samba_liten Posted May 6, 2024 Posted May 6, 2024 (edited) I've started a mission file showing SAM and EWR positions, as well as air, land, and sea unit bases and locations in 1988. See attachment for current progress with units in theatre. Also for the crazy amount of military installations that we will hopefully see as the map progresses! Mainly though, I really hope all the relevant airbases get added in! Below is a list of relevant units based nearby that could have contributed or re-based to our theater of operations: (Yes, I know, but I'm an absolute nerd for OOBs...) USSR: 66th independent Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/shap/66apib.htm 899th Orshanskiy Red Banner order of Suvorov Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment im. F.E. Dzerzhinskiy http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/shap/899apib.htm 67th independent Bomber Aviation Regiment http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/bap/67bap.htm 321st Bomber Aviation Regiment http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/bap/321bap.htm 668th Bomber Aviation Regiment http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/bap/668bap.htm 132nd Berlinskiy orders of Kutuzov and Aleksandr Nevskiy Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/bap/132tbap.htm 144th independent Aviation Regiment for Long-Range Radar Detection (AWACS!) http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/orap/144oapdrlo.htm 886th independent Stalingradskiy Red Banner Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/orap/886orap.htm 117th independent Berlinskiy order of Kutuzov Aviation Regiment for Electronic Warfare http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/tap/117oapreb.htm Plus several IL-76 transport regiments to carry paratroopers, based around Pskov and in the Baltic states. SPECULATION: If a major war broke out in Europe, resources from Afghanistan would probably have been transferred to the front. 378th independent Assault Aviation Regiment http://www.ww2.dk/new/air force/regiment/shap/378oshap.htm (The likeliest candidate as it was activated in Afghanistan. It was, however, made up mostly of personnel on detachment from other squadrons (who in real-life returned to those squadrons once their service period in Afghanistan ended.) Finland: Satakunta Wing/Fighter Squadron 21 – Tammerfors, responsible for SW Finland: 12 Saab J-35 Drakens 1) 1. Flight, Readiness Flight: 12 J-35F Draken (Interceptors) 2) 2. Flight, Conversion Flight: 2 J-35C Draken (Two-seat OCU trainers), 8 Hawk 3) 3. Flight, Training Flight: Vinka/ 4 Hawk Mk-51 (Trainers) 4) 4. Flight, Liason Flight (Liason Aircraft) Karelian Wing/Fighter Squadron 31 -- Kuopio-Rissala, responsible for SE Finland: 30 Mig-21bis plus several Hawks in recon role 1) 1. Flight, Readiness Flight: 30 MiG-21 bis Fishbed N (Interceptors) 2) 2. Flight, Conversion Flight: 6 MiG-21 U/UM Mongol (Two-seat trainers), 3) 3. Flight, Training Flight: 4 Hawk Mk-51 4) 4. Flight, Liason Flight (Liason Aircraft) 3.) Transport Wing – Kouvola-Utti: 3 Fokker F-21-100, 2 Fokker F-27-400, 3 Gates Learjet 35A (Special Mission), 9 Mil-8 Hip 4.) Recconaissance Squadron – Luonetjärvi: Mig-21 Fishbed C, 8 Hawk Mk-51 4.) Training Wing – Kauhava: 39 Hawk Mk. 51s, 30 L-70 Vinkas 5.) Air Force Academy – Kauhava: 27 Hawk Mk-51 (Training-recce) Army units belonging to the northern defense area, but based south of our map: North Finland Military Area, Oulu 1. Army Corps, Oulu g (Reserve) 1-3) Artillery battalions: 36 130 mm gun M-46/152 mm howitzer (Reserve) Northern Jäger Brigade, Oulu 1-4) Jäger battalions: 50 BV each 5) Artillery regiment: 24 122 mm howitzer D-30 Kajanaland Jäger Brigade, Kajani 1-4) Jäger battalions: 50 BV each 5) Artillery regiment: 12 155 mm gun 83, 12 122 mm howitzer D-30 Norway: 332 Fighter/Bomber Skvadron - Rygge, Norway: 16 F-16A (OCU) 335 Skvadron – Gardermoen: 6 C-130H 336 Fighter/Bomber Skvadron - Rygge: 20 NF-5 (F-5A) 338 Fighter/Bomber Skvadron - Orland: 16 F-16A 717 Skvadron: 3 Falcon 20ECM 719 Skvadron: 3+ DHC6 Otter, Bell 412 720 Skvadron – Rigge: 12 UH-1B Sweden: 1st Air Attack group (1.Attackeskadern) - Göteborg a.) 61. Attack Sqn - Karlsborg: AJ 37 Viggen b.) 62. Attack Sqn - Karlsborg: AJ 37 Viggen c.) 71. Attack Sqn - Såtenäs: AJ 37 Viggen d.) 72. Attack Sqn - Såtenäs: AJ 37 Viggen e.) 151. Attack Sqn -Söderhamn: AJ 37 Viggen f.) 152. Attack Sqn -Söderhamn: AJ 37 