It’s a sure bet that the update that shows off the various custom skin options for a new aircraft tends to herald the release of that aircraft in fairly short order. So it is today with the latest 1CGS IL-2 developer diary update with a strong focus on the P-47 Thunderbolt and some of the skins that the P-47 will be shipping with. Let’s have a look!

The multinational P-47

The P-47 is coming with a great selection of US Army Air Force skins including some pretty spectacularly painted options but 1CGS has not forgotten the other many users of the P-47. There are three skins shown off today that feature the Royal Air Force, the Brazilian Air Force, and the French Air Force.

Though lesser known users of the P-47, its wonderful to see these options and I know many Brazilian virtual pilots in particular are hailing this as a great moment as their contribution to World War II aviation is so often glossed over for forgotten.

K-14, ground attack options confirmed

This update also gives us a great look as some of the ground attack options for the P-47. The following screenshot, easily one of my favourites, shows off a P-47 from the 9th Air Force’s 353rd Fighter Squadron (assigned to Capt. Kenneth H. Dahlberg, Rosières-en-Haye (A-98), France, December 1944) diving in to attack with a pair of 1000lb bombs, M10 bazooka tubes with three rockets each, and a single 500lb bomb on the center-line.

That’s a formidable array of ground attack armament that does not include the P-47s already fearsome array of eight .50cal M2 machine guns.

The P-47 is also going to benefit from some modification options in the aerial combat arena thanks to our first look at the K-14 gyro-gunsight in the third generation of IL-2. The screenshot below shows off the beautiful view out of the cockpit, the fabulous looking cockpit itself, and the K-14 gunsight.

The K-14 produced by Sperry and was a copy of the Mark II GGS developed and utilized for the RAF. If you know how the Mark II that is already available to the Spitfire IXe you’ll be right at home with this sight as well.

I’m also really impressed by the cockpit. It looks great and I think it will help capture the size of the P-47 well. It’s also really nice to see after having stared at the P-47D-25 cockpit from IL-2: 1946 for many years that was never fully finished (nor fully textured).

Other updates

We have precious few other updates but we do have a great look at two pilot models. The first is for the USAAF featuring an updated pilot model (being made to look a little younger after some discussion on the average age of a USAAF pilot on the forum) and the other being an Entente pilot for Flying Circus.

It’s actually the same face with a different outfit so clearly this pilot is ageless and we’d all like to know his secret!

More seriously, the efforts here are really looking quite good. As near as I can tell, the outfits are both period appropriate. We’ve previously seen the US pilot with oxygen mask fitted as well.

More screenshots

There are more screenshots and a brief update from Jason Williams on his Moscow trip that you may want to read about on the official update.

I feel like another speculation editorial is probably coming on soon trying to read between the lines and give you something to think about so stay tuned.