Attention All Pilots and Tankers!
We are proud to announce that we have opened Pre-Orders on two new Collector Tanks and a new Collector Plane for IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles series!
The following are now available for Pre-Order in the IL-2 Official Webstore! All feature a 20% Pre-Order Discount!
We continue to expand the selection of aircraft and tanks that can be operated on any map in the Great Battles series and create entertaining matchups in both our Single-player and Multiplayer environments. We have chosen these subjects as they further bolster the historical options you have as a player or mission builder for Tank Crew, Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Kuban. However, as always they can be used on any map against any opponent you wish. These new tanks and the IAR-80/81 also add some very interesting history to the Great Battles series. The Churchill tank was obviously a British design but was used by the Soviets and the IAR flew for both the Axis and Allied sides during the war! The StuG was on just about every battlefield everywhere.
The tanks are once again being built by our talented partner DigitalForms and the IAR-80/81 is being built by our long-time friend and collaborator Ivan Shirshov. We also plan to make a Romanian pilot and language pack for him.
Churchill Mk.IV
Churchill was a British heavy Infantry Tank that first saw combat during World War II in 1942 and remained in service in the postwar era until 1952. One of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war, Churchill went into action for the first time during the Dieppe Raid in France in August 1942 and also saw action in North Africa, Italy, and on the Eastern Front: the Soviet Union was sent 344 Churchill Mark IIs, IIIs and IVs, beginning in 1942, with 91 being lost en route on the Arctic Convoys. Eventually, the tanks that made it were used at Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kursk (Prokhorovka), Kharkov and other battles. The chassis design proved very versatile and it was used as the basis for many specialized vehicles throughout the war.
The Churchill Mark IV was the most numerous of the series, with 1,622 produced. This variant was virtually identical to the Churchill Mark III, with the main difference being a cheaper and better-protected cast turret. A Bedford 12-cylinder gasoline engine powered the tank and was capable of providing 350 horsepower. The tank’s top speed was around 24 km/h (15 mph), but Soviet tests claimed that a Churchill Mark III reached 28 km/h (17 mph). The main armament of the Churchill Mark IV was the Ordnance Quick-Firing (QF) 6-pounder gun of 57mm caliber. The secondary armament consisted of one coaxial 7.92 mm Besa machine gun mounted in the turret and a second Besa machine gun fitted in the hull.
StuG III Ausf.G
The Sturmgeschütz III (or StuG III) assault gun was one of Germany’s most-produced armored fighting vehicles during World War II and saw action on all fronts in both Europe and North Africa. Initially deployed as a mobile armored light gun for infantry support, the StuG III underwent constant revisions throughout the war and was eventually heavily employed in the tank destroyer role.
The StuG III Ausführung (Ausf.) G was the final and most common variant of the StuG III series with approximately 8400 built. Production of the type began in December 1942 and ended in April 1945. Panzer III Ausf. M chassis and Maybach HL120 V-12 gasoline engine rated at 296 horsepower allowed for a top speed of 40 km/h (25 mph).
This StuG III Ausf. G was armed with the 75 mm Sturmkanone 40 (StuK 40) L/48 that was a modification of KwK 40 tank gun with different recoil absorbers (you may be already familiar with it from Pz.IV tank included in Tank Crew). Additionally, a shielded 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun was fitted above the loader’s hatch and spaced armor plates were also added to the vehicle front and sides from May 1943.
IAR-80/81
The IAR-80 was a Romanian low-wing monoplane originally designed in the late 1930s by Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR, or Romanian Aeronautic Industry in English). First flown in 1939, the IAR-80 was comparable to other fighter aircraft designs of the late 1930s and would remain in service with the Royal Romanian Air Force throughout World War II until the end of the war in May 1945.
Work on the prototype IAR-80 began in 1937, and it was first flown two years later in April 1939. This prototype incorporated the wing design of the IAR-23 and IAR-24, featured an open cockpit, and was initially powered by an 870 horsepower IAR K14 radial engine. Later that year, the prototype was upgraded with a more powerful K14 engine of 930 horsepower and fitted with a bubble canopy. This engine was progressively upgraded throughout the service life of the aircraft to more powerful models of the K14.
The armament of the IAR-80 initially consisted of Belgian-made Fabrique Nationale FN 7.92 mm light machine guns, which were a licensed version of the Browning M1919 machine gun. These machine guns would eventually be replaced by 13.2 mm FN heavy machine guns and German 20 mm MG FF/M and MG 151/20 cannons. In 1941, the IAR-80 was modified to become a dive bomber and thus became the IAR-81. This new model was fitted with a bomb cradle under the fuselage which would throw the bomb clear of the propeller when the bomb was released.
The first production IAR 80s were completed in January 1941, and they were in action against the Soviets from the first day of Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941. IAR-80s and 81s both saw action during the Battle of Stalingrad and later took part in combat over the Kuban and the Crimea throughout 1943 and into 1944. Meanwhile, in August 1943 IAR-80s took part in the defense of the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti for the first time against US Army Air Force B-24 heavy bombers. Further defensive missions would be flown over Romania through the summer of 1944 against American heavy bomber raids. After Romania switched sides in August 1944 and joined the Allies, IAR-80s and IAR-81s fought alongside the Soviets until the war ended in May 1945.
We hope that you will enjoy the Churchill Mk.IV, Stug III and IAR-80/81 - we think they will be amazing additions to the Great Battles series! As you can see, they are all under heavy development now and we plan to release them in 2022 just as soon as they are ready!