Viggen 51. Lätta Attackdivisionen Sk 60B/C Fält 28 Gunnarn (Just south of the map we have) US: 18th TFS: 18 A-10 from Alaska possibly one squadron each of F-15s, F-4s, and RF-4C (reconnaissance), and four squadrons of F-16s, 1 of which is part of AMF(A) With thank you to mkellytx below, the following details can be added here: 71 TFS F15C at Andoya (marked on the map) 356 TFS A10A at Andoya (marked on the map) 706 TFS A10A unknown base in Norway 160 TFS at F16A at Vaernes (near Trondheim, south of our map) 194 and 198 TFS F4D unknown base in Norway U.S. Marine Corps: the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade of the II Marine Amphibious Force (also known as Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade (NALMEB)) had its equipment pre-positioned in eight purpose-built caves near the Værnes Air Station in Trondheim in central Norway. The eight caves contained material for 15,000 troops and war stocks for 30 days. Three of the caves held ground equipment, three munitions and two held aviation support equipment for two air defense and two ground attack squadrons, as well as for 75 heavy transport and light support helicopters.[6][7] Exercise Teamwork, held every two years during the 1980s, practiced reinforcement of Norway. After that point Exercise Battle Griffin was held in 1993 and 1996. US Navy: CV66 USS America (Overhaul until February 11, then off US east coast) VF-33 “Starfighters” –NAS Oceana: 12 F-14 VF-102 “Diamondbacks” – NAS Oceana: 12 F-14B VA-85 “Black Falcons” – NAS Oceana: 10 A-6E, 4 KA-6D VFA-82 “Marauders” – NAS Cecil Field: 10 (of 12 authorized) F/A-18C (from A-7E, 87, 1st Navy F/A-18C unit) VFA-86 “Sidewinders” – NAS Cecil Field: 10 (of 12 authorized) F/A-18C (from A-7E, 11/87) VAQ-137 “Rooks” – NAS Whidbey Island: 4 EA-6B ICAP II (regularly shifted between wings) VS-32 “Maulers” – NAS Jacksonville: 10 S-3A (to -3B in 11/89) VAW-123 “Screwtops” – NAS Norfolk: 4 E-2C HS-11 “Dragonslayers” – NAS Jacksonville: 6 SH-3 CV67 USS John F. Kennedy (Dry-dock until August) VF-14 “Tophatters” – NAS Oceana: 13 F-14A VF-32 “Swordsman” – NAS Oceana: 15 F-14A VA-75 “Sunday Punchers” – NAS Oceana: 12 A-6E, 4 KA-6 VAW-126 “Seahawks” – NAS Norfolk: 4 E-2C VAQ-130 “Zappers” – NAS Whidbey Island: 4 EA-6B ICAP II (regularly shifted between wings) VS-22 “Checkmates” – NAS Cecil Field, FL: 12 S-3A HS-7 “Dusty Dogs” – NAS North Island: 4 (of 6 authorized) SH-3H (These are the squadron assignments for the Kennedy’s 1988-Feb. 1989 Med deployment, on which it also had VMA(AW)-533 with 10 A-6E from the Marines. During local operations from 11/89-12/89, America also embarked VA46 and VA47, each with 13 A-7E) CV59 USS Forrestal (In US following succesful completion of exercise off Norway in 1987) VF-11 “Red Rippers” – NAS Oceana: 11 (of 12 authorized) F-14A VF-31 “Tomcatters” – NAS Oceana: 12 F-14A VA-37 “Bulls” – NAS Oceana: 10 (of 12 authorized) A-7E (F/A-18A 12/90) VA-105 “Gunslingers” – NAS Cecil Field: 10 (of 12 authorized) A-7E (F/A-18A 1/90) VA-176 “Thunderbolts” – NAS Oceana: 10 A-6E, 4 KA-6D VAW-122 “Steel Jaws” – NAS Norfolk: 4 E-2C VAQ-142 “Greywolves” – NAS Whidbey Island: 4 EA-6B VS-28 “Gamblers” – NAS Cecil Field: 11 S-3A HS-15 “Red Lions” – NAS Jacksonville: 6 SH-3H CVN69 USS Eisenhower (In US, following upgrade) VF-142 “Ghostriders”: 10 (of 12 authorized) F-14A+ VF-143 “Pukin’ Dogs” – NAS Oceana: 10 (of 12 authorized) F-14A+ VA-34 “Blue Blasters” – NAS Oceana: 10 A-6E, 4 KA-6D VFA-131 “Wildcats” – NAS Cecil Field: 13 F-18A (to C, 11/90) VFA-136 “Knight Hawks” – Cecil Field NAS: 12 F/A-18A (to C, 11/90) VAW-121 “Blue Tails” – NAS Norfolk: 4 E-2C VAQ-140 “Patriots” – NAS Whidbey Island: 4 EA-6B VS-31 “Topcats” – NAS Cecil Field, FL: 10 S-3B (from A in late 88) HS-5 “Nightdippers” – NAS Jacksonville: 6 SH-3H CV43 USS Coral Sea (Med or US) VFA-132 “Privateers” – NAS Cecil Field: 12 F/A-18A (to CVW6 10/90) VFA-137 “Kestrals” – NAS Cecil Field: 12 F/A-18A (to CVW6, 10/90) VA-55 “Warhorses” – NAS Oceana: 8 A-6E (disestablished, 1/91) VA-65 “Tigers” – NAS Oceana: 8 A-6E, 4 KA-6D (to CVW8, 10/89) VAQ-133 “Wizards” – NAS Whidbey Island: 4 EA-6B VAW-127 “Seabats” – NAS Norfolk: 4 E-2C HS-17 “Neptunes Raiders” – NAS Jacksonville: 4 SH-3H, 2 SH-3D CV60 USS Saratoga (Being overhauled in US) VF-74 “Bedevilers” – NAS Oceana: 6 F-14A, 6 F-14A+ (converting to A+/B in 89) VF-103 “Sluggers” – NAS Oceana: 8 F-14A, 7 F-14A+ (converting to A+/B in 89) VFA-81 “Sunliners” – NAS Oceana: 14 F/A-18C (from A-7E, 3/88) VFA-83 “Rampagers” – NAS Cecil Field: 14 F/A-18C (from A-7E, 3/88) VAQ-132 “Scorpions” – NAS Whidbey Island: 4 EA-6B VAW-125 “Tiger Tails”: 3 (of 4 authorized) E-2C VS-30 “DiamondCutters”: 8 (of 10 authorized) S-2A HS-3: 6 SH-3H Canada: 1 F-18 Squadron (Part of AMF(A)) UK: 1 Jaguar Squadron (Part of AMF(A)) 1 AV8B Squadron Royal Navy: HMS Invincible (R05), HMS Illustrious (R06), HMS Ark Royal (R07), each with: Multi Mission - Strike, ASuW and ASW 12 x Harrier GR.7/9 10 x Sea King ASaC and Merlin HM Mk.1 helicopters Multi Mission - Strike and ASuW 18 x Harrier GR.7/9 4 x Sea King ASaC and Merlin HM Mk.1 helicopters 3 Commando Brigade including 1 Amphibious Combat Group and Whiskey Company of the Netherlands Marine Corps.[5] The brigade trained annually in Northern Norway and had large stores of vehicles and supplies pre-positioned there. Netherlands: No. 314 Fighter/Bomber Squadron - Gilze-Rijen, NL: 18 NF-5A (Part of AMF(A)) Kola 1988.miz Kola 1988 v.0.1.miz Kola 1988 v.0.2.miz Kola 1988 v.0.3.miz Kola 1988 v.0.5.miz Edited January 4 by samba_liten Added info from post below 7 4
AdrianL Posted May 6, 2024 Posted May 6, 2024 (edited) 6 minutes ago, samba_liten said: A-10 unit from Alaska to Norway This one? "A-l0 Operations and the Battle for North Norway" https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA193854.pdf Edited May 6, 2024 by AdrianL 2 1
samba_liten Posted May 6, 2024 Author Posted May 6, 2024 7 minutes ago, AdrianL said: This one? "A-l0 Operations and the Battle for North Norway" https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA193854.pdf That's the one. Thank you! Downloaded and squirreled away safely this time!
renhanxue Posted May 7, 2024 Posted May 7, 2024 (edited) 13 hours ago, samba_liten said: Sweden: 1st Air Attack group (1.Attackeskadern) - Göteborg a.) 61. Attack Sqn - Karlsborg: AJ 37 Viggen b.) 62. Attack Sqn - Karlsborg: AJ 37 Viggen c.) 71. Attack Sqn - Såtenäs: AJ 37 Viggen d.) 72. Attack Sqn - Såtenäs: AJ 37 Viggen e.) 151. Attack Sqn -Söderhamn: AJ 37 Viggen f.) 152. Attack Sqn -Söderhamn: AJ 37 Viggen These are peacetime bases. Also, it's only the strike squadrons. See here for a likely initial deployment of the Swedish air force in 1984: https://forum.skalman.nu/viewtopic.php?p=515750#p515750 The strike Viggens would not be deployed up north initially; they're for fending off a naval invasion. The northern part of the country would have to do with five light strike squadrons flying SK 60 (mostly manned by flight instructors and other oddballs) and some air defense squadrons flying the JA 37. No Drakens this far north in 1988. Edited May 7, 2024 by renhanxue 2 1
samba_liten Posted May 8, 2024 Author Posted May 8, 2024 19 hours ago, renhanxue said: These are peacetime bases. Also, it's only the strike squadrons. See here for a likely initial deployment of the Swedish air force in 1984: https://forum.skalman.nu/viewtopic.php?p=515750#p515750 The strike Viggens would not be deployed up north initially; they're for fending off a naval invasion. The northern part of the country would have to do with five light strike squadrons flying SK 60 (mostly manned by flight instructors and other oddballs) and some air defense squadrons flying the JA 37. No Drakens this far north in 1988. That's great info. Thanks!
samba_liten Posted May 8, 2024 Author Posted May 8, 2024 First post updated and new mission file added. 1
samba_liten Posted May 9, 2024 Author Posted May 9, 2024 57 minutes ago, Mokkeri said: You forgot fighter squadron 11 in Rovaniemi It's marked on the map in the mission file. Not sure if I included the name, but the list of planes is definitely there. If not I'll add that.
samba_liten Posted May 21, 2024 Author Posted May 21, 2024 Updated first post with new .miz file. I've added the Norwegian army and EWR sites. 1
samba_liten Posted May 21, 2024 Author Posted May 21, 2024 Looking for information on Swedish radar. This site has useful lists of sites: https://www.bergrum.se/sverige/militart/flygvapnet/radar/ps65.php The problem is that most are not listed with an exact location. There is a book: https://www.flygbas.se/bernt-thornell/kalla-krigets-luftforsvar that might have more info. I'm not able to have it delivered to where I live, so it'll have to wait. Does anyone happen to have a copy? If so, can you find the locations of the radar sites that are on our map?
samba_liten Posted May 21, 2024 Author Posted May 21, 2024 Working on more detail for the Red Fleet. We are missing a lot of ships! Osa I and II, and Sovremenny classes I have found as mods. Kanin Class destroyers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanin-class_destroyer Kirov Class cruisers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirov-class_battlecruiser Kresta II Class cruisers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kresta_II-class_cruiser Udaloy Class destroyers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udaloy-class_destroyer Kiev Class carrier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev-class_aircraft_carrier Kashin Class destroyers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashin-class_destroyer Kresta I Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kresta_I-class_cruiser Kresta II Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kresta_II-class_cruiser Slava Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slava-class_cruiser (To be picky) Krivak I Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krivak-class_frigate (To be picky) Grisha II Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisha-class_corvette Nanuchka I-V Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanuchka-class_corvette Yurka Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurka-class_minesweeper Riga Class (Also used by Finland!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riga-class_frigate Poti Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poti-class_corvette Sonya Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonya-class_minesweeper Natya Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natya-class_minesweeper T43 Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T43-class_minesweeper Sverdlov Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverdlov-class_cruiser Plus bunches of landing craft of various sizes. Might update with those when I have more time and energy! 2 1
renhanxue Posted May 22, 2024 Posted May 22, 2024 On 5/21/2024 at 11:41 AM, samba_liten said: Looking for information on Swedish radar. This site has useful lists of sites: https://www.bergrum.se/sverige/militart/flygvapnet/radar/ps65.php The problem is that most are not listed with an exact location. There is a book: https://www.flygbas.se/bernt-thornell/kalla-krigets-luftforsvar that might have more info. I'm not able to have it delivered to where I live, so it'll have to wait. Does anyone happen to have a copy? If so, can you find the locations of the radar sites that are on our map? I have that book, but IIRC there's no list of sites in it. I can check when I get home though 1
renhanxue Posted May 22, 2024 Posted May 22, 2024 (edited) Checked the book. Information about Stril 50 and the PJ-21/R and PJ-21/F stations from the 1950s is quite detailed and there are lists of deployment sites. But these were all taken out of service in the 1970's with only one site surviving until 1981, and about the replacements the information is scarce in the book, at least as far as deployment sites go. For information about newer installations we have to reach for other sources, and here's what I got that would've been active in 1988. Facility 8, famous or infamous with many names - LFC ÖN3, Illern, GPL Rutger, Klinten. A huge complex blasted out of a mountain in many stages over the course of many decades starting in the early 1900's, containing (among many other things over the years) Air Defense Command Center Upper Norrland, a field hospital, a fuel depot, and the civil defense HQ for the Boden area. Had a PJ-21/F radar on top of the mountain 1953-1975 so that wasn't active in 1988 but the command center sure was. R 266 "Ödlan", PS-66/F, Stor-Vitberget, Klöverträsk, halfway between Luleå and Älvsbyn. Operational 1973-1987. Co-located with rrgc/F ÖN M "Minken" (local air defense center I guess? remind me to make a post about Stril 60 sometime) which was located inside the mountain (you can see the ditch leading up to the main portal clear as day at the northeastern corner of the mountain if you go into terrain shading mode in the map). The rrgc was active until 2000 but the radar was dismantled and moved 200 km further north in 1987 and became... R 266 "Lämmeln", still a PS-66/F, very dramatically placed on top of one of the peaks of the Luongastunturi mountains east of Svappavaara. Operational at this location from 1988-05-11 until it was decomissioned in 2000. The station was extremely exposed to the elements on a sub-arctic mountaintop with no tree cover, and also visible for all to see from miles and miles away, but the coverage was probably quite good. R 220 "Laxen", PS-65. Active 1964-1990. Not actually 100% sure where this would've been located, the literature just says "Murjek", but I'm quite confident that the map marker on Hällberget is correct. There's a power line to nowhere on the map and while you can't make out the antenna in the "circa 1975" photo in the map tool, there's a bunch of weird buildings up there that weren't there in the 1960's photo and are now gone again in the present-day photo. Also a bunch of oddly well-prepared roads to nowhere up on a mountain. Additionally, as far as earlier fixed radar stations go there was also a PS-16 & PS-47 site at Bälinge not far from Luleå, active from the late 1950's until 1977. There may have been PS-860 stations in this area active in 1988 but since many of these are still operational there's no information available in open sources as far as I know. Sources: http://www.fht.nu/Dokument/Flygvapnet/flyg_publ_dok_spaningsradarstation_PS_66T.pdf http://www.fht.nu/Dokument/Flygvapnet/flyg_publ_dok_radarspaningsstation_ps16.pdf http://www.fht.nu/fv_bilder_radar_spaning_ps_65.html https://glomdhistoria.se/project/lfc-on3-illern/ Just heckin' wikipedia, man If you want more info about what the PS-xy designations refer to and what types of radars these were just go to FHT, they've got the deets. Also many of these sites also had secondary altitude radars too but eh, details. I'll leave you with these photos from the book: Edited May 22, 2024 by renhanxue 6 1
samba_liten Posted May 22, 2024 Author Posted May 22, 2024 Fantastic stuff! Thank you! Been reading up on stril60 (https://www.fht.nu/Dokument/Flygvapnet/flyg_publ_dok_stril_60_v_2.pdf for any who are interested and can read Swedish) and scratching my head as to how to implement it into DCS. First impressions is to use Skynet functions. Never used it before, but from a quick read it seems possible to set up something similar. Much fun to be had tinkering!
