Blackhawk Watch for April 2018

Starting today, I will try my very best to bring you this new monthly feature I have called "Blackhawk Watch."

The purpose of this ongoing blog series is to document the progress this project for posterity and share media links, information and commentary concerning the upcoming Steven Spielberg produced (and possibly directed) Blackhawks feature film. Also, I will post some personal comments from my own previous Blackhawks experience and thoughts on the film, as it develops.

First off, just who were/are the Blackhawks? The short answer is the Blackhawks was a long running comic book title, originally depicting a fictional, privately run and operated squadron (a forerunner of a modern Private Military Company that offers nothing but aviation services) made up of international pilots, mostly coming from German occupied countries of World War Two.

The Blackhawks first appeared in the Quality Comics title, Military Comics #1 in 1941. Fifteen years later, the rights, names and likenesses were first leased to and then eventually sold to DC Comics. Major changes came in 1964 and then again in 1967. Despite reversing these changes, the Black hawks were cancelled in mid-1968. A brief, six issue revival was seen on the racks for 1976-77 and gone again, just as quick.

 

Outside the realm of comics, Blackhawk was adapted into a 15 chapter movie serial (one of the last of this type, since TV was slowing taking over as a more convenient form of entertainment)....

Who is Steven Spielberg? His list of film credits include (but not limited to): Jaws, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Gremlins, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List and Ready Player One. Needless to say, he is behind a lot of the most profitable and easily memorable movies (and a hand in TV shows, like Amazing Stories, Falling Skies and Bull) of the last 40 years.

And these are two of the film companies he is involved with, producing quality entertainment (in my opinion, at least).

A little known fact that during the early 1980's, he expressed interest in a Blackhawk project, which in turn, promoted DC Comics to bring the title in late 1982 (if you click the link, use "Blackhawk" in your browser search function).

It's also during this time period I enter the scene, but more on that at later.

Here are a few links concerning the initial Spielberg/April 2018 movie announcements: Variety Hollywood Reporter CNN Polygon

For further reading, take a look at this exhaustive and fantastic fan made Blackhawks site, which has nearly everything you would want to know (and more) on the subject and can be found here. Sadly, it hasn't been updated in years. 

Almost A Blackhawk: XP-50

A screenshot from long ago that shows off a special skin created by Claudio67 for the tier VI XP-50 premium American Fighter in World of Warplanes.

Sadly, there are issues on roundels correctly installing in this post 1.9 age....

The Lead Turkey: XP-75 Eagle

Although the battle in World of Warplanes produced a favorable outcome, the struggle to fly and fight in the premium tier VII Fisher XP-75 Eagle was very real for me....

The Great Goblin Surprise

Just a few days ago now, World of Warplanes received a minor update that included the files for a new aircraft, the first premium tier IX in the game, the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin.

I was among those speculating on just how a player could lay their hands on one. Theories I offered up consisted of a mission (like the recent Operation Westwall for example), a series of tasks (see Personal Missions from World of Tanks), or even an XP Grindfest (Missouri/Musashi from World of Ships). However, I didn't dismiss a last minute fourth option that I couldn't think of at the time (in other words, no clue what rabbit will be pulled from the hat).

Today, it turns out you could just buy it, something I never even saw coming.

My American Nines: F-94D Starfire

The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star was a license built variant of the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, a two seat jet trainer which started out from the original P-80/F-80. In turn the Lockheed P-94 Starfire would later evolve from the T-33 and appear in World of Warplanes as a tier IX Multirole Fighter for the American tree.

One of the major differences between the Lockheed T-33 and the Canadair CL-30 (internal manufacturer's designation) was the choice of engines, the Shooting Star had Allison J33, the Silver Star used Rolls-Royce Nene 10.

A few years ago I visited British Columbia Aviation Museum, just outside the Victoria International Airport and got the opportunity to see this aircraft with my own eyes. It was hard to get a good shot of this aircraft, due in part to it's location inside the museum, the other planes around it and unfavorable lighting. Despite that, I got one of those once in a lifetime opportunities to do this....

Although you can't really tell from this image, the cockpit was a real tight fit. Up front, all of the controls were in spots that didn't promote comfort. For me, once I sat in the seat, that was it, no real moving around after the straps went on and the canopy was closed.

I had a model of this when I was a whole lot younger, never did finish it though....but the pictures and memories of this experience (especially shared with my son) will more than make up for not completing that long, almost forgotten childhood project.

However, the big kid in me can still pretend to fly it....

My American Nines: FJ-1 Fury

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't played World of Warplanes much this past while.

Out in the real world, I have been putting in some very long work-life hours, which just happened to involve some overly physical activities. Needless to say, my energy levels to load up the game, let alone belt any number of battles, has been almost non-existent.

However, with news of the first tier IX premium plane (final details have yet to be revealed to me if it is a true premium or something along the lines of the Missouri/Musashi from Ships and likewise Clan Reward vehicles from Tanks), I mustered up enough awake time to record a battle with my tier IX FJ-1 Fury. Little did I know just how tired I looked while filming....

