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Battle of Britain Tutorial III: Build Custom Missions
by Len "Viking1" HjalmarsonGame: Battle of Britain
Version: UK Release
Category: Air Combat Simulation (WWII)
Developer: Rowan Software
Publisher: Empire Interactive
Release Date: Released
Links:
[ Playable Demo ][ First Look ][ Preview ][ Pilot Career How-To ][ Flight Models in BoB ]
[ The Strategic Side of BoB ][ Creating Aircraft Skins in BoB ]
[ Ju-88 Gunnery in BoB ][ BoB Tutorial I ][ BoB Tutorial II ]
Article Date: February 7th, 2001
Article Type: Training
Back to Tutorial I: Setup, Views, Strategic Directives, Operations Room Map Symbology
Back to Tutorial II: Assign a Squadron
The Operations Room in Battle of Britain allows complete strategic control of the campaign. Playing from the Luftwaffe side, you can give the RAF a real headache.
One of the ways to increase the effectiveness of your units is to set up simultaneous missions on nearby targets, then change the altitude of one of the raids so that one flight is coming in low, and the other high. Frequently the low raid will be missed by the defenders.
A further wrinkle in this plan is to increase the size of the raid and assign secondary targets. The secondary targets box in the Directives interface determines the number of secondary targets that will be attacked by the allocated group. These targets are automatically chosen by BoB, but you can edit them if you prefer. We'll take that additional step below.
Directives Interface for the Luftwaffe
For each additional target you add in the Directives interface an additional Gruppe will be assigned.
When the bombers reach the IP they will split and attack different targets. This will divide the attention of any defenders, and also make it more challenging for the RAF to intercept, since they may have assumed your destination was a single target.
Object/Installation Dialogue
Set up your missions normally, allowing the program to determine the waypoints, targets, and time on target (TOT). I do this by just clicking on the target of my choice and then clicking AUTHORIZE. I created two missions to near radar stations.
Next highlight the mission you want to work with and click on ROUTE.
Mission Folder
Route Dialogue
You can change altitude on any of the waypoints, but a useful trick is to change the altitude for Initial Point (IP) only, then click on Apply Altitude. BoB adjusts the altitude of all the waypoints to fit in with your change. In this example I have changed the altitude for the IP to 2000 feet to create a low level raid.
Waypoint Dialogue
Route Dialogue - Apply ALT
Now we want to coordinate the target times. BoB only allows us to change the time of the Initial Point, which will then determine TOT. I have altered the TOT for the second mission to be the same time as the other raid, but have left the altitude at 15,000 feet.
Working with Route and Waypoints
Now I have a low level raid coming in at the same time as the high raid. If I succeed in making a hole in the radar net I can send raids through the gap at low level. I plan those missions to increase height once over land, and then split off to attack different targets. This causes confusion with the RAF. Let's look at how to edit flights to split off one Gruppe from another.
Edit Flights to Split a Gruppe
Begin as last time by highlighting the mission you want to work with in the Mission Folder. Next, click on TASK to bring up the Task Summary screen. Then click on BOMBERS so that you can begin to make the changes necessary.
Task Dialogue - Summary (click for larger image)
Working with Bombers
Now we need to change the unit type to a smaller unit so that we can begin to break up the raid. A single Gruppe is made up of 4 Staffeln, so click on Gruppe to bring up the list, then select Staffeln.
Tasking - Changing Unit Type
Next click on the target listed, in this case Hawkinge, and a Target Selection box will pop up. You can use the drop down list to select another target, or click on the target of choice on the map. The new target will show in the Task box. Returning to the Summary screen you will see there are now "2" targets listed.
The New Target is Lympne
Now there are two targets listed..
FIGHTER ESCORT: Tied or Free?
Adjusting Escort Type
In general free escort appears to bring better results, but lately I have been playing with a balance of 80% free, leaving 20% of my escort fighters tied to the bombers. So far my results appear slightly better, but it's too early to tell with certainty.
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