renhanxue Posted May 23, 2024 Posted May 23, 2024 56 minutes ago, samba_liten said: Fantastic stuff! Thank you! Been reading up on stril60 (https://www.fht.nu/Dokument/Flygvapnet/flyg_publ_dok_stril_60_v_2.pdf for any who are interested and can read Swedish) and scratching my head as to how to implement it into DCS. First impressions is to use Skynet functions. Never used it before, but from a quick read it seems possible to set up something similar. Much fun to be had tinkering! The AJ and AJS 37 Viggen were strike aircraft and were not equipped with the Stril 60 data link. Only the J 35 and the JA 37 were. So just plain old GCI will do. 2
Rudel_chw Posted May 23, 2024 Posted May 23, 2024 2 hours ago, renhanxue said: remind me to make a post about Stril 60 sometime I'd love to read about it, your in-depth posts are epic and I always save them on my scrapbook ... in fact, I just used a lot of your info on a Rb04 training mission that I edited for the Kola map Greetings, Eduardo 2 For work: iMac mid-2010 of 27" - Core i7 870 - 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - ATI HD5670 - SSD 256 GB - HDD 2 TB - macOS High Sierra For Gaming: 34" Monitor - Ryzen 3600 - 32 GB DDR4 2400 - nVidia RTX2080 - SSD 1.25 TB - HDD 10 TB - Win10 Pro - TM HOTAS Cougar Mobile: iPad Pro 12.9" of 256 GB
killjoy73au Posted May 25, 2024 Posted May 25, 2024 On 5/22/2024 at 4:02 AM, samba_liten said: Working on more detail for the Red Fleet. We are missing a lot of ships! Osa I and II, and Sovremenny classes I have found as mods. Kanin Class destroyers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanin-class_destroyer Kirov Class cruisers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirov-class_battlecruiser Kresta II Class cruisers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kresta_II-class_cruiser Udaloy Class destroyers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udaloy-class_destroyer Kiev Class carrier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev-class_aircraft_carrier Kashin Class destroyers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashin-class_destroyer Kresta I Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kresta_I-class_cruiser Kresta II Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kresta_II-class_cruiser Slava Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slava-class_cruiser (To be picky) Krivak I Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krivak-class_frigate (To be picky) Grisha II Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisha-class_corvette Nanuchka I-V Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanuchka-class_corvette Yurka Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurka-class_minesweeper Riga Class (Also used by Finland!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riga-class_frigate Poti Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poti-class_corvette Sonya Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonya-class_minesweeper Natya Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natya-class_minesweeper T43 Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T43-class_minesweeper Sverdlov Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverdlov-class_cruiser Plus bunches of landing craft of various sizes. Might update with those when I have more time and energy! Shame we only have like two of these ships in DCS. This is some COMANO level ORBAT
Northstar98 Posted May 25, 2024 Posted May 25, 2024 What about the relevant Soviet forces circa 1988 that are actually stationed in the region? VMF (Navy): Northern Fleet V-PVO (Air Defence Forces): 21st Air Defence Corps 57th Independent Radio Technical Unit (subordinated to the 3rd Independent Missile Attack Early Warning Army) VVS: 88th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment 258th Independent Helicopter Squadron* 227th Independent Helicopter Squadron for Electronic Warfare SV (Ground Forces): 6th Combined Arms Army, which also includes the 6th Missile Brigade and the 271st Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (there's also the 7th Anti-Aircaft Missile Brigade, but not circa 1988) RVSN (Strategic Rocket Forces): 24th Missile Regiment *This is subordinated to the Army 1 hour ago, killjoy73au said: Shame we only have like two of these ships in DCS. This is some COMANO level ORBAT We only have the Kirov (but this is the TARKR Pr. 1142.2 Pyotr Velikey), we're missing the Pr. 1142 Kirov (i.e. the original) which has a significantly different air defence systems (SA-N-4 instead of SA-N-9, AK-630 instead of CADS-N-1). Otherwise we don't have any of them (the only ones that are close are the Krivak II and Grisha V). 1 Modules I own: F-14A/B, F-4E, Mi-24P, AJS 37, AV-8B N/A, F-5E-3, MiG-21bis, F-16CM, F/A-18C, Supercarrier, Mi-8MTV2, UH-1H, Mirage 2000C, FC3, MiG-15bis, Ka-50, A-10C (+ A-10C II), P-47D, P-51D, C-101, Yak-52, WWII Assets, CA, NS430, Hawk. Terrains I own: South Atlantic, Syria, The Channel, SoH/PG, Marianas. System: GIGABYTE B650 AORUS ELITE AX, AMD Ryzen 5 7600, Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5200 32 GB, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070S FE, Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB (DCS dedicated) & 2 TB NVMe SSDs, Corsair RM850X 850 W, NZXT H7 Flow, MSI G274CV. Peripherals: VKB Gunfighter Mk.II w. MCG Pro, MFG Crosswind V3 Graphite, Logitech Extreme 3D Pro.
samba_liten Posted May 25, 2024 Author Posted May 25, 2024 1 hour ago, Northstar98 said: What about the relevant Soviet forces circa 1988 that are actually stationed in the region? VMF (Navy): Northern Fleet V-PVO (Air Defence Forces): 21st Air Defence Corps 57th Independent Radio Technical Unit (subordinated to the 3rd Independent Missile Attack Early Warning Army) VVS: 88th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment 258th Independent Helicopter Squadron* 227th Independent Helicopter Squadron for Electronic Warfare SV (Ground Forces): 6th Combined Arms Army, which also includes the 6th Missile Brigade and the 271st Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (there's also the 7th Anti-Aircaft Missile Brigade, but not circa 1988) RVSN (Strategic Rocket Forces): 24th Missile Regiment *This is subordinated to the Army We only have the Kirov (but this is the TARKR Pr. 1142.2 Pyotr Velikey), we're missing the Pr. 1142 Kirov (i.e. the original) which has a significantly different air defence systems (SA-N-4 instead of SA-N-9, AK-630 instead of CADS-N-1). Otherwise we don't have any of them (the only ones that are close are the Krivak II and Grisha V). Apart from the 24th missile regiment those should all be marked on the map in the mission file. I haven't listed them here. 1
Northstar98 Posted May 25, 2024 Posted May 25, 2024 1 minute ago, samba_liten said: Apart from the 24th missile regiment those should all be marked on the map in the mission file. I haven't listed them here. Ah! My apologies. Should probably have checked that first. 1 Modules I own: F-14A/B, F-4E, Mi-24P, AJS 37, AV-8B N/A, F-5E-3, MiG-21bis, F-16CM, F/A-18C, Supercarrier, Mi-8MTV2, UH-1H, Mirage 2000C, FC3, MiG-15bis, Ka-50, A-10C (+ A-10C II), P-47D, P-51D, C-101, Yak-52, WWII Assets, CA, NS430, Hawk. Terrains I own: South Atlantic, Syria, The Channel, SoH/PG, Marianas. System: GIGABYTE B650 AORUS ELITE AX, AMD Ryzen 5 7600, Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5200 32 GB, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070S FE, Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB (DCS dedicated) & 2 TB NVMe SSDs, Corsair RM850X 850 W, NZXT H7 Flow, MSI G274CV. Peripherals: VKB Gunfighter Mk.II w. MCG Pro, MFG Crosswind V3 Graphite, Logitech Extreme 3D Pro.
