Hello commander !
Today let’s turn an eye toward the Balkans' sky to delight inthe various planes fighting over its control in the upcoming Nemesis: Raid on Drvar DLC.
The program includes the small but colorful and disparate Croatian Air Force, as well as some new allied machines.
Foreword
Before you ask when will Nemesis: Raid on Drvar be released, here’s an update on its progress.
The DLC is finished as far as models & unit balance is concerned: what we still need to produce now are soldiers’ portrait for the infantry unit cards.
Another missing element is the voice-acting, something we can’t do internally. Especially since the new units will be voiced in several Yugoslav languages, all to be translated from English and native-speaking actors to be found and recorded.
Yet, the current version will be in the hand of the Strike Team by the end of this week, in order to speed up the testing before release …
Checkerboard Air Force
Croatian ground troops will be featured among German ones in Unternehmen Rösselsprung, although mostly as infantry with a few obsolete Italian armored vehicles. But its main contribution will be through the disparate & colorful ZDNH (stands for Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske, meaning Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia).
The ZDNH was founded on April 19th, 1941, nine days after the creation of the Axis-controlled Independent State of Croatia. Although it requested Me-109 from Germany, the latter only delivered some 300 old Yugoslav Air Force (VVKJ) captured planes, most of them damaged and in need of repair. Yet, a fighter and a bomber squadron were detached to the Luftwaffe in late 1941 to fight in the Soviet Union, those pilots being trained and equipped with German planes, respectively Me-109 & Do-17. But by late 1942, all Croatian pilots were back home to fight against the Allied bombers and Yugoslav partisans.
To the end of the war, it will remain their main foes …
From 1942, the NDZH expanded thanks to delivery of more VVKJ salvaged planes, or Italian and German ones. A logistical nightmare, it operated planes of Yugoslav, German, Italian, French, Czech. & French origins! But save for a few German bombers, most of them were leftovers from the main Axis powers.
This situation changed with the capitulation of Italy in September 1943: from an auxiliary force to Italy & Germany, Croatia became Germany’s main, most trusted ... and sole real ally in the Balkans. The NDZH managed to secure some more modern Italian planes, but it was only a momentary improvement: with Italy out of the fight (and thus no parts deliveries), the Croatian Air Force couldn’t expect to maintain those machines for long.
That is the state of the NDZH when Unternehmen Rösselsprung is launched in late May, 1944.
At that time, the Croatian Air Force has the following planes on inventory, all of them featured ingame:
- BH-33E-SHS (Czech.)
- BLENHEIM MK. I (British)
- C.202 serie XII FOLGORE (Italian)
- C.205V serie III VELTRO (Italian)
- Ca.310bis LIBECCIO (Italian)
- Do 17 E-1 (German)
- Do 17 Kb-1 (German)
- G.50bis FRECCIA (Italian)
- IK-2 (Yugoslav)
- M.S.406 C1 (French)
Many planes were only available in a very low number, some only one or two models. Therefore, most Croatian planes ingame will only have one card available, and in many cases not complete over all three phases.
RECON:
Being a search & destroy operation, Unternehmen Rösselsprung relies heavily on recon.
BH-33E-SHS, is a recon biplane armed with both MGs & cluster bomblets, while Ca.310bis LIBECCIO, a recon bomber, is loaded with 4x 100kg bombs.
M.S.406 C1 is a slow but agile, lightly armed recon fighter, whereas the BLENHEIM MK. I is a light bomber converted to reconnaissance and only armed with defensive armament.
FIGHTERS:
NDZH relies on the Italian C.202 serie XII FOLGORE & C.205V serie III VELTRO fighter planes for air superiority, the former being among the planes available in greatest numbers.
They are backed by trainer aircrafts turned fighters such as the, also Italian, G.50bis FRECCIA and the rarer and sole WW2 Yugoslav plane, the IK-2. Lightly armed, lightly armored, they are both very agile.
BOMBERS:
The bomber element was the largest within the NDZH, which operated many German Do 17 E-1, as well as the older Do 17 Kb-1, with various loads of bombs.
FIGHTER-BOMBERS:
The close-support role was provided by Luftwaffe Ju 87D-3 & Ju 87G-1, the sole German contribution to this battlegroup’s air wing.
Balkan Air Force
Although the BAF was only officially formed a mere week or so after Unternehmen Rösselsprung, its squadrons were already operating under the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces’ direct command. It was a motley assortment of British, South African & Greek pilots, with the occasional help of American bombers.
Being regarded as a secondary theater, the BAF wasn’t equipped with the latest equipment, which provides the occasion for the British to fly some planes up to now restricted to minor countries’ air forces.
BRITISH:
The RAF provides most of the fighter force, with BEAUFIGHTER Mk. X heavy fighter, as well as SPITFIRE Mk.Vb/trop and even older MUSTANG Mk.III lighter ones.
It also features the battlegroups most efficient tank busters: BEAUFIGHTER Mk. X with AP rockets and the deadly HURRICANE Mk.IV already featured in Tribute to the Liberation of Italy. It is actually the same last squadron flying that plane, at two different times!
GREEKS:
The Greek contribution to the BAF is the same as already featured in Nemesis: Rimini: BALTIMORE Mk.V bombers & SPITFIRE MK.Vc/trop fighters.
SOUTH AFRICANS:
The South Africans contributed one single bomber squadron, flying a plane so far unseen ingame; the VENTURA G.R. Mk.V light bomber.
AMERICANS:
Although not directly part of the BAF, some USAAF B-26G-25-MA MARAUDER bombers on occasion operated over the Balkans.
Au revoir and until next week!
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See you on the battlefield, commander!