Zeebrugge Naval Air Station Flanders 1

[kdriver]

Andrew,

I was looking at Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-45 Belgium and Luxembourg by Henry deZeng. You're right - it's probably not worth building any new WW2 era airfields in Belgium due to lack of use. If you do need one at Ghent, St Denijs-Westrem will be available. It had hardly changed since the First World War.

I think the Zeebrugge scenery is worth including for realism.

[Robert John]

Hi Allen & Robert,

Would it then be possible to place objects on top of the mole?

Allen, the coordinates for the mole are contained in the layout file which I posted above earlier today.

Kevin

Yes, it will be like placing objects on top of a land based runway.
RJ

[hertzie]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your answer. I'll use seaplanes.

hertzie

[Ravenna]

Michael,

Just make sure the guns are in the layout but not the GSL file. If guns, ships, or vehicles are in the GSL file, they will not fire.

Yep, thanks Andrew. I learned that the hard way with the scenery for Beirut. By the way, thanks for the raised warehouse offer. You can either post it here or I can send you my Dropbox link. For some reason my email system randomly spits out incoming emails with attachments. My email is langandwood01at optusnetdotcomdotau.

Thanks,

M

[Ravenna]

Michael and Kevin,

I am severely torn on this. I love the eye candy, but I'd only be using this for one, perhaps two missions. One mission involves He-111s on 10 May...

0630 Knokke-Zoute bombed by He-111s of KG 54.


...and on 27 May...

Patrolling inland from Ostend 56 Sqn intercepted ten He111s of KG54 on their way to attack Zeebrugge and Nieuport harbour installations. The Hurricanes claimed three: 1 destroyed and two probable. All the bombers returned but three a/c had to be written off and another was repairable. Two of the fighters were lost but both pilots survived.

I am not asking some of the airfields in Belgium to be built for this reason; they are frequently only raided once, so I decided to use substitutes in the closest available location to avoid more work for others.

Schaffen: Asch
Nivelles: Chievres
Belsele: Maledgem
Knokke-Zoute: Ursel
Brussels-Evere: Melsbroeck
Neerhespen: Brustem
Goetsenhoven: Beauvechain.

Do you guys think it's worth it to include this scenery?

Andrew,

The mole was part of the "landscape" in both world wars. The difference seems to be that in 1940 there was very little infrastructure on it. During the 1930s the inner port was developed with more capacity for loading and unloading ships. The mole itself retained the lighthouse at its end. At the mouth of the canal there were two curved breakwaters which were narrow and very distinctive. I have had to compromise on them by using concrete angles. The originals had timber decks and railings. I assume they were still there in 1940, but they were there in the photo I have from 1920.

I think it would be worthwhile to include the mole for 1940. What about using kevin's GSL mole placement?

[Rami]

Michael,

Well, it certainly looks like I'll be installing it then!

[The B24 Guy]

Hi Ravenna,

How is this for a sub cover? still some work to do.

Regards,

B24Guy

[Ravenna]

Hi Ravenna,

How is this for a sub cover? still some work to do.

Regards,

B24Guy

I would say that's looking good, but "good" would be an understatement. Thanks B24 Guy! You've turned a small hangar into a Kragunterstanden.

I've got just the place for this beauty.

All the best,

Ravenna

[The B24 Guy]

Hi Ravenna,
I found my Hangar Stretcher and used it.
Here is a shot with the Sub U-9.


Regards,
B24Guy

[Ravenna]

Wow. That looks just like the one in the photograph! Thanks B24Guy! What I have placed I'll now see as just "place markers".
Happy Christmas,

Ravenna

[The B24 Guy]

Hi Ravenna,
Just a few holes to fix on the underside of the roof.
Glad you like it.

Regards,
B24Guy

[Ravenna]

At last, a sun shade for U Boats.

[The B24 Guy]

Hi Ravenna,
Here is a shot of the final version.
Got to mod the DP file yet.

Regards,
B24Guy

[The B24 Guy]

Hi All,
I think the Sub Hangar is ready for testing.

Regards,
B24Guy

[Ravenna]

Lovely work. Thanks B24Guy!

[The B24 Guy]

Hi Ravenna,
I think I should remove the X bracing.
Any Thoughts?

Regards,
B24Guy

[Ravenna]

Hi Ravenna,
I think I should remove the X bracing.
Any Thoughts?

Regards,
B24Guy

Hi B24Guy,
From what I can see in the only photo I have it is hard to say. It looks like the roof extended back over the rear of the supports and there was a small wall or solid panel with the word "UNTERSTANDEN" at the end nearest the land (so, left if you're looking at it from the submariner's point of view). I wish I could tell you more but a fair bit of this is guess work and, for our purposes, what you have done looks great.
I'll do a bit more searching and get back to you in an hour or two.
Cheers,
Ravenna

[Ravenna]

Hi B24Guy,
I have just found this photograph taken in 1918 and stored in the Imperial War Museum's collection. It really speaks for itself. First rule of researching online: Ask who would be likely to hold the sort of material you're after. For some reason I keep having to relearn that one!
Anyway, the way you have the cover is so close to the original. I was wrong about the roof jutting over the back of the supports, and it looks like I was wrong about the end cover/ wall. The back seems to have a wall which makes sense for protection and the damage to the wall exposes what looks like cross-bracing, but undamaged I wonder whether it would be visible. My only other thought is that it is better to keep down the poly count. What do you think?

Cheers,
Ravenna

[The B24 Guy]

Hi Ravenna,
Nice photo. I think the back wall was solid. It does not look like it goes all the way up to the roof.
Easy to fix because the X-braces are done with an Alpha Chanel.


Regards,
B24Guy

[The B24 Guy]

Hi Ravenna,
I made some changes. The solid wall enabled me to delete a bunch of unnecessary polys. I was also able to get rid of the second texture.
So delete the inf_z_mole_hanger1 bitmap.

Regards,
B24Guy

[Ravenna]

B24Guy,
Looking good in its first version, so this second version is sure to be even better. Thanks Scott. I've tried placing several ships under it and they all fit very well. Today being Christmas Eve I'm going to be a bit caught up in the kitchen, but once the Stollen is in the oven I will have a look at your revised stand.
Regards,
Ravenna

[Rami]

Ravenna,

I found a mission I can write for Part I that can incorporate this new scenery, although I may have to build the port of Flushing (Vlissingen) to make it work.

[Ravenna]

Ravenna,

I found a mission I can write for Part I that can incorporate this new scenery, although I may have to build the port of Flushing (Vlissingen) to make it work.

Sounds good to me Rami. The GSL add on for WW2 Zeebrugge will need a fresh start if it is to include rail infrastructure and a bit of port development that was inished by the late 30s. On second thought, I could try transferring the mission used for the WW1 Zeebrugge gsl to the ETO install and delete all the WW1 specific infrastructure, then I could just beef up the harbour infrastructure.

[Ravenna]

Rami,
Some interesting pics here of Vlissingen.
https://ansichtkaartenbeurs.nl/provi...ingen/pagina/1

[hertzie]

[Ravenna,

I found a mission I can write for Part I that can incorporate this new scenery, although I may have to build the port of Flushing (Vlissingen) to make it work. ]

Hi Rami,

As I am following this topic with much interest, maybe it's good to remember that Holland was neutral in WW1, which means that if you should cross the Dutch border in your mission you might be forced by our airforce to land and be neutralised .

hertzie.