samba_liten Posted May 25, 2024 Author Posted May 25, 2024 (edited) Added the Swedish EW radars to the mission files, along with a few Swedish unit HQs. The file now also has most of the Soviet Navy surface combat vessels available in game placed on the map, together with all Soviet and Swedish EW radars. The Swedish EW radars and some ships use mods. The Swedish deployment is so heavily dependent on mobilization that I find it almost impossible to mark anything worthwhile on the map. The HQ and barracks locations marked should cover most units present in theater though. For details on units I used Wiki pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Norrland_Military_District. I found this to make more sense than the good old NATO OOB 1989 file that's been floating around for ages, at least when it comes to Sweden. It was a very pleasant surprise, though, to find that the barracks in Kiruna are modeled exactly where they should be, and more or less matching the buildings visible on google maps! Most Swedish AA seems to have been 40mm AAA or MANPADS (RBS-70) at this point. Sweden had some I-HAWK, but as far as I can tell, none of those were located this far north. Edited May 25, 2024 by samba_liten
samba_liten Posted May 26, 2024 Author Posted May 26, 2024 Finland's air defense seems to have been mate up of ZU-23 and SA-7 MANPADS attached to army units in our area. The country purchased SA-2 systems in the 70s, which were designated ITO-79. As far as I can tell, they were all deployed down south. Does anyone know anything about Finnish EWR? I have two locations up north, but no details.
renhanxue Posted May 27, 2024 Posted May 27, 2024 (edited) On 5/25/2024 at 4:02 PM, samba_liten said: Added the Swedish EW radars to the mission files, along with a few Swedish unit HQs. The file now also has most of the Soviet Navy surface combat vessels available in game placed on the map, together with all Soviet and Swedish EW radars. The Swedish EW radars and some ships use mods. The Swedish deployment is so heavily dependent on mobilization that I find it almost impossible to mark anything worthwhile on the map. The HQ and barracks locations marked should cover most units present in theater though. For details on units I used Wiki pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Norrland_Military_District. I found this to make more sense than the good old NATO OOB 1989 file that's been floating around for ages, at least when it comes to Sweden. It was a very pleasant surprise, though, to find that the barracks in Kiruna are modeled exactly where they should be, and more or less matching the buildings visible on google maps! Most Swedish AA seems to have been 40mm AAA or MANPADS (RBS-70) at this point. Sweden had some I-HAWK, but as far as I can tell, none of those were located this far north. I mean... I haven't looked at the mission file, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to do your work for you, and yet here we are. This is pre-1990. You've got the entire Kalix Line with all of its permanently emplaced artillery (mostly manned by locals), there's a gazillion smaller fortifications (I've seen the number 4000 bunkers of various kinds within the Kalix line cited in reliable sources), almost all of Boden Fortress is still active at this time with the entire city and its surroundings being closed to foreign citizens, etc, it goes on. Using that list of units from Wikipedia makes absolutely no sense, the peacetime regiments are administrative organizations, they hire people and manage training and planning but cease to exist immediately in the event of mobilization. The wartime list is just comically incomplete. In the "bible" on Swedish Cold War operational planning (Hugemark, Den stora invasionen, Medströms, Stockholm 2017), the following formations are listed as being initially under the command of MB ÖN ("milobefälhavare Övre Norrland", military area commander Upper Norrland) circa 1980: Armén 3rd, 12th and 15th division staffs including three divisional artillery HQ companies One air defense coordination staff (sv. luftvärnssamverkansstab) 61st, 63rd, 66th and 67th military district staffs (sv. försvarsområdesstaber) Nine defense district group staffs (sv. försvarsområdesgruppstaber, a "group" here is a very poorly defined term; these staffs were for commanding the mishmash of small independent units below, coordinated into larger formations) 43rd and 44th infantry brigades 13th, 19th, 35th, 50th and 51st Norrland infantry brigades ("Norrland brigades" were infantry brigades mostly equipped with tracked vehicles, specifically the Bv 206 and its variants, rather than wheeled vehicles) Seven Norrland infantry battalions (sv. Norrlandsskyttebataljoner) 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th field ranger battalions (sv. fältjägarbataljoner) Nine Norrland ranger battalions (sv. Norrlandsjägarbataljoner, these are lighter variants of the regular Norrland infantry battalions) 1st and 2nd independent tank battalions (24 strv 103 and 22 pbv 302 each) Three self-propelled artillery battalions (sv. bandkanonbataljoner, eight 15.5 cm bandkanon 1 each) Four divisional artillery battalions (towed 15.5 cm howitzers) Fourteen ranger companies (sv. jägarkompanier - some of these would have been forward deployed into Finland) Ten border ranger companies (sv. gränsjägarkompanier - typically mobilized primarily from police and customs personnel near the border) One paratroop ranger battalion (sv. fallskärmsjägarbataljon - also likely to be forward deployed in Finland very early on; Swedish paratroop rangers were primarily recce and sabotage focused and generally operated in small groups, no larger than a platoon) (The equivalent of) nine combat engineer battalions (The equivalent of) nine AAA battalions One military police company One SIGINT company Three ISB platoons (ISB = Indikering, Sanering, Brand = detection, decontamination, fire - chemical warfare specialists) 2nd strike aviation company staff (sv. attackflygkompanistab) Six helicopter platoons (mainly medevac, but the 5th anti-tank helicopter battalion equipped with hkp 9 and HeliTOW was being set up in 1988) Seventeen independent bicycle infantry battalions (sv. cykelskyttebataljoner) Thirteen local defense artillery companies (sv. lokalförsvarsartillerikompanier - these guys would be manning the artillery forts) (The equivalent of) 45 fortification companies (sv. värnkompanier), mostly manning various smaller bunkers and fixed guns (lots of old tank turrets emplaced in