A moderately sized update for the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles Series has just arrived. The update includes updates and fixes to the core of the sim, some adjustments and new mission types for career mode, and the new content on offer is a payware campaign called Iron Wind. Here’s the news!

Iron Wind campaign

The headlining feature of 5.506 is the introduction of a new payware campaign by prolific campaign maker BlackSix. The campaign is focused on the 27th IAP and puts the player in the cockpit of the La-5 Series 8 for a 15 mission campaign set between August and October of 1942.

The campaign information indicates that it should take roughly 8-hours of playtime to complete the missions.

This is a return to the classic Stalingrad scenario that started the Great Battles Series and covers some familiar territory, albeit in an aircraft not yet covered by the campaigns.

Here’s the campaign overview.

By the end of the summer of 1942, the balance on the Eastern Front had shifted back in favor of Nazi Germany and its allies. After inflicting several heavy defeats on the Red Army, the enemy advanced rapidly in an attempt to break through to the Caucasian oil fields and Stalingrad. On August 23, the forward troops of the XIV Panzer Corps of the 6th Field Army of Army Group “B” reached the northern outskirts of the city. A massive bombardment of Stalingrad began, while the German 4th Panzer Army fought its way from the southwest, smashing the defenses. The city seemed lost.

On August 19, the 287th Fighter Aviation Division, part of the 8th Air Army, arrived at the Stalingrad front to repeat the military tests of the newest La-5 fighters. As a senior pilot and then as a commander of the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment, you will take part in the most intense and dramatic episodes of the defense of the city. The pilots of the 287th Aviation Division had to do battle with superior enemy forces from the very beginning in order pass the most difficult stage of the battle of Stalingrad with honor.

Iron Wind is available from the IL-2 store and on Steam for $8.49 USD introductory price ($9.99 USD regular).

Fixes to the sim

In addition to the launch of the new campaign, the update does bring in several fixes to the sim a well.

The are updates to several scripted campaigns including Gestapo Hunters, Hell Hawks over the Bulge, Ice Ring, and Lightning Strikes. New Spanish localization available for Gestapo Hunters. New WWII career mode missions have been introduced including Top cover, Frontline Patrol and Bomber Area Patrol.

Other updates are also in there including fixes to the Bf109F-4 ammunition levels in career mode, engine modification time in emergency mode adjustments and more all detailed here.