Cliffhanger31

It was definitely possible because they often carried single 1000 pound bombs on the centerline when the extra fuel wasn’t needed. Haven’t seen a photo of it though so probably not too common. The standard 150 gallon drop tank weighed somewhere around 900 pounds when full, and 2x 500 lb bomb + 150 gallon tank was a common load, so you could certainly get off the deck with 3x 500 lb bombs and probably even 2x 500 lb + a single 1000 lb bomb.

Hey there I’m sure the devs are already aware of this but I figured I would share it here just in case. The National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) has a fantastic map based search that contains aerial reconnaissance photos from the war. Not all of it is digitized, for example the UK appears to be largely missing. Fortunately almost all of Western Europe including the entire area of the Normandy 2 map is available for viewing online. https://ncap.org.uk/search?view=map Here are some samples of what’s available. Creil airfield Boissy-le-Bois dispersal strip Carentan Serquex marshaling yard ALG A-10 Catz You can reference these photos to ensure that the airfields, towns, marshaling yards, and any other terrain object is correctly located and constructed. I hope the devs find this helpful and I can’t wait to fly on the map!

That is a late production F6F-5. Note the later cowling, windscreen, and lack of rear window. Modern warbird restorations can be a bit of a mixed bag using whatever parts are available. Either the website got it wrong or maybe the aircrafts data plate belonged to a -3.

The -3 could actually carry the same bomb load as the -5, either two wing bombs or on the centerline, so the only difference in A/G ordnance is the rockets.

First of all let me say thanks to ED for making my favorite warbird. I’d like to make the case here for developing both variants of the Hellcat for DCS in a similar manner to the 3 variants of the P-47D (-30 early, -30, and -40) that we currently have. The scope of the changes between the -3 and -5 Hellcats is pretty similar to the P47, so I think including both variants would be similar development-wise. Including the -3 would give us the classic variant of the Hellcat that flew in the Marianas, Gilbert’s, Marshall’s, and Solomon Islands. The -5 entered service in late 1944 and would be the perfect counterpart to the upcoming F4U-1D and any late war maps such as Okinawa or Southern Japan. The main differences between the -3 and -5 Hellcats are: - Engine cowling - Windscreen -Instrument panel -Visibility window -Armament - Water injection The F6F-3 has a slightly different cowling, with a small bulge in the side and extra cowl flaps on the bottom The -5 removed both of these features The windscreen on the -3 had an outer frame and glass with the armored glass and its frame inside the outer windscreen. The -5 variant did away with the outer windscreen and incorporated the bulletproof glass directly into the windscreen There was also a small window located aft of the cockpit on all F6F-3s and early production F6F-5s This window was removed for later production -5s. The last of the “major” cosmetic differences is in the cockpit. The instrument panel in the -3 is very basic While the -5 added a reflector panel for better illumination during night flying and a few other minor changes noted in the manual. The last two differences are pretty simple, both the -3 and -5 had the R2800-10 engine, but the -5 came standard with water injection while most -3s did not. In the same vein the -5 was rocket capable, while the -3 was not. I’m sure there are other differences that I missed but I think these are the major ones that be relevant to DCS. If anyone knows of others please add them.

100% agree, all of the airfields I’ve proposed housed fighter groups or RAF squadrons that were active on D-Day and throughout the rest of the Overlord timeframe. Thanks for passing along our suggestions, I think we’re all just trying to help this map be the best it can be, and it has some great potential at the moment.

If they decide to add any more RAF airfields I would be in favor of adding Gravesend and Thorney Island. As it stands we have plenty of RAF Spitfire, Mustang, and Typhoon bases so it would be nice to have a historically accurate Mosquito airfield. Between my previous suggestions of Beaulieu, Stoney Cross, Gravesend, and Thorney Island, Normandy 2.0 would provide bases in the UK for each Allied aircraft type in DCS. Photo 1 - RAF Gravesend Mosquito base Photo 2 - RAF Thorney Island Mosquito base Photo 3 - Locations of the suggested airfields within the Normandy 2.0 map

Since Heathrow and Farnborough aren't very relevant to the Operation Overlord timeframe, I figured I would toss out two suggestions that would hold much more value for the community. Apart from the two previously mentioned airfields, we will have a very nice selection of RAF airbases in Southern England. Notably absent, however, are any of the USAAF airbases on the South coast, and since it seems like Ugra has done a great job of listening to the communities' airfield suggestions (Guyancourt, Dinan Trelivan... etc.) I'd like to advocate for the inclusion of some USAAF bases. 1st photo - RAF Beaulieu 9th AF P-47 station. 2nd Photo - RAF Stoney Cross 9th AF P-38 station. 3rd Photo - Map of the locations of all 9th AF units, including the fighter groups located on the Southern coast, this may be helpful in selecting other 9th AF airfields.

This Normandy 2.0 will be a great addition to DCS even as it currently stands. There is, however, an opportunity here to make this a truly epic map and the definitive WW2 Western Front flight sim experience. ED and Urga, there is potential for a real home run here, let’s make it happen!