the ground etc) Ten logistics battalions (sv. etappbataljoner, idk how to translate this, they're not strictly logistics, they're for supporting a brigade on the march I guess) Several fort groups and their equipment (this is just the Boden Fortress, really) Eight field hospitals If the enemy was attacking only though Upper Norrland and not anywhere else in the country, two more army divisions were earmarked to be placed under the command of MB ÖN. Marinen Only thing within the scope of the map really is the coastal artillery, specifically the Luleå locking battalion (really no idea how to translate this, sv. spärrbataljon, it's a coastal artillery unit that defends a fairway into a harbor and typically operates a number of fixed artillery pieces and a whole lot of pre-placed fixed naval mines etc). Flygvapnet 211th sector staff and its air combat control battalion (sv. stridsledningsbataljon) Nine base battalions 41st and 211th fighter squadrons 212th and 213th recce squadrons 55th recon group (sv. spaningsgrupp) 211th transport aviation group 211th aviation group (ok this is a total cop-out of a translation, it's probably VIP transport aviation; sv. sambandsflyggrupp) 211th and 213th helicopter groups (mainly pilot SAR) Five light strike squadrons (delegated from E1) If the enemy was attacking only though Upper Norrland and not anywhere else in the country, one more fighter squadron would be placed under the command of MB ÖN. In total across all branches I'd estimate around 150 000 personnel. A problem with this, of course: it's from circa 1980, but few details are known about later plans. Still, the unit assignments should be mostly the same up until the early 90's when everything suddenly started changing very quickly. Oh, and this is just the default initial assignment; more troops could be transferred north as needed and there were plans and a strategic reserve earmarked for this. Not all of the units initially placed under MB ÖN would be mobilized locally. Many of the units (especially the local defense ones; second line formations made up of older conscripts, with little strategic mobility) would have all their heavy equipment stored locally and the personnel would arrive with personal equipment only. Most personnel would be arriving by train, so either by the east coast main line to Boden or by the old inland line to Arvidsjaur and Gällivare. Most mobilization points would probably be relatively close to a railway, so Älvsbyn, Arvidsjaur, Luleå, Boden, Murjek, Gällivare and Kiruna are likely to have been the main mobilization areas within the map. The operational planning talks a lot about "The Rectangle", that is to say the approximate area between the four cities of Boden, Luleå, Piteå and Älvsbyn, which was kind of the main base and supply area. Mobilization was generally highly decentralized though and local defense troops would mobilize near whatever thing they were supposed to defend. Think places like Kalix, Morjärv, Överkalix, Råneå, Niemisel, Tärendö, Vittangi, any place with a bridge over a major river that isn't the Torne river really. Torne river was considered "a bridge too far" and was not a line to be held. Units like the border rangers that mobilized very far east were expected to fade into the woods and more or less immediately transition to "independent warfare" (sv. fria kriget, basically guerilla warfare with a fancier name) after the Soviet spearheads had passed them by. MB ÖN himself and his staff would have initially have been deployed in the fortified GPL "Bo" (GPL = grupperingsplats, deployment location; Bo is just a code name) in Kvarnberget near Korsträsk (if you zoom in really far exactly on the map marker you can just barely make out the metal "clothes hangers" that were supposed to hold up the camouflage netting over the portal; this bunker is long decommissioned and has been sold to a private owner). The area around Älvsbyn was in general littered with various underground facilities, such as a gigantic fuel storage depot in Kälsberget (remind me to do a post on these sometimes, there were a lot of these all over the country, they were huge and very cool) and an ammunition/equipment storage in Hundberget (approximately 3500 square meters of storage area inside, according to its current owner). This doesn't answer where all of these units would go, of course, but to find that out we'll need to dig down into the operational planning and examine the orders. Fortunately the book contains an entire chapter on this by general (ret.) Bengt Gustafsson, who was MB ÖN 1984-1986, so that should be almost up to date. That'll have to wait for another day, though. Edited May 27, 2024 by renhanxue 2 2
renhanxue Posted May 27, 2024 Posted May 27, 2024 (edited) Some additional information about the Swedish military command structure of this period. The country was divided into six military areas (sv. militärområden, abbreviated milo) - South (milo S), West (milo V), East (milo Ö), Bergslagen (milo B), Lower Norrland (milo NN) and Upper Norrland (milo ÖN). Each milo had a commander (MB) in charge of all the forces of his district; he reported directly to the commander-in-chief (ÖB) and the joint headquarters. Also reporting directly to ÖB was C E1, the commander of the 1st Air Group with all of the strike aircraft. Each milo was further subdivided into defense districts (sv. försvarsområden, abbreviated fo). I should pause here for a moment and talk a bit about delegation and chains of command. As militaries are wont to do, the Swedish cold war era military was to a significant extent influenced by the last war, that is to say WW2 even though Sweden wasn't participating in it, and the greatest fear of the military planners was a Norway/Denmark 1940 scenario where the invasion could have been fended off but the mobilization never really started and there was little to no initiative and leadership. For this reason the mobilization system had a lot of safeguards built into it - the mobilization itself was designed to be impossible to stop once it had been started ("every message that claims the mobilization has been called off is false", said the propaganda; later modified to the more famous "every message that claims the resistance has ended is false"), it was highly decentralized with depots spread out all over the country, and the chain of command had a lot of redundancy to it with a lot of freedom left to lower level commanders to improvise and manage their own area of responsibility if a higher level commander could not be