The Coming Of The Goblin

If you read the World of Warplanes announcement here or saw it on the portal, no doubt some of you already took off down the interest to look the plane up....

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin.

Without going into too much detail, I will briefly touch on what interests me about this aircraft and what doesn't.

First, I like the "Buck Rogers" look to it. The whole squished F-86 appearance of it does remind me of the same tiered Blohm und Voss P.210, but with a Western twist. Secondly, it's a jet, so that piques my interest almost immediately.

One thing I don't like about it, historically armed with only 4X.50 cal machine guns. I could see this plane struggling at the upper tiers, based on my own experience with the FJ-1 Fury, which is armed with 6X.50 cal in total. I am rather curious to how maneuverable it will be in the game, which could be a strong determination of what would be the less penalized playstyle for it.

And of course, since it's a tier IX aircraft, acquiring one isn't going to be an easy task, I suspect.

During last month's Operation Westwall event, I saw a lot of comments, from both sides of the fence, on the mission requirements and available time needed to park just one of the aircraft into a player's hangar, let alone both. I can accept this should be a challenge (seriously, it's an earnable tier IX) and for some, this plane will be an out-or-reach goal (real life events, poor timing and other things that can/will prevent a player from obtaining the Goblin). Others will make "jumping the hurdles" look so easy (or make claims to the effect), which could inspire some to preserve through the journey, or just anger and alienate others from the quest.

I don't have any details of what will be needed to get a Goblin, so this last comment of perspective might turn out to be a moot point.

The Spirit Of Wild Bill

I think it could be the most iconic American aircraft of World War Two and I was introduced to it thanks to a Tongue in Cheek movie.

Steven Spielberg's 1941 could be a hard movie to make today, since it breaks so many social, gender and other taboos of our modern, sensitive society.

Long before I learned about the adventures of the American Volunteer Group, Claire Lee Chennault and the air war over China's skies, my introduction to the Curtiss P-40 was through the late, great actor, John Belushi. Thanks to his over the top comedic portrayal of Captain "Wild Bill" Kelso and his antics in that plane, he "burned" (if you have seen the movie, you will get the reference) the Warhawk into my memory from a more innocent time....

Captured Intentions, Surrendered Outcome

For the longest time, this was the whole Chinese tree in World of Warplanes.

While the Breda Ba.27 and Nakajima Ki-43-Ic both came in Update 1.5.0, back in August 2014, it would be some time yet before more aircraft would be added to this....shrub (the Curtiss Tomahawk IIb tier V Fighter was floating around, but in the hands of select players and not available for the general public until a much later date).

Now, in this post-2.0 era, I was curious to see if the Chinese captured tier IV Nakajima Ki-43-Ic was still a capable aircraft, since the game would favor it's Turn and Burn attributes more then previous versions....

Breda non così buono

The Italian designed Breda Ba.27 is a sad tale for an aircraft. 

As some air forces around the world were making attempts to move away from the tried and tested biplanes into the monoplane era, Società Italiana Ernesto Breda put forth a low-wing braced monoplane of mixed wing construction materials and fixed landing gear to the Regia Aeronautica for consideration.

The first prototype Ba.27 was tested and evaluated by the Regia Aeronautica in 1933 and was met with generally unsatisfactory reviews. Lackluster performance and excessive vibration, especially while turning/banking were the two biggest concerns. The test pilots of the day favored the inservce Fiat CR.32 biplane over the prototype, so the Ba.27 went back to the drawing boards for revisions.

An extensive redesign of the aircraft began, first with replacing the wooden two blade propeller with a three blade, variable pitch unit. Next, the fuselage was rounded off more and the open cockpit was moved up and forward to improve visibility. The corrugated skin was discarded and replaced with smooth sheet metal and the mixed construction wing was now all metal, earning it's name, Metallico.

The Regia Aeronautica tested and evaluated this second prototype in June 1934 (some sources claim earlier flights in May) and despite Breda's best efforts, the appraisal was only a little more positive over the first aircraft. The Regia Aeronautica would retain the second prototype for extended testing until it was lost in 1937.

With a lost of Italian interest in the aircraft, the Breda Ba.27 was demonstrated to the Norwegian Air Force, but no interest or sales came from that venture. In November of 1934, it was shown at the Salon de l'Aeronautique in Paris, but once again, no buyers.

However, in 1935, an order for the Breda Ba.27 was finally sold to the Chinese nationalist government for 18 aircraft, of which 11 were mysteriously delivered.

Only one account of the Breda Ba.27 in combat in China has been recorded and even then, it is in dispute by some.

Over Nanking on October 12 1937, a mixed formation of 20 Japanese aircraft encountered what they believed to be a lone group of 7 Mitsubishi A5M fighters operating in the area. As the two groups closed on each other, the mistaken fighters, who the Japanese claimed were Ba.27's in Chinese National markings, engaged them. The Japanese suffered the loss of 3 A5M's and were turned back, it is unknown what the Chinese casualties were.

