as follows:
Hungarian Me-109s. These are shown as being introduced in Dec 42, but several OOBs show the Hungarian RHAF1.1 flying it from Oct 42 and the first Hungarian ME-109 kills are reported as being on the 15 Oct 42.
Erganzungs, these operational replacement Sqns may be already reflected in the games replacement system but each Luftflotte had 1-2 Erganzungs to introduce replacement fighter pilots (and aircraft) to the Eastern front and filter them to the frontline JG. For instance Luftflotte 1 had 2 Ergenzung units, Erg/JG52 and Erg/JG54 based at Neuhasen. Normally these weren't used for frontline combat but an exception was made during the first 1-2 weeks of Barbarossa when they were assigned air superiority missions to allow the regular JG to conduct ground attack, especially airfield attack missions. They had a nominal 30 ac strength but this reduced quickly to ~24 ac as losses outstripped supply. They were also assigned defensive missions, for instance the above Erg/JG52 and Erg/JG54 were assigned air-defence of Koenigsberg and Memel once the frontline moved forward. They were subsequently redeployed to Tallinn and were responsible for defending the limited oil production at Sonda and Narva as well as keeping Luftflotte I JG units supplied with a steady stream of pilots. In game terms this could be modelled as making them on-map units for the 1st couple of units before moving to the Russian garrison or making them static units that can't redeploy.
Hope that helps and really enjoying the latest patches which is making for a much improved game.
< Message edited by DarenMoss -- 10/19/2021 4:02:28 PM >
|
Printable Version
ME-109s in the Game - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread