Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

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NETSCAPE
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Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#1

Post by NETSCAPE » 06 Apr 2017, 07:55

Hello gentlemen. I must admit Luftwaffe history is not my forte. I know the basics of various battles and aircraft variants ect but I need pointed in the right direction for some detailed intelligence!

I am highly considering using some down time to produce a scripted campaign for the latest IL2 computer game, a WW2 combat simulator. The first step is historical research. I know that I want to make a campaign where you fly as a Ju 87 D-3 pilot in the Battle of Stalingrad.

The resolution of historical accuracy should be down to the squadron and day to day action reflecting what really happened with said unit. (within the games limitations of course, shouldn't have any big issues)

I know that StG 1 and 2 flew A LOT of missions in the Battle of Stalingrad, some days many sorties in one day. I know lack of action won't be an issue! However I want the level of immersion to include things like perhaps relocating to a newer/forward airfield if that's what they did in real life for example. I really feel some anti-shipping missions over the Volga is a must. So this factor might dictate the dates I choose for my campaign. The map for IL2 "Battle of Stalingrad" is quite large, 358 х 230 km to be exact so that shouldn't be an issue. The campaign might reflect the real world events of 5 days, or 15 days. This kind of depends on various factors such as workload, gameplay flow and amount of sorties/missions per day.

If you can help me in anyway with links or book suggestions I'd very much appreciate it. ~Information on sorties, resistance such as flak or fighters, wind and weather data, any of these sort of details can be implemented in the game! People seem to recommend Peter C. Smith's books - I'm sure they are great but I wonder if they go deep enough week to week or day by day of missions? Maybe there is some memoirs of a pilot ? Something on the level of detail like Iron Coffins by Herbert Werner.

James A Pratt III
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Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#2

Post by James A Pratt III » 12 Apr 2017, 23:01

Stuka Pilot by Hans Rudel mentions flying over Stalingrad

Black Cross Red Star Vol 3 deals with the air battles


NETSCAPE
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Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#3

Post by NETSCAPE » 14 Apr 2017, 01:51

Thanks for replying James. Of course I have read Rudels book. I recently re-read through it up to and including the Stalingrad part. There is some nice nuggets of information but he only devotes a handful of pages to Stalingrad area operations. - I need a flight log for a squadron or a detailed flight-book or diary of a pilot I think.

Andrew Arthy
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Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#4

Post by Andrew Arthy » 17 Apr 2017, 06:18

Hi 'Netscape',

Please find attached some sources I've collated about St.G. 2 operations at Stalingrad, 27 October 1942. Hope this is of some use.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - http://www.airwarpublications.com/earticles
Attachments
St.G. 2 at Stalingrad, 27 October 1942.pdf
(87.57 KiB) Downloaded 90 times

NETSCAPE
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Joined: 06 Apr 2017, 06:28
Location: Oregon

Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#5

Post by NETSCAPE » 17 Apr 2017, 10:46

Thanks! This is some really interesting stuff.

I notice all D-1 models listed and not D-3. I was under the impression that mostly D-3's were used in this area/time frame? hmm. The game only has the D-3 variant.

Since the sources you listed are from flight books I can conclude a flight log book is precisely what I need, supported by some other first hand accounts, and I think I'll be good to go.

In theory you should play my campaign to be as a single pilot. I think naturally most people want to play as flight lead with AI pilots following your orders.

I just spent a good 3 hours googling all sorts of stuff to try and dig up some more info. Found some nice intel but it's mostly '43 & '44 stuff.

Denniss
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Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#6

Post by Denniss » 17 Apr 2017, 14:49

http://www.ww2.dk/oob/bestand/stuka/bstuka.htm
Shows the subversion distribution between units. Most units used a mix of D-1 and D-3 by 11/42 with about 2/3rd D-3 and 1/3rd D-1.

NETSCAPE
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Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#7

Post by NETSCAPE » 18 Apr 2017, 00:54

Denniss wrote:http://www.ww2.dk/oob/bestand/stuka/bstuka.htm
Shows the subversion distribution between units. Most units used a mix of D-1 and D-3 by 11/42 with about 2/3rd D-3 and 1/3rd D-1.
I book marked that site last night :) along with https://www.asisbiz.com/Luftwaffe-Units.html

Denniss
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Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#8

Post by Denniss » 18 Apr 2017, 19:03

AFAIr the asisbiz site has lots of rip-offs from Michael Holm's site so I wouldn't trust any ionfo there.

NETSCAPE
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Location: Oregon

Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#9

Post by NETSCAPE » 19 Apr 2017, 11:24

So I've discovered this book "Flugbuch 513 Feindflüge an der Ostfront Stukaflieger Feldwebel Emil Oechsler" - which is available on German ebay and amazon. It is precisely the sort of detail I need, flugbuch pictures, maps, dates, airfield locations they were at ect ect. However the very brief descriptions of the book I have read mention 1943 and 1945...far past the battle of Stalingrad.

Can someone confirm his years of combat service?

If all else fails I can use Andrew's pdf he posted! Game-wise that might seem a bit too "samey" but I'm considering it.

Andrew Arthy
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Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#10

Post by Andrew Arthy » 19 Apr 2017, 21:29

Hi,

Unfortunately for your purposes, Emil Oechsler flew his first mission on 22 April 1943.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - www.airwarpublications.com/earticles

NETSCAPE
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Posts: 20
Joined: 06 Apr 2017, 06:28
Location: Oregon

Re: Ju 87 D-3 Battle of Stalingrad

#11

Post by NETSCAPE » 20 Apr 2017, 02:04

Well IL2 has battle of Moscow, battle of Stalingrad and coming 2017, battle of Kuban. So in the future maybe I will make a campaign on his life, that is if he served in the south Crimean region. :D

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