I’ve seen tons of new usernames popping up all over the IL-2 community in the last several days and I thought it’d be a great idea to have a look at was was coming up next with the sim series. Undoubtedly many are checking the sim out, thanks to one of the best sales we’ve ever seen for the series, and maybe because of the hype that Microsoft Flight Simulator has caused across the entire industry as well. Let’s have a look at some of the exciting things coming in the near term.
Collector Plane: Hurricane Mark II
The Hurricane Mark II is due sometime in the next couple of months, this Collector Plane is being sold separately in the IL-2 store from any of the Great Battle titles. 1CGS is building this aircraft both because of its status as a fan favourite among flight sim fans as well as its flexibility in being a part of a few different scenarios including the Battle of Moscow and Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front and the potential to fit into future custom Battle of Normandy scenarios where Hurricanes were used as fighter-bombers over the channel in 1942 and possibly into 1943 as well.
1CGS has confirmed that five versions of the Hurricane are planned including the twelve gun .303 armed Mark IIB, the 40mm Vickers-S anti-tank gun armed Mark IID, and the Russian field modified with 12.7mm and 20mm cannons plus Soviet bomb and rocket holders. This iconic British aircraft will be ready for any historical situation and I’m very excited to see it finished.
Spitfire Mark XIV for Battle of Normandy
The ultimate wartime serving Spitfire, the Mark XIV replaced the Merlin engine for the more powerful Rolls Royce Griffon engine. With over 2,000 horsepower, the new engine took the Spitfire to impressive speed and climb rate levels above and beyond that of the earlier Mark VIII and Mark IX models. The engine necessitated some changes including an enlarged rudder.
1CGS reports that both C-wing with four .303 machine guns and two 20mm Hispano cannons and the E-wing with two .50cal machine guns and two 20mm Hispano cannons will be available. So too will the 150 octane engine boost option which will further punch up the Spitfire XIV’s performance for late war battles and V-1 chases.
We’re expecting to see this one become available to IL-2: Battle of Normandy early access owners around the end of the year or more likely sometime in early 2021.
P-51B Mustang
The P-51B was the first version of the P-51 Mustang to feature the Packard-Merlin engine and it transformed the fighter into the long range escort fighter that it became known for. This earlier version had a Razorback design which didn’t offer the visibility of the late war bubble canopy variants but did offer better stability and handling.
We’ve learned from the developers that this version of the P-51 coming to Battle of Normandy will have three gunsights, two engines, and a 150 octane boost option.
We don’t know when the P-51 will be come available but the best guess is that it will be come available around the end of the year or early in 2021.
Typhoon Mark IB
Replacing the Hawker Hurricane, the Typhoon had a troubled development cycle before it was ultimately transformed into the Tempest. Nonetheless, from 1941 to the end of the war, Typhoons were operated first as low altitude interceptors against the “Tip and Run” raids launched against the British coastline before being repurposed as an attack aircraft and close air support weapon.
Once again, the developers at 1CGS are offering options including bombs, rockets, a three blade and four blade propeller option (late war variants were a bit faster thanks to the four bladed prop) and potentially the Sabre IIa engine with +11lbs of boost (up from the standard +9lbs).
Fw190A-6
Listed by the developers in their notes as being one of the first German fighters for IL-2: Battle of Normandy to be completed, this aircraft bridges the gap between two Fw190’s already available in the sim – the A-5 and A-8. With a lighter and stronger wing, the A-6 introduced the standard MG151/20 cannon armament in the outer wing cannon position for the first time.
We haven’t seen anything of this version yet but expect 1CGS will be able to complete it relatively quickly as they already have extensive experience with the Fw190A-3, A-5, A-8 and D-9.
C-47 AI (for now?)
1CGS puts a lot of care into all of their aircraft and that includes AI aircraft that are necessary to help fill out the experience. The DC-3 based C-47 was heavily used by multiple nations during WWII and long after (many still serve to this day) and were notably used during the D-Day airborne operations that kicked off the invasion.
Although planned as an AI aircraft only, it is hoped by many in the community that this may be sold as a Collector Plane separately some day as a counterpart to the Ju52/3m currently available for the Axis side.
This AI aircraft is expected to come to the sim before the end of the year
After that…
Some of these aircraft above are likely to arrive before the end of the year while I suspect others may take more time and come sometime early into 2021. There’s more to come for Battle of Normandy with the Bf109G-6 (Late), Ju88C-6a, B-26 (AI), Mosquito FB.VI, Me410, Ar234, and V-1 (AI) all expected before the end of the project with most of them likely to be finished in 2021.
There’s also the Normandy map which will feature a wide battle space letting us experience both the pre-invasion cross channel operations all across the front as well as post invasion flying on the continent from both Allied and Axis sides of the conflict.
Vehicles, ships, and all of the scenery that makes up this map are all coming as well as the previously mentioned V-1 which I wouldn’t be surprised if it came with launch sites and everything needed to make for a good V-1 chase or hunting experience.
There’s a lot to look forward to both coming sooner than later and further on. Stay tuned!
Stormbirds 
Coming back to Il-2 after leaving it for 7 years, I see so much has changed. I am loving battle for Stalingrad and the other battles, but I wish there were more planes to fly.