Some modern researchers believe the Japanese formation were attacked by the very similar looking Boeing Type 281, the export version of the P-26 Peashooter. Others claimed if the action did take place, as recorded by Japanese pilots who were involved in the event, the planes would have been piloted by Italians, since they would have been better trained for such an action. The truth remains evasive to the this day.

Be it through training or combat, the Breda Ba.27 was in operational service in China until 1938, no examples are known to exist today.

China Hawk Strike

Starting in March of 1936, China received the initial delivery of the Curtiss BF2C Goshawk, also known by it's export name, the Curtiss Hawk III, to replace it's rapidly obsolete fleet of Hawk II's.

By all accounts, 102 Hawk III's were delivered to China by June 1938, 12 in complete, flying condition and 90 shipped in crates to be assembled by the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company at Hangzhou.

When the Sino-Japanese War started in July of 1937, both the Hawks II/III were the primary fighters in the Chinese Air Force and as more Hawk III's made it to the squadrons, the Hawk II was regaled to training and light defense duties.

However, by October that same year, the Hawk III was already considered obsolete itself, despite proving itself in battle, sometimes against seemly impossible odds and making Aces out of it's pilots, it was slowly replaced by the Polikarpov I-15/I-16, Gloster Gladiator and a few others.

However, the Hawk III wouldn't go without a fight and was involved in one last aerial action over the skies of Chungking, trading bullets with Japanese bombers in May of 1940.

Turnabout Tornado

This time around and with everything on it unlocked, I decide to revisit the tier VI Hawker Tornado in a battle that had the momentum for a defeat in World of Warplanes....

Found this on the EU forums, it's too bad we didn't get this event over on this side of the pond.

World of....Warthogs?

A mod created back in the 1.4 days of World of Warplanes.

Through the use of this modification, a player can turn select Soviet Ground Attack aircraft into the A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog.

Here are the instructions for installation:

First, go to World_of_warplanes/res/scripts/db and find the cacheddb.bin file. Either rename it by adding a number (for example cacheddb.bin1) or delete it.

Now, download the core mod model from here, extract the World_of_Warplanes/res_mods/currentversion (the bottom number on the list should be the current version).

Then, download and extract (see above for location) the vehicle file for the aircraft you want swapped out from the following:

Ao192 IL-2(mod) IL-20 IL-40

To deactivate the mod, delete the xml file located in World_of_Warplanes/res_mods/currentversion/vehicles and select either German (for the Ao192) or USSR (for the IL's).

A sneak peek if the steps were followed correctly....

Valley Of The Meteor

If I do say so myself, I think this video is a good gameplay demonstration of the tier VII premium Gloster Meteor and proof that I shouldn't make movies as soon as I wake up. Perhaps, allowing the morning coffee to work through my system more might have helped....

Back To The Blenheim

A part 2 of sorts to this http://wildbluequesnel.blogspot.ca/2018/04/the-blenheim-blooper.html

The Blenheim Blooper?

I know I can't be the only aircraft enthusiast who has some kind of memorabilia associated with the topic.

Some might have the odd book, picture, model or memento from a loved one that actually served in an air force, past or present. Others might have rather large collections and able to convey the special to them meaning behind every piece. I think I am somewhere in the middle, a few items from all the columns.

However, this one is rather special to me. 

A recent internet search produced some surprising results. Turns out this is a fairly inexpensive and widely available tea towel. In my case, an old man, claiming to be part of a wartime, Commonwealth bomber crew, gifted it to my captivated and interested younger self. Before I noticed that girls were a very good thing, I would sit with a small and growing smaller every passing year group of old men, who shared their experiences of the war. From those who claimed to be fighter pilots, dancing in the skies to other who rode up high on what one described as the "Rocky Bomber Highway," I would listen and absorb their adventures, good and bad, imagining myself with them on their journeys of recollection (no doubt that some details might have the embellishment treatment).

The tea towel was one of those few gifts that has survived all these years, bagged up and folded away, waiting for the right time to be mounted and displayed. My plan is to someday put into a "shadowbox" and hang it on the wall, next to some other items of interest to me.

Until then, barring any interruptions, I will fly the virtual versions of those aircraft in World of Warplanes, as more of them become available....

Some Like It HIgh, Some Like It Low

I got a Flight invitation from LMG from the World of Warplanes North America forums, I selected the tier IX British Heavy Fighter, Gloster P.228 and hit record....

I guess for bragging purposes, I should have had the cameras rolling on the solo battle right before that one....

Advent Of The Attacker

In World of Warplanes, I have always viewed the the tier IX Supermarine Attacker is a "wonder jet."

I have witnessed first hand and watched in videos of players pulling off some pretty fantastic maneuvers and impressive end game scores. Based on those observations, I have been itching to get one of my own for a very long time.

Too bad I wasn't given the "beginner's luck" treatment on the first battle....

I did redeem myself on the second sortie though....