reached. In the army, there were generally speaking three tiers of units. The top of the line was the "assault brigades" (sv. anfallsbrigader), manned generally by conscripts under the age of 30, with mostly modern equipment, a full complement of heavy weapons, engineering resources etc, and decent to good strategic mobility. These troops were expected to be able to both attack and defend. The second tier was lokalförsvaret, the local defense, generally manned by older conscripts age 30-45 ish and using older equipment. Generally a lot less heavy weapons and very limited strategic mobility; mostly expected to defend and delay. Manned a lot of fixed fortifications and such. Finally the third tier was the home guard, hemvärnet, and relatedly driftvärnet (idk, the "process guard" I guess?). The home guard was all volounteers, almost exclusively older men, generally equipped with only small arms and maybe some demolition charges. Driftvärnet was a weird oddity; it was made up of people who worked at defense-critical workplaces (defense industries, hospitals, power plants, transport infrastructure like the railroads, etc etc) and defended their own workplace. Returning to the military areas and defense districts: under each MB there would be both division commanders and defense district commanders, where the divisions would be made up of first tier brigades while the defense district commanders would mostly (but not exclusively) be commanding local defense and home guard units, but also various independent battalions and smaller units that were still of the first tier. In the area we're concerned with, the defense districts are: Fo 61, Västerbottens försvarsområde, all of Västerbotten county Fo 63, Bodens försvarsområde, Norrbotten county south of a line slightly north of the Lule river Fo 66, Kiruna försvarsområde, almost everything north of the Lule river, except Fo 67, Kalix försvarsområde, a relatively small area between the Torne and Lule rivers, stretching approximately up to a line Övertorneå - Överkalix - Lansjärv - Vuollerim The operational planning also talked about six "manoeuvre areas", defined as on the map: With all of that out of the way: ORDERS Bef Fo 66 Delays enemy advancing across and from the border; ranger companies are forward deployed into Finland. MASUNGSBYN and NYTORP are defended and may be given up only when ordered by MB. Delays enemy advancing over Kiruna along the railway line to Narvik and the E10 road Coordinates and supports deployment and force concentration Challenges enemy air superiority and interferes with enemy paradrops Hands over responsibility for the southern part of the Fo to the 12th division Monitors the Norwegian border Defends the power plant dam at SUORVA Deploys at least two Norrland ranger battalions north of KAITUM - NORSIVAARA - PELLO for recon and operations in the long term Prepared to: Take over the responsibility for the GÄLLIVARE area from the 12th division After the delaying action is complete, take command of actions within the manoeuvre areas Make one brigade available to the MB east of GÄLLIVARE Make fortification companies available to the MB Make Norrland ranger battalions available to the MB Assigned forces, other than own staff: 35th Norrland infantry brigade Three Norrland infantry battalions Two field ranger battalions Four Norrland ranger battalions Nine ranger companies Five border ranger companies 1st divisional gun battalion (1. fördelningskanonbataljon, bkan 1) 12th divisional howitzer battalion One AAA battalion RBS 70 Two AAA companies, one of which is the 43rd infantry brigade AAA company A ton of local defense companies, too many to list, including three fortress groups A field hospital at MALMBERGET Bef Fo 67 Delays enemy advancing across and from the border; ranger companies are forward deployed into Finland. Coordinates and supports deployment and force concentration Challenges enemy air superiority and interferes with enemy paradrops Hands over responsibility for the western part of the Fo to the 3rd and 15th divisions Deploys at least two Norrland ranger battalions east of the KALIX river for recce and sabotage activities in the long term Prepared to: After the delaying action is complete, take command of actions within the manoeuvre areas or take over the defense of a section of the coast Receive one to three AAA companies RBS 70 for deployment within the western part of the Fo Assigned forces, other than own staff: 1st SIGINT company Three Norrland ranger battalions Four Norrland infantry battalions Two field ranger battalions Five ranger companies Three border ranger companies Three divisional howitzer battalions 44th infantry brigade AAA company 7th amphibious ranger company (sv. 7. kustjägarkompani) Tons of local defense companies including five fortress groups C E1 During the delaying phase, strikes: combat engineering units, primarily ones specialized in road building, bridge building, mine clearing military bridges terrain-mobile units that are attempting to encircle our forces artillery and rocket artillery units targets in coordination with own army forces; coordination and force concentration along one of the primary thoroughfare roads should be possible to achieve. During the critical phase of the operation, strikes: enemy transport and logistics supplying and reinforcing the combat zone targets in immediate coordination with division staffs. Prepared to strike: paratroop deployments, in direct coordination with divisional staffs enemy command centers and higher staffs naval invasions attempting to reach the milo coast. Aaaand that's where I'm more or less out of time for today. I'll get to the rest later but for now, generally speaking: 12th division (core element being the 51st Norrland infantry brigade) deploys initially in the area around Gällivare and operates mainly within manoeuvre areas 1 and 4 3rd division (core elements being the 43rd infantry brigade minus its AAA company, as well as the 50th Norrland infantry brigade) deploys initially in the area around Harads and operates primarily within manoeuvre areas 2 and 5 15th division (core elements being the 44th infantry brigade minus its AAA company, the 19th Norrland infantry brigade and two independent tank battalions) deploys initially in Boden and operates primarily along the coast. More to follow. Edited May 27, 2024 by renhanxue 2 4
samba_liten Posted May 28, 2024 Author Posted May 28, 2024 This is great! Thank you for taking the time to post! 2
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