That being said, Battle for Normandy sounds like FIRST DAY MUST BUY. also, I really hope for a Battle for Japan or Battle for the Pacific to come soon…. with a newly revised F4U cockpit, Hellcat, P38, Zero, Tony, Oscar, George, Frank…I just can’t wait
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Welcome back! There are fewer aircraft true but the aircraft we have are really well done. The extra attention to detail really makes the difference.
Jason, the Lead Producer, really wants to make a Pacific scenario happen but Japanese aircraft research is challenging.
I think they will manage it eventually!
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Hi, thank you for a great game. I play WT too, but flying in your planes is a great experience, they are wonderful. I’m also looking forward to the Pacific planes. I read that it is a problem to simulate them. Can we really wait for them? Thank you.
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Hi Pepko, I’m not a developer, just a blogger so it isn’t up to me about if 1CGS decides to build aircraft for the Pacific.
Yes they have had issues finding the necessary data and references to build some Japanese aircraft. That makes a realistic Pacific scenario difficult.
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It’s SUCH a tease, getting just the SOUTH of England. That was NOT the focus of the air war against the Reich, after all. It’s as if the devs are creating the Western Front air war scenarios in reverse of their importance. Bodenplatte is nice, but by that time, the war was all but over. Having the ability to fly missions against Axis industrial and supply centers is my dream. Flying escort for 8th Air Force heavy bombers, as they head for targets in France, Belgium, Germany, then finally to Berlin would be FAR more appropriate than flying support missions over the Normandy beachhead. There were so many US figher and bomber groups stationed farther north which NEED to be represented on any map of the Western Front BEFORE anything such as this map is considered. “Battle of Normandy” should be an expansion to “8th Air Force: Battle Over Europe,” not a full-sized precursor to it.
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Unfortunately the engine as it is now and the small team that 1CGS is wouldn’t be able to create a map of that scale.
Rather than going by importance the team is focusing in on what they are strong at. Tactical air war. I highly recommend the 2nd TAF Vol 1 through 3 for a deeper understanding of the tactical air war from the RAF perspective. I’m still searching for something as comprehensive for the 9th but the scale is impressive and a worthwhile focus.
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You said:
> Unfortunately the engine as it is now and the small team
> that 1CGS is wouldn’t be able to create a map of that scale.
That’s not the case, at all. The 352nd VFG, a group that flies (or did until recently) in IL-2: Forgotten Battles, created their own channel map for Forgotten Battles a few years ago and flew on it with other units with whom they’re friends. It may not go all the way into Germany, but they could easily fly missions from central England into France and Belgium. Also, the developers of the “World War II Online” game (wwiionline.com – the world’s first MMOFPS) created an accurate, zone-free 300,000 sq km map of Western Europe, all the way back in 2001, from satellite data. It’s still in use today, for their 24/7 campaigns. In that game, you can take off from England, fly all the way across western Europe (including over multiple ground or naval battles (with all live players), and bomb factories in Germany. If a few guys in a virtual fighter group can do it, and if a much larger map could be made, using a primitive engine, almost 20 years ago, I find it VERY hard to believe it couldn’t be done today by 1C Studios. BTW, Wikipedia gives 1C Studios’ 2016 income as $650 BILLION (US), and Boris Nuraliev has become a BILLIONAIRE founding and running the company. They are definitely NOT a “small team.” Just sayin’…
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The engine I’m referring to is the Digital Warfare engine that 1CGS maintains. It’s designed for smaller scale battles. Even the old IL-2 Sturmovik original engine was designed for smaller scale battles and I remember what a nightmare the old Finnish Gulf map (which was for a long time the biggest and most complex map) was for many players. WWII online is an entirely different kettle of fish and designed from the outset for that scale (but I assume lacking in detail).
I’m sure 1CGS could do it but we already have complaints about detail levels for the Bodenplatte map and it would only be worse covering a wider area with lower details.
Also lets not confuse 1C, the publisher, with 1C Game Studios which is a developer under 1C which is about 30 employees. Nobody there is getting rich making IL-2. Fortunately they are as passionate as we are.
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I think that to claim that the Normandy map represents a less significant theatre of the air war possibly depends rather a lot on personal preference. While the strategic air war against German industry may not have been fought from these areas, the tactical air war against the V-Weapons and in support of D-Day certainly was. To me, the latter was the make-or-break operation of the war in the West, and one that is very well suited to IL-2, to boot! So it’s definitely the campaign I’d rather have for the Western Front, and I’d even go so far as to say that in my opinion, it was the most important one!
I do hope, however, that in time you will indeed get the 8th Air Force focus that you’d prefer, as it would certainly be another fun addition to the series!
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Agreed. The focus on the tactical air war suits Great Battles exceptionally well and I think will offer another fun entry into the series.
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Thanks for the roundup. Bit surprised the new Fw and Me have not yet emerged.
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@O’Donovan: the FB engine was a different kettle of fish. For whatever reasons (good or bad) the team have repeatedly stressed that a map and platforms necessary for an 8th AF addition simply would not work. Also, given the timeframes that we have seen in BoX and DCS for aircraft and terrain, I certainly agree with Shamrock that it is likely not feasible with current resources.
I am a little puzzled as to the claim that a heavy bomber is too memory intensive, but something in the engine does appear poorly optimised for a multi-crew aircraft.
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I hope the Spitfire MK XIV is sold as a collectors plane.
We’ll see.
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It is a Collectors Plane and will be sold separately after launch of Battle of Normandy. Until then it’s part of the